Beiträge von The BEAST

It’s been a while since I wrote a report because the trips have been a bit redundant. I didn’t want to bore everyone with the same thing over and over. I have done mostly short day trips and the dolphin haven’t been big enough or plentiful enough to spend much time chasing after them. I have been keeping my clients busy working and catching wreck donkeys. I don’t know why the local fishermen thumb their noses at these fish because they’re tough, tackle testing, knuckle busters. They are delicious to eat when cooked and eaten fresh, although some of them do have some tail worms. If you simply cut away the meat that has worms in it, you can chow down on the clean pieces. When clients insist on doing short days, for whatever their reason, they handcuff the charter crew. We must find fish so that everyone catches a fish and returns with a smile and possibly a filet or two. Amberjack fit that bill perfectly.

We had a short day trip with Justin, Mark 1, Mark 2, Dan, Jay, and Jeff. This day was a wreck day because we had 6 people and got a late start. By the time we caught our bait we had to get some time in wetting lines and getting these guys on some fish. We ended up catching 12 AJ and 4 very large ‘Cudas.

Another trip we did was with Rob, Andy, Barry, and Jack, We spent most of the time working the wrecks and this day the speed jigs outworked the live bait. We caught a big Jack Crevalle, 5 Amberjack, a Barracuda and a couple of large Bonito.

We had a friends & family trip with John, Diane (aka Smiley), Missy, Charlie, and Mason. That trip proved to be a whoop diddy!. The crew caught several nice AJ’s and Barracuda on live baits and speed jigs. Charlie caught a nice Black grouper as well.

During that trip, Smiley also set a new “BEAST” boat record for an Amberjack catch. Our record stood at 96 pounds and she killed it with a 109.5 pound monster.

We had another trip with James, Alex, Aldo 1, and Aldo2. This was a full day and not one of our better days. It was supposed to be ½ tide when we arrived to catch bait but there was no water moving… no bait. We headed out to 1300’ of water in search of the green rockets but only managed to catch 1 that was bigger than minimum legal size. I came in and hit the Knuckle Buster wreck and caught 1 AJ missing 4 more. I pulled up and went to the Grunt & Sweat and same there, 1 AJ and 5 misses. I pulled out and tried once more for some better bait but the current was still dead. I hauled butt back out for some Permit and we located them, managing to hook one and get a bite on another, but catching neither. We worked the top with what bait we had and had 2 more top bites and then catching a 20 # Cuda. This day was more of a lesson in how to get bites without wasting your energy catching the fish.

We did another fun trip with family and friends down in Key Largo. They had fun swim fishing for hog fish and Schoolmasters. We went after some Muttons with the only 3 live Ballyhoo we managed to catch. We got 3 nice Muttons, 8, 9½, and 17 pounds.

Shortly after that fun trip, I got a call from my daughter that, Devon, my mate and son-in-law took a permanent gig on a private yacht in the Bahamas. I had an upcoming share charter through the share-a-fishing-charter.com website. I had no mate so I just ran it myself like I used to in past years. We did alright but once again we had problems locating any sizable Dolphins but I had the guys smiling and sweating on those “Donkeys”.

With the onset of Cubera season and no more Devon to dive up our lobsters, I had to scramble to make arrangements to get lobster for upcoming trips. Everything is good and the reports will follow.

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

The Harbor Club came down to fish with us for 2 days, once again, but this time with a day off in between. It was the usual group… Chief (Harbor 1), Yalkin (Harbor 3), Frankie (Harbor 7) and honorary guest Freddie. This group runs on Yalkin time. In case you haven’t read other reports about them, Yalkin time means an ETA of 9AM, not a minute sooner!

The BEAST was chomping at the bit as we shoved off on Day 1 , We made our usual stops at our bait spots and had the wells full of Runners and Ballyhoo although it was a bit of a tough go. With the late start and having to take time to catch bait, I had a plan to maximize the short amount of actual fishing time we had. I had brought a half dozen crabs with me, so I decided to try for some Permit first thing. Uh, that didn’t work out too well. I pulled out of there and headed for our Holy Crap wreck to give them a good work out right away. The first drop and we had a hook up as if the fish new the script. Chief did his thing on this wreck donkey and we had the skunk off the boat in short order. We did this in succession with live baits and speed jigs until we had 5 fish caught and the guys threw in the towel.

I pulled away from the wreck a bit worried about what I was hearing on the radio. It seemed that everyone was enjoying a boat ride that day and very few were catching anything to write home about. Well, we’re going to give it our best shot. I worked the usual areas where we consistently catch fish and nothing much was happening. Just as I had feared. I mean to tell you that I couldn’t even catch a dang Barracuda with the primo baits that Devon was using. We did have a few bites but they were obviously small fish. Devon even tried downsizing the rigs, to no avail. We toiled on! Nothing on the bottom, nothing in the mid depths, and not a darn thing happening on top.

We were ticking off the hours when I hit another good spot. KaPowey! The down rod gets slammed and we are on a good fish. I’m hoping we have a big grouper on but as the minutes passed by it was more apparent that we had a shark on. This is definitely the year of the shark for us! Working the boat and tussling with this fish on 30# line for 20 minutes, we finally get the critter to boat side. It’s a nice one, pushing 6 feet and around 80 pounds. Not the Hammerhead that the Chief wants to notch off his bucket list, but a good fish anyway. As Devon leaders the shark over to cut it loose, I leaned over the rail to get some photos. I noticed that the shark was bowed up, which is not a good thing. I held the shutter down to get some quick shots and suddenly the shark reacted. WATCH OUT!!!!

He made a lunge at me and slammed into the side of the boat, falling back into the water. Holy Cow! That was a close one. Devon reset the lines but the sea was quiet. The guys called it a day, saving their strength for Day 2. We tucked everything away and made the run home.

Day 2 and the guys arrived at Yalkin time, as usual. The BEAST was snarling, ready to exact revenge, so we cut loose her tethers and turned her out. We hit our bait spots and the baits came much easier that day. With plenty of baits on board the local fish population in its entirety was our target. I coaxed the Beast into the blue water and Devon quickly set up our spread. Starting at Yalkin time or later makes for a short day and we’re not fishing during prime hours. In other words, just handcuff me and ask me to jump rope. Concentrating our mission on surface and bottom fish, I omitted wreck fishing from our agenda. Knowing where we were headed, Devon set his lines accordingly. 15 minutes into it the bottom rod gets bumped and Freddie, cranks up a keeper Mutton Snapper.

Working the waters deeper and then shallower we were getting some attention from smaller fish and definitely got beat up by Ocean Triggers at one point. We caught a few Bonito here and there on some of the smaller speed jigs and surface baits. Noticing a big splash offshore of us, Devon and I kept our eyes peeled. We got a bite on the down rod and thought it might be a Cobia at first glance. Uh, not! It turned out to be a very large Remora. The bite seemed to be on, so we kept a sharp lookout. 20 minutes later, Devon shouts out, “Sailfish!” The Sailfish has already eaten, hooked up, and taken to the air! The Chief is on the rod and working him. 15 minutes into the game and the Chief has his fish boat side. I tried to get a picture of it in the water but the leader popped off before Devon could bill the fish. We had a few more bites and things were getting busy. I heard the faint pop of the line release. The short rigger was paying out line. Here Freddie, take it! Freddie climbed on the rod and a nice Sailfish goes airborne! In and out and all around, working hard and easing up, trying to wear him out without parting the line. Freddie did what he needed to do with this fish and at the 30 minute mark, his Sailfish was played out. Devon gently pulled the fish aboard for a quick 30 second photo shoot and then we took 10 minutes time to totally revive this tired fish.

We replenished the baits and got back at it again. I continued to work in the area and the down rod goes off. Frankie is fighting the fish while we are betting on what this one is… Mutton? No, too big. Grouper? No it’s coming up to the surface. Bonito, Barracuda? No. Probably a pesky little Sharpnose shark. Nope, there it is! Yes sir, it’s a nice Cobia! Woohoo! We’ll take that one for sure!

Once again all lines are reset and the day is drawing to a close. I’m hanging close to this area that has been working well for us. Boomdiddy! The down rod goes off again. Here we go with the species betting again as Yalkin takes the position as angler. This fish is definitely a bottom type, judging by the pull. A couple minutes later and we see a decent Red Grouper pop to the top. Dinner!

Ok.. Day 2 was a great deal better than Day 1 for sure. We were getting close to quitting time when the down rod gets doubled over again. This fish got heavy quick. No betting necessary, this fish is a big shark and we are somewhat under gunned. Hey, that’s why its called sport fishing, not grocery shopping. I can’t remember who the lucky angler was, but he got served! We worked this big dude to the surface and I snapped a quick picture, from a distance this time. I didn’t want that face full of teeth slamming into my boat like the other did.

The time drew to a close and we were more than content with the fishing that day. The Harbor Club reminded themselves that this is the reason why they always book 2 days and now are convinced to keep a lay day in between as well. Smart move I think. We buttoned up the boat and I turned her westward. With all on board in a content state of mind, The BEAST made a leisurely run back to her den!

Father’s day is coming so take a Dad fishing… show your favorite fisherman that you care.

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

We had our good friends from Indiana come down to hit some of this spring time fishing. Chris Kelly, her husband Drew, Mason, and “PoPo” Steve arrived at the dock for a 2 day adventure. Yes, any time you get on The BEAST with Devon and I, it is an adventure. We all were glad to see each other again, for sure! We pulled the leashes off The BEAST and turned that puppy out. We did our usual run to get some Hardtails and then blasted out to the worm hole to get some Ballyworms. The bait was not the easiest catch we’ve had but an extra 15-30 minutes and we had enough for the day.

We made the short run out to the edge and set up shop. Devon got the spread out and within 4 minutes the down rod sounded off. Drew was on deck so he grabbed the rod. It was a stout fish and we were hoping it wasn’t one of those “Caribbean Spotted Mackerel” again. He fought the fish for about 5 minutes when we saw color down there. Dang! Sure enough it was a big Barracuda. I can’t imagine what others are talking about when they tell me that they are getting scarce. I can’t hardly keep them off my baits at times. The good thing about them is most of my clients are mesmerized by the ferocious temperament and intimidating appearance of these fish.

We didn’t have time for any pictures and barely got the fish back in the water when we had a rigger line go down hard! Dolphin! It’s a nice cow! Chris took the spinner and began doing some work on the fish. Bull on the flat! No, he spit the bait. Chris kept focused on her lady mahi. 3 minutes later and the cows partner is back in the spread terrorizing the 2 baits we left out. He took the short line and ripped it right off the hook and then pounded the longer bait. Hooked up! Well, let’s not cheer yet, because it only lasted about 30 seconds and he managed to come loose again. We cleared the empty lines and kept our attention turned toward the nice cow that is definitely hooked up solid. Uh, yeah, Devon and I kept glancing to see if the Bull had come back. He didn’t. Chris was getting her butt handed to her by this Dolphin. She was growing a bit weary but she hung in there and brought this big girl up to Devon. Whack! Devon puts the cold steel to her and she comes aboard. Nice fish, Chris!

After the picture shoot we cleaned up the deck and got back to business. I worked in and out and noticed that Chris was acting a bit sick. She has never been sea sick on the boat before, so our guess wasn’t sea sickness but rather an adrenaline rush. 15 minutes passed and she was having some strange symptoms so Drew asked if we could take her in. Of course, it’s better to be safe than sorry. It ended up being a very short day but we did have some good Mahi filets for them.

Drew and the guys arrived the next day. He told me that Chris was staying behind because she was still a bit under the weather and didn’t want to aggravate the condition. We headed out to collect our daily baits. Hardtails came easily but the worms were quite reluctant. We managed to coax them in and get enough on the hooks and then I nailed them with a pancake Calusa net. Off we go to the wild blue yonder. Yes, an Air Force vet!

I pulled up a bit deeper than we normally start, trying to locate some of those nice Dolphin. The spread went out and within 10 minutes we had the down rod singing. Mason jumped on the rod and the fish was giving him a tussle. He had his hands full but he worked the fish like a pro. There’s color! Really? Take a guess what it could’ve been. Yes sir… a Barracuda!

After resetting the lines I worked in closer along the deeper edge. I was intent on watching the water and the sonar. Nothing was happening on the top and the Kingfish weren’t eating the down rod. I started marking some good blips on the sonar, closer to the bottom. I asked Devon to drop one down there and see what happens. Bam! The rod bends and “PoPo” Steve takes it. This fish is smaller and fighting like a snapper. This fish gave up and soon Devon whooped “Mutton! Not a big’un but a good’un!”

I love it when a plan comes together. We kept seeing good marks in the area so I worked it. Drop down and let the bait dance. Bada Bing! The rod goes slack and then doubles over. Drew takes this one and it is a better fish. We’re thinking another Mutton but this would be much bigger than the last. Well it wasn’t a Mutton at all but a nice Black Grouper instead. Yowser!

This place is on fire! Devon resets the deep line and we noticed that this is the only bite in town. Nothing whatsoever was happening on the top. Devon finds another frisky bait and down it goes. This is Mason’s turn and it doesn’t take too awful long when the rod doubles over again. Once again it is good fish and we are thinking it might be another Grouper. Mason says it was fighting hard but he worked it like a master. Color up! Well gag me with a shovel as a nice Gag Grouper slides to the surface.

The guys were having fun but just as we were really getting excited the tide went slack and so did the bite. I didn’t waste a lot of time plugging away at this so we pulled up and headed for the nearby Grunt & Sweat wreck. I wanted to keep the guys busy until we had tidal flow again. Devon was set up and dropped the first bait for Drew. KaPow! The rod doubles over and the tip almost touches the water which is a feat in itself on a World Cat (high sides). Drew muscles the fish up and it is a good 40+ pound AJ. We dropped 2 more times to get Mason and Steve a wreck donkey too. Not a problem. Mason got a nice 30+ lb’er and Steve got a big pile of fish muscle that tipped the 60# mark.

They had enough just catching 1 each so Devon put up the big gun and broke out the smaller stuff again, I went back to where we had left off before we took the guys out to sweat them up. The tide was moving again and we set up there. The day was wearing thin but we had some time to work it. Peck, peck, got ‘em. Not much of a fight for Steve but it was definitely a fish. You don’t see this too often but we managed to hook up an Ocean Trigger aka “Tally”. The fish weren’t quite as active as before but I noticed some marks and relayed the info to Devon so he could adjust. BOOM! The rod bends over and almost stays in place, Do we have bottom? No, it’s moving but it is strong on our light tackle. OK, we’re guessing small shark, reef AJ, Yellow Jack. I start maneuvering the boat to move the fish and it works. Drew is putting as much as he can on the light rod with only 30# test line. This goes on for about 10 minutes and by the short lunges we have crossed off the previous 3 guesses and narrowed it down to a Monster Mutton or a Good Grouper. We finally see color and Devon shouts, “Nice Black!” Yes sir, yes sir indeed! We’ll take that!

Everyone is happy and we reset the lines for the final hoorah! We were working our way up the edge, about to call it a day, when a Sailfish started free jumping toward the boat. 75 yards… jump… 50 yards… another jump… and Devon pins on a Ballyhoo to pitch at him. The Sail jumped again at 25 yards and Devon makes a cast in front of him. Bust! The fish sounds down and we never see it again. We dumped the leftover baits and nothing happens. Hey, you can’t win ‘em all… but you never win if you don’t try!

With a heavy fish box and a lot of fish cleaning ahead of us, we stuck a fork in this trip. Everyone was extremely happy with their day. The smiles were rampant. I turned The BEAST westward and made the run back to the barn. A good day!

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

Jose wanted to take his kids fishing so he gave us a call. He arrived at the dock with Jason, Nicole, and Matthew in tow. We loaded them aboard and I fired up the 300 Zukes. Devon and I turned The BEAST out for a good day of fishing, hopefully.

Since the wrecks have come to life, we loaded up on Hardtails and then shot out to the patches to get some of our favorite baits, Ballyhoo. The “worms” were a bit slow coming up but when they did they ate the hooks readily. After we had several dozen in the wells, I broke out the big Calusa cast net and made a toss or two. The wells were blacked out and we had more than enough bait for the day. We made our way out to the drop off.

The first thing I like to do is work an area that holds fish although the predominate bite is Barracuda. Many local fisherman have labeled them as trash fish. Not me! They bite good and fight good, especially when you are into the “big’uns”! Most of my customer’s mouths fall open with awe when they see the size of these fish and the impressive dentures they possess. If I’m running by the area, we will always try and get a few of them to warm up the crew and get the skunk off the boat. This is exactly what we did that day but with a surprise thrown in. We picked up a smaller ‘Cuda for Matthew. Suddenly, the the top line took a hit. Jose jumped on the rod and the fish dogged him deep which generally means a tuna type fish. As Jose worked the fish and gained line, we began to see color and chanted… No Bonito! No Bonito! No Bonito! Wow, that must’ve worked because Devon shouted that he saw gold. A nice 15# Blackfin broke the surface and Devon put the steel to him.

We worked the area for a bit longer with nothing much going on, only a few bite offs. Let’s tire these kids out, Dad too, shall we? I decided to make a run to the “Knucklebuster” wreck. It earned that nickname because the fish pin the anglers knuckles to the gunwales. Most of our anglers fight these bruisers out of “Rodney” the rod holder. It didn’t take too long to make the short run and Devon had the gear and lines ready to go when we got there. On the first drop the big rod doubles over and Jose climbs on top of it. He is amazed at the power in those deep wreck donkeys. Devon flops a nice fish over the side and onto the deck! Everybody took turns catching the average sized Amberjack and we lost several fish to some very large ‘Cudas. Devon had to put some heavy trace wire in front of the hook to eliminate the cut off problem. I always get a laugh as I watch people fight the fish from Rodney and still have to double fist the crank handle. They have no idea what it’s like, until it’s their turn.

We worked “Ol’ Knucklebuster” with live bait and speed jigs until the kids tapped out, refusing to take another turn on the rods. They caught 5 or 6 AJ’s and 3 or 4 ballistic sized Barracuda. That was my original intention, to wear them out by catching, not bore them with fishing. I love it when a plan comes together! I gave Devon the nod and he packed away the wreck gear and I throttled up to make a quick run to another area. When we arrived, Devon set up camp for some surface biters. Everything was looking perfect. I idled around the area and we had the occasional bite on the down rod. Little macs! Suddenly Devon is screaming “Sailfish! Sailfish on the rigger!” Intimidated by the wreck donkeys, none of the worn out kids wanted to take the rod. Jose positioned the rod and set in for the battle. This was a good fish with weightlifter shoulders, a worthy opponent on 20# spinning gear. The fight put Jose on his guard for almost 30 minutes, but the reward was well worth it.

After the photo op we released the fish and watched him swim away. We reset lines and 20 minutes later we had another fire drill. A Sailfish rose to the short flat line and whacked the bait, tripping the line. Before anyone could get on the rod, the fish was gone. You can’t win them all. I stayed in the hot zone and the clocked ticked off 35 minutes. Pow! The left rigger got nailed and as Jose was yelling for the boys to come get it I noticed another Sail working the right rigger. Bam! Jose jumped on the first fish and Nicole stepped up to the plate on the second fish. While they were only minutes into those fish, the long flat line gets walloped by a big Kingfish. The Kingfish strike didn’t last long as the razor blades in his mouth severed the fluoro leader like a scalpel. The lines are all cleared and the dynamic duo of Sailfish are dancing all over the water. I was happy that for the major part of this dual duel, the fish stayed together. Towards the end of the ruckus they split up and Jose had to manhandle his fish without the support of the boat. We had to pick one fish to focus on and he wanted his daughter to get her fish. Jose did a great job putting pressure on and off, when needed, to keep his fish at bay while we brought Nicole’s fish to a release. There was no time for us to pull her Sail aboard for a photo, so I snapped a quick shot of it in the water at boat side.

With Nicole’s Sailfish released now, we could put all of our attention on getting Jose’s fish to the boat. The fish was getting tired and 5 or 10 minutes later we had him along side. Devon pulled the fish aboard and got both Jose and Nicole in the picture. After the photo, Devon gently lowered the fish into the water and we idled along for 5 minutes until the fish was fully revived. The Sailfish began kicking his tail rhythmically and Devon let go of his bill. Beautiful job, everyone!

The crew was thoroughly whipped now so we packed up everything and buttoned down for the ride. I turned the bow toward home and put the coals to the burners. I couldn’t hear what they were saying up front as we cruised our way in, but the smiles radiating from all 4 of them spoke volumes!

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

Rjon and Steve were in town and decided to fish a “short” day with us. They arrived at the scheduled time and we untied The BEAST. We headed out for a Hardtail spot and caught about a ½ dozen baits there and then made the run to the patches for our Ballyhoo. Devon put out a block of chum and we had no trouble getting the worms to come up. We caught plenty for the day and then turned the bow east and made the short run out to the blue water.

We hit the blue and Devon put out a 3 up / 1 down spread. The bite was a bit on the mediocre side. We missed one bite on the down rod and then Rjon hooked up a monster Barracuda. This fish was a great match for our light tackle and Rjon fought it for about 15-20 minutes before it gave in and came to the boat. Wow! That was one of the biggest “Cuda slobs I’ve caught in a long time. We put it on the Boga Grip and it sunk the springs to the 35 pound marker.

I made a critical error in judgment when I made another pass with fresh bait to see if there was anything else down there. Uh, Yeah! This time the line got very heavy and for over an hour I watched Steve, then Rjon and even Devon, take turns on the rod. All 3 were grunting and working up a lather of sweat. The fish would give up a yard or two of line and then take back 3. Sometimes it would let them feel like they had it beat, allowing them to take in 25 or 30 yards of line, only to have the fish make a good run that stripped all that and more. This fish was doing whatever it wanted. I tried to use the boat to walk it into shallower water and I thought it was working. The fish turned around and headed back offshore towing my 33’ World Cat along with it. Finally Devon and I conferred and told the guys that it was probably a huge shark and we were way under-gunned. We could continue this fight and burn up the clock on their short day or just break it off. After 1 hour and 15 minutes the unanimous decision was to break it off.

We reset the lines and worked away from the area. We missed a couple of downrigger bites and then finally connected with a Cero Mackerel. We kept working the area and their thoughts were stirring about heading in. They were excited but very tired from that long battle with the mystery fish. We held off their thoughts of leaving for the remaining 45 minutes. Devon dumped the bait wells and almost as if planned, a “snooter” rose from down below and took one of the baits. I think it was Steve who took the rod and by the time he got the bail flipped, line tight, and the rod flexing. The Sailfish jumped high in the air and the hook went flying. Dang it!

The guys had a dinner meeting that night so they called it a ‘wrap” and we packed up the BEAST. I fed some gas to the ponies and we made a smooth run back to the barn. To me this was nothing special to write about. If you had heard Rjon and Steve talking about that big Cuda and the epic 1¼ fight by the unseen critter from hell, you would know to the contrary that they were extremely happy.

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

Fishing has picked up a good bit since my last report. We are fast approaching our spring season.

Morrie and his son-in-law joined us for a trip. We loaded them aboard and off we went to collect bait. The bait catching ritual was a bit slow but we gathered enough to do the day and then blasted out to the blue water. The day was gorgeous again and I was hoping it wasn’t too beautiful. We didn’t want another slow day.

Devon set up our spread, running 1 down and 3 up. I moved around the area slowly and it wasn’t long before we had a taker on the rigger line. Bam… and another. We had a Dolphin bite going and the guys were doing their thing. We boxed the first one and then Morrie brought up his “heavy lifter” cow.

Devon reset the spread and we moved around the area for another 30 minutes or so when the down rod sounded off. This fish was nothing spectacular, probably a ‘Cuda. But hey, a tug on the line is what we came for and any fish that can fill that bill is welcomed. As suspected, it was a “Caribbean Spotted Mackerel”. My anglers actually love catching these fish because they pull hard, and have some very impressive dentures.

We were set up once again. 20 minutes or so passed and another group of “Dollies” came through. We collected a couple more of them. We boxed the fish and decided to take a photo of the freshest one. Nice picture when suddenly the fish flipped his tail. I heard a thump and then a splash. Release? No… bad grip! I guess he didn’t want to eat that one. He got a ribbing the rest of the day for that slip up.

We had several more cut offs and missed hook ups from the little Macks that have been hanging in the area. It definitely kept Devon busy. We were winding down on the clock when Devon yelled… “Sail up on the flat line!” Hooked up! This fish wasn’t going to come easy. We fought him for well over 30 minutes and finally got him to the boat where Devon could get a hold of the bill. Photo op!

We called it a day as we were well over time and the guys were very happy with the catch. The actual catch tally was 5 Dolphin, 1 Barracuda, and released a nice Sailfish. The laughter continued all the way back and during the filet session, about the Dolphin that slipped his grip and became a release. Who am I kidding? The comments continued until he got into the car. I’m sure Morrie (father-in-law) will bring it up for some time to come. Too funny!

The next trip we had was with Andre and his group. 3 of the 4 guys have fished with us before and knew the drill. We made our way out to the worm hole. Devon set out the chum and we waited for the worms to show up. Tides and winds were a bit opposite so it was a tough go but we managed to get enough bait after a while. Here we go!

We arrived offshore at our starting point and set up a nice spread. We have had some unseasonably calm waters on our scheduled trips lately. I idled the livies around the area looking for “the spot” where the fish were. As Devon always tells me… they are where you find them! Ka-Boom! The downrigger gets hammered and it is a giant bull Dolphin. We found them! The fish is so strong he is simply ripping line off the drag. All we could do is hang on! The fish finally stopped his run and banged a U-turn. I yelled “REEL!” as I pushed the throttles down trying to help the angler stay tight. The rod tip goes slack and the hook starts flopping across the water. Bull-hockey! We tried hard to stay tight but that fish had our number. They don’t get that big by being stupid.

We had several more missed strikes, darn “Snake” Mackerel, and caught a few big ‘Cudas. We stayed pretty busy and the day was passing quickly. The short rigger popped off and Devon put Jesse on the rod. He did the drop back and hook up perfectly. Sailfish on… Yeah Buddy! This fish went nuts for about 30 seconds and then dropped into the depths taking Jesses “down & dirty” for the remainder of the fight. It wasn’t a pretty fight, but it was a pretty long fight. We were on this fish for over 45 minutes when we finally got a closer look at it. We realized why it was such a tough guy. During one of the jumps it must have spit the hook but re-hooked itself in the top of the head. That hook placement makes the fight similar to pulling a huge diving plug through the water. We finally raised him up and got the release.

Look at those smiles! You can’t explain the feeling you get after catching/releasing one of these critters, even if you were just watching. They are awesome fish! The rest of the day was relatively uneventful after that. We turned The BEAST toward the western horizon and hauled it home.

Want to join in during this spring break?

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

Oh yeah! I'll take year round fishing over the frozen tundra, any day!

The past several weeks have been beautiful days for a boat ride but hard for the captain and crew. We have seen days with slow tides and no current and if we did have a current it was moving to the south at a trickle. Not optimum conditions but you take what you are given and carry on.

Ron and Dick came with us for a ¾ day trip with their grandsons in tow. We made our way out to the Hardtail areas but they were nowhere to be found, so we made the run to the ballyhoo patches. The tide was dead and that is all I heard on the radio. Everyone was having trouble as nothing was flowing across the inside reefs. We hung at the patch for 30 minutes and finally pulled the chum bag. We were going to go “all in” and made our way out to the edge in hopes that there would be some current moving along the deeper reefs. The winds were nonexistent and the chum was barely moving, Yeah… sinking right under the boat. Thankfully the winds picked up to about 8 knots and swung the boat and the slight wave action helped wash some of the chum away from the stern. The worms started to show up but it was a slow process. We finally had enough baits to head out for the rest of this short day.

Having kids and grandkids of my own, the one thing I know is that you have to keep their attention. That means you must try to keep them as busy as possible catching fish. My first stop was to get them hooked up on anything and I knew just what would do that and where to go to do it. Devon put 3 lines on top and dropped one down. The blue water current was barely trickling to the north. I made a few rounds in the area when the down rod kicked off. This was not a big fish but it would satisfy one of the boys for now. He did a real good job with little assistance and the fish made it up to the boat, A small Barracuda!

Ok. Let’s see if we can do this 2 more times. We set up again and the procedure worked out with each of the other 2 boys getting a ‘Cuda. They weren’t monsters but they did get bigger, on cue, as each of the older boys took their turn.

Each boy had a fish fight under their belts, so I spread out the search pattern in that area. The current had all but stopped now and the bite followed suit. 15 minutes of this and we couldn’t even buy a Cuda bite. I had Devon pull the lines and I made a 10 mile run in search of some moving water. I found an area that had about a half knot current so we set up there. Oh boy, what a difference moving water makes. We managed to catch 2 Kingfish quickly and missed several other small fish strikes on the down rod.

The action was much better in this area. We had a good Kingfish on the line and suddenly he got much heavier and then he lost weight a few seconds later. We reeled up a very nice Kingfish head. Devon reset and 5 minutes after the line goes back down we get hooked up again. This time we caught the Kingfish bandit. A nice 4 ½’ Silky shark with a fat belly. My guess is he had about 10 pounds of our Kingfish in him. We released the fish to digest his meal. We were running out of time and the men were ready to get these happy kids back to their Moms. I told Devon to dump what bait was left in the wells. I slowly motored around the freebies and we got a taker on the rigger line. Sail? Nope… it’s staying down and circling. It was a large Bonito, aka Bonehead! Devon released the fish unharmed and we buttoned up The BEAST. It was not a premier day fish wise, but we kept 3 kids busy for most of the time.

The next trip was another ¾ day with Dan, Dave, Jake & Terry. Conditions hadn’t changed very much except we did manage to get about 4 Hardtails before we went to the worm hole. Again… the tides were not hardly moving but we did have an easy breeze and a light chop on the waters. It took about 30 minutes for the ballyhoo to show up but when they did we got a couple dozen “hookers” and I tossed the net to load the other well with a couple dozen “netters”. Off we go into the wild blue yonder! Yep… I did 4 years in the Air Force!

Of course, the conditions are not a whole lot better this day compared to the previous trip. Devon put out our normal spread and a half hour passes. Oh Boy! I’m thinking… Here we go again! I absolutely hate these sort of days. I really want to put my guys on fish too! Bam! The down rod gets the nod. This is a decent fish and it doesn’t take long until we see the telltale signs of a Caribbean Spotted Mackerel. C’mon, you know by now that we call them by that nickname on The BEAST.

That was the only bite we had for some time to come. I changed up areas and Devon kept fresh baits out. Suddenly the action started picking up however it was a multitude of small Kingfish and Cero Mackerel. We did manage to pick up yet another Barracuda that was worthy of a picture.

The guys got another shark on this day, a 3‘ Sharpnose. Our shining moment was when we dumped our wells at the end of this short day and had a Sailfish come up and eat. We did everything right from letting him take it and cranking down to hook up. He was taking line and on his first jump he suddenly came unpinned. CRAP! I guess it was not meant to be. Sometimes you’re the windshield and sometimes you’re the bug. I guess it was time for us to pay our dues and eat a big piece of that nasty “Humble Pie”.

It so amazes me, how hard it is to write reports about these less than glamorous trips, but I refuse to only write about the good ones. It’s even more amazing how Devon and I consider these days slow even though we catch fish. Sometimes the conditions just make the fishing hard, definitely not a lack of effort! I promise we’ll do better!

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

Adam, Dan, and Alden came down to escape the frozen tundra and soak up some warm S. Florida sun. They were doing a 3/4 day and possibly extending it to a full day. We loaded them aboard and I fired up The BEAST. We pushed slowly into the Bay and made our run out to the Worm Hole, one of our favorite spots for bait. We grabbed some bait in pretty good time and headed out to the blue water.

Arriving on the edge, things looked OK but not good. It is what it is my friend. I found some good water and Devon put out a small spread, 3 on top and 1 down. We bumped around the area and suddenly the down rod got a visitor. A good thump but our visitor took what he wanted and left the rest. By the looks of his calling card, it was a ‘Cuda. Strike one! We worked the area, north and south of the bite, but nothing was happening. This lull was dragging on with unbearable monotony. I hate when the fish stop feeding. It makes us look bad! What’s a crew supposed to do but struggle through it? Not… Enough of this! I decided to make a major move and Devon reeled them in.

I pulled up just a bit outside of the destination and Devon reset the lines quickly. We hadn’t gotten very far when, Zzzzzzzzzz, the down rod blasts off. Dan jumps on the rod and he is on a good fish. I’m thinking Kingfish until halfway through the fight I start to see the telltale thump of the rod. Dan works the fish up and as I suspected we have a big “Caribbean Spotted Mackerel” aka Barracuda.

We released that fish and reset the down rod. I approached my area and the closer I got the thicker the scattered weeds became. Devon never gripes, he just works the pit tirelessly. We couldn’t efficiently work the area so I pulled offshore of the weeds in deeper water than I like to fish. The down rod gets another bump and we have a small Kingfish hooked and quickly into the boat. The fishing was slow out there and I knew I had to get inside the weeds. Figuring that the tide was moving out, I made a move to go into the weeds and see if I could clear them at my spot. I apologized to Devon as everything got weeded up. “No problem.” he said. We got across the weeds to find that, indeed, the winds and tide had cleaned my house. We weren’t in there long and we had already picked up 3 Cero Macks, small ‘Cuda, and a small Blackfin. We missed about a half dozen down bites and we knew why by the size of these Kings and Cero’s that were all over the area.

We were already over time about an hour and I asked if they wanted to turn the ¾ into a full day. I got a unanimous “Hell Yeah!” We continued to work the place for another 30 minutes or so and I made a silent decision to slowly work the edges of this area. At 4:15 a Sailfish makes an appearance on the short center line. We were feeding him when both of the rigger lines popped off. I got a guy on each rod and Devon and I start yelling “Go, Go, GO! Come tight on ’em!” We have us a triple Boyeee! The fish are being somewhat manageable by hanging in the same general area. The guys are commenting on how strong they are as one or the other has line peeling off the reel. I looked forward and saw Alden playing with the drag. NOOOOO! One more jump and snap goes his line. I always ask, why do you do that? The answer is always… It was taking line. Uh huh! That’s what it is designed to do. Let the fish take, instead of break, the line! And so ends the lesson, Grasshopper! Down to 2 fish and the guys are doing a good job. Adam gets his fish to the boat and Devon gets him in the corner for a photo op. I told Dan to play his fish easy while we get Adam‘s photo.

Photo, a clean release, and we turn our attention back to Dan who is doing a very good job of just wearing down his fish. The Sail makes a half hearted run and Dan brings him back to the boat. Devon grabs the bill and we repeat the previous process for Dan’s photo.

That’s a done deal! 2 out of 3 on Sailfish is pretty good, not quite as good as 3 for 3 though. With 15 minutes of time left, Alden was thinking he wouldn’t get another shot at a good fish. I signaled Devon to dump the few leftover baits in the wells. I was trying my best to stay in the midst of the few fish swimming about when the rigger line pops off. Here we go! Alden comes tight on the fish and everyone is thinking it might be his Sail. Devon and I realized that this was probably a Tuna. Minutes tick away and Alden keeps his hands clear of the drag knob this time. We see color and it is black and gold. He has a nice Blackie! Devon puts the steel to his fish and he is proud of his 14# Blackfin.

The fish was immediately bled and tossed in the ice. Pretty work, Boys! Devon hit the wash down while I pulled in the riggers. I turned the nose of the Beast toward the west and kicked the spurs. She caught scent of home and galloped into the sunset. I proved to myself, once again, that you have to stay alert, be patient, and think things out when conditions are less than optimum. What a great day! Smiles were rampant on The BEAST.

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

Jon came to town for another mental health day and he only has one thing in mind; an easy going day on the boat! We loaded him aboard and turned The BEAST out.

We decided to forego the Hardtails because Jon likes catch Sails, Dolphin, or Blackfin this time of year and the worms have been easy. We didn’t have too much trouble catching our bait and we were after the blue water fish in short order.

As we reached the edge, I felt that something wasn’t right. Crap! There was only a trickle of current to the north and the seas were too calm to suit me. As it turned out, the conditions were not right for the fish either. Oh boy! We’ll give it a valiant effort, regardless of the circumstance. About 30-45 minutes passed and we finally had a fish come in. The fish ate the right rigger and Jon was into a decent little “eater” Dolphin. Nothing out of the ordinary happened during this struggle, just as we had expected, because Jon is an accomplished angler.

We did manage to catch one more Mahi that could have been a bookend to the previous. Then the struggle really began. Unknowingly, struggle would be the key word of the day! We went quite a long time before we even had a looker come to any of the top baits. We did happen to have a few cut offs and misses on the down rod but we couldn’t manage a hook up. My guess was that these fish were probably the small Cero’s that have been around. We finally had a couple of Kingfish sky rocket out of the water on 2 of our top lines. Of course, they missed the hooks while cutting off the baits with surgical precision. The time goes slowly and nothing is working even though I am definitely in a good area. We are fighting to keep from falling into a coma. On this day slow is proving to be a profane 4 letter word. Finally, Devon catches a glimpse of a green/yellow flash by the left rigger. We hear the snap as the rigger clip releases and Jon is into another decent Dolly. He gets to work on this small bull as a little cow takes another line. Jon quickly brings the bull into range and Devon pulls the critter aboard. We snapped a quick picture of Jon with his fish while he is playing out the other one. Jon is batting 1000 in the dolphin department.

It seems as if the fishing has picked up a tad in the later afternoon hours. I continued to hang in that area and worked it inside out. We were about to nod off again when the down rod sounds off. The clicker is hollering at us and it’s a fairly nice cow dolphin. Jon is on the rod and BAM! The right rigger line gets hammered. Big Bull, Big Bull! The fish makes a few jumps and spit’s the hook. Where’s Jon? He’s still on the cow. I’m bringing the bait back in as the bull comes screaming into the spread and nails the flat line. Did he? The line isn’t moving. Wait! He picked up the bait I was reeling in. No he’s on the flat line. Devon and I both come tight on the fish and he is on the flat line and has tangled in my line. Before we could make any adjustments Devon’s line snapped. Damn! Devon isn’t happy and turns his focus on getting the other fish into the boat. KaPow! The left rigger goes down. Devon puts the steel to the cow and Jon drops that rod and grabs that other one! Hooked up! Yeah, yeah, yeah! Devon is still upset that we lost Big Bull and I tell him that I believe that this one IS Big Bull. The line is going out and Jon has his hands full. In, out, down, in the air, you name it and Big Bull was doing whatever he could to try and shake that hook in his face. Agonizing minutes seemed like hours as Jon is putting the heat on this fish. The fish makes a pass or two by the gaff but Devon resists making an errant swipe at him. The third pass and Devon takes the shot. Got ’em! Devon says “Look! There is the hook and leader from the break off!” As the fish comes over the gunwale we all take a deep breath. Big Bull, meet The BEAST!

It took us several minutes to complete the photo shoot and clean up the mess that fire drill had made. Everything had to be re-rigged and Devon retied all lines and leaders. With the sun falling in the west we went ahead and deployed another spread, minus the down rod. We’re all thinking… Wouldn’t it be nice to finish the day off with a Sailfish. Time is winding down and Jon gives us the word to dump the wells for the final hoorah. The Frigates and Terns had a feast but we didn’t see anything pushing the “freebies”. Devon screams out “Sail on the flat line!” He free lines the rod as he hands it to Jon. GO! Jon comes tight and the aerial show is ON! This is a stout fish with plenty of muscle but he is no match for the seasoned angler on the other end. Jon kept steady pressure on the fish and whooped it in 15 minutes. Rather than pulling it aboard, we did an in-water release while it was still fresh. Pretty work guys!

The ending to this day couldn’t have been scripted any better if I had written the screenplay myself. We realized that there is absolutely nothing wrong with grown men playing with Dollies. A great afternoon and tremendous finish made our mental health day a complete success. With sanity restored, I turned The BEAST westward and eased her up on top. We all sat back, thoroughly enjoying the ride in as the sun got lost in the horizon.

We are having a great time here in Miami this winter! The weather is beautiful and the fishing is top notch! Let’s go chase some fish!

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

I got a call 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 so she sent us an email. 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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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
http://www.beastcharters.com

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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
http://www.beastcharters.com

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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
http://www.beastcharters.com

I was trying to say...run on sentencing and I can't get the pictures in the report. I like the old site better!

I don't even know who to ask for help here but I do know I don't want to spend hours to post a report. I still have 3 more reports coming from this week.

Oh well... just know that I tried!

JIm

I don't know if I can post here anymore! I have spent 20 minutes already and can't get my report on this format. It's just a big run on mess and the pictures won't go through!

Oh well

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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
http://www.beastcharters.com

We had several trips but I’ve been a bit too busy with the Holidays, to sit down and write reports, but I figured I better make time to write a quick report anyway. There has been plenty of Dolphin, Tuna’s, and Sails around if you can tough out the wind and seas. The BEAST makes it a lot easier to deal with on her catamaran hull.

Andrew Fitzpatrick was an exchange student at UM a while back. He came back to Miami on holiday to visit his buddies here in Miami. They wanted to reminisce and catch fish. We shoved off on time and made way for our bait patches. We had no trouble catching bait that morning but we were on pre-front conditions, which I absolutely hate. After catching our bait we headed out to the blue water. We struggled for a while getting our down rod bit up but not hooked up. We could tell by the bite marks that the fish were small. We finally nailed a small Cero Mackerel. That answered that question. As the day moved along we caught several Skipjacks. This seemed to be the predominate catch rolling down the corridor we were fishing. The day dragged on and the seas built up with each minute. As the time was running low we had a taker on the short rigger and here we go. Sailfish! The guys were happy to see that fish as it did its acrobatics out of the water. It was a great ending to a relatively unspectacular day.

The next day we had a ½ day trip with Tyler and Justin. It was a morning trip and I was a bit concerned because I really don’t care to do half days during live bait season. By the time you run out there catch bait and allow for running back in, you only get about 2 to 2½ hours of good fishing time, I was praying that the bite was on. We hit our worm bed and quickly collected plenty of good baits. We blasted out of there, heading for the edge. We had barely come to rest and put the spread out when we were hit with some nice chubby Dolphin. We worked the birds in the area and came up with a small “Gaffer” to go along with the “schoolies”.

The Dolphin passed on through and the action slowed for 15 minutes or so and then the Bonito arrived. We caught some hefty 15 pound Boneheads until it was time to pack it up.

OK! I spent Christmas eve with all the grandkids and today I just lazed out. I hope everyone had a really nice Holiday season. We’re all rested up now and the fish are definitely out there… so let’s get after ‘em.

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

We’ve had some very windy weather with a few days of calm thrown in for a tease. During this past weather spell we had 7 trips booked with 4 different customers. Unfortunately our good customer, Steffen from Munich, had to cancel 2 days before his trips(2) because of a family medical emergency.

Ivan and Ken, from Gibraltar Spain, fished 3 days with us. Day 1 weather was a beautiful day for a boat ride. They arrived about an hour late. Devon and I had already caught a bunch of small Jack Crevalles under the dock, for bait. We blasted straight out to one of our favorite worm holes. The Ballyhoo came up quickly in good numbers and they were hungry. We spent 20-30 minutes of hooking and then I tossed the net twice. We had plenty of worms and we were on our way.

The seas were almost flat calm. What a gorgeous South Florida day. I told Ivan it was too nice for fishing in fall/winter but he was happy anyway because he tends to get seasick. We fished hard trying everything from the surface to the bottom. We had a half dozen bites or so from smaller fish but just couldn’t seem to get hooked up right. It’s been a very long time, beyond memory, since we had a “skunk” trip and I thought that this was going to be the day. Thankfully a kamikaze Cero Mackerel stayed pinned to the hook and came aboard. Whew! That fish took that proverbial skunk off of the boat. A sorry day of fishing but Ivan was thrilled that he didn‘t get seasick. It was his first day since he started fishing with us in 2007 that he could fish all day offshore without an inkling of sickness.

On day 2, Ivan and Ken arrived on time and we shoved off. Bait fishing was a bit tougher because the winds had the boat laying against the tide. We collected our baits as quickly as we could and headed offshore. The sea conditions started out lumpy and were forecasted to get bigger. Bigger was an understatement. By the afternoon we had scored a couple of Skipjacks and a large Barracuda. That was right in Ivan’s game plan since he had his sights set on heading inshore and doing some shark fishing. When we could no longer see over the top of the waves, Ivan threw in the towel and we headed in. I headed for a good shark spot but the conditions were crap so I hit spot #2. The conditions there were perfect. We had our bait in the fish box and we cut it up and set out a float line on top and dropped one to the bottom about 10 feet from the boat. 15 minutes into the set and we had the bottom rod clicking off slowly. We came tight but the fish had only cut off half of the bait. This happened 2 more times before the fish came up on the float rod. Shazaam! It’s a 7-8’ Hammerhead trying to take in the floater. I don’t know how these sharks survive because they are terrible feeders. Their mouths are so small that they have a hard time taking in a bait that another comparable sized shark would consider a tidbit. We missed him several more times and he gave up on feeding and just swam around erratically on the surface before going under.

As the Hammer disappeared the bottom rod began strolling away and the stroll turned into a run. “Throw up the lever and get on ‘em!” Ivan did just that and it was on! Less than 30 seconds into the fight and we had a Blacktip 6’ in the air. The fish made another run and went airborne again. So cool! Ivan fought the fish for about 10 minutes and it came to the boat. We released a nice 6’ Blacktip about 80-90 pounds. We reset the baits. Not too much time passed when I noticed the bottom rod loading up again. The clicker barely made a sound but I knew we had something going down. Ken grabbed the rod and I told him to crank hard to come tight because the fish was coming toward the boat. Sure enough… there he is! This fight didn’t last long as we saw the fish pass by the boat and it was a “Homer” (Nurse shark). A few minutes later we had another release. Ivan was happy with Day 2 and pulled the plug because they had dinner plans that evening.

They took several days off and had booked to return to us later in the week. Ken and Ivan arrived on time and we had a good day to start off. Seas were running about 2-3’ and the bait was easy. We crushed the worms in short order and blasted out to the blue water. We had barely gotten the lines in the water when we noticed a pair of Frigate birds working close by. I made a turn and bumped the throttles a touch to intercept these birds. Bam! We had a bait hit and crushed on the short rigger line and then the long flat line takes off. Kaboom! Ken grabs the rod and we are hooked up. It was a “Slammer” Dolphin, Dorado, Mahi, whatever name you choose, but I called this one a big Bull! While Ken was tied up into the Bull, a decent “Gaffer” Cow hits the long rigger line and we are doubled up. We had Ivan and Ken doing a fire drill on the boat. Ivan gets the Cow to the boat and Devon sticks the steel to her. One down and one to go. Ken works hard, retrieving 20 and then losing 30, gaining 30 and losing 10. Finally we have the Bull at the boat and Devon clocks him with the gaff and stones him with one pull. We have a beautiful matched set… 13# Cow and a 28# Bull. We pulled that off just like its written in the Dolphin fishing handbook. Pretty work!

That was a great start to the day and it continued on, never going much longer than 15 minutes or so before another hook up. We tallied several Skipjack (14#), 4 Bonito (12#), a Yellow Jack (14#), an undersized Cobia, and a small Kingfish. It was only about 1 PM and the seas had risen to solid 5 footers. Ivan was turning green and finally about 1:30 he requested to go shark fishing again in the quiet water. Ken, although having an absolute blast, went along with the change. We went inside and set up but the tide was wrong, so we did the best that we could. We only had one bite. It was a big ‘Cuda that aired it out on a live Blue Runner on the float line and cut it in half. That was it.

Stick a fork in us, we’re done! Ivan had a blast and always remarks about how much fun he has fishing with us. It must be so because he has only had 1 day in 6 years that he didn’t fight off the sea sickness.

The next few weeks should be showing some good Dolphin fishing as they scamper south ahead of these fronts. The holidays are coming up quick. If you have someone in your life that is hard to buy for, call me, I have an idea!

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

The Harbor Club from NYC came to visit us again to do some fishing. Charlie (Chief), Yalkin, Frankie, and Richard booked us for 2 days. As always, they relayed that they would not be arriving before 9AM. Yalkin absolutely refuses to do anything earlier than that. They arrived at The BEAST around 9:30 and by the time we loaded everyone and their gear it was almost 10. I turned The BEAST out and we made way to pick up our bait for the day.

We arrived at a hardtail spot and picked up about 6 baits then hit another spot and picked up another half dozen. I pushed down on the throttles to head for a ballyhoo patch. The ballyhoo have made their way into our area in great numbers and are not wise to the bait collecting process yet. They came up pretty easy considering the sun was high in the sky. We hook and lined about 2 dozen quickly. I broke out the 10’ Calusa cast net and captured about 4-5 dozen on the first throw and another 2 dozen on the second toss. That’s plenty of baits for this day. We motored out to the blue water to begin the hunt.

Devon put out a 5 line spread with 4 up and 1 down. I slow trolled the baits on the edge but nothing was happening. I decided to head out into deeper water and within minutes we got covered up with some school sized Dolphin. We boxed the good sized fish and this scenario played out another time or two. We were working the 3rd barrage when I saw a big cow come into the melee’. She was attacking the smaller fish, although I’m not sure if she was actually trying to eat them or eat the baits that were hanging out of their mouths. Devon grabbed a ballyhoo and tossed it in front of her but she ignored it. He quickly changed up and pinned a small blue runner onto the hook and tossed it out to her. Her antics were frantic and she dismissed the runner as well. This went on for about 5 minutes and then she disappeared. As Devon reorganized the cockpit to set out another spread I drifted the runner bait about 30 feet from the boat. There she is! She swooped in and ate the bait. I free lined her for 5 seconds, engaged the reel, and handed it off to Richard. She’s on! 30 seconds and 2 jumps later she is off. Oh yeah, that’s not frustrating. As Devon was putting out the new spread I saw a flash behind the mid bait. I focused my attention there and sure enough she is back. Devon baits her with another small runner and she teases us by charging it and then retreating. Suddenly she just charges in and grabs the bait and Devon let the reel free line. She was peeling line off and after a good run off we decided to see if she had the hook deep enough to result in a solid hook up. Devon engaged the reel. Boom! She’s on Bruddah! He hands the reel to Richard again and this time she is hooked up tight. In the meantime we had a couple more decent school fish come in and eat. We were sizing up the Cow and guessing it to be somewhere around 20 pounds. She was spent and reluctantly came to the boat where Devon put the steel to her. As he pulled the fish over the side she just kept growing. The tail finally crossed the gunwale and we couldn’t believe her size. This fish was large for a cow dolphin. We took some measurements after we settled down. She was over 49” long and pulled the scale down to 35 pounds. NICE!

We proceeded through the rest of the afternoon with waves of dolphin coming into the spread. We also caught a couple of Silky sharks and the Chief managed to get a nice young Bull of 15 pounds as well. The day finished up with a tally of 10 very nice Dolphin in the box.

Days 2 was a complete opposite of Day 1, on & off, the yin & yang. The guys arrived real late, about 10:30, which definitely started us off on the wrong foot. We managed to get bait but it was quite a bit tougher than the previous day. Against our recommendations, they wanted to do some wreck fishing. I warned them that it is quite late in the season to try and wrestle AJ’s. The first wreck we went to showed nothing. OK, let’s try a Mutton Snapper spot instead. The first drop produced a Barracuda. On the next 2 drifts we got hooked up to what seemed to be some decent Muttons but they got sharked about half way up to the surface. A couple more drifts had the same uneventful results. I convinced them to go back to live baiting the surface to see if we could muster up some more dolphin that day. We managed to miss a couple of mackerel bites but that was it for the remainder of the afternoon. That was a really sad result for Day 2. Starting so late and wanting to fish for species that are not really in season, does not make for a great day. If you want to have a busy successful trip, it is best to let the charter crew do what they do best… catch fish!

Our fall/winter fishing is one of my favorites. November through early December is a great time for Dolphin (Mahi-Mahi) passing through our waters while heading for their winter staging areas. The Mackerels (King and Cero) will be moving onto the reefs and drop-offs during that time as well. Our prime Sailfish season is about to get under way and battling these gamesters on 20# spinning tackle is hard to beat. One thing is for sure… You can’t catch fish from the living room couch! Quit watching TV fishing show reruns, get out of the house, and let’s go fishing!

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

Our good customer, Jon, flew in from Atlanta for his 3rd trip this year! I can’t begin to count how many times he has fished with us since we first met in 1998 but we welcome his every visit. He always comes by himself for these “mental health” days and there is never any pressure to produce fish. He just wanted to get on the water, relax, troll a few baits, and catching some fish just makes it that much better.

As I headed toward the boat on Wednesday morning, the skies opened up. Devon was fighting his way to the Marina in a torrential downpour. I checked the radar on my phone and it looked like a small hurricane, pretty grim for a 7 AM takeoff. I called Jon and him to take his time. He stopped to grab some breakfast and arrived about 7:45. We all gathered and hung out under the T-top checking our radar apps every 10 minutes. Around 8:30 we decided to go sit in our cars for a bit. Devon and I jumped in his truck and monitored the radar. At 9:08 we saw a weather break where the thunder-boomers had dissipated to the East. That is where we were heading for the day. It looked like we had a good chance to get this trip done. We climbed on The BEAST and motored out to catch a few quick baits in case we needed to toss a live bait at some big fish. We got about 8 or 9 baits and headed out through the cut.

There were light winds but the outer reef line had some big water rolling in. The seas were nice leisurely 4’ rollers. We made our way out to an area that I had a gut feeling about. We hadn’t fished very long when we picked up a pair of Dolphin(fish). One was definitely over the legal size but the second fish was clearly not. Devon unhooked it and pitched it overboard. We worked our way around the area. Ka-Pow! A fish hit the larger rig on the sub surface “hope & prayer” long line. It’s pulling like a heavier fish when Jon grabs hold of the rod. For all of the show this fish put on in the beginning, it didn’t take Jon long to take the fight out of this fish. When the fish came to the stern we were surprised to see a small Silky Shark of about 3 ½ feet. Devon pulled it aboard and had to work for a few minutes to get this hook out. The hook is out, a quick release, and we got back at it.

The action slowed down for about 45 minutes. We got a couple of swing and misses as we covered water, and the conversation was good. Here comes that feeling again. The water just didn’t look right to me. I turned The BEAST and began looking for better water. There was nothing, not a weed, not a board, not a stick, not even a piece of paper floating anywhere. I was telling Jon that some of our biggest Dolphin come out in the middle of nowhere, just like this. Another 10 minutes passed and... Ba-Boom! The right rigger line is screaming out! Whatever this is it’s a nice one. Woohoo! The fish leaps from the water and it is plain to everyone aboard that this is a nice Cow. Devon is clearing the other rods and I quickly pin a live bait on a big spinner. I pitched the bait into the vicinity of that cow in case there is a Bull running with her, but once again it’s another Cow running solo. One is better than none! Jon works the fish to the port side and Devon has the 5” steel ready. He snatches back on the gaff and lifts her into the boat. Jon is not one for photos but he was glad to pose with this one. Devon scaled the fish and it pulled the Boga grip down to 29.5 pound... WTH, let’s just call it 30.

Of course, before we put out the lines we went through the congratulatory phase. Why not? Everything went perfectly, by the book, a well oiled machine, not the usual nervous fire drill. The lines went out again. Time passed and we were in a desert now. We did find scattered weeds with some big mats but down in the water we could see Moon Jellies everywhere under the weeds. No self respecting fish would be taking his chances dodging the hoards of those stinging things. We passed some time as Jon told us of his elephant hunt in Africa and the leopard hunt he had scheduled in the spring. Hunting stories were the topic for a good while. Devon said, “Jon, something just tripped the down rod, it’s not big but it is a fish.” Jon cranks the fish in easily, because it is only a little 5 pound Caribbean Spotted Mackerel.

I worked in to shallower waters and the Bonito found us. The first pair were better sized in the 15 pound range. We didn’t go too far when they found us again but this was a school of 10 pounders. I think we caught 5 out of 8 or 10. Jon said “Let’s get out of here!” I ran SE and we found a weed line with plenty of flotsam in it but there were no fish. We worked it for a while longer and then we all decided to pull the plug since it was getting pretty late in the evening. We tightened up the boat and I pointed The BEAST toward the barn and pushed the throttles down. It wasn’t a banner day but it was a good day, with good company, and 1 very good fish for sure. The total tally for the day was 3 Dolphin, 1 Silky Shark, 1 Barracuda, and 5 Bonito. Not too shabby for an unsettled day in August!

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

Tuesday night we had a Cubera trip reserved for Marty and our friend CL from North Carolina. Unfortunately they had to cancel. We hadn’t rebooked that night so I called Devon and he rounded up my 2 daughters Missy and Amy. Of course we invited my buddy, Uncle Al as well. This trip was going to be a fun trip with no pressure to perform, just a leisurely stroll to Nastyville.

We hooked up at the dock at 3 PM, checked all of the running lights, and paid a visit to the fuel dock to drop $300 worth of petrol into The BEAST. We moseyed out into the Bay then I throttled up the ponies and let The BEAST run. We arrived at a likely spot to start catching lobster. Devon and Uncle Al slid into the water. They were fighting a strong outgoing tide, 2-4’ seas, and an entire platoon of Moon Jellyfish. They were doing fairly well on the bug collecting when Al said his legs had enough of the Jellies and shortly thereafter, Devon couldn’t clear his one ear. No problems, no pressure, it’s family having fun! 11 bugs should do us fine. There was some heavy rain moving in on us so I made a dash toward Cubera City to outrun the rain.

We arrived in the area and while I drifted around getting an idea of what was going on in the water, Devon rigged the terminal tackle for the main show. Missy grabbed a small speed jig and made a cast toward a Sooty Tern working the water. There he is! She is hooked up, first cast and first fish of the evening turns out to be a chunky Bonito. Amy, Missy, and Uncle Al continue working the speed jigs and Al gets the bump. He’s working another tuna-type fish when suddenly the door gets slammed on him. He can’t move this fish and then it begins to move. Everyone was saying he must’ve hooked into a garage door. After another 10 minutes of grunting, huffing, and puffing, the leader parts. Al thinks the original catch had been eaten by a big shark. We dropped down a couple of Mullet that we netted in the Marina earlier. We got a swing and a miss on the mullet. The mullet came up with fang marks in it. OK. Let’s get after our target species.

It wasn’t dark yet but we went ahead and dropped a bug down. Everything is perfect, light current at 1 knot and I could work the boat and keep that drift down to .1 or .2 knots, that’s lobster walking speed. The only thing that wasn’t absolutely perfect were the 2-4’ seas but that’s nothing The BEAST can’t handle comfortably. On about the 3rd drift we lose one rig to the bottom but I have found the drift line. Next drop and we get a bite but it doesn’t hook up. The bait came up split in two pieces. Next drop and, Bam! Missy jumps on the rod and gets to feel the real power these fish have. She was just telling us how she worked out her guns at the gym that morning to get ready for this moment. She brings the fish in and it’s just a baby, a 20 pounder.

Amy is on deck for the next drift and once again the rod doubles over. That didn’t take long. Devon yells out, “They’re chewin’!“ Amy works the fish and it isn’t coming easy. Several minutes later and Amy out muscles this fish. This Nasty fish is pushing well into the higher 30’s possibly a 40 pound marker.

We make another drift and nothing happens but as Devon is dragging the bait back to the top to set up again, it gets nailed. This time the carapace was gone and we have the tail left. Uncle Al is set up for the next drift and we get a strike. Bada Bing! Al gives this fish the business and the fish is giving the business back to Al. Uncle Al wins this fight and we have another 30ish pound fish.

Every drift after that resulted in a good hit and Devon’s turn ends up being a bust. He is snake bit! He was getting frustrated and after a few missed strikes, he relinquishes the rod. Next drift and SLAM... We scream for Missy and she jumps on the doubled over rod . This is a good fish and it is making Missy‘s arms sore. Maybe she shouldn‘t have worked out at the gym and saved her strength for these fish. After a good time she gets the fish to the boat and this one is a bruiser, pulling the pin on the scale down to exactly 50 pounds.

We talked Devon into trying it again and he loses another fish. Now the snide comments and little jokes are aimed at him and flowing freely. We started out with 11 baits and lost 2 to hangs up. We’re out of bait, but wait, we still have that tail
that we tossed into the back of the cockpit. Down it goes and thump... thump... Boom! Fish on! Devon was determined to get this one to the boat and everything worked out for him this time. A nice fish in the high 20 pound range, reaches the boat.

Ok were now we are completely out of bait, except for some live mullet. Should we try them? The general vote comes up no since the clock is approaching midnight. We packed it in and cruised on home in the bright moonlight. Technically we had 10 bites out of 9 baits and caught 5 fish which is not too shabby for a quick fun run. This was a nice quick family trip and we had a great time. Pictures speak a thousand words... Listen to this...

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

On our last outing in May I had a bit of a problem. As I slowly powered on the throttles to come home, something came loose in the starboard engine... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ... We lost thrust. What the heck? As I walked back toward the stern to check out the problem, the overheat alarm came on. Shut her down! Well it’s not the lower unit, we definitely have a driveshaft problem because the water pump isn’t turning. Oh Boy! We limped in on the port engine at about 8-10 knots, taking us 2 hours to get back to the slip. Well, that was a crap way to end an enjoyable day with good company.

The BEAST was broken for almost 2 months. She blew a driven gear and driveshaft on the starboard motor. I had trips lined up and my back was against the wall so I called a “certified” Suzuki mechanic, in Miami, to repair it. While they had it in the shop, I wanted them to change the driven gear on the port side also, and all filters, seals, water pumps, etc on both motors. Basically I wanted both engines brought up to as optimum condition as possible. She sat torn apart for almost 3 weeks with little work done until I finally got fed up, having lost all of the scheduled trips. I went to the shop and blew a gasket. They started working on it and gave it back to me 5 days later with a $6300 bill, saying it was complete. I put her back in the water and the starboard motor with the original problem would barely run. The port motor that had no problems before, was now overheating at idle. 2 more weeks of “change this...change that” and nothing was any better. I finally contacted another mechanic who within hours of having the boat, pulled the powerhead again and diagnosed the problem. The original mechanic had one camshaft chain out of time by one tooth. They retimed the camshaft and ordered the gaskets to reinstall the powerhead. While waiting they found the overheat problem on the port motor. When the first mechanic reinstalled the lower unit the water supply tube wasn’t aligned properly and crimped the tube in half. Yep... The first shop was “Suzuki certified” all right, more like a bad joke. The new mechanic had me back in service within 7 days but it cost me another pile of money to fix what the first guy screwed up.

Finally in service I made a quick run with Billy Cox to do an ash spreading. He was extremely patient and had postponed his trip week after week, waiting on The BEAST to come back in service. We finally got it done for Billy, having a nice run out to the depths of the gulfstream and releasing his loved ones.

We just went out for a ¾ day with John, Eddie and Nick, from the UK. These Brits had a tremendous time just catching Hardtails for bait. You don’t know how many times we’ve heard that. They had already caught their biggest fish ever. The bait was a bit slow so after we collected about 15, we headed out for the blue water.

My plan was to probably troll a bit to see what we could locate. Unlike others who run around all day looking for debris etc. I learned from an “old salt” about a hundred years ago that, “You aren’t fishing without bait in the water.” That made perfect sense to me and I follow that philosophy most of the time. Think about how many fish you have run over, while looking for fish? I have caught many nice Dolphin(fish) in wide open blue water. OK! I was thinking we would probably need to get out into 1000-1200’ depths to catch some Dolphin(fish). As I was running in that direction, an overwhelming urge came over me to stop and fish here. That same old man taught me to trust my gut feelings, so I powered down and told Devon to set the spread out. We were fishing well short of my initial depths. Bump! We have a peanut Dolphin on. Normally there are several other duplicate fish swimming with smaller fish like this. Not this time! We got the fish aboard and true to August, the fish is about 19 inches. Devon tossed the fish back in to grow up.

Devon throws the spread out there again and in a short time we get another knockdown. Oh, Bruddah! This is a good’un man. Several good jumps and we see that this fish was a real nice August fish. Matter of fact, anything over “schoolie” size is a nice one in August. Nick worked the fish and the fish worked Nick. This is the cow so while Nick worked on the fish, about 10 or 15 minutes, we looked for the bull. There is no bull in sight so we have Nick present the fish boat side. Devon takes the gaff shot and stones the fish. Yes Sir! That’s a good fish as it pulls the scale down to the 19 pound mark. We are happy with this fish and all I could think of is what size bull could have been riding shotgun with this cow. I’m glad I trusted my instincts!

We worked the area for a while longer but nothing much was happening so I made way for the Back Breaker wreck. If these guys thought that the Hardtails were fun, wait until they get a load of what’s to come. We had some winds and rain coming through now and the drifts were sporadic. After the uncertain weather passed we had good drifts but the current was cranking at almost 4 knots. We broke off the first 2 bites on the first drops. Settling down into a good rhythm, we hooked one after another on almost every drift.

The guys were ready to tap out and it was almost time to call the trip. Everyone was mesmerized by the Barracuda that had mauled a few of their Hardtails at the bait spot, so I suggested that we go catch one. We were running out of time but I figured, what the heck, let’s show them the business end on these fish. We hit our favorite wreck where these Caribbean Spotted Mackerel tend to pile up. 3 attempts, 3 hookups, and Eddied catches a nice specimen of about 25 lb. They were in awe of the dental work that these fish carry. We packed up The BEAST and boogied for the barn.

It’s that time of year and Devon and I would love to break The BEAST’s boat record on Cubera Snapper.

Jorge Marquez’s group set the record at 76¼ pounds a few years ago. He continues to return with us every year trying to best that catch. We have our sights set on an 80+ pounder. Catching these largest of the snapper species is a pile of fun. If it is something you may want to do, I know the boat for you to try it on.

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

One of our best clients, Jon Clement came down again for a “mental health” day. It’s his term for a day on the water, by himself, to unwind from his rat-race travel schedule. Jon is not one for pictures so I will make this short and sweet.

Jon arrived at the normal time and we shoved off aboard The BEAST. We hit the Hardtail spots and gathered some baits quickly then moved out to the patches to see if we could find some Ballyhoo. The ’hoo’s have been few and far between lately. We only managed to catch 18, so we moved on.

The blue water conditions were good with some wave action but not uncomfortable. We caught 2 Bluefish in the 13# class, that were left over from that unusual run we had here earlier. Jon wanted Dolphin, Sailfish, Blackfin, etc, not Bluefish. The fishing was slow but the company was great, as usual. We hit the wrecks for a few minutes to get some pull on the lines. Actually trying for some Permit or Cobia, we only managed to land 2 big AJ’s. Enough! Time moved slowly as did the fishing. We managed to land a nice 10# Blackfin Tuna, a 20# ‘Cuda and right at the end of the day Jon hooked up an energetic Sailfish. This fish was off to the races, with multiple jumps and runs. Before we could clear the lines and get on the fish, it had taken about 250 yards of line. The spool was nearly empty as I got The BEAST turned around. The fish made one last jump, breaking the line. Jon was jet lag tired and called it a day after that. His motto is; even an OK day on the water is better than sitting in the airport between flights.

Our next trip was with my neighbor, Philip and his son Noah. Noah wanted to fish with us again, for his birthday. They arrived with Tommy and Julio in tow. We headed out to hit the bait patches. We caught our baits for the wreck fishing but catching Ballyhoo was tough. A few popped up but they stayed out of cast net range and wouldn't eat the hook baits. I think we caught about 6 or 7 Bally’s in total. Not good!

We ran out to the wrecks with the first stop being for Permit. The seas were too rough to work them properly so we hit Plan B -the “Grunt & Sweat”. We worked the guys out with the baits that we had plenty of. The first line down resulted in a ferocious bite. My little man, Noah, worked the fish and tossed the “Skunk” off the boat.

We kept the wheel of turns rolling, until everyone had a couple of fish. The fish averaged between 25 and 40 pounds.

I pulled the plug on wreck fishing when the reel seat came loose on one rod, broke the butt off another, and hyper-flexed one of my jigging rods which snapped the rod. OK guys, I’m out of AJ rods! We left the wreck and worked the surface for whatever would hit the few baits we had left. 3 large Bonito were caught before the day finished off. Even though the catch that day was not any of the glamorous species, the guys had a good time.

Our good friend Gimpy (Eddie) set up back to back trips which is his 12th and 13th time with us since 2009. This time he brought along 2 of his original crew, Richie and Juls, along with Paulie who came with him on his last trip. Of course, don’t forget Papi the octogenarian who always comes with Gimpy (his right-hand man) with or without his sons, Juls and Richie. They met us at the normal loading time. The BEAST was itching like a flea ridden dog, to get out there. We were off!

Our Hardtail baits came pretty easy and we hit a new patch for some Bally’s. The bait came up but they were finicky as hell and only a few ate the hooks and they were in no way going to come close enough to the boat to get a net on them. This is all too typical for this time of year because we have beat them up repeatedly for the past 6 or 7 months. We had about 10 baits, but during this time of year there are all kinds of other alternatives to make for a good day.

We put out a small 3 up / 1 down spread of live ones and worked the area for a short time. The seas were flat so I didn’t waste a lot of time plodding away at this. I wanted Gimpy and crew on some fish. After an hour or so I had Devon pull the lines and we headed for the “Grunt & Sweat” to get some action going for these guys.

We worked the wreck hard, temporarily tiring the guys out on 6 AJ’s between 30-40 pounds, 2 Almaco Jacks, and 3 big Bonito. All these fish were caught on live baits and Victory speed jigs. Paulie had a ball when he got into the speed jigging.

My buddy, Uncle Al, was out on his boat and radioed to let us know he found plenty of nice schoolie Mahi on a good weed line in 700’. Since we had enough of the wreck fish it was unanimous to head out to see if we could troll up some of these fish too. We found good weeds in 600’ and began hunting with a 4 spread of Rattle Jets. It didn’t take long. Bam, Pow, KaBoom, Kerplooey, on and on. We never trolled more than 10 minutes before we got another knockdown. We lost one decent fish in the small “gaffer” class. The bite slowed down around quitting time and we called it a good day with 17 Mahi in the box. I turned the bow toward the barn and goosed the 600 ponies up to cruise. I looked around the boat and there was not one face without a smile on it!

Day 2 with the Gimpster... Where are they? They finally arrived around 8 AM and The BEAST was snarling at them as they dragged their butts aboard. Got lost? (Chuckling) Yeah! You’re staying 12 minutes from the Marina. The Beast roared to life as we headed out to do the bait thing again. We collected a few more Hardtails, just in case the worms didn‘t bite. Almost exactly as the day before except 12 Ballyhoo this time. Ugh!

There was almost no current that day, only a trickle to the North and I do mean a trickle. The seas were calmer than the day before. We shot straight offshore to see if there was anymore of those Mahi around. The weeds were there but they were scattered with only a scant few small mats and very little Sargasso, mostly grass. We worked at it for a while and caught 4 Mahi. We changed up to take advantage of the slow current trying for some Mutton Snapper. We trolled almost all the way in to our Mutton spot, picking up a couple of Bonito on the way.

The current was moving to the north at 1/3 knot. I hoped that it was enough current for a bottom bite. The first drift was slow, like dropping bottom on a sliding anchor. Bada-Bing We hooked up and as the fish approached the boat I saw pink! Yes sir, yes sir!

Several more drops, caught a Sand Tile and then another Mutton. A few more drops and another Sand Tile and yet another Mutton. Oh, this is nice. While dropping the area, Juls and Paulie were working the jigs. Umph! Juls is hooked up on the jig and it is a really nice Yellow Jack.

I kept working the area when Paulie got hooked up to a fish on the jig. What the hell is that? When the fish reaches boat side it was a 3’ Cornet fish. It was beautiful, bright green with iridescent blue spots all over it. Guess what? No one thought to take a picture of it. We’re too intent on another Mutton and... Hoot, there it is, that’s #4.

While we were doing these slow drifts I put out a live “horse” Ballyhoo on top. Devon yells “SAILFISH”! Since my 80 year old friend, Papi, was going to take this fish I was going to hook him up for him. I fed the fish and the line started moving off fast so I flipped the bail and started reeling when the Sail went airborne. He was tail walking to the boat and he wasn’t stopping. The fish covered 75’ in less than 2 seconds. I was reeling like a madman with no time to give Papi the rod. The line was about to come tight and I leaned toward Papi to hand him the rod. In a split second, only 10’ away, the Sail digs into the water and makes a hard left turn. One beat of his tail and it taps the line. Pop! Done deal! The whole ordeal took less than 3 seconds.

The current stopped and so did the Mutton bite. I decided to hit another spot to see if there was any current there. Good, it was still moving there at about 1/2 knot. We made a drop and got bit off. Next drop, hooked up and there’s the color. Nice! It’s a good 13# Gag Grouper.

Next drop and we were snagged up. I grabbed the line to see if I could free it up. It felt like the weight was a pendulum between the line and the hook. Suddenly the line pulled back twice! It’s a fish! He kept coming like dead weight and as it reaches the surface it was a Sandbar Shark every inch of 9 feet and 250-275 in weight. A massive but lethargic fish, until his nose touched the boat. Splash! One swipe of his tail and everyone leaning over to see, was wet. The line parted and he was gone.

We buttoned up the boat and called it a day. Everyone was happy, happy, happy! For some reason, Gimpy never has a lackluster trip with us. When he and his buds come down from New York, he brings along some good MoJo! But hey... They still talk funny!

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

This winter/spring transition has been a bit out of the ordinary. We’ve had weird weather and fish patterns. Fishing for our preferred bait has been our biggest struggle but we always seem to get ‘r done.

Eric and his son Jason met us at the dock for a full day trip and they wanted to get Jason his first Sailfish. We loaded them up and headed for the bait patches. We picked up the Hardtails easily and headed for the worm beds. Relying on our past trips we headed for the best patch and it worked out for us. They were a bit finicky but we got them. After storing our bait gear away I headed The BEAST for the blue water.

I pulled back on the throttles and Devon started putting out the spread. We had fished for very short time when we had a swing and a miss and then a single. The fish turned out to be a Bonito a.k.a. Bonehead. Shortly after putting the lines back out...Bada Bing! The long rigger goes off and a Snooter takes to the air. Jason worked the fish to the boat in 40 minutes or so, and we had a good catch. Eric was happy that Jason had just boated his first Sailfish.

We reset and things peaked quickly when when a nice pair of chubby Mahi hit the spread. Eric and Jason jumped on the rods. Jason lost his fish and we boated the smaller fish that Eric had on. Jason was not happy that he had lost his fish. We reset quickly and 10 minutes later we were on another nice pair of small gaffer Dolphin. Eric had the smaller Cow and Jason had a Bull of about 15-20#’s. Everything was going too good when suddenly, as Devon was attempting his gaff shot, the Bull took a quick turn and ran right under the motor cutting himself loose on the prop. Visibly upset that we lost this nice Bull, Jason went forward and had to regroup.

We reloaded our baits and began fishing again. Things had calmed down and we went without a bite for about an hour or so. I pulled the plug and headed for a wreck to get Jason on some fish to get his mind off of the 2 lost Dolphin. Jason was back in the game on the very first Amberjack.

They had a great time working the wreck and catching one fish after another. The highlight of this escapade happened when Jason hooked up a big shark. After a long grind on the rod and reel, he managed to bring it up for a photo. The shark was a good ‘un at an estimated 8’ and well over 200 pounds.

We ended the wreck fishing on that note and went back to trying to get him another Mahi. The fishing went stale and the remainder of the afternoon was uneventful except for catching a small Kingfish. We called it a day and Jason was happy, forgetting all about those 2 lost Mahi. He spent the ride home talking about the big Jacks and that monster shark.

Dan McGillicuddy came solo on our next trip. We exchanged introductions and unleashed The BEAST. Dan wanted a Sailfish to scratch off his bucket list. The bait was somewhat easier this day. We caught plenty of Hardtails quickly. We did manage to get enough worms to fish for the day, even though we had to hit a couple of spots and fight against a bad boat lay with tide running against the wind.

We blasted out to the blue water and put out our usual bait spread. Once again we hadn’t been fishing long when we had a tremendous hit on the right rigger. It was a nice Bull Dolphin but the fish didn’t hook up. Seconds later the right flat line gets crashed and we are hooked up. This was the Cow, the mate to the Bull we just missed. This was another good fish! Dan worked the fish hard and after 15-20 minutes on the 20# spin tackle, Devon sunk the metal into Dan’s fish. Wow, this Cow tipped our scales at 30 pounds. Good fish! Imagine how big that Bull must’ve been!

We reloaded our guns and worked the zone. The fishing was not fast and furious but it was steady. The next hook up turned out to be a very nice Blackfin Tuna. We’ll take that any day. They are strong fish, in any size on light tackle, and excellent table fare.

After a while with no bites, we decided to hit the wrecks to get Dan busy again. We made many drops and literally wore Dan out. He caught several AJ’s in the mid 30# range and a large Barracuda.

We left the wrecks and headed north for another attempt to get Dan that Sailfish. Things were going along very slowly, except the time. We managed to pick up a very large Bonehead and lost a couple of BIG fish (Sharks?) on the down rod. Dan made a comment that he had a great day even if he doesn’t get his Sailfish. I reminded him that the “Fat Lady” hasn’t sung yet. Time was running out quickly when Devon noticed that the Ballyhoo on the long left rigger was skipping around. There he is! Fish on! Get ’em, Dan! Dan jumped on the rod and get ’em he did. The fish worked Dan’s tired arms and it worked me at the helm as well. We were determined. About 35 minutes in and we had the fish at the boat and Devon yelled his traditional “Yeah!” as he grabbed the bill. We pulled Dan’s fish aboard for a quick picture.

This one is a wrap! A job well done! We buttoned up The BEAST and made way toward the west, heading for home. Dan kept saying that his day was awesome and he was totally satisfied even before we hooked up his Sail. Catching his Sailfish was the just the cream cheese icing on the carrot cake. Hey... Catching a Sailfish for Dan was our mission and Devon and I work tirelessly to complete our mission. All of us were smiling at the end of this day!

The next trip out was a ¾ day, “Bachelorette Party”, for the bride to be Jessica and her bridesmaids, Megan and Loann. We met the girls at the dock and shoved off for Jessica’s adventure and what an adventure it was. I asked why they chose a fishing trip with us for her Bachelorette party and Jessica informed me that she wanted to catch a bigger fish than her fiancé had caught on his many trips to S. Florida. She really wanted a Sailfish. Ok... Let’s see what happens!

We spent some extra time catching bait and it‘s good we did. The Hardtails have been pretty easy but the Ballyhoo have been getting increasingly tougher to get. We had enough to go so we went out to the edge and began deploying our baits. Before we got our 3rd bait out, the left rigger gets hit and Jessica has her Sailfish on. Woohoo! Hold up. The fish spit the bait on the second jump. Dang! Devon reset the baits and in the next 20 minutes we got covered up by nice Dolphin.

The winds were blowing hard and the seas were 4-5 feet. This was pure chaos, a virtual Mahi fire drill gone wrong. We managed to catch several and then a decent 19 pound Cow finished off the barrage.

.

This day, although rougher than the ladies would’ve liked, was turning out to be catch-fest. We continued working in the zone and missed another strike on top and then hooked up again. We thought we might have had a very nice Blackfin on the line but it turned out to be a large Bonito.

Another spread is out and we missed a ‘Cuda bite on the down rod. A few minutes later and Jessica is once again hooked up to another decent Cow Dolphin. The fish fought valiantly but was no match for Jess. Devon put the steel to this nice 15# Cow and sent her to the fish box with her other cousins.

The baits are restrung and we are fishing again. The next strike was another shot at Jess’ Sailfish. This fish was not be fooled as it spit the bait quickly. The girls were on their final leg and the seas were taking its toll on their stomachs. We still had another hour to fish but Jessica gave me the “word”. Devon and I packed up and readied the boat for the ride in. The girls were bubbling about the day as Devon cleaned their catch and bagged them up for their ride home. Devon and I congratulated Jessica on her upcoming wedding. Hopefully, everyday of her marriage will be as exciting as her Bachelorette Party.

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

The weather has been a bit on the iffy side even though spring is upon us. The fishing has been pretty good and we’ve been pretty busy. No complaints form us about either.

Shawn met us at the usual departure time and he came solo for his ¾ day. Hey, you can’t beat that if you don’t feel like sharing time on the rods. We went through the normal introductions and turned The BEAST loose. We made way to one of our Hardtail spots, picked up several baits and then beat it for the Ballyhoo. The Ballyhoo have been tough and the radio has been buzzing on that topic. After spending way more time than I like to, the worms started showing up and we picked away at them. I called the bait search off and hedged my bet that we had enough for the day. We made our way out to the blue water and set up a spread.

I worked in and out and there was only a trickle of current. This is not good. Devon sparked up when he saw some flyers (flying fish) flying across the waters surface, They were being chased by something. I made a slight adjustment and headed off the culprits. Line down and a Dolphin hooked up! Shawn worked the chubby “Lifter” to the boat and we boxed it as another fish took down a flat line bait. Another fat “Lifter” around the same size joined the first. We’re on the boards and the skunk is off the boat.

The fishing was as slow as I had expected with the lack of current so we finally bagged the edge and headed out to a deep wreck to give it a go. I was hoping we would catch a few before having problems with the “Guard Dogs” (sharks). The first drop produced a 25 pound Amberjack for Shawn.

We made another drift and lost a bait. Then on the 3rd drift we hooked up again. This time I knew we didn’t have a Jack, instead it was one of those Caribbean Spotted Mackerel. This ‘Cuda pushed into the mid 20 pound range.

I made a few more drifts, missing the bite zone completely on one of them, and getting a hook up on the last. Shawn was working the fish when it suddenly gained about 200 pounds. A minute or so later the fish felt like it did a crash course at Jenny Craig weight loss studio. Oh Lord! We woke up the Dogs! Sure enough... His catch turned out to be a large Cuda head. OK! No sense in working this spot only to feed the Guard Dogs.

We headed back in to the edge to see if we could work up some Sailfish, Tuna or Dolphin. We arrived on the edge and put out our usual spread. Minutes turned into an hour and the day was slipping away. No current, no fish, and almost out of time. Devon slowly began tossing the remainder of the baits. Sailfish! A double! The first fish jumped the hook but the second was pinned on good. This fish was acting peculiar and Devon kept saying he thought it was foul hooked because he only jumped once and never came back to the surface. Shawn was nervous because he didn’t want to lose this fish, it was his first Sail. 30 minutes... 60 minutes... We’ve been walking this fish all over the ocean and Shawn was putting out minimal pressure. Finally at the 80 minute mark we had the fish at the surface just off from the boat and indeed, it was hooked through the skin just in front of the dorsal. Shawn gingerly played the fish for another 10 minutes and Devon finally got the leader. Right at the boat as Devon was about to grab the bill the hook popped the piece of skin and both he and Shawn made a mad grab at the bill but neither got a hold on it. We watched as the fish turned and swam off into the deep. It was a bona fide catch, just no picture!

Definitely disheartened about no photo but a Sailfish off his bucket list for sure. We turned The BEAST to the west and made way for the house.

Our next trip was another ¾ day and as the sun came up it brought us Carey and his daughter Chisana. Carey had read my reports on Sailfish and wanted to try and get Chisana her first Sail. We loaded them aboard and headed out. I hit my usual bait spots and thankfully they were willing participants this time. We got our bait in real short order and I blasted out for the edge.

We put our spread out and almost the same as the day before I caught a glimpse of Flyers getting up. This time we just had to wait on the fish to intercept us and Bada Bing, we’re on! Chisana took the rod and the fish stayed down. Devon and I knew we had a Tuna type but was it a Blackie or a Bonehead? Chisana worked it to the boat like a hero. You could tell she had fished plenty of times before. It was a decent 12 pound Blackfin and this was her first Tuna.

With the spread back out again, the fish were on their feed. Dolphin, Dolphin, and 6 more Dolphin. All were nice heavy “Lifters” and Carey and Chisana stayed busy for a while.

The Dolphin were done passing through and we thought we might have a minute to relax and grab a sandwich when Devon yells “Sailfish on the left rigger!” Chisana was hooked up for a short time and after the 3rd or 4th jump the Sail took his leave. Crapola! Within 15 minutes of putting the spread out again, we had a double hook up. We thought we had a pair of Blackie’s but when they got closer we realized we had a Bonito duo. Reset the lines and let’s get after them again because time is running out. Devon and I remarked that the down rod has been relatively silent on the last several trips. The words were not long out of our mouths when the clicker screams out! OMG this is a big one. I was almost positive that we had a big shark on our 30# braid rod. This is going to be a tussle for sure but it was a steady pull so we left our surface baits out. 30 minutes passed when I see a Sailfish pounce on the left long bait. Chisana jumped on the Sailfish and she was, for sure, hooked up solid this time. Now what are we going to do. Carey made the decision to either make it or break it on the deep fish so Chisana had a valid shot at her Sail. The leader parted under the pressure and we were focused now on Chisana’s Sailfish. She did a fine job and 25 minutes later we had her first Sailfish at the boat and pulled it aboard for a photo op.

The smile in that picture says it all... Not only was she ecstatic that she had her first Sailfish but that smile is the result that Devon and I strive for on our charters. We called it an afternoon and boogied for the barn.

One of our most frequent charters, Jon, came to visit with his colleagues, Kevin and Richard. We had good fun and caught some decent fish. Since Jon isn’t one for pictures, I’ll just do a quick synopsis of the day. We got our bait after a long struggle. We went to the blue water and began doing our thing. The day was productive in the morning but slowed down in the afternoon. We ended our day with a grand total of 6 nice “Lifter” Dolphin, 1 Silky Shark, ! Barracuda, and a Bonito. We didn’t see a Sailfish or hear of any being caught. We gave it a valiant effort and threw in the towel a little bit early.

Spring time is here and it is one of our favorites times of the year. Ah, who am I kidding? Anytime Devon and I can fish is our favorite time of the year. Anyway... the Dolphin are passing through, the wrecks are alive, and the weather, is looking like S. Florida again. It’s time to go, Folks!

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

We met Dax at 7 AM and he brought along his mate, Olli. They came all the way from the UK to try some of our S. Florida fishing. We blasted off on our ¾ day trip, heading for the bait patches. The Hardtails were sort of slow but the Ballyhoo were worse. We finally got enough bait for the day and headed out.

We fished the surface and 1 down rod for a while and caught 3 big Barracuda and a Silky Shark, all of them coming on the baits down in the water column. We managed to hook up and jump off a Sailfish. A little while later we caught yet another snaggle-toothed Cuda. Things slowed down and we decided to hit the Wrecks. We kept Dax and Olli very busy catching several AJ’s up to the 50 pound mark.

The guys had enough after several of those back breaking fish and we decided to get back after the Sails. The top bite was slow and as the time was winding down it was looking grim. We started chumming out what was left of our baits and, Here we go. Sailfish on the left rigger, Sailfish on the right rigger, Baboom, Sailfish on the right flat. I took the last fish and kept him pinned on while trying to maneuver the boat. One down and gone. I handed my rod off to those empty hands. Fish #2 turns loose a few minutes later. Down to 1 fish now and this fish makes an aerial assault and charges toward the boat. Reel! Reel! Gone! That slack line will kill a catch every time.

No time and no bait left, so we called it a day. They were a couple of good chaps and we tried to show them a good time on a short day. Devon and I hope to see them again next year for a rematch on those Snooters.

Our next trip was a ¾ day again, with Amber, David, Suzanne, and Frank. This was a beautiful pre-front day. A great day for a boat ride and not too much for fishing. The winds were out of the SW and light. Devon and I try to make the best of it but the barometer was unsteady.

We got our bait and it was a bit easier than the last trip but we did have to hit 2 different spots. We made the run out and set up. Wow, I’ve had slow days but the time was ticking away and nothing was working. Ok... Let’s get some action on the wreck since the fish have already moved in for spring. We got started and each drop resulted in a bite. The only thing wrong is that the bites resulted in cut off. Over and over again we were getting killed by either a Cuda or Shark bite or a shark eating the AJ. We even tried to put some wire on and catch the sharks but they were almost immovable and wrecked us up every time. We did manage to catch several smaller AJ’s that we horsed to the boat before they got tagged. Our biggest fish was about 35 pounds.

We finally gave up when we toasted the 2 reels. The gears locked up on them trying to get those big sharks! I’ll have to up the ante next time and break out the big guns.

We made another valiant attempt to get some good action going on the topside. We did raise 2 Sails. The first figured out how to eat the bait but spit it out on the first jump. The second came later but once again we didn’t complete the task. At least that one stayed on the hook a lot longer. The winds had changed to the NW, the clouds moved in, and the seas were starting to get choppy. It was later in the afternoon when we hooked up something on the down rod. This was a mystery fish with some shoulders. Devon had put down a large bait and my guess is we had a Hammerhead hooked up. When they tilt that wide head down, you are not going to pull him up with 30 # tackle. A good while later the leader finally gave out. Devon reset the lines for one last hoorah. Devon began tossing out the leftover baits in hopes of raising some fish. Instead of fish we had an unexpected guest that dove into the freebies and grabbed the wrong fish.

A little bit of work but we got the Gannet to the boat and Devon grabbed him behind the head to keep the business end of the bird under control. He was hooked lightly and the guys removed the hook, releasing him unharmed. That was the omen that told us to call it a day.

What a difference a day can make, right? The front had moved through, the sky was bright, and the winds were light from the N/NE. The barometric pressure was high and steady. Looking good! Andre, Thierry, Conner, Zach, and Wade joined us for a full day on this run.

We collected our baits but once again we had to hit a couple of spots and leave with less than we like. Off we go to the blue water. Devon couldn’t finish setting the spread when...BAM! A cow Dolphin! Bam Bam, There’s the Bull. Nice fish! The big cow came loose and Devon sees another fish shadowing the Bull and pitches a bait... Bam! We’re on! The guys worked the fish to the boat and Devon boxed the 12# Cow and 33# Bull. Good start!

Devon reset the spread and less than 10 minutes passed when we hooked up a Sailfish. The fish broke off after the 6th jump. The action slowed down quite a bit right after that so we hit the wrecks and managed to let the guys have some fun tugging on the deep water brutes. We realized the last time that there were too many toothy critters on the wrecks now, so we used a piece of wire and caught 3 jumbo Cuda.

After blowing up 2 smaller reels on the last trip we re-powered our wreck rods with a couple of fish winches. The boys caught those Wreck Donkeys up to 45 # until their arms almost fell off.

We worked the rest of the afternoon on the surface. We were hoping for some more Dolphin or another Sailfish. We got our wish as Andre managed to hook up and leader his Sailfish making it a good catch. However, the leader broke as Devon was trying to muscle it over for a picture. We had another shot at a Sail but jumped him off. The guys had a good time but called the trip a bit early since we had so many fish to clean.

When fighting these Snooters, slack line is your worst enemy and it's often impossible to keep the line tight. Sailfish can swim at 70 mph then change direction on a dime and give you 9 cents change. They are the masters at creating slack and experts at tossing the loose hook.

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

It’s been a while since my last report because Devon and I have been very busy. I’ve been trying to find time to sit down at this computer and write. But hey... any day on the water is a good day!

They say that a picture is worth a 1000 words so this report will be less written words but a virtual essay of pictures.

We had Scott, Amber, Greg and Sandy arrive for a ¾ day trip. They were on a severe time crunch in trying to fit this trip in before they boarded the cruise ship that afternoon, so we made some time adjustments to get them on the water. The bait was easy and we caught 1 Dolphin/Mahi, 1 Blackfin Tuna , 2 Yellow Jack, 1 Kingfish, 1 Bonito, and 1 Sailfish. It was a good day except that Amber and her brother got seasick. Amber was very happy that we were doing a shorter day!

Jason, Josh, Kyle and Davin joined us for a full day trip. The bait was easy and by noon we had already caught a Dolphin, Sailfish, Kingfish, Blackfin Tuna, and a small Shark. The next hour produced another Sailfish and a Grouper (released). By 2 pm we had added another 2 Sailfish. 2 more Dolphin and another Sailfish were accrued by quitting time. It was a very active day!

James and his wife Eve joined us for ¾ day. They were a lot of fun. The seas were flat calm but the bait was easy and by noon we had accumulated 2 Sailfish and 2 large Barracuda. The last hour or so we had 2 very big mystery fish that were hooked up on our down rod but never seen.

We had another ¾ day trip with Tim, Erin, and Julia. The seas were nice and the fishing was good. We got a big ‘Cuda, 2 Dolphin, 1 Kingfish and a Blackfin Tuna.
Fun was had by all.

We love catching these Sailfish and the Dolphin run this winter has been exceptional. We haven’t been covered up with Kingfish as in normal past winters but that’s OK. The Blackfin Tuna have been showing on a regular basis which is more than fine with us.

I’ve got plenty more to write about but I will get to that in the next couple of days. Spring time is obviously right around the corner, by the showing of fish already. We love to fish the spring time. Awww, who am I kidding, Devon and I love to fish anytime!

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

We had 2 really nice trips last weekon the approaching full moon. These trips were loaded with fast, smoking hot action!

Steve, Ben, and Landon joined us for a full day of fishing. They traveled all the way from Oklahoma to try some of Miami’s renowned offshore game fishing. Devon and I unleashed The BEAST at 7 am and we headed out. I throttled up the 600 ponies to cruise mode and began looking for some Hardtails.

We hit our specific Hardtail spots but they were not real plentiful. As a matter of fact, they were a bit too large. I pulled the plug on that venture pretty quick to save time and in hindsight I’m glad I did. I picked up the pace as we headed out to look for some Ballyhoo. We arrived on our “dink” patch and set out a chum bag. Wait, waiting, and finally a few began to show up. The tides, currents and wind were all wrong and this was becoming tedious. We burned up a block of chum and only managed to put about 6 in the live well. Let’s move! I ran south to another patch and absolutely no worms in sight. This went on at 2 more sites we visited and I was beginning to stress. 2 blocks of chum down the drain and we still only have 6 ’hoos. This is not looking good. The radio was buzzing, as everyone seemed to be struggling for bait as well. The saving grace was that the boats offshore were assuring everyone that there was nothing going on. I conferred with Devon and decided to make a run north to a couple of other patches. As we were passing the first patch we tried that morning, I got a gut feeling to pop back in. Waiting was agonizing but 15 minutes later the worms came up pretty good. We got enough on hook &line and I tossed the Calusa net and scored enough to do the day. About an hour behind time but we finally have our bait. I pushed on the gas and blasted out to the fishing grounds.

The current was trickling to the north. Our first bite came about 15 minutes into the set and we boated a fat “Snake” Kingfish. We reset our lines in the deeper water searching for some Tuna or Dolphin. Another 30 minutes passed and we get an awesome bust on the left rigger. This has to be our Blackfin and a nice one as the fish took the fight to the depths. The longer the fight progressed we realized that we did indeed have a Tuna on. Devon saw color and announced that we had a nice sized Tuna on but it was a Bonito of about 20 pounds. Oh well, it’s not what we wanted but it was a good fight.

The radio had been and still was, buzzing between Captains about how slow the bite was. By the sound of it, most everyone was fishless or only had one or two fish. We started later than normal and already had 2 fish in less than an hour. I wandered into shallower water at this point looking for some faster action. We missed several bites from smaller Kings on the down rod.

We picked up a decent Cero Mackerel and another Bonito when…Ba-Boom! The short flat line gets rolled on and a Sailfish burns toward the sky. 10 minutes later we had a successful leader touch. That was the beginning of almost non-stop action for us. The Sailfish action started smoldering and then burst into flames. We had 2 more Sailfish hooked up I hailed everybody listening on our channel, when we hooked up the 3rd Sailfish, to let them know that the bite was on. During this time we also picked up another Kingfish and a Cero Mackerel. I didn’t have time to take pictures as we were fighting or unhooking fish, one after the other. Here we go again, a double hookup on Sailfish.

We were having a very busy afternoon and that 3½ hours passed by super fast. Steve, Ben and Landon had enough and gave me the word to chum out the rest of the baits. What do you think? Yep… we have another double hookup on Sailfish. We caught 1 out of 2 and we took a few minutes to get a picture.

The total head count for the day was 2 Cero Macs, 2 Kingfish, 2 Bonito, and 4 for 8 on Sailfish. I was really surprised that we didn’t have any Dolphin show up at all that day. I turned The BEAST toward the west and boogied for the barn. I love it when a plan comes together!

Our friend, Gimpy (Eddie Conway) came down for his 3rd trip this year. He brought along his buddy, Paulie, and my main man Papi. We met up on this full moon day at the usual time and stowed their gear. We shoved off and I was hoping that the bait would be much easier on this day. As we entered the Bay, the Pilchards were everywhere! I took the time to break out the 10’ Calusa net and get a few. Devon and I took turns tossing from the bow and in no time flat, we had one of the 40-gallon wells blacked out. Well that’s a few! The baits were generally in the 2-3 inch range but we had several good’uns in there also. We had plenty of Pilchards to chum and bait Dolphin or Tuna during the day. This day is already looking better as far as getting bait is concerned. We skipped the Hardtail spot and made the run to the worm hole!

Devon was out fishing for fun the day before and clocked the worms at one of our spots. We bee-lined it for that spot. Crap! The winds and currents were wrong again, and this time the tide was slack too! After burning a block of chum we decided, since Gimpy rates his trips more on edible fish in the box. We would run out and troll up some Dolphin and feed them some Pilchards. I headed offshore and found some quasi weed lines with birds picking at the weeds. We put the lines in. A few minutes passed and we had a 4-line knock down but they were very small fish and the only one that was hooked up came off Gimpy’s line.

We never found them again and after an hour I pulled the plug and headed back in to try again for some Ballyhoo bait. I was anticipating the tide change would move the chum. We hit 2 patches and nothing came up again. Ugh! This makes my job tough, to say the least. I decided to head out with only the Pilchards.

We hit the edge and I slowed to an idle while Devon put out the baits. The water was beautiful and the seas were 2 feet. Devon chummed out a big handful of baits and a few minutes later we had a line trip. Sailfish on! Awesome! Papi took the rod but a few minutes later he realized at 80 years old it was too much for him. He passed the rod to Paulie who finished off the job and we were on the boards.

We reset the lines but all that action had alerted the Terns and Frigate birds who bombarded our bait killing them one after another. We finally got tired of having lines dragged across all the others, leaving us with tangled messes. I made the call to try one more time for some Bally baits so we wouldn’t have that problem. We headed back in for some worms. We hit another patch and still, nothing came up. Holy Crap! What’s does a Captain have to do to catch a break? Pull’em and let’s run north again. As we passed an area Devon saw Bally’s skittering over a patch. I made a Bat turn and we dove into the spot. There ya go! We got the worms up and less than 20 minutes later, we had enough to fish the rest of the day. Off we go again!

The bite was a bit slow, catching only 1 huge Rainbow Runner. I knew it should turn on as usual, but it might be later than sooner. Fish up! Sailfish! Here we go! Gimpy was on the rod and the fish worked him. After plenty of minutes we got the fish boat side for a hook out and quick release. Devon reset the spread and we’re fishing again. We have been missing a bunch of hook ups on the down rod due to all the small “Snake” kingfish around. This time when the down rod sounds off, we are into a better fish that is hooked up solid. A nice chubby Kingfish comes to the boat and we snatch him into the box.

We get back into position again and Devon is chumming Pilchards and has a 5 line spread out. Bada Bing! Sailfish hooked up! Paulie takes the rod and while he is fighting the fish Devon clears all but one line. Gimpy, wake up, the other line tripped! He grabs the rod and winds down tight. Double! We have 2 Sails going for a very short time when one pops the leader. Now we are down to 1 and in short order that fish takes a 6’ airborne leap and spit’s the hook back at Gimpy! Oh well, Sailfish are masters at that! I ran back around to that area and we set up again. We chummed and chummed some more. Fish up! There’s another one on the left rigger. Double! Hold on… I have one chasing the right rigger now. Triple! We have a triple going and Paulie’s fish jumps off so I handed him the rod that I have hooked up. The double is going along smooth when suddenly Gimpy loses his fish. We went from 3 fish to 1 fish in the blink of an eye so I wanted to make this one count. Paulie works the fish as I work the boat to help keep him tight. After 25 minutes on the rod and out in deep water now, we get this beauty to the boat. The sun is making its quick dive toward the horizon and Devon snatches the fish over the side for a quick photo op.

Stick a fork in us, we are done! I turned the bow for home and throttled up the 300 Zukes. The bait fishing problems took up some fishing time but it is something that must be done to reach success. Besides the Rainbow Runner, Kingfish, and numerous misses down below, we went 3 for 7 on Sails that afternoon. Gimpy has caught a Sailfish with us before in late spring and wanted to catch Dolphin, Wahoo, and Tuna to eat. I think he now realizes that catching Sailfish during the peak season is as exciting as it can get out there.

If catching Sailfish is not on your bucket list, you need a bigger bucket!

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

We recently had two day-trips with our friend Brad and son Chris. We really look forward to doing trips in the winter because that is prime time fishing in S. Florida. November is very good because we get good runs of dolphin as well as Sailfish, Tuna, and King Mackerel.

Brad and Chris met us for the 7 a.m. blast off. We greeted each other and untied the BEAST. I immediately headed out to one of our best Hardtail spots. We got them quickly, so I powered up and ran out to find some worms.

I passed by the first bait patch because I had decided on another worm bed that holds "dinks". These smaller baits generally work better for Dolphin. Devon put out the chum. Before he had enough bait cut, the ravenous Ballyhoo were heavy in the chum line. We were hooking them, keeping Devon busy cutting bait and removing them from the hooks. It didn’t take long before we had plenty of prime “hooker” baits in the wells.

A short run out to the edge found the winds blowing around 20 knots from the North and the seas were 3-4 feet. Devon and I set out our spread. Minutes later we had a nice pair of “lifter” Dolphin hooked up. The cow came loose but Chris caught the bull quickly.

Devon reset the spread and the down rod is screaming. Brad has his hands full as this fish seems very big. He fights the fish to the boat and it turns out to be a 3 ½ foot Atlantic Sharpnose shark. Devon cut the leader and let it take the hook as a souvenir. The down rod gets the nod again and Chris works a smaller Sharpnose to the boat. We let him go in the same manner as his brother. The bite seems to be on! Minutes after releasing young Sharpnose, we have 3 more Dolphin hooked up! We lost one in the melee’ but successfully boated a nice bull and cow. We set out the spread again and you guessed it, we see a big boil on the long rigger. 1 boil, 2 boils, 3 boils, hooked up! This was a pretty Blackfin Tuna. As Brad is working the fish I see a Sailfish sizing up our flat line bait. I told Chris, “He took it! Feed the bait to him!" Chris flipped the bail and “Katie… bar the door!” We got Brad's 15# Blackie in the boat as fast as possible. This was Chris’ first Sailfish and it was no slouch. 25 minutes passed and the fish had put on numerous aerial displays. He was a good ole big ’un or a big ole good ’un, depending on the way you look at it! After several attempts we finally got it tamed down and close enough for Devon to bill it. Chris is on the boards with his first “Snooter”, a better than average fish pushing 60 pounds.

Holy fishing Batman, the bite was out of control. We cleaned the boat up and got back at it. The down rod goes off again and this time we have a nice Kingfish on the line and we dispatched it into the fish box destined for the smoker. I am amazed at the action and mentioned that we hadn’t taken any pictures. The amazement turned to awe as I looked at the time realizing that we had been fishing less than 90 minutes. Then the bite shut down like someone turned off the water spigot. All that action was followed by 90 minutes of absolutely nothing. The other boats were relaying the same thing to each other over the radio.

The bite came back slowly but that was better than the last couple of hours. We picked up 2 more Kingfish and another Dolphin. The guys were tired and I got "the word" a bit earlier than we normally quit. We had plenty of fish to filet, a BEAST to clean, and we’re going out again tomorrow.

We hit the docks the next morning at the usual time. It was blowing as hard as it was the day before but the BEAST was chomping at the bits to get out there. We hit a different Hardtail spot looking for smaller “Yummies”. We managed to catch about a half dozen and I pulled the plug because I wanted to get some more of those wigglers like yesterday. I ran directly to the dink patch that we worked the day before. The tide was barley moving in and the wind is pushing our stern out. This is not an ideal bait condition. After 30 minutes of chumming the better part of a chum block, we only had 6 baits. This is NOT good! We evacuated the spot and headed south to another good area. Devon reloaded the chum bag and put it out. 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes and not even a Bermuda Chub or tiny Yellowtail. This is not funny! I ran farther south and was equally disappointed. I’ve hit 3 good spots, burned 2 blocks of chum, and worst of all we were wasting time. My back is against the wall. Let’s head north to some of our other spots. As we neared the spot we tried that morning and the day before, I got a gut feeling and whipped the bow back into the spot. Devon loaded a fresh block of chum into the bag. 5 minutes later the worms were crawling all over the place. They weren’t quite as thick as the day before but we were putting bait in the live well. We caught plenty on hooks and I threw the Calusa net twice. Now our wells were in good shape.

We finally got offshore to the edge. We didn’t miss much because there was a a constant chatter on the radio about how slow it was. The winds laid down nicely and the seas were about 2 feet. The fishing was slow but we did manage to catch a Kingfish within the first 10 minutes. We had a big bite on the down rod and the reel was screaming. The fish hesitated as if it had shifted gears and the reel hollered again for a short minute. Then the line went slack and the fish was gone. When we retrieved the line we could see that whatever it was had eaten the entire terminal rig, leaving only the leader. Not too long after that we had busts on the long rigger bait that looked like somebody throwing cinder blocks in the water. 3 times is a charm and Chris is fast on this good Blackfin. He fought that fish for 10 minutes and Devon began to see color down below. In the blink of an eye the line parted. Chris cranked in the remaining line for a visual inspection. It looked as if it had gotten hung up on something but we knew it hadn’t. Devon was really confused because he had checked all of the lines just that morning. We don’t have a clue what happened there.

I was working my way in closer while waiting for the tide to start draining off the reef. I was talking to another Captain on the radio about working the bait showers when the tide changed. Suddenly we had a pair of Dolphin come into the spread. The bull grabbed the first rigger bait and launched high into the air. He lost his grip on the bait, never getting the bite of the hook. The cow was not that fortunate as she hooked up and we managed to get her into the boat. I saw my friend steaming near the edge when he suddenly slammed on the brakes and spun the boat in a couple of circles. About 5 minutes later he punched the gas and then slammed on the brakes again. He hailed me on the radio and asked if I saw him. I said, “How could I miss that!”. He said, “It’s on in here around the 50 foot mark! I just got 3 out of 4!” I was already working my way in. "OK… I’m on my way!" We got into the edge and the Houndfish and Ballyhoo are getting slaughtered. They are rising in tremendous bait showers attempting to escape the predators after them. We cut off the first shower we saw in 50 feet of water and a Sailfish popped up. He wasn't interested in our baits. We settled into the game and got a rise from 2 Sailfish on both of our flat lines. The fish on the right rigger was circling as he got ready to eat the worm. As his bill breaks the surface, a Tern swoops down and snatches the bait away from him. The Sail on the other flat line ate his 'hoo readily and it was game on for Brad. This fish was another better than average fish and put on an equally better than average show. We worked this fish to the boat several times and it finally allowed Devon to bill it. Brad was extremely happy as this was only his second Sailfish.

We got back into the shallow edge while the tide is still dumping off the reef. I was working my way up the reef in 60 feet of water when 2 bull Dolphin crashed our baits. We hooked them both and Chris and Brad were doing the fire drill shuffle. It didn’t take too awful long before the guys had them boat side and Devon brought them aboard.

We got back into position and in the next 15 minutes we had another cow Dolphin on. This was a good fish and Brad was working it. When he got it to the boat, Murphy’s Law came into play. I’m not sure what happened there but the fish was gone. My friend was out of bait and headed for the dock, as did others who had come in the area to join us. We remained a while longer. Time was waning as Brad gave us the nod. We dumped the baits hoping we might get one more Sailfish for the day. That’s not happening this time!

We readied the boat for the run in and I turned the pointy end toward home as I kicked The BEAST in the butt. This was an enjoyable 2 days with 2 good customers. This was the first time they had been fishing with us during the winter Sailfish season. I guarantee it won’t be their last.

There is nothing more exciting than catching Sailfish on light spinning tackle. Sailfish are aerial acrobats that is second to none and tough as nails when going down and dirty. They exhibit beauty, grace, speed and power. They breed excitement in 40 feet of water chasing bait, tailing in a big NE swell, or rising to your baits. The Sailfish is my favorite sporting fish, bar none, and the late fall/winter season is prime time!

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

We had a couple of back-to-back trips this past week that turned out pretty darn good. The weather blew like crazy last weekend so we postponed one of the trips until the winds and seas calmed down. These are the stories and I’m sticking to them.

Chris, her husband Drew, and their friend Steve arrived at the dock before Devon and I. I think they were a bit anxious! I met Chris a few years ago through a mutual friend and she decided to give us a call and set up this trip. By the time we got underway at 7 AM, they were really amped. We got reacquainted as we headed to our first bait stop.

Arriving at one of my favorite Hardtail holes, Devon explained what and how we were doing this as he put the lines in the water. Like magic, the rods kept bending over and the live well was filling up quickly. We had plenty of H’tails so we made the short run to a Ballyhoo patch. It took about 8-10 minutes of chumming to get the worms to the surface but when they did, it was easy pickings. We had about 2-3 dozen worms in the well when I broke out the Calusa cast net and covered them up. This topped off the bait wells and we were out of there.

We reached the offshore grounds in minutes and Devon put out the normal 5-line spread. I kept looking for anything that would draw my attention and the attention of the fish. The water was clean of any type of debris and we had that dreaded slow trickle of current to the South. 30 minutes into it, I turned around from the helm as Devon was checking on the down rod. I saw a dark shadow in the water. Sailfish! Sailfish on the left flat! The fish raised his sail and turned to eat the bait. I allowed the fish to eat the bait while on free spool a few seconds, tripped the bail, and then handed the rod to Drew. Fish on! The entire crew was excited, including this Captain and his Mate. The fish was strong and made a steady 150-yd run yet never leaving the water. We figured he was a good one and when he turned he began doing the aerial assault. The fish spent more time out of the water, than in it! Another 10 minutes of down & dirty fighting and the fish went airborne again. This time his acrobatic antics were not as lengthy. Meanwhile, Devon had left out 1 flat line bait. Yup! Fish on! This was a nice “lifter” Dolphin and Chris took the rod. She was all over this fish and that was a good thing because Drew’s Sail wasn’t an average fish and he wasn’t quite done. Devon lifted Chris’ Mahi into the boat and we turned our focus back to the Sailfish. One more halfhearted attempt at, in the air, in your face, leaps right at the boat and we were ready to bring the fish aboard for a photo. I estimate the fish to be in the high 50-pound class. Devon had the leader and was reaching for the bill when the leader gave out. Dang! Long battles often wear the leader too thin against their 80-grit sandpaper bill. It was a legal catch though.

We set everything back up and went at it again. We missed 3 bites on the down rod, which definitely appeared to be “snake” Kings. Devon added another hook to the rig and we hooked one up. It was as suspected, a small Kingfish, so we immediately released it.

We bagged the surface fishing for a bit to look for some bigger fish. You guessed it, the Grunt & Sweat. We made several drops but the current was slow and wrong. We did manage to get one good hookup and Steve started working on the fish. You notice that I said started because he handed the rod off to Drew. Just like the trip before them; Steve took the rod over for the end of the fight. After we got the 28# AJ into the boat, like deja vous, we immediately revoked his “Man card” too. We lost about 3 more hook ups and decided to give this up to hunt for some Dorado.

Devon put out our troll rigs and we set out in search of debris. As we reached the 400’ line, I caught glimpses of what appeared to be a weed line. We neared 500’ to find a long weed line with enormous mats, by today’s standards. The weeds were eelgrass with a fair mix of sargassum. I began rummaging down the edges and we picked up another nice “lifter” Dolphin. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a few Sooty Terns working the water. U-turn… sorry Devon! As we passed by a big mat, a couple of rods went down. We missed 2 Dorado but Steve did have one on. Holy slow motion Batman! I never saw anyone crank on a fish as slow as he does. He reminded me of the Walleye fishermen on TV saying it’s a big one and turn the reel handle at 1 rpm. He lost a good lifter. We made a few more passes at the birds and picked up a little Blackfin Tuna.

We threw in the towel when we ran out of weeds and headed back in to try for fish on the edge again. Nothing happening, not even when we chummed all the live wells out. Not true! The Frigates and Terns had a good supper. Drew gave me the word so Devon and I buttoned up the boat.

We had a lot of fun and made fun of slow motion Steve. We lost many fish but I did manage to get a picture of the crew with all of their fish that got away!

The following day we had a trip with Adrian and her husband Ted. The day started out as any other except that we were greeted with a gorgeous sunrise.

Everything was business as usual on the way out, other than I changed up on the bait patches. The results were almost equal as well except that we didn’t need as much bait since this was only a ¾ day. Next step is to get our sterns offshore and start fishing.

The weeds from the day before were scattered all about and unworkable. A quick search for clean water and we ended up working south of where we were the day before. The current was about the same, light to the South. Ugh! We put out our spread and made a few maneuvers when Devon pointed out some Frigates on the deck about ¾ of a mile south and moving north. I took a 45 angle toward them but left the throttles at idle so I wouldn’t spook whatever it was. Several minutes later and the birds were almost on us when they took a course change to swing into our bait spread. BOOM! The down rod lights up as the right rigger gets blasted. The fish on the rigger was a nice “gaffer” and the other was larger which was obvious as it took to the sky. Nice! We have a set of Dolphin, the Bull and Cow, Mr & Ms Mahi! Minutes of sure mayhem ensued with lines crossed and Ted & Adrian going around the boat in a weaving motion. This over and under angling continued until we got the Bull close enough. Devon threw the big steel hook over top of him and with one pull, stoned him dead! Good job Devo, that fish never even quivered on the deck. We now turned our attention to Adrian and the Cow. Adrian did a great job and so did Devon when he put the steel to this fish as well. Good job all the way around the boat. That was textbook Dolphin fishing right there! We scaled the fish and confirmed that we had a 16-pound Cow and a 20-pound Bull. That is a great way to start the day!

We worked the area for a good bit more. That’s enough! Nothing else wanted to come out and play so we will go hunting at you guessed it, the Grunt & Sweat! This is as much fun for Devon and I as it is for the crew. We love to see their faces as they realize the power of these fish for the first time. Upon arrival, we noticed a Frigate getting lower and then he dives down to the water. When I got into position, Devon pitched a bait in front of the bird. Nothing! As Devon reeled in the bait he noticed a fish following it. He stopped the bait and the fish made a small circle and ate the bait. Shark on, Ted! Yep, we had a 3’ Silky shark. We released this small fish. When we arrived at the wreck the story gets short. A South current and nothing biting on the speed jigs or the live Hardtails. We did manage to catch a small Scamp Grouper on a small Hardtail. Ted said he had never seen a Barracuda and wanted to catch one. OK… I know just the place to catch them. We abandoned the wreck and headed off to the spot I had in mind. We ran north to this spot where we found the same current but only at a trickle. While we were hunting for this ‘Cuda, Devon pitched a very small speed jig and hooked up, handing the small 15-pound rod to Ted. Ted had a match on this tackle and a few minutes later he boated a nice Yellow Jack.

I can’t believe that we are having trouble trying to catch a ‘Cuda. We finally got the bite on the down rod and the apparent headshake on the rod tells us it is the target species. A few minutes later this small version of our Caribbean Spotted Mackerel breaks the surface. Devon hands the fish aboard and Ted gets his photo with a Barracuda.

Even though it was past quitting time we sidled in closer to the edge to dump the wells and see if the live chum could spark up a Sailfish or another Mahi. After a long wait working around the area, all we saw were Frigates feeding on our chummed baits. More than an hour past our dock arrival time, we threw in the towel, secured the gear, and I turned The BEAST toward home.

Fall is coming! The bait is getting thick and the fall Dolphin run is beginning. The numbers of Sailfish are not far behind. This is the time of year that I like with cooler temperatures and jumping Sailfish. It doesn’t get much better than that in S. Florida.

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