Summertime Action In Full Swing!
Capt. Dave Kostyo
August 1, 2011
Miami - Saltwater Fishing Report
You can definitely tell it is summer time on the fishing front. Not because the air temperature is hot and the humidity is so high, but because of the predominate species that are keeping anglers busy offshore. They are bonito, kingfish, amberjack, and barracudas. Not exactly the exotic species that are so popular during the winter, however, they are plentiful and the action can be fast and furious.
Dolphin (mahi-mahi) fishing has had its flurries, however, the action is still very hit or miss. Many of the fish are still very small, so make sure they are a legal 20" fork length before you keep them.
The Grant Family (Chris, Rebecca, and their son Joshua) from England has always wanted to go deep sea fishing. During their recent vacation to Miami Beach, they made it happen with a half day trip offshore. The conditions were perfect with light wind and a roaring north current. Most all of our action was on the bottom and downrigger outfits. Everyone got in on the action. Joshua started things off with a bonito, Chris added another, as did Rebecca. Then Chris took over by catching amberjacks to 30 pounds on the bottom rod. During the middle part of the trip, a barracuda hit a flatline. Right at the end of the trip, the bottom rod and downrigger both hooked up. Rebecca took the downrigger outfit and Chris was on the bottom rod. Rebecca made short work of her bonito. Chris was having fits with the bottom rod. Progress was finally being made and much to our surprise, it turned out to be a large gag grouper. The final total for the morning was 4 bonito, 4 amberjack, 1 barracuda, and 1 gag grouper.
Joe Ballarini, Matt Grove, Ed Silverman, Sr, and Ed Silverman, Jr combined for a total of 6 bonito, 2 kingfish, and 1 remora on their ¾ day trip. At the very end of the trip, we were surrounded by a school of very hungry and aggressive bonito. As fast as we put baits in the water, we hooked up and kept everyone busy dancing over, under, and around one another as the fish made circles around the boat.
Vince Guadagino has tried to book a charter with me in the past. Unfortunately on the one day he could go, I was already booked. This time when he called, the day was open and we could get a half day of fishing in. Being the only angler, when the bite happened, he was it. His morning was very busy as the flatlines, downrigger, and bottom rod all scored numerous times with hungry fish. At one point, he said he was glad to get a break from the action because he was getting tired. The final tally at the end of the morning was 5 bonito, 3 dolphin, 2 kingfish, and 1 remora.
Ken Murphy, Jr treated his dad, Ken, Sr to a ¾ day offshore trip. We started off by catching live herring for bait. Both anglers got the hang of catching bait very quickly. About 5 minutes after setting up the first drift, the downrigger hooked up and Ken, Sr caught a very nice 22 pound kingfish. Then we started catching bonito. Mix in another kingfish of 19 pounds and a barracuda. Along the way we had several baits chopped off behind the gills and we pulled the hook on several fish. Final tally on the bonito was 5.
There you have it. Summer time fishing at its best. Give me a call or email if you'd like to get out and pull on some fish. There is plenty of action and the fish pull hard as the dickens.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
[email protected]
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