Thanks to Autumn

I got an email from Autumn who was in Miami for some business meetings/vacation.  She was going to be in meetings all day while here and wanted her husband to do something fun.  We booked Brian for a ¾ day.  Brian arrived on time and we loaded him aboard.  Within minutes we shoved off and made our way out to the bait patches.

The bait was easy and the 3 of us caught plenty of “hookers” and then I tossed the net on the stupid ones hanging close to the boat.  With 2 live wells at capacity, we headed offshore to start the day.  The blue water had some chop but it was more than comfortable fishing.

We hadn’t been at it very long when the down rod popped off.  Brian jumped on the rod and worked the fish up from below to find a 15# Barracuda.  Devon reset the lines and the game began.  A bust on the short flat line and Brian is into another fish,  This was a Tuna type but it didn’t take long for Devon and I to discern by the fight that it was a Bonito.  Brian brought the fish to the boat and Devon brought it aboard for a quick photo op.

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This scenario played out several more times with us hooking up 3 more fish, 2 of which were Boneheads, and the other which had come loose was a suspected Blackfin.  The action went into a slight lull so Devon showed Brian how to work one of our smaller speed jigs.  Brian’s first drop resulted in a hit and he brought up a pretty, little Mutton Snapper.  Unfortunately it was a bit short so we released it to grow up.  The top action fired up again and we got into yet another Bonito and then a nice “lifter” Dolphin.

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Wow!  This looks like it is going to be a busy day.  We worked the area a bit longer and then I headed for a good mackerel spot I know.  Within minutes of arriving in that area the down rod pops off and the reel is screaming. Brian jumped on it and we were thinking “smoker’ King.  Brian begins whipping up on the fish and soon we see color.  Dang!  It’s an extremely large Caribbean Spotted Mackerel, but darn impressive!

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After releasing the ‘Cuda we reset all the lines and got after ‘em again.  Brian was enamored with the speed jig and began working it some more.  We passed over a huge bait ball marking on the sounder.  Brian gets a tap on the jig.  That bite turned out to be a strong grand pappy Blue Runner.  Good Lord they can gain some impressive size out in the blue water around good bottom structure.  A half dozen or so drops of the jig and he has another fish on.  This one seems to be another big Runner.  Nope.  This fish is a small Cero Mackerel.  I put this picture in the report, not because of it’s impressive size (chuckling) but because it was a pretty fish.  They are the only Mackerel type fish that we have here in S. Florida that I actually love to eat.  They are delicious the way I cook ‘em up.

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By now we are into overtime and I asked Brian if he was ready to call it a day.  He looked at me and asked if he could extend the trip to a full day.  No, we hate fishing and want to go home… OF COURSE!  We were hoping to end the day with a bang (sailfish).  We’re in a good spot for the “witching hour” when, Ba-Boom, the down rod sounds off and it is a strong fish. Brian fights this fish for some time and we are thinking, shark.  The fight dragged on for many long agonizing minutes and he just can’t stop the fish from reaching the bottom structure.  The line goes limp.  Oh well, that does happen when fishing light tackle.  We got back into gear and mere minutes pass when he gets into a Blackfin.  No sooner do we get that fish to the boat when one of the other lines takes a hit.  Yes sir!  I think we have his brother!  Sure enough.  Brian is getting a workout but happier than a clam on muddy bottom.  He brings the fish to boatside where Blackie meets Devon and the steel.  Nice!

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This action packed day has our hopes high for the grand prize in the waning minutes.  We chummed out the remaining baits and hung in the area.  Nothing. Suddenly there is a “freebie” bait making a run for it and a “snooter” hot on its tail.  By the time I made the turn around and got close to where we spotted it, the event was over. We hung out until the last minute but came up empty in the Sailfish Dept.  We buttoned down the gear and I turned The BEAST toward the west and spurred those 600 ponies.  A good time was had by all, thanks to Autumn!

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

Russian fishing!

We received a call from Yuri who was coming into town from Russia by way of Maryland.  Yeah, that’s what I said!  It turns out that his brother lives in Maryland.  Yuri wanted to fish 2 days while the rest of his family saw the sights, etc.  So we booked him up.

Day 1 and Yuri is 30 minutes late.  That’s not a big deal to us because we can sip some coffee while waiting.  Why should we get upset anyway as long as we are ready, it’s their dime and their time.  We loaded him aboard and headed out

I headed out for the usual bait stops but the waters have been getting cooler and there have been fewer and fewer Hardtails at our spots.  We made the jaunt to the worm hole for some Ballyhoo.  They came up slow, but good, and the best part was that they were hungry.  Dis and dat and we are we were full of bait.  Off we go!  We were welcomed on the edge with some tall standers running about 5 feet.  We made it across that mess and the blue water was 5’s but enough duration to make it easily workable.

Devon put out the normal 1 man spread and within minutes we had a taker on the down rod.  This fish had some strength and size but we weren’t expecting an Amberjack again.  I’m not sure what is going on this year but normally we do not catch as many AJ’s in the winter as we have this past month.  The AJ was a fair sized fish and Yuri wanted some groceries so we put it in the box.

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We reset the lines and the fishing was a bit slow so Devon instructed Yuri how to work some speed jigs.  He had several hits by some toothy critters that cost us a few jigs.  We call that… 10 dolla! 10 dolla fishin’!  Yuri hung into something that wasn’t real big and it didn’t have teeth.  It was a muy grande Blue Runner.  Ahh, that explained the concentration of bait marking on the sonar.  We went into a short lull but Yuri stayed busy playing with the jigs.  We missed several Kingfish hits on the top and 1 or 2 cut offs on the down rod.  Suddenly, Devon sees a Sailfish working on one of our baits and the line begins to free line.  Yuri came tight but unfortunately the bait had been dropped.  I worked that area hard for the next 10 or 15 minutes and once again a Sailfish pops up and Yuri seems to be preoccupied with the jig.  By the time he gets situated on the bait rod, the fish has dropped the bait.  Hey, it’s his trip and if he is having fun working that jig, by God, let him jig ‘til his arms fall off!  I don’t need to hang fish on a peg board to prove that I can fish. Our focus is on making the customer happy and sending him home with a smiling face.  Yuri’s focus was on speed jigging.  His count is 2 swing and misses on Sailfish… 2 Strikes!

For the next 90 minutes the ocean was alive and the bites were coming fast. We had about a 12 baits cut in half and we did manage to hook up 3 very big bites.  The first 2 we believe were Kingfish and the 3rd a big Blackfin tuna.  I mean to tell you, they were smoking the reels.  The last one smoked the reel so hard that the line was melting off the reel as if someone poured acid on the spool.  All 3 of these fish worked Yuri hard and the first two made direction changes and cut the mono leaders.  The Blackie, worked him deep and scraped him off on some bottom debris.  Scat happens!  The next bite of the day was on the down rod and this fish was dealing with wire and stinger hooks.  He stayed pinned on long enough for Yuri to bring that decent 15 pound King Mackerel to the boat.

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Football tunas were breaking everywhere and we even had an 8’ shark come up and take a swipe at some teasers.  As the shark returned to get a better look at his mistake, the down rod began growling.  This fish has some power and Yuri is in a tug of war.  He is working the fish and the fish is working him.  This tennis style match went on for some time before Yuri began getting the best of it.  I already knew what species we had on by the thumps and bumps of the rod.  Confirmation came quickly when I saw the silhouette.  Yup, it’s a shark!  We brought the 5½-6 footer up close enough to cut the line close and let it swim off.

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Then as if someone turned off the switch, the bite simply went dead.  We were running out of time and we chummed out the wells.  Let’s see if this trick will work today.  15 minutes more.  We were about to pull the lines when the long rigger starts to run free.  Yuri, put the jig down and get over here!!!!  We tell him to flip the bail, reel and hit him!  He does almost exactly as told with an extra 5 seconds of feeling the free line for a pull.  The line comes tight, he gets 1 jump out of the Sail and it is running the line.  I get the boat turned and we start after the fish when suddenly the line goes slack.  We gathered all the line back on the reel and the leader and hook came with it.  Swing and a miss, STRIKE 3!

We were running late and a little dejected but you know what, even the big leaguers strike out.  I pointed the BEAST’s nose to the west and put her in cruise mode.

Days 2 and Yuri was a few minutes early this time.  On the way out the channel Yuri was giving Devon instructions on his video camera.  Today instead of just helping him with a photo or two and running the video every now and then; he was planning for Devon to be his videographer.  I couldn’t stop laughing to myself as Devon looked over at me!

We bypassed the first bait stops and hightailed it straight for the worm patch.  The weather was crap with little sunshine.  We did get the bait good but the trip across the edge was not very pleasant even in the big World Cat.  Just like the previous day, the offshore side of the edge was big but enough time between them to be totally fishable.  It was looking like it could be a fishy day.

We started off with lines in the water for about an hour or more before we finally got a taker.  The fish hit the down rod and Yuri was on a hot little Kingfish.  It wasn’t huge but those fish are swift and plenty of fun to catch.

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Time was passing between bites and the only thing that seemed to be consistent was Yuri’s love for pitching that speed jig.  He would work it for a bit and let it sit for a bit.  That went on almost all day.  He did catch some big Blue Runners and even a Rainbow Runner.  The clock is ticking in slow motion which matched the bite on this day. Suddenly the surface action begins to fire up.  Well… maybe smolder is a more appropriate term.  The long flat line gets pounded and Yuri is on a good one that is fighting him down and dirty.  He kept the pressure on this fish and within 5 minutes I begin to realize this isn’t what we wanted but it is a fun fish.  As we see color, the recognizable shape of a Bonehead comes into view.  This fish gets his picture taken and goes in the fish box for future bait.

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We no sooner set back up and the short rigger line explodes.  Missed it!  Bazam! It’s on!  This could be the one we are looking for but you never know.  The fight begins winding down and the fish begins coming up.  There he is!  That’s a Blackie.  Can you tell that they are one of my favorite fish.  They are a cousin to the Bonito, both in the tuna family, but they aren’t even close in relationship on the dinner table.  Got Sushi?

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The bite, for lack of a better term, has gone cold and the weather is going south.  The skies are getting nasty, the winds changed direction and got blustery.  The seas were big and running to the beam with the wind off my bow.  Stick a fork in us, we’re done.  Sorry Yuri, you’re going to have to return some day to try and get a Sailfish.  We blew that deal 3 times the day before.  Devon and I buttoned up The BEAST and I pointed toward the barn and cracked the whip.

Yuri must’ve had a great time.  I sent him all the photos I had taken and Devon must have done a master videographers job on the camcorder.  Yuri sent me an email from Russia stating what a good time he had and he would like to return in May if we’d have him.  Sure, May is a good time and then August for Cubera and then…… and then.

The Miami International Boat Show is coming up around Valentines day and I would like to remind you that there are only 7 days in that week.  You might want to drop us an email if you’re thinking about trying some of our fantastic S. Fl. fishing.

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

Sweeeet!

A buddy of mine, “Hoss” who is serving in the Army, sent one of his troops our way.  Tony, called to book a full day with us,  He said that “Hoss” had told him that we would keep them busy catching fish, big fish.  Yeah… no abnormal pressure there!  I told him we would do our best to get them hooked up.  BTW… A shout out of thanks to my bud, Hoss, for his continued service to our country!  Love you, Brother!

Tony, Curt, and Jim arrived early from Sarasota, tired, having slept in the truck at a rest stop for a couple of hours that night.  The day was breezy and forecasting 3-5’ seas.  We loaded everyone aboard and I fired up The BEAST.

We headed out for a handful of Hardtail baits and then on to the Ballyhoo patches.  The day was a bit on the rough side but the guys were having no problems coping with the motion.  It’s looking like a fishy day if we can just get these worms to cooperate quickly.  Cooperate they did and in no time we had a well full of “hookers” and the other well full of “netters”!  Looking toward the edge and I see some big standing waves on the shallow side of the reef.  I’d rather make sure everyone is safe and secure than save 2 minutes run time, so I slowed down to “herd of turtles” pace.  We made the transition into the blue water, easily and comfortably.  The seas on the that side were still large but had enough duration between them to make it totally fishable with good stability on The BEAST.

Devon set up the spread and we were fishing in short order.  We hadn’t been fishing but a few short minutes when Jim gets hooked up to a fish.  The fish is digging deep and our guess was that it was a Blackie.  When we see color it is evident that we have a nice Blackfin Tuna coming to the boat.  Devon sticks the steel to the fish and we have some sushi aboard.

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With the spread reset it doesn’t take too long and the guys are into some more fish.  This go round was a duo of chubby school Dolphin which join the Blackie in the fish box.  Working the area a bit more and the down rod starts running off.  Tony’s on the rod and getting busy on this nice fish.  5 minutes pass and we are beginning to see some color below.  Barracuda?  No, it’s a good Kingfish!  Devon strikes the fish with the gaff and a pretty 20# “smoker” joins the trio in our collection.

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All set up again and 10/15 minutes pass with a few cut offs here and there.  Zzzzzzzzz!  The down rod is screaming at us.  Once again Tony gets on the rod and this fish has some shoulders.  Tony is fighting hard just to keep the fish from taking more line. It seems as if he is gaining line by mere inches when the fish takes yet another run.  You can see frustration on his face but now his opposition is tiring.  All lines are cleared now and I turn the BEAST toward the fish to help Tony gain line.  Get after him Tony!  The battle continues for several more minutes and As the fish rises to the surface we see a really nice “smoker” King.  This one is going into the box with the others but first we need it.  The scale drags down to reveal 31 pounds of excellent smoked fish dip.

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Devon is busy, busy, busy on this trip already.  The lines are back in place and the clock hasn’t turned too far on the dial when there is a boil on the short rigger bait.  It’s Curt’s turn and his fish is off to the races.  This one is acting like a Tuna type.  Come on fish be another Blackfin.  The longer the fight goes on and we are beginning to think… eh, maybe not.  As Curt has the fish approaching the boat we see it is a tuna type alright but not a Blackfin.  This is a Bonehead, as we call them, more often known as a Bonito or Little Tunny.  It’s this fish’s lucky day and he earns a quick release.  I look at my watch and we had only been fishing for 2 hours.  This could be a super day!

Well, I guess I should have kept my thoughts to myself because we entered into a 2 hour lull.  Nothing was happening.  Devon kept checking baits and I began hunting for busy fish.  Ba-Zing!  Finally, one rigger line goes down and a schoolie Dolphin takes to the air!  The flat line on that side goes off and then the other rigger loads up with another fish!  That’s how we like it!  Let’s git’r done boys!  We managed to catch all 3 of the fish without any incidents.  Devon took a few minutes to gather himself and clean the blood off the deck and gunnels.  Catching those fish often makes the boat look like pure carnage!  The lines were strung out again and we are fishing.

Next!  It didn’t take too long and we and we had another visitor.  This time the flat line gets picked up and when we get tight on the fish it takes to the air and spit’s the hook immediately!  Ugh… it was a Sailfish too!  That round didn’t last too long.

A few turns around this area and the down rod begins sounding off.  Tony gets on the rod and we’re thinking this is another nice Kingfish.  I’ve got to stop doing that!  Tony works him hard and as he approaches the boat we see a very large Barracuda, a.k.a. Caribbean Spotted Mackerel on our boat.  The way this day is going that was an insignificant catch, although the guys didn’t think so.

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Setup again and this scenario is repeated 2 more times.  Difference is that the next fish was a small “snake” Kingfish and the third fish was another bruiser.  Once again Tony is on the rod.  Hey what’s up with that, right?  Seems like all the pics are of Tony and a good fish.  Hey… I just get ‘em on fish and they figure out who is on the rod.  But I digress!  OK… back to the action.  This fish is trying his best to school Tony but he has had some OJT that day.  He plays this fish out like a pro and we see yet another “smoker”!  This bad girl tips Devon’s scale at 22 pounds.

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Good Lord!  Can this day get any better?  YES!  As the sun is sinking on the horizon Devon sees another bill pop up on a bait.  Sailfish!  Feed him Curt, let’s get a solid hookup!  Flip the bail and reel!  Reel!  BOOM!  You’re on Brother!  The fish is energetic and acrobatic but it stays pinned on the hook for the duration.  20-25 minutes later and Curt wins the contest.  Leader in hand, then bill in hand, and Devon muscles the fish aboard for a group photo.

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After the release we called it a day.  These guys had a wonderful day with the proverbial “fish gods” smiling upon them.  What a nice day… 5 Dolphin, 4 Kingfish, a Blackfin, Bonito, Cuda, a Sail, and numerous cut offs or misses!  Sweeet!  The sun was setting but the smiles were still blazing!  Break out the wood chips and fire up the smoker!

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

Fun Fishing!

We had a couple of ¾ day trips during the holiday rush.  The first day we did a morning to afternoon run with Ted, Michele, Gage, and Rose.  We met up at the dock for a 7AM start.  We did a quick meet and greet and shoved off.

We tried for a few Hardtails but they weren’t cooperating too well that morning, so we made a run to dig up some worms.  As we entered into the reef areas we noticed that the waters were still a bit of a mess but that didn’t seem to affect the bait fishing on the previous trip.  We arrived on the patch and put out our chum.  The worms came up in swarms.  I love it when a plan comes together.  They were eating the hooks and in no time we had some primo hookers in the well.  I made a few tosses with the cast net and we were blue water bound.

Arriving on the edge, we were greeted with some lumpy water.  The conditions were a bit better, comfort wise, than our previous trips.  Devon put out a 3 up / 1 down spread and we commenced to fishing.  About 10 minutes into it and we had a top line buzz off.  Wow!  This is a strong fish and we were trying to guess what it could be.  After a better than average length of time, we see some color down below.  No way!  It’s an Amberjack!?!  How unusual to catch an AJ this time of year and a surface bite no less.  We pulled this thick 19 pounder aboard and took a quick photo before releasing.

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The fishing was a bit slow and we missed a few bites here and there.  As we were covering some water the sonar showed some good looking bottom.  Devon dropped the down rod to within a few feet of the bottom and we began to get some bites.  Something small had worked over our baits twice but the third time was the charm.  We’re hooked up, but not getting too excited because this fish is small.  Gage worked him to the top quickly to find a very young Atlantic Sharpnose shark.

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We continued to cover water to the north and this time the mid depth rod lit up.  We have a tough one on this time.  Ted works up a sweat and the fish plays a give and take game with his line.  10-12 minutes pass and we see color.  You have got to be kidding me!  It’s another AJ!  This fish is a bit larger though, tipping the scales at about 30 pounds.  What the heck is this?  We took some photos and turned him loose.

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As we moved into the afternoon we had several kingfish cut offs and numerous raids by Ocean Tally.  We were determined to do our best to get a Sailfish hooked up before the early quitting time.  Suddenly the rigger line gets slapped and we have a fish on.  The fish fought strong but we knew it wasn’t what we were looking for.  When the fish came to the boat it was a nice 8# Yellowjack.  This day was very odd because these are fish we normally catch when working wrecks.  Oh well, they are strong fighters and we’ll take whatever is given to us.

The fat lady is warming up for her closing song and we begin tossing out our leftover baits.  Nothing… nothing… Bada Bing!!!  Devon yells “Sailfish!”  The fish takes the short rigger bait and Devon hands the rod off to Gage.  A short drop back, flip the bail, and he comes tight,  Fish on, Brother!  Gage worked the fish pretty well and the fight didn’t take too long.  15-20 minutes later and Devon was grabbing the bill for a photo shoot.

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There is nothing like performing some magic and pulling the proverbial “rabbit out of the hat” at the last minute.  A perfecting ending to this short but peculiar day.

We had another ¾ day with GH, Andy, Emme, and Winnie.  They didn’t want to get up early while on vacation so we opted to do a 10AM blast off.  This tends to work out better for catching Sailfish right before dark.  We’ll see what happens!

We headed out on this unusually calm day and the group was happy to see the light winds and calm seas.  A great day for a boat ride!  Oh boy!  I opted to run straight out after the Ballyhoo.  The bait situation has been really good so I wasn’t too concerned.  As we neared our usual spot, I see someone is already using the area.  We ran a bit further south and the water was approaching slack tide.  Uh oh.  We need to get this done quickly.  5 minutes and no sign of any worms.  When we hit the 10 minute mark I fired up The BEAST and we made a run for another area.  5 minutes on this patch and I see nothing and I am beginning to sweat.  I saw a flash and then noticed them moving in toward the boat.  We began hooking them with good results.  After we had about 2 or 3 dozen hookers aboard I tossed the cast net twice and had plenty.

We made our run out to the edge and set up, this time running 4 up and 1 down.  We had a beautiful day but I must tell you it was definitely a boat riding day more than a fishing day.  We did have a couple of swings and misses but the hookups were few.  We had a small Sharpnose shark hook up like the previous trip… no, he wasn’t that small.  He was big enough to do a water release.  We had a spell catching some large Barracuda in the 20+ bracket and missed a few bites as well.

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I saw a good bait ball on the sonar and Devon tossed a small speed jig.  Hook up!  It was a good Yellowjack on the line.  When he was about to be boated, a monstrous Barracuda came out of the depths and took over half of the fish right in front of the girls.  What a show!

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We moved out of the area and started concentrating on getting them a Sailfish.  There’s a bust in the spread and we have a small fish on.  As Andy brings the fish to the surface it is another Yellowjack.  What the heck is going on?  This is absurd!  Oh well, at least they are excellent on the table.

We continued to work north as some time ticks off the clock and we missed a couple of Kingfish on the top baits.  Suddenly Devon sees a bill poke out of the water on one of our baits.  It’s a Sail!  We gave him good time on the bait drop back and he gave us a dropped bait back.  Crap!  We continued working the area as the sunlight begins to wane.  Devon begins to chum out the extra baits and the Frigate birds are having a buffet.  As I made a few circles around the free baits, we were about to pull the plug on the day.  One of the loose baits begins skittering off.  A sail rises out of the water, then the fishes back appears.  Devon and I didn’t have to say a word, both of us seeing it at the same time.  He’s on the “freebies”!  Ok… let’s hang around for a few more minutes.  There he is on the short flat line.  Feed him, the lines peeling out, Andy flips the bail, and it’s FISH ON!  This Sail is a good one and he is melting the 20# test off the spinning reel.  I turned the boat and began gaining line back.  The fish makes another spectacular run and on the last jump he turns toward the boat.  Andy says “He’s gone!” and stops reeling.  Reel!  Done deal. He’s gone now for sure.  They are masters at spitting the hook if you give them any slack line.  Andy felt bad but “Hey, you can’t win them all!”  He has vowed revenge.

Our day was relatively slow compared to what has been going on out there.  This family was just happy to have a nice day on the water and be away from the 20 degree weather in Boston.  Stay tuned, there is more coming!

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

Catching not Fishing!

Brandon, Larry, Byron and Prada came to join us.  The day they picked was a little on the rough side but we’ve had quite a few of those days lately.  More wind and bigger seas are a less comfortable for riding but definitely better for fishing.  The guys arrived at the dock on time and I turned The BEAST out.  We idled our way into the Bay and I put the spurs to those 600 ponies.  The Beast sprang to life, getting into the hunt like a speckled bird dog!

As we were running to the worm holes we couldn’t help but notice how torn up the reef water was.  It looked like split pea soup and I must admit that I was a bit concerned.  I throttled down at the worm bed and Devon put the chum bag out.  You couldn’t even see the small Yellowtail or Chubs unless they were within a few feet of the surface.  Well, no worries Mate!  Within minutes the worms arrived and in massive numbers.  They were feeding like piranhas that hadn’t eaten in weeks.   We quickly caught plenty of hookers and I pulled out the Calusa net.  One toss of that net and it took both Devon and I to get the catch over the rails.  Within 30 minutes we had more than enough bait for the day, or so I thought.  We packed up the bait gear and powered up for the short run to the blue water edge.

Arriving on the edge at 8:41, Devon deployed his typical windy day spread of 3 surface baits and 1 down bait.  About 8:45 and a couple of frigate birds were hovering nearby.  They suddenly broke toward the spread.  PaPow… KaBoom!  We have 2 lines bent over and the guys are into some decent little “gaffer” dolphin.  The other lines get taken by smaller chubby mahi, while we were working the larger fish.  We managed to boat the 2 “gaffers” and  1 “schoolie” out of that fire drill.

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That is how the day started and it continue in that fashion for almost the entire day.  We had bite after bite, going no longer than 15 minutes for most of the morning,  We caught more dolphin, a “snake” Kingfish, got interrupted by 3 Silky sharks, jumped off a small sailfish, and caught a respectable 16# blackfin tuna which is always welcome in our fish box.

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The morning continued into afternoon and the bite slowed down… not really!    Slowing down on this day simply meant that we went from a bite every 15 minutes to one every 30 minutes instead.  The seas began to pick up pretty good in the late afternoon and the dolphin bite did slow down a bit.  Instead of dolphin, some cero mackerel, bonito, and 3 more sailfish picked up the slack.  I’m not sure why, but for some reason the guys were having a bit of trouble staying connected to the sails.  That was true until we hit the witching hour, and chummed out the remaining baits.  Suddenly another sail pops up in the buffet line!  OK, feed him, feed him… Now stick ‘em!  Fish on, Brah!  We did it exactly as we were supposed to and this one is on lockdown.  The fight went on for some time, with numerous jumps and runs.  My angler was shaking his arms out as if he was riding on an old school Harley.  About 25 minutes later he had wore the fish down and got him to boat side for a photo op.

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Devon hung the sailfish over the side and pulled it alongside the boat for several minutes.  The fish began to revive and started to regain it’s composure.  Several kicks of his tail let Devon know he was ready.  Devon released his grip on the bill and we watched the sail swim away.  The tally for this day was 12 dolphin, kingfish, silky sharks, cero mack, blackfin tuna, bonito, and 1 for 5 on sailfish.  We had an awesome day with plenty of fish to clean so we wrapped it up and headed for the barn.

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Keep an eye peeled for more reports because we were busy over the holidays.  I have a little time to sit down and write another report or two before our next trips.  In case you haven’t noticed, we have some absolutely incredible World Class fishing here in Miami.  To my northern friends up their in the frozen Tundra… pack your shorts, t-shirts, sunscreen, and head south.  The highs are in the 80’s, and lows in the 70’s.  Come get you some of this!

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