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Fishing Report for Northern Miami-Dade County
Capt. Dave Kostyo
September 2, 2005
Miami - Saltwater Fishing Report
With the passing of Katrina, the wind and seas have calmed down so that running anywhere you want is a pleasure. A word of caution though. There is still plenty of debris in the water ranging from coconuts to large pieces of wood and bamboo, so keep an eye out for it. Once you cross the blue/green edge, there have been plenty of dolphin in the area ranging from throw backs to 15 pound fish. Find some of that debris and even if you don't see fish immediately, drop a 1 or 2 ounce T&M pilchard jig down deep. If there are any dolphin in the area, you'll either hook a fish or draw them up to the surface where you can cast jigs or live bait to them.
Thursday (9/1), Adrian Ocampo had two goals in mind. First was to catch a dolphin and second to catch a sailfish. We bought bait from Mike on the Greenline at Haulover and then ran down to the crooked range marker at Government Cut. There, we worked very hard to get two dozen herring before running offshore. At 5 miles, we found a small board and raised some very small dolphin with the pilchard jig. The fish were so small, it wasn't even worth pursuing them. At 8.6 miles, we found a large piece of bamboo and Adrian hook his first dolphin with a 1 ounce jig. Another fish ate a live bait and then a third fish swam up to see what was going on. We landed 2 of the 3 fish we hooked and with the first goal accomplished, it was time to run inshore to try for sailfish. The blue/green edge was in 235' off the Monument Buoy and we slow trolled pilchards and herring into the north current. About five minutes after putting out the baits, a small shark swam up to us followed by a large school of dolphin. We caught and released dolphin with jigs and live bait and also caught and released the shark. We moved south to Fowey Light along the same edge that was in 220' in that area. While putting out the first bait, it got hit and another nice dolphin made it to the fish box. We moved again, this time to south of the Light in 298'. A large weedline caught us and was passing us as we drifted north. It held more dolphin that we caught and released as well as large bluerunners and a bar jack. We were making another run back south when I spotted a free jumping sailfish offshore of us. While we were running toward it, we watched it make at least 8 jumps. Just as I was arriving in the general area, it made its last jump. We quickly put out a herring, however, we didn't connect with the sail. Next, we slow trolled back to and inside of the edge. In 145', the downrigger popped and Adrian caught a bonito. With the day almost over, we stopped to catch and release a 12 pound barracuda at Government Cut. A stop at Haulover had us hooked up with a barracuda again, but this time, the wire on the trailer hook broke and we released the fish prematurely. We didn't catch the sailfish for Adrian this time, however, he was thrilled to get to see the free jumper and is looking forward to his next trip.
Needless to say, with the hot temperatures, make sure you have plenty of liquid refreshments. Also, keep a close eye on the weather as there have been some nasty afternoon thunderstorms. I have openings, so give me call to schedule your fishing trip. If you want to beat the heat, then consider booking a swordfish trip. The seas have been very calm and the fish have been cooperating.
Captain Dave
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