P.I.T.A. Fishing

I have 2 trips to report on with the last just getting in before this rain and bad weather consumed us. As I’m writing this the rains are torrential and we have up to 10” of rainfall in parts of Miami. THIS… is the dry season???

My wife planned an evening for us and I told her that as soon as she bought tickets to attend, I would get a charter call. You guessed it. Joe Abood called to ask about a trip for that same day and it was the only day he could fish. I couldn’t refuse him so we agreed on doing a ¾ day. We would get some good fishing time in and I could, with some hurry up, still make my date with my wife.

Joe and his friends, Doug, Duane, and Tommy, met us at the dock at the normal 7 AM shove off. Devon removed the tethers and I awakened The BEAST. We made the run to one of our Blue Runner spots and quickly picked up some of those Kingfish candies. I powered up and pushed the cruise up an extra couple hundred rpm’s. We arrived at the Bally patch and the worms came up quickly. We got a good share of hookers, so I tossed the net. The 10’ Calusa net did the trick and the bait process was complete.

We made the short run to the “edge” and put out our spread. The seas were nice at 1-3 feet and everything was in order. Bang! That didn’t take long as Joe was hooked up to a smoker. The line was peeling off the reel and then it was over, just that fast. Cut off the hook. That was obviously a Kingfish. They continued the man rotation, losing fish after fish. Joe even had a Sailfish hooked up and only got 1 jump before it said “I’m out of here!” OK… What’s with the Palm Beach releases, guys?

Duane finally figured it out and kept a nice “snake” Kingfish pinned on. The fish hit the box and we were on the boards.

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We had another fish come into the spread and Duane was hooked up again. Wait.. How did that happen? We’re out of rotation. It was really Tommy’s turn but he was calling his friend Ralph as he leaned over the rail. Duane took Tommy’s turn and brought in a respectable Dolphin to add to their grocery cart.

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The day progressed with a few more, missed strikes, lost fish, and Tommy chumming the water. We fell into a lull for about an hour or two. The next bite got us jump started as Joe brought another “snake” King aboard.

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After Joe’s fish, the last hour was a non stop bite on the downrigger. We caught and boated 2 Cobia that didn’t quite make the size limit, missed a few more bites and then Doug caught another Kingfish.

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Time ran out and reluctantly we had to leave an active bite. This was bitter sweet as the day saw lots of action and leaving during the bite was not what any of us wanted… EXCEPT Tommy. He never had a chance to feel good enough to even catch a fish. He hung in there and didn’t complain, but he sure did count the minutes. He was more than happy that the trip was over.

Yesterday I met Harry and Al at the dock, once again at 7 AM. This trip was supposedly to try and catch some “horse” Ballyhoo for a Bluefin Tuna trip that Harry intended on taking in January. I brought along some of my normal tackle just in case we wanted to go offshore and have some fun too.

We loaded up and cut The BEAST loose. We bee-lined it for a Bally patch that I call Horse ‘hoo. If the conditions are right, it is slam full of very large Ballyhoo. The conditions were marginal and it took exceptionally long to get the worms to show up. We caught a few large ‘hoos but it wasn’t productive enough to waste anymore than 1 block of chum. I set my sights for Bait Central and we made the short run to this patch. The bait came up quickly and we were loading the wells. We made 3 or 4 net throws and had more than enough bait to fish the rest of the day. We had plenty for Al to take home and brine up for trolling baits as well. Unfortunately we didn’t succeed in catching the “horses” that Harry wanted.

We headed offshore to have some fun. East winds at 10-12 knots and 2-3’ seas greeted us. We put out the normal Beast spread and within minutes Harry was hooked up to a decent Dolphin. As we tried to unhook the fish it decided to go ballistic. Anyone who has ever had this privilege, knows what a mess they can make. We had to break out the wash down hose and clean up the boat before we could continue fishing.

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Al was working his speed jig methodically from time to time. He caught a nice sized Bonito and Skipjack Tuna. The down rigger was eerily silent. Not a Kingfish, nothing even touching the live baits sent down below. I started noticing the sonar marking large amounts of fish in 138 feet of water. Zingoweee!!! The d/rigger set at 70 feet, pops off and the drag takes a couple of short but strong runs. I throw the rod under my arm in my redneck bottom fishing style. This fish was amping it for the bottom but I kept the heat on it. I got it away from the bottom but it wanted to stay under the boat. I knew it wasn’t a Kingfish and Harry was thinking ‘Cuda. It’s got the rod thump of the infamous Caribbean Spotted Mackerel, but I don’t think so. There’s color! The silhouette wasn’t long and silvery, it was rather short. A few more feet and I yelled, “Are you believing this? It‘s a Mutton!” We hoisted the 10# Mutton Snapper over the side and into the fish box. Al was already thinking, crab stuffing!

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We were still buzzing about catching this Mutton 60’ off the bottom, when the left long rigger pops the clip. Harry free spooled the fish for a few seconds and then flipped the bail. Now he’s off to the races and a Sailfish peeks his head out of the water. The fight stayed down and dirty as the fish never surfaced or did any of the notorious aerial feats. After a fair amount of time and 3 laps around the boat, the fish comes to the surface at the boat. He seems to be wrapped up somehow. On the second pass I grab the leader and was walking him to the boat for a release when suddenly the whole deal just came loose. Hook and all the leader still intact… it just came loose. Hey, it makes the release a whole lot easier on us and the fish, right?


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Now, the birds that were a little annoying late in the morning, were becoming desperate to eat as the winds and seas began to grow. Good Lord they can be
frustrating, especially the Gannets. The Royal Terns were picking up the baits and even a few of the sharp eyed Frigates were getting in on it. We continued dealing with the birds while we caught a few more Bonito and 3 or 4 dink Dolphin. Several times we had to pick up all the baits and drift, until the birds left us. Then we would go into stealth mode as we put the baits out again. In between all this other action, we had another Sailfish pop up, but he was just doing some window shopping. We finally got a Kingfish bite on the down rigger and I reeled it in and boxed it for Al’s smoker.

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Our nerves were near the breaking point. Every time a bait twitched or moved from a predator fish, the birds would come in on a strafing run like a Kamikaze pilot at Pearl Harbor. We hooked 3 of the Boobies and 2 Terns. We did find out that circle hooks are conservation oriented for the birds as well as the fish. By the way… What is the limit on them? I think it’s 3 of each per boat. JUST KIDDING!!! We finally had enough and picked everything up and ran 4 miles north to try and finish the day. Hopefully we would leave the birds behind. Did it work, you ask? No… hell no! We were still being pestered by 4 or 5 Terns up there and finally caught #3. After catching a Barracuda on the down rod and reaching our patience level with the birds, we called it a day. I pointed the nose of The BEAST towards the barn and made tracks for home.

Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com

Charlie's Sail

Most of our family got together for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday evening and the main topic of conversation was, of course, fishing! Charlie, Missy, and the boys were absent as well as Rita, Scott, and Matthew, because they had to do the other half of their extended families. I had talked to Charlie on Wednesday and he had expressed to me that he would love to do another offshore trip. You see… he is a flats/backcountry type guy. Amy called me on Friday morning and told me that it was a go for Saturday if I was ready. Let’s go!

Saturday morning rolled around and Charlie had duty at the fire house until 7 am so we all met at the dock at 8. Uncle AL, Amy, Devon, me and then Charlie rolled in about 7:45. Everyone was feeling happy and relaxed. The air was crisp from the passing cold front and the winds were calm. Devon realizes he has forgotten his drink cooler. We finished loading the boat while he buzzed home. When he returned we shoved off at what seemed the pace of a 3 toed Sloth. This was a “fun trip” so we are always laid back and leisurely, with no worries.

Our usual stops for Hardtails proved fruitless. This was expected since the temperature had dropped significantly. OK! Let’s do the Ballyhoo patches and hope things go better there. We blasted off and arrived at the worm hole in 15 or so minutes. That was a brisk run! The tide was going slack and the winds were barely pushing the chum out. The worms were hungry, at first! It took us a little while to collect enough hookers and I threw the big ol’ Calusa a few times to fill the wells. Now, we had plenty of bait for the day. Off we go for the wild blue yonder.

We pulled up to hear the radio buzzing with Captains asking each other if anyone, anyone at all, were doing anything. There was virtually no current. Ruh Roh Scooby! That was how our morning went as well. We fed the Trigger fish like we were at the petting zoo, and that’s about all the action we were having. We had the normal 4 line spread on top and Charlie had his “Trout” rod (grins) with him so we put it out on the center rigger, right in the middle of the spread. The downrigger was down looking for Kingfish as well. Nothing. Uncle Al is working the heck out of a speed jig and Devon is working a hair jig/bally combo. Nada! The morning continued into afternoon and we finally had a school of peanut Dolphin come into the spread. One was a Kamikaze and ate the hook. The rest just terrorized the baits and turned their nose up at cut bait too. WOW! The lone fish measured 19 inches. A Monster! We turned it loose to grow up. Another endless time period passed and we managed to catch a Caribbean Spotted Mackerel. These Cudas seem to have my number and we catch at least one on every trip.

Things seemed to slow down even more if you can even imagine that. Charlie was getting bored and whining. He had never caught a Sailfish and was beginning to think that even Devon and the old man couldn’t get him his first one. Tired from running calls all night, he laid down for a nap. We moseyed out to a couple of our Mutton areas. Let’s see if anything on the bottom wants to play. Trust me when I tell you that the current was so slight that the opposing breeze kept us locked in a 100 yard area as if we were on a sky hook. You could sit right on some structure, mark fish, and still nothing. Zilch. Wait. I take that back. Amy did have a fish on for a few minutes until it cut the leader. Yep, what you’re thinking is probably what it was!

Now Charlie is really starting to whine! He’s doubting it is going to happen as 3:30 rolls around. We decided to get back after some topside fish. Let’s make a run to our favorite area for the witching hour. The 4 o’clock hour comes and Charlie is getting discouraged. Devon tells him that it will happen, just be ready. The sun is sinking low when Devon breaks the idle chatter with a blood curdling cry. SAILFISH! SAILFISH on the flat. I look back and see it give up on that bait and haul freight over to the other flat. Devon tries to feed him when I see another fish on Charlie’s rod in the center. The line trips and I yell… center rigger popped off. Amy grabs the rod and hands it to Charlie. OK… REEL!!!!! Get on him, now! The line comes tight and the fish takes off, then turns a 180 right back at the boat on his tail the whole way! I hit the throttles to get Charlie tight again and it is fish on, Buddy! The cameras and camcorder came out of storage. The fish was a gamer, jumping several times as he headed offshore.

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The fish is putting Charlie to the test and putting a hurtin’ on that little shallow water rod and Stradic 6000. Charlie is huffing and puffing but determined. This fish is working him deep and then comes up for another quick show.

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Now the fish goes down and barn doors Charlie for several minutes as we poke fun at how hard this fish is working him. You’re burning daylight Dude! He finally gets the fish up for a tag shot and we get the dart in him. Not done yet!

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He works Charlie under the boat and then forward off the bow. Staying deep the whole way he manhandles Charlie as Charlie tries to manhandle him. 15 minutes or so and the fish finally comes to the boat for a hook out and release. As Devon gets a grip and the fish is playing possum.

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The faint melody of that old nursery rhyme starts playin… POP goes the leader! The fish takes off at cruising speed. I guess he didn’t need to be revived! Ya think!

Here’s a condensed version of Charlie’s Battle Royale on video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JbKsdp4sEs

Let’s get ‘em back in the water and chum out! We put the lines out and sent out the rest of the livies to see if we could get a twilighter.

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We noticed a ¼ acre of small baits moving south and the birds were wreaking havoc on them. Sardines. Stand ready, it could happen. Uncle Al is deep jigging and his bait gets fouled. Oh Snap, check this out! This is crazy! Either the fish was trying to mate or it eats fish it’s own size.

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We called it a day and I pointed the nose of The BEAST toward the barn. Once again we had a memorable “fun day” on the water with good friends and family. It just doesn’t get any better than this. Congrats on your first Sailfish, Charlie!

Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com

Snooters and Teeth!

Saturday was a welcomed relief. We have had some incredibly intense winds for the past week or so. The winds had finally begun to lay back towards the end of last week. Roberto Lopez, a local from the SW Kendall area, wanted to treat his son, Roberto Lopez, to a fishing trip for his excellent academic scores. Little Roberto is 14 and a freshman at Coral Reef High School. The weather looked good so we booked the date.

We all met at the dock a little early and the two Roberto’s hung back while Devon and I loaded and prepped the boat. Everything ready, we told the double R’s to come aboard. Devon directed them to the dry storage for their personal bags and the iced cooler for their food and drinks. The Suzuki’s were purring as I guided the big “Cat” out of the slip. I discussed the normal routine and possible expectations for the day as we idled, like a herd of turtles, down the manatee zoned channel.

I throttled up on the 600 ponies and The BEAST let out a growl as we came up on plane. At cruise speed she went back to purring and I pointed her toward one of our favorite Hardtail spots. We stopped there and picked up a dozen or so baits before we headed out for some Ballyhoo. You can never have too much bait and it’s not a bad thing to have different types as well. Once again I ponied up and headed for the ‘hoo patches. Arriving there about 15 minutes later, Devon set out the chum bag and cut some bait. The Bally’s were slow in getting up to the chum but once they crawled into sight they were eager feeders. We caught several dozen on hooks and put them in the other live well. Getting more stupid by the minute, the 10’ Calusa net made short work of a couple dozen worms that had gotten too comfortable while feeding. We quickly dispatched them into the Hardtail well. Off we go into the wild blue yonder!

Arriving on the grounds, after the short run, we found the seas to be about 1-2’ with a residual ground swell of 3’ or so. The skies were blue, the winds were NW at about 10-12 knots, and there was only a trickle of current to the north. Man, what a beautiful day! Devon quickly put out the usual spread of 4 up and 1 down. Little R told us he had never caught a Dolphin and really wanted to catch one. OK. Last trip we had several and this time of year it is not unlikely to encounter them. Well… the morning began painfully slow. Triggerfish (Ocean Tally) were tearing up the baits if I got in too close to the edge, and we had several misses on the down rod. There were 10 -15 boats in the area and the radio was buzzing. Captains were asking each other if it was happening for them. The answers were so very predictable. “Haven’t seen a thing other than Triggers”. Oh Boy, this is just great! As we approached the noon hour we had used up a bunch of baits with only one Trigger on the hook. A few other boats had an occasional Kingfish and there was one boat that had 2 or 3 Dolphin. One or two boats have seen a Sailfish pop up here and there with only a scant couple of these fish being hooked up. Slow! Slow! Slow!

I was beginning to remind myself that we hadn’t had this much trouble catching fish, in a long time. Too long to even remember! Was this going to be the day I paid my dues for all of our past successes? Man, I sure hope not! Devon broke out our lunch and he remarks that eating a sandwich is always a sure fired way to get a hook up. I hope so! We were half way through eating lunch when I made a turn up current and noticed something on the rigger. Crap! It’s another Trigger! Suddenly Devon yells, ”SAILFISH!!! Sailfish on the short flat line!” It’s a small one that is having trouble catching the bait! Devon grabs the rod and free lines the bait back until the fish picks it up. He hands the rod to Little Roberto and tells him to engage and begin reeling until the circle hook finds its mark. Good job! We’re hooked up, Boys! As I reposition the boat, I hear the long rigger pop off then begin free spooling line. Big Roberto! We got another fish going here! Same drill. Engage and reel until the line comes tight. Bada Bing! That’s a DOUBLE!!!!!! The second fish is a good one. Little R has his fish close to the boat and I see that Big R’s fish is screaming line and heading offshore. A minute later and the line is down to less than a third of the spool. I told Devon we had to get after the second fish, NOW! He quickly leaders and unhooks the small 10# Sailfish for Little R on his first ever “Snooter”! I turned the bow towards the other fish and pushed the throttles up a bit to help gain back some of the line. The fish is jumping way out there in front of another boat. Nice fish! After we regained the majority of the line, Big R stayed in control of the fight. This one was an active fish, with many acrobatic moves. Roberto maneuvered the fish boat side and Devon grabbed the leader. That’s a catch, guys! I tried to place a tag but the fish wouldn’t give me a good, clean shot. He made a short strong run pulling the leader out of Devon’s hand, but Big R led him back to the boat. Once again, Devon has the leader and tries to maneuver him for the tag. POP, goes the leader! No tag but definitely a catch. Pretty work, Double R’s!!!

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The boat that was offshore of me, hailed us on the squawk box. As it turns out it was a friend of mine, Al Gonzales, who was also hooked up on a fish. He said he was heading in after they boated his fish so we made plans to transfer his bait over to us. The water is still too warm and the worms are soft. They don’t last as good as when the water is chilly. Not to mention that we had spent most of the morning feeding our worms to the Triggerfish. As we waited for Al to get his fish, our down rod goes off. Little R works the rod and Devon puts the steel to a “snake” Kingfish.

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Al moves in and passes his bait over to us, then blasts off to go home and watch the football game. Thanks again, Al! The Sailfish bite was smoldering but the Double R’s would rather get Little R a Dolphin catch since that would be another “first” for him. Not a problem… I’ll up the odds and meander out into some deeper water. The down rod pops off and Little R catches an 18-20 pound Barracuda or better known on the BEAST as a Caribbean Spotted Mackerel. Sounds more glamorous, no?

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Things slowed for us again as we had worked much farther north. The radio chatter was telling of the Sailfish bite heating up again, down south. We pulled the lines and made a run for it. Setting up and still looking, more for Dolphin than anything else, it never hurts to place yourself in an active area. We continued on searching for our elusive Dorado. As time passes we find ourselves north again. I had another area in mind and as we pulled into the area, the down rod goes crazy. Little R climbs onto the rod and the fish takes him for a ride. Wow! If this is a Kingfish, it’s a nice one! 7-8 minutes later we see color and it is long with a lot of silver flash. It’s one of two could be’s! It could be a King or it could be a Cuda. As Little R gains line and gets it up towards the surface we see the latter is the case. Oh my God! That is a grande’, Dude! Devon hand lifts the fish aboard and if it wasn’t for the teeth and lack of USN markings I would’ve thought he just grabbed a torpedo! Every bit of 40+ pounds of muscle and teeth! Nice job, Little R!

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With the departure time upon us, I asked Devon to dump the baits. Let’s see if we can make something happen, a last hoorah, if you will. The down rod goes off again and once again, Little R grabs it. This fish felt stronger than the last so hopefully we have something better this time. Nope! Up comes another Caribbean Spotted Mackerel. Although it seemed tougher than the last one it wasn’t quite as long and about 10 pounds shy in weight too. Oh well… what would you expect a Coral Reef High School student to catch more of? Ironically… Barracudas of course! After all, it is their school mascot!

As I turned the bow of The BEAST toward the barn we see a Sailfish free jumping about 150 feet in front of us. No story here. We dumped all the bait, remember! We cruised in and Big Roberto remarked that we tried our best to get the young one a Dolphin. He said that It just means he’s going to have to keep his grades up so they can come back after one, again!

By the way… The holiday season is fast approaching. Think about it! A fishing charter for that special someone, could be that unforgettable gift you’ve been searching for.

Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com

Fronts and Fish

I received a call from one of our customers that fished with us last May. “Gimpy”, Ed Conway, wanted to fish a couple of days with us again. He booked Thursday and Saturday. If you remember back to my report from June 1 of this year, Gimpy was the guy who fished 3 days with a cast on his leg. He was minus the cast but still had a slight tell-tale limp.

Thursday arrived and Gimpy was at the dock at 6:30. He brought along a friend from S. Cal. They were beat up from jet lag and staying up all night drinking. Also with them was my favorite of the old group, “Papi” Julio Sr., the 76 year old Viejo from N. Miami. This was going to be fun if nothing else.

The weather forecast was for a passing cool front with a 50% chance of rain and increasing winds from the NNE. We finished prepping at 7 AM and Devon and I unleashed The BEAST from its lair. We exchanged pleasantries and discussed the past trip of a few months earlier. As we idled out through the channel, we noticed acres of mullet being swept by the tides and wind, across the low spots in the jetty. Devon grabbed the cast net and beat it for the casting deck as I positioned The BEAST for a throw. He loaded the net and made a toss. Holy Mullet, Beast-mate! He hit the Mullet Mother-lode! It took both of us to pull the net aboard. Ed and I quickly grabbed the smaller of the baits and put them in the starboard live well, while Devon grabbed a dip net to scoop the bulk of the larger fish back overboard. Mullet slime everywhere! The next 5 minutes were spent cleaning up the boat deck and ourselves.

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We had about 50 nice baits in the well already, so I powered up the horses and headed for one of our Hardtail spots. I figured we would top that well off with a few prime Runner baits. We put about 8 Hardtails in the well with the mullet and, once again, I powered up the 300 Zukes and made our way for our favorite Ballyhoo (worm) patch. Arriving there about 20 minutes later we remarked about how it was actually rougher in the Bay than it was outside. Devon put out the chum and cut some bait as the ’hoo slowly gathered. We quickly put about 2 dozen “hooker” worms into the port live well. The worms kept slithering closer toward the boat and the chum bag, growing less wary as they fed. I wanted to end this last bait gathering process quickly so I grabbed the 10‘ Calusa net and loaded it for a toss. With the cockpit clear, I waited a few minutes until the bally’s gathered tight and then let the net rip. I tossed a pancake that crushed ’em! Devon and I pulled the net aboard and quickly loaded the worms into the well. Let’s get out of here and go fishing, Boys!

Arriving on the edge, Devon quickly set out a 4 top side spread with 1 line down. We had no sooner settled down and remarked about all the Frigates and Terns working the water, when the 2 outrigger lines got smashed. Ed grabbed one rod and Bruce the other. Nice! A bull Dolphin and his cow! The guys played them well and we boated, boxed, and iced them down.

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As we set out our next spread, the weather front was approaching us and we were having some light rain and the winds were beginning to get up. We hooked up a couple more chubby Dolphin and boxed them as well. This time of year the fish migrating south from their northern summer waters are fat and sassy. I refer to them as “Carolina Dolphin“. Even the well fed “schoolie” sized fish are keepers, making a good meal rather than a sandwich.

The frontal line crept over us but the rain was light to moderate at best. It only lasted, off and on, for about an hour. The winds, however, were getting stronger and turned out of the NE as the front passed us. The 20 knot winds were building the seas to 5’ and the current was running strong into the wind. I had to keep jogging the boat to the NE to keep the lines tight. Bada Bing! The shortest flat line takes off and we are on a fish. Circling deep, we figured we had a Tuna. Sure enough. As the fish made it’s way to the boat we see we have a decent Skipjack Tuna, which we bled out, and iced down immediately.

The d/rigger produced a couple of Kingfish. They were not very lengthy but they were fat and I do mean fat. A couple more dolphin bites and then the downrigger line starts screaming. Papi was waiting for this one. The fish was a good one as Papi takes a light touch approach. Oops! That didn’t work as shortly into the fight the fish is gone. Get ‘em next time Papi! That didn’t take long as the deep rod once again pops off. As the fish came closer to the boat it looked like a nice Cobia, at first. Nope! When it came close enough to get a good look at it, we realized we had a small Sharpnose Shark on instead. Can’t win them all.

As the afternoon wound down towards evening the winds were getting stronger and the seas were building to 6 and 7 feet. The BEAST was stable and safe, providing a good fishing platform even under these increasingly adverse conditions. Devon worked a speed jig in an area that we know holds Muttons from time to time. I’m marking fish, Devo! Bam! Fish on! Each of the guys managed to bring aboard a Mutton Snapper, only one of which was better than legal. The other 2 fish were borderline so Devon vented them and sent them back home.

We called it a day since the box was heavy with fish for Gimpy’s squad. They were satisfied, darkness would soon be upon us, and Mother Nature was not going to slack off. I turned The BEAST towards home and she dug in her claws, showing her forte’ to everyone aboard. Running rough water!

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Gimpy and his group were supposed to fish with us again on Saturday but the winds were relentless. NOAA was calling for 30 knot winds and 8-10’ seas with a small craft advisory in effect. Considering our “safety first” attitude, the only option for Saturday would’ve been to anchor on the lee side of the islands and fish for sharks. Not exactly what we wanted to do so Ed and I mutually decided to cancel the outing. It’s better to fold than play the hand we were dealt!

Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com

V-8... Variety = 8 Species

Devon called me on Friday and asked if he/we could take his Uncle, Al Godding, out on Saturday for his 56th birthday. Sure, no problem, Uncle Al is always welcome as long as he brings me a pouch of his dehydrated mangos. Al retired from the Fire Dept. about a year ago and has become a full fledged fishing maniac who is now a permanent member of the “fun trip“ team on The BEAST.

We didn’t want to leave real early, or too late, so we agreed to meet at the dock at 7 AM. After leisurely loading the boat, we finally untied the anxious BEAST. Our first stop was one of our bait spots. We caught a few Hardtails but they weren’t there as good as usual so we pushed on to Spot #2. There we found a few more and had enough in the livewell to satisfy us. OK boys and girls, let’s go see if we can fill the starboard well with some worms! I slowly pushed the throttles down and climbed to cruise speed. We were off like a herd of turtles.

We ran the patch reef waters to one of our favorite spots, only to find a couple of guys diving. NO flag on the boat and only one small dive flag in tow behind one of the guys, that kept turning upside down in the water. Smooth move, Exlax! That‘s a good way to get yourself killed! We idled out of the area and pushed on to another patch.

Arriving at our “dink ‘hoo” spot we set out the chum bag and after a very short while we started to get the bait up. The dinks were there and we caught several on hook and line, then I got out my 10’ Calusa net and whacked ‘em! We topped of the tank with a few more hookers and went on our way. The forecast was for S winds at 5-10 with a 30% chance of rain. Yeah right! So far we have spent the entire morning in light, drizzling rain with winds out of the ENE at 10-15. Occasionally, we could peel off our jackets for a few minutes. The only thing in the forecast that was correct was the seas at 2’ or less. Meteorologists are the only people I know of, that can be wrong 75% of the time and still keep their job!

We deployed our first baits at 10 AM to start our day. I don’t think it was 15 minutes and Bada Bing, we had our first customers. A pair of Dolphin came in and busted up the spread. Al was hooked up to a bull and Amy had the cow on her line. They were not that big but very respectable none the less. After several minutes of playing over/under with the rods the fish came to the boat. This duo fell side by side into our fish box. The bull weighed in at 15 pounds and the cow was 9 pounds. The dinner bell was already ringing and the day had just begun.

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We restored the spread with fresh bait and Al broke out those dried Mangos. Man, they are good! We started talking about what we wanted to catch and someone mentioned Cobia. Well, let’s not get carried away with our wish list. As if on cue, the down rigger blows off and the line makes a short fast run. Amy was almost duped into believing the fish had gotten loose when the line came tight on the surface. What the heck! As if it were summoned, a Cobia comes into view. No way! We were just talking about that! Amy boats the Cobia and although it was a few inches short of legal it was a Cobia on the boards. Uncle Al held the fish overboard for about 5 minutes until it regained its composure and then he let it swim off! Nice job Amy, and pretty work on the release Al.

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The downrigger was reset and began to get a workout. We caught a couple of “Snake” Kingfish and then a Cero Mackerel too. The Kings were all in the 5-6 pound category but that’ll work! We managed to grab a Caribbean Spotted Mackerel (Cuda) during this spree as well. During all of this, Al had broken out a speed jig and managed to jig up a Red Grouper!

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BAM! The downrigger gets rocked and the line is screaming! Alright. What do we have now? Amy grabs the rod and gets a short fast run again, then it suddenly gets that heavy, sluggish feeling. Sharked? She tells us that the line is heavy, but no telltale movement. When the leader arrives at the surface we see a portion of a nice Kingfish. Look at that! Of course the nicest King gets nailed by a Cuda! A dog eat dog world out there, I tell ya! The remaining front end still weighed 10 pounds.

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Once more a bait gets hammered by a nice Dolphin and Devon works the fish. The fish appears to be larger than the other 2 we have in the box. Things are going well and Devon is doing his thing when suddenly, for some unknown reason, the fish comes unpinned and gains his freedom. Tough luck Bro! We can’t catch them all. Right?

After this short but sweet feeding spree, we fell into a lull and continued searching for the mysterious 70% of sunshine as predicted by our mistaken forecasters. So far we had only found that 30% chance of rain. Trying to spark up a bite, we dropped the downrigger much deeper. I noticed a bite, but it didn’t trip the clip. Devon picked up the rod to check it, popped the clip, and said there was something on it. When it came to the surface we were surprise to see that a decent Yellowtail had eaten the ‘dink’ ballyhoo. The slow period continued which triggers Devon and Uncle Al to, once again, begin working the speed jigs. A strike here and there and Al manages to catch a couple of Mutton Snapper, almost back to back. Mmmm Mmm! Al is smelling that crab stuffing as he puts the larger Mutton in the fish box. Nothing goes to waste with Devon and Al. They will eat fresh fish 4 times a week, when available to them!

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Time has run out! We needed to quit fishing and head in between 3 and 4 o’clock so Al could get cleaned up for his B’day dinner that night. With plenty of edibles in the box, we pulled lines, stowed gear, and made tracks for the barn. As we harnessed the BEAST to her lair, we recounted the trip. We had a V-8! A variety of fish equaling 8 different species, not counting bait types. We always seem to enjoy our casual, laid back, ‘fun trips’. More often than not, the outcome is catching, not fishing!

Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com

Darkside... Short & Sweet!

One of my good customers, Jon, called me early in the week and said he needed a mental health day. This means he wanted to go fishing by himself with no clients to entertain. He asked if I was available in 2 days, I was, so we reserved the date. He wanted another shot at some Swordfish because his freezer was empty. The last 2 times he came down for the same purpose, we failed to fill his grocery cart. He told me he was packing one of the many coolers he had bought previously to carry fish home, when his wife stopped him. In her wisdom, she told Jon that every time he comes prepared, we fall short of our mark. If he had to buy another cooler, she would pay for it!

Jon arrived with a severe case of business flight jet lag. Countless hours in airports and on flights throughout the weeks had taken its toll. He arrived with a 6 pack of 20 oz. diet Coke, a 4 pack of Red Bull, and an Italian Sub. When I asked him about that he said he was going to need everything possible to stay awake. Devon wasn’t joining us since he was a bit under the weather. Jon has about 50 or more trips with me in the past 10 years, so I felt he knew the drill and could assist me if need be.

I loaded the boat and Jon iced down our drinks and sandwiches. 5:30 PM and I untied The BEAST and turned her out. I eased the throttles up to cruise and we made way for the Hardtail spots. After collecting 6 big Runners, I eased the throttles up, once again, for a nice leisurely run out to the Sword grounds. We arrived on point just as darkness was beginning to set in. I shut down to neutral and got the floats, baits, and rods, set up as I checked our drift line. OK… 3.5 to the NNE.

I ran back down, passing the drift point to allow more drift time to deploy all the baits. I also adjusted for the drift direction so we would pass over my intended targets. Full darkness has set in and I started putting the baits out at 8:11. First float rod went out with a live Hardtail. Second float bait went out with a Squid. The forward tip rod goes down with another squid. The aft tip rod is going down with a Mackerel and suddenly the forward tip rod begins to walk away. 9 minutes into the drift, not even done setting up, and its FISH ON! Jon grabs the rod as I hurriedly begin to bring the aft tip rod up. Jon says the line is slack but this is not his first rodeo folks. He continues to crank mercilessly as the fish must be rising to the surface. There’s the light about 50’ out! Now the fish is only about 85’ from the boat and it decides to put some pressure on Jon. A meager controlled run to say the least. What do we have? Is it a Sword or one of those Night Sharks? I now have the other tip rod cleared and the fish is trying Jon a bit harder, under the boat. Jon works the fish up and I get the light off, only 25 feet to go until we have the leader! Yeah Boy, it‘s a Sword! Although a bit smaller than I care for, Jon questions its legality. Man, no doubt it’s legal. I leader the fish to boat side and notice that the hook is deeply embedded in the gut. OK, Brother, case closed on this one, he’s going home! Your shopping list is full, and it’s only 8:30. I grabbed the heavy stick gaff and gave him a head shot. The fish came aboard quietly. I broke out the measure and it ruled in at 50” and weighing an estimated 65 pounds. Not a monster by any stretch, but definitely an eater!

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We dropped the fish in the fish box and iced it down. Then we noticed the float lines were astern. WHAT? Someone in the process of boating or moving that fish to the box had bumped the electronic shifters into gear. Yup! Prop wrap! Just wonderful! That is one thing I don’t like about the electronic shift. Too easy to engage. I spent the next 30 minutes trying to unwrap the braid line and ultimately ended up having to pull the prop! Everything back to status quo we set up for another drift with the purpose of a tag and release on the next fish.

We’re set up again and Jon says he learned something new. What’s that? He said, never drink 3 Red Bulls and eat jalapeno peppers on your sandwich. He was still very tired but now had the worst case of heartburn, ever! Heartburn and all, we continued fishing that drift until 10:15 with no bites. We pulled the gear to make a move to my shallow drift and I noticed that the Mackerel had taken a slash hit which gutted it. Neither of us had the slightest hint that it had happened.

I was about to head towards our next drift point when Jon asked how long the run was to get in. I told him our estimated ETA. Jon apologetically stated that he had a very early morning meeting and was way too tired to go past midnight. He didn’t want to fight the fatigue since he already had a fish. Jon said “Let’s go home!“… “No problem, Jon.“ I pushed the fuel to the Zuke 300’s and pointed The BEAST towards the barn. We enjoyed a short, but sweet, night on the Darkside!

Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com

Night and Day!

It’s been a while since my last report. We had an unusual collapse to the Cubera Snapper season. For some reason they got lockjaw in September and we finally gave up fishing for them around the middle of the month. I had one remaining trip on October 3rd with our return customer, Seth. He called a week before the trip to check in. I explained what was happening out there and suggested we do a trip on the “Darkside” for Swordfish instead. Seth had been following my reports and was appreciative that I was straight up about it. He was “all in” for a Sword trip instead.

Devon and I met Seth and his friends, Dave, Jim, and General at the dock around 5:30 PM. We loaded their gear and blasted off at idle speed through the manatee zone. A typical summer eve with the normal scattered storms over the city.

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We stopped and picked up some Hardtails for live bait on our way out. An easy run offshore and we were at my starting drift point about 7”ish”. Devon had rigged all the baits on the run out and once I checked our drift, we got started. 2 float rods and 2 tip rods with a pitch bait at the ready.

We made a long drift in the deep water and nothing happening. Not a tick or click. No slashed baits. Nothing! Contrary to normal full moon techniques, I decided to try my shallow drift. We headed in to 1000’ and set the baits out again. Nothing! Nada! Zilch! Both drifts were good, although not ideal, at about 1.5 knots with a light easterly breeze. The deep drift had us pushing in and the inside drift had us pushing out. We had time for one more drift and I gave them the option to pick up and try the deep drift again or retry the inside drift. After we discussed the possible adjustments, Seth chose the inside drift. I made the run for a reset on the shallow line. I adjusted by coming way inside of my usual starting point. Seth though I was a bit too shallow but as the drift continued he saw that we actually passed over the good structure. Still not a bite, not even a look! WTH! This is some boring fishing on nights like that. Time was running out, but the moon was overhead, so I extended the trip. The clock ticked away. As we were all looking at each other with that, “It’s not going to happen!”, no one could pull the plug to call the trip. As Devon was beginning to clean things up and put gear away, he walked by the mid depth tip rod. It started to click off, slowly! Devon startled everyone when he screamed, “FISH ON!” I yelled back to feed the fish until Dan got on the rod. OK, push the drag up. Dan feels the fish for a minute then the line goes slack. Gone? NO… The fish broke water at the back of the boat, on the other side. The light is right there! REEL! The line starts to come tight as the fish circles passed us at the edge of our boat lights. Nice fish, no doubt about being legal length. Now the line is dragged around the motor skeg as Dan and Devon work the rod around the bow to the other side. I shut down the port motor and tilted it out of the water to free the line. It worked. REEL! Get all that slack line reeled up, Dan! The fish once again comes to the boat, having no idea that it has eaten a bait with a hook, yet. He passes so close as he goes under the side of the boat towards the bow. A good 100# fish. Jim says “Gaff ‘em!” No way, Bud, that fish is so green we would be fighting him in the boat! The line is finally tight and the drag is running now. SNAFU! Less than a minute and the fish turns and pulls the hook. Dang! If it weren’t for bad luck we wouldn’t have had any luck at all. That’s fishing!

We packed it in and made the run home as everyone was getting very tired! I guess you can’t win them all.

Friday, my best friends and I decided to head out for a fishing trip. Trollin’ Tom, Uncle Al, and Harry, met me at the dock at the crack of 9. We headed out for a fun day of simply trolling for whatever would bite. I unleashed The BEAST and we made our way out of the channel and blasted off to get some live bait, just in case. With a dozen good sized baits in the well, I powered up the 600 ponies and made the run outside. The winds were up compared to the last week or so. Seas were about 3’ or so as we made our way across the sloppy water on the edge. We ran offshore and the water was clean until we hit about 400’ where there was some scattered weeds. I shut down to trolling speed and we put out the baits. We put down 2 planers rods for Wahoo or whatever, along with 4 surface rods. We trolled and talked, ate sandwiches and talked, and then we talked and trolled, reversing the cycle. The day was slow, so far.

I made it out to 600’ when I decided to bring it back in towards the edge. If nothing else we could end the day live baiting for some Kingfish. Our first fish was one of those dreaded Caribbean Spotted Mackerels, Ol’ Snagglepuss, that nailed a planer bait. Releasing the Cuda, we continued on. Next up was a football sized Blackfin! No release here, that one is going home. I love eating them. As we were bleeding him out I got too close to a lobster marker. Crap. We hung up both deep rods and as we were trying to clear them we had a cluster beginning with the surface rods. All 6 lines in a mess. Systematically, we cleared and recovered them all. OK… let’s not do that again! We exchanged 2 of the baits for some of Trollin’ Toms, handmade daisy rigs. Good choice here! We caught a couple of micro Bonito that Harry boxed to use for Sword bait. It seemed like this was going to be a day of smaller sized fish. BAM! Suddenly the rigger line gets crushed. Harry jumps on the rod and a nice Dolphin takes to the air! Wow… that’s better! On the second jump we get a better look at this fish and it’s a Bull that had grown considerably since the first jump. Al, Tom and I clear lines as Harry works the rod on this drag pulling fish. When we finished clearing the deck, I grabbed the 30# spinner and pinned a Hardtail on it and pitched it out the back as far as I could. Bump! Here Uncle Al, I think we have another. Al takes the rod as I make my way back to the helm. Nope, nothing there! NOW there is! As line peels off the free spool. Al, slams the bail shut and we have a DOUBLE! A decent Cow comes out of the water. Game on Boys! Harry worked his fish to the boat and I got the bigger gaff out. I lined up for a head shot and as I was pulling the gaff, this Bull makes a turn under the boat, to dodge it. Not today! I swiftly sunk the gaff in whatever it hit. The gaff found home about midway in the Bull and I hoisted it over the side, head down. The fish whacked me, upside the head, as I lowered it over the gunnel. I takes more than that to knock out this 250# Salt, and I laughed as I dumped it into the fish box. Let’s get Uncle Al‘s fish now. She comes boat side and Harry wants to show me how to gaff a fish. Go for it. He gets a head shot on this fish that just laid in position waiting to get stuck. Nice job, Harry! We let the Cow join her mate in the fish box. Pretty work, guys! We just scored a pair of nice Dolphin, the Bull weighed 30#’s and the Cow was a respectable 19#‘er. Now we’re all smiles. We opened the box to dump ice on the fish when we saw the beautiful blue color of the Bull. Quick, get a picture of that!

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We added another football Blackfin and 2 more micro Bonito to our list of caught fish. At 5 PM we packed it up and pointed the bow toward the west for the ride home. A good day was had by all, with some really good eating thrown in for good measure!

Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com

Cubera... Think it's easy?

I have received several phone calls wondering why I haven’t been reporting on the Cubera fishing! The answer is simple! We haven’t been fishing! The economy has taken it’s toll on the charter fishermen for some time now. I can’t write a report on Cubera fishing when I’m tied fast to the dock. Well… I guess I could fake it, but that’s not how The BEAST rolls!

Our last 3 trips we had 2 returns and 1 new client from N.Carolina.

Harry brought his son and 2 other guests with him. The day started off with threatening thunder boomers over the Glades. We headed out and collected plenty of fin fish real quick and then proceeded to the cricket patches. Devon was working his magic as the storms were growing seaward. These storms coupled with a few other cells coming in from the East, and began stacking up. Finally, the lightning got too close for comfort and I pulled Devon from the water and ran back into the shelter of the islands to wait for the storms to blow through.

We were never threatened directly by these systems but it is better to be safe than sorry. After everything blew threw and expended its energy, we headed off for some Yellowtail fishing. The current was flowing strong and the easterly winds were even stronger, giving us a less than advantageous lay. This time spent for the ‘Tails’ was fruitless, although we always manage to catch a few Cero’s and other fish. We headed out for Nasty Town.

As we arrived the current was ripping about 3 - 3.5 knots and the winds were up. Tough fishing again tonight. I marked plenty of fish in our usual areas and Devon started off the night. We worked over and over, in out, up and down, adjusting drifts and anything else we could think of. We had 4 good bites and hook ups but the fish always managed to come unpinned. We did catch a couple of Barracuda on the fish baits. Whoop-de Doo! Devon and I worked hard drift after drift until Harry finally threw in the towel, accepting his fate that nothing was going to spark up these Red Devils!

The next trip was with the Cubera Princess, Casey, who set an IGFA record with us last year. She brought along Dusty, her Dad and his friend. Devon did his thing again, collecting plenty of Bugs, and we headed for some ‘Tailing. The conditions were all screwed up, yet again! Gimme a break, already! We caught a few undersized Tails which is abnormal for this location. As the sun set we blasted off for some Cubera with hopes of breaking her existing IGFA record. Plenty of fish showing on the sonar but as usual, the current is strong to the North, and the wind is bucking the drift! C’mon!?! What’s a man got to do to get a break out here! We fished late, drift after drift, trying everything we could think of and never got a single bite… NOT ONE! What the *#^%!!! Unfortunately, this night set a record alright. Our first trip, ever, to not even get a look-see!

The last trip out was with Marty Moore from Moorehead City, NC. He drove all the way down, by himself, to get a shot at one of these fish! No pressure here, right? All the conditions looked good for a change! We took off and all 3 of us had some fun collecting fish baits. We curtailed that enjoyment to go search for those patch crickets. Devon worked his magic and quickly got us plenty of legal bugs. He has been the absolutely consistent! We headed out for some ‘tails. Can you guess what happened next? Kinda, sorta! We arrived in the area and set up on the hook. No current at all, just wind! I pulled the anchor and moved deeper. Still no current. Crapola! Just deal with it, Capt. Jim! We let the baits just drift quietly down with the chum and, BAM we started getting hits. Yes sir! Although unorthodox in presentation, we managed to catch a number of good Yellowtail, a Cero, and other fish.

I hauled the hook as the darkness fell. Arriving at our final destination we marked huge numbers of fish, scattered all about the area. I could only hope they were in “feed mode.” Light current to the North at a ½ knot and a SE balmy breeze. WOW! Finally the conditions are looking good. First drop and the drift seems endless. Nothing. Second drift and we passed the normal haunts but I continued the drift since we were headed for some obscure areas that have produced in the past. The aft rods starts to jiggle and then it bends over. I quickly took about 5 cranks on it as the rod doubles over tight. Bottom! I turn around and utter some expletives because we have lost so much terminal gear this year while trying to make things happen, that it is ridiculous. Devon screams, “That’s a fish!” Sure enough! The fish either picked up the cricket as it laid on the bottom, pulling the sinker free, or it was such a “Slob” that it stopped everything dead in its tracks. Marty jumps on the rod and realizes that the latter scenario was the case. This fish is turning him every way but loose! The fish is taking drag at will. Just as we think Marty has the upper hand and gaining significantly on the fish, this “Slob” shows him otherwise and makes a tremendous last ditch run. Pop! No way! Nothing marking on the sonar but bottom! What a heart breaker! Retrieval of the gear showed everything intact but half of the leader is gone. This fish was schooled and took him into something which had cut him off, winning his freedom. Hey… you don’t get big in this ocean by being stupid!

Just as fast as that fish cut us off, the bite quit, again! We worked hard, drift after drift, catching only 2 Barracuda in the interim. Marty tried his hand at night time speed jigging and managed to get a couple of bites and boated a HorseEye Jack.

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We continued on. Finally we had another suspected bite which resulted in a crawdad torn in half. I didn’t count this as a bite since there were no fang punctures evident on the bait anywhere. A few more drifts and another bite for sure this time but, once again, it lasted only 15 seconds and the hook pulled. Good grief! What is the deal? I guess it is better to be lucky than good, but we are having no luck at all! We worked hard into the wee hours of the morning, extending his trip significantly, especially since he drove so far. I just couldn’t believe that with this slow current and the extended look that these fish were having at those scrumptious baits, the action was so few and far between. Marty told us he figured it would be akin to fishing for Marlin and he had only hoped for 1 or 2 bites. WOW! That’s a refreshing twist to those who think any type of offshore fishing, is hands over fist continuous action. Now, the current begins to get faster and faster and the winds changed, once again delivering the problems we have incurred over the previous 2 weeks. We finally threw in the towel, dejected and tired! The only high point to these slow nights is that the customers get to take home the Yellowtail, etc, that were caught, as well as all the left over Lobsters.

All of these trips were lackluster to say the least. Those who think Cubera fishing is a no-brainer… think again! If you spend enough time chasing them, other than the occasional optimum nights, you will find the opposite to be true. We’ve tried to perfect our techniques and just when we think we have the handle on this, our grip begins to slip! Each trip seems to raise additional questions! It is my experience that either they are doing the mating thing or they are eating, and you better be there when the latter occurs. It seems the feeding window is usually short and intense, when it happens. This season has been challenging in the respect that not only are there the normal pitfalls, there has been none of the normal summer patterns to offset them. Full moon? New moon? El Nino? High pressure fronts? Strong winds? Ripping currents? Extreme tides? You name it! We have had to contend with all these conditions as well as the unstable weather patterns. Each seemed to throw that proverbial monkey wrench into the spokes. Go figure! At least we haven’t had any hurricanes parked off our front porch! Hmmm… I wonder if…?

Our trip this weekend with our good customers, Paul, Luis, and their buds, is hopefully, going to be the turn around. Nothing about fishing is guaranteed. BUT… There is one guarantee! Devon and I will do everything humanly possible to try to make our trips successful. The only problem is… “Mother Nature” all too often, will not!

Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com

Tough Fish... Tougher Fishing!

Last weekend was a busy one. We had tough conditions while fishing for an even tougher opponent.

Friday we met up with John and Ben Cotrone for their long anticipated Cubera Snapper hunt. These brothers have wanted to catch one of these critters for a long while now and so far have been unsuccessful.

We met at the usual start time and turned The BEAST out! They wanted to do some jigging too, so they brought 4 of their high tech 5’ Chinese, unlimited rating, jigging rods, with Stella, Saltiga, Accurate, and Torsa reels. They also brought along a bag full of the pretty and expensive jigs. I pointed the bow toward the cricket farm and we were off like a herd of turtles. Arriving on Spot 1, we tossed Devon into the water. As we drifted along he collected 4 bugs in short order and we pulled him aboard because the depths were reaching his effective limits. On the next dive, Devon worked his magic and caught 9 more. Dang he’s good! With enough baits for the evening, I headed out for the warm up wreck to test the fancy gear that John and Ben had brought along.

The wreck was active with some very large AJ’s. Each drift resulted in some massive strikes, with 4 fish coming aboard that weighed in the upper 30’s. We had 2 or 3 other fish that freight trained us into the wreck. These fish were totally unstoppable even with the drags maxed out on these strong little bruiser reels. Unbelievable! Time to go after the Nasties!

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Arriving in the area a bit early, we tried some jigging, but no strikes. The drift was humping at almost 4 knots. Not good! Darkness fell and the Nasty’s slowly started to show. Drift #1 was extremely fast but we did have a small fish bite, but no hook up. I had to make some serious adjustments. We had to get down and dirty, only fishing 1 rod per drift. Drift 2... KaBoom! A massive strike on our cricket and Ben is doubled over. After several minutes of tug o’ war a 50# fish thuds on the deck.

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Drift #3 had John at the rod. We weren’t marking a bunch of fish but we did get a nice bite and John scored with a 25#’er.

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I fired back up to the drift point and Ben was up again. The Red Devils were loading up in areas now and Ben gets the nod. BaBoom! He is hooked fast to another good’un! Once again the scenario plays out and a 40# fish comes aboard.

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As quickly as it began, it shut off. We went through a lull for about an hour, when just as quickly as it shut off, they started another feeding binge. Bada Bing! John works a 38# fish to the boat. These brothers are in heaven!

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Each successive drift resulted in a crushing bite. Wham! Bam! Whomp! Catch one, miss one, the story goes. A 38, then the fish of the night, a 55#‘er, and a smaller 20# fish. We even straightened out a hook on a Snapzilla!

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The guys had enough! They threw in the towel and tapped out! We went 6 for 11 and quit in the middle of this heated bite! It was a good night. We kept the 25# fish and a 40# fish that we couldn’t get a good release on. The other 4 fish were vented and released to do their thing. I do believe that John and Ben had a great time.

Saturday was with Paul Storti and his friends, Luis, Brenden, and Craig. A good group of guys who fished with us last year. Of course, we did the usual formalities and took off. We loaded one well with Hardtails and did the lobster thing. Devon was awesome once again and we jerked him out of the water when he had caught enough for the night.

We ran to our favorite jigging wreck and the current was again moving out to the North. A few drifts before sunset resulted in a 41 and a 50 pound Amberjack and a small Almaco Jack. The AJ’s were vented and released.

As the sun set, I headed The BEAST for our intended target. Conditions were less than favorable with a westerly wind and a 3.5 knot current. I tried everything possible to work my drifts, to no avail. With each adjustment, the boat would just get out of shape. Fishing in this was extremely tough, almost impossible. We joked around a lot but as time passed the mood got a bit somber. So far we had managed to lose 3 rigs without a bite. Then one of the live wells went down. Great! With 1 crowded live well, I kept hunting for better conditions and willing fish. Finally! A small bunch of fish that would bite in an area that had slightly better conditions. We missed the first bite and then several drifts later, Craig got hooked up on a nice 29 pound fish.

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A few more passes and another missed bite. Another drift or two and Brenden gets the hook up! Good deal! After several minutes of grunting, we boat a decent 34 pounder!

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The wind turned out of the North and the bite, if you want to call it that, turned off again. We worked overtime trying to get Paul and Luis a fish. It just wasn’t going to happen so we finally packed it in for the night. 2 for 4, we tucked our tails and headed for home. You can’t win them all and that’s why Paul had scheduled another trip.

Sunday, Devon and I met with Seth Ebel and his group, Randy, Chris, and General. Yes, that’s really his name, General! And yes, jokes were just too easy! All were attempting to get their first Cubera except General who had caught one years ago. The same scenario played out at the bait shops. We caught our Runners and Crickets in a little over an hour. Devon is good!

The guys wanted to do some Yellowtail fishing before dark. We went to a wreck and did a few drifts for some speed jigging first. It was a bit slow, but they managed to catch a small Almaco, a Bonito, and a large Barracuda. Enough of this, let’s go ‘Tailing. The current on the edge was “ripping”! I put out the chum bag, and chummed out a half a bag of old Silversides. These guys were Head Boat Yellowtail Pros! 3 at the stern drifting bait back and one on the gunnel bottom fishing. The best bottom bite was a small Coney Grouper and Blue Parrotfish. Man, it is beautiful but what a standout freak of nature. What was the Lord thinking when he made that one?

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DUCK! WATCH OUT! General and Seth had some exaggerated hook sets for Yellowtail, even running halfway up the deck while doing so. They said it was necessary in that current. I had no argument there as they pulled in 20 nice ’Tails. Yeah, Randy caught a few too with more normalcy in his fishing. We almost had to pry their hands of the light rods when darkness arrived. I pulled anchor and headed out for the evening “Nasty” hunt.

Arriving, in the area, we found conditions a slight bit better than the last 2 trips. The current was still moving along at 3 mph but the winds were lazy and following the current. This should be more workable. The bite was a bit slow in coming but when it did, Kaboom, it was game on. We missed 2 bites on the crickets and then Randy gets the first hook up. He manages to bring his to the boat and we are on the boards with a respectable 35 pound fish.

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A couple more drifts and we locate another biter and Seth gets the nod. This fish comes aboard a little bit easier, not that easy, and Seth gets a 25 pound notch on his belt. We were going to release this fish until we saw one of its gills was broken loose from the throat latch. We weren’t sure whether this was a previous injury that had healed (not bleeding) but we didn’t want to turn this fish out to die and go to waste!

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We worked a bit more and hooked up again, to a Barracuda! That‘s a bit unusual. Things slowed down a little when finally Chris gets the nod! Fish on… and it’s a good one! Chris has a bad elbow and a bad finger (severed and reattached) and the Blue Runners had already whooped his butt! This fish was doing a number on him. He finally gets it boatside and Devon pulls it over the side. Chris admits he almost handed the rod off several times after successive runs by this fish. NICE! A 56 pound fish lays on the deck as we hurry to get the pics, authenticate the weight, and vent it for a good release. Hold up! Not so fast! The fish refuses to sound so we back down on it and bring it aboard again and reinsert the venting tool. Eliminating all the air completely, Devon puts the fish on the lipper and we tow it around for several minutes until it gives us the tail stroke signal that it’s ready to go home. Devon opens the lipper and he/she beats a hasty retreat to the depths. A few hoots and hollers filled the air as well as some high 5’s for a job well done!

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The night slowed to a crawl with General missing 1 or 2 bites. We are way past time now, it’s getting late, real late, and their 36 beverages are gone! General didn’t get his fish but he was good with that. I pointed the bow for the barn and hauled butt. I was flushing engines and cleaning gear while Devon was cleaning fish. The guys broke out another 1 ½ cases of beer left behind in the cooler. You see, they had a method to their madness. Devon and I had a couple of beers with the guys as they showed us the true meaning of “Pounding Brewski’s”! We finally had to almost run them out of there at 6 AM so we could finish our work and go home to bed. WOW! What a crew this was! We all had a really good time catching pounds of eating fish and having tons of fun! Yes, they are welcomed back on The BEAST, anytime!

Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com

Cubera and Humble Pie!

This past weekend we had Cubera Snapper trips on Friday and Saturday night. The weather was beautiful and warm with light winds and calm seas.

We met up with David Auerbach and his buds, Ed, Dave, and Jared. There was excitement in the air as everyone arrived on time. Devon unleashed The BEAST and we made our way out through the channel. We took some time to catch some Hardtails and tossed 9 of them in the live well. Although nothing compares to live bugs, it’s always good to have a backup. I set the big cat’s throttles on “purr“, and we made our way out to the patches for some real nasty bait. Visibility was good and we tossed Devon overboard. It took a bit longer and a couple of stops but he managed to put his hands on 13 bugs. Let’s get out of here and go fishing!

The guys opted to do some speed jigging and had brought along some of their specialized jigging rods. The first wreck we hit had produced several fish. Bonitos, Bar Jacks, etc. were setting the mood for the night. The second stop was another session of jigging as the sun is getting close to the water. This stop warmed the guys up for the night, catching a big HorseEye Jack, Amberjack, and an Almaco or two if my recollection is correct.

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As the sun goes out of sight we made the run to Cubera town. We arrived at our destination and several boats were already working. I made a few passes around to get an idea of what was going on down below and then stopped to check my drift line and speed. WOW! A very light current at about ½-1 mph. I repositioned for drift 1 and Devon fired 2 crickets down. Nothing happened. We continued making drifts but all we could muster was losing 3 rigs and baits to the bottom. The fish were not in the mood. One hour passes, the second hour passes, hmm, the fish are there but it still wasn’t happening. A couple more drifts and a major adjustment when suddenly it all breaks loose. Bam, Boom, for the next hour it was helter skelter and we managed to catch fish from 18# up to 50#’s.

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This chaotic fish fest had everyone fired up. It was past quitting time and we had gone through all our bugs and some of the fish baits. I decide to keep on fishing and take advantage of this melee’, using up the few remaining baits.

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When we finally called it quits, we had used up all 22 baits. The group was fired up and said that the trip was well worth it and exceeded all expectations. We kept saying we caught 7 for 15 hooked up but when I reviewed the pictures the next day, we had actually caught 8 fish. A slow start but a phenomenal finish!

Saturday night Jorge Marquez a repeat customer from last year, arrived with his friends, Santi, and Carlos. Carlos was the guy that caught the 76¼ monster, last year. We made a few comments about going for an 80# fish this time. Same as usual, we untied The BEAST and made our way out. Once again the weather was cooperating beautifully. We caught a few fish baits before making our way out to the cricket farm. Once we arrived at one of our bug bait spots, we let Devon start doing his thing, collecting them. Oh Boy! Things were slow, real slow! Only 2 lobster in the well at the first spot. We pulled him aboard and headed for spot 2. After some time in the water, we only had 4 bugs in total and Devon came aboard. He said there were many shorts and even more “eggers”. That’s just great! OK, let’s try an old spot of mine from many years ago. We got there and in the next 20 minutes Devon grabbed 9 more. Whew! Man… it was getting late and I was sweating the bait situation! The guys were itching to go jigging, too.

We hit the first wreck and Devon and I gave the guys some tips on how to work these speed jigs to get consistent bites. We caught 2 really nice Yellow Jacks, 1½ Bonito and a Caribbean Spotted Mackerel (Cuda).

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The second wreck produced 3 fat Almaco’s and the sun was fading fast. We packed up the jigging gear and made our way to the main destination.

Approaching the area we see 3 other boats already there and I began my normal routine. The fish were spread out and thin. The current was ripping at 2½ - 3 mph. This is not good guys, it’s going to be very hard to correctly present the baits. The guys brought there own gear, so we put the rigs on them and began our night. We struggled drift after drift, trying to keep the baits in the strike zone. 4 times we had gotten hung up and lost everything. I made adjustment after adjustment and couldn’t even draw a half hearted bite. The fish were there! They just had lockjaw. Monotony is setting in as we continued to make one blow-by drift after another. The current was so strong that each drift lasted only a few minutes, no matter what we did to counteract it. My plotter was turning black with so many track lines from the numerous drifts. Most of the other boats have left the area and I can’t say that I blame them because it appeared they were doing a lot of standing around in the cockpits too! It’s past quitting time, I’m miffed and I am not leaving until I get one! I made a wide return swing and found a group of fish that were closer to the bottom and hopefully feeding. As I set up for that drift I noticed the wind has now shifted, coming from the SW. The current slowed to a light 1 mph and we got a bite! The rod bent over, but only for a second. He came unpinned! Dang it! This scenario played out 3 more times with the same results. 0 for 4, it’s after 1 AM and I am dejected. A couple more drifts and it’s apparent that the only thing biting now were a few mosquitoes that arrived 5 miles offshore with this westerly wind. That’s just wonderful… just flipping great!

Jorge called the trip because he knew I would’ve stayed out there. He said “It was very obvious that we did all that we could do…It’s fishing!“ I was still upset with myself and second guessing everything. Devon calmed me down by reminding me, once again, that sometimes, no matter what we do, it just isn’t meant to be. I knew that this night was coming! We were on a great run and it came crashing down. How can 2 successive days be so utterly and completely different? I have had some time to reflect, while eating my “Humble Pie”. It doesn’t taste good and I don’t like it! The next trip will be a mission of revenge and vindication. Look out, El Nasty, I’m coming!

Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com