Well Into 2024

Report Date: January 30, 2024

It’s hard to believe that the first month of 2024 is almost over. The fishing so far this year can probably be best described as spotty. We have had some great days, some so-so days and some slow days. At least we have caught fish on every single one of our trips. Our best day sailfishing so far this year has been 11 releases in one day followed by 7 releases in one day. The rest of the trips have been anywhere from 1 to 5 releases a day. Good sailfishing is usually created by north current, blue water, decent wind direction and strength and presence of bait offshore. We have had most of these conditions but until this past week or so, we have not had a good amount of bait offshore. The bait that we like to see offshore is flying fish, bullet bonitos and ballyhoo. We have not had that in the past month or so, but last week, the bait started showing up and the sailfish were right there with them. The fishing has drastically improved in just one week. The sailfishing will continue to improve with the passing of every cold front and due to El Nino, we are seeing a ton of cold fronts this year. After the passing of every cold front, I can’t wait to go out there and put up the kites and hopefully have a double-digit release day. BTW — by cold fronts, the temperature is in the 50’s which may be cold for us Floridians, but with the rest of the nation below zero, its still balmy South Florida to the rest of the country.

What has not been spotty has been the daytime swordishing. It has been very consistent and quite good. We haven’t had any huge fish this year, but it’s still only January and we have sword trip tomorrow, so tomorrow may be the day! With daytime swordishing, we use an electric/manual reel. It’s a Penn International 80 coupled with a Hooker detachable drive. With this reel, you can use the electric to lift the bait up if you don’t get a bite on that drop and can wind the fish by hand when you do get a bite. You can also use the electric to fight the fish, the option is purely yours. For those purists that strictly want a manual reel, we have developed another method. We use a Penn 50 wide with 50-pound Sufix braid. We have a 200-pound wind on leader. At the top of the wind on leader we attached a 3- or 4-pound lead that stays fixed on. We crimp the bait onto the leader and use an 8-pound steel weight that we deploy to the bottom. Once the bait hits the bottom, the 8-pound weight slips off and you stay at or near the bottom with the 3- or 4-pound lead. Remember we are fishing in 1600 to 1800 feet of water, so if this is the route you take, there is a lot of winding up if you don’t hook a fish. This method complies with IGFA rules. If this is the option you want, please contact us beforehand so we can make sure we have the right equipment on board.

I would also like to mention that I won Top Release captain for Atlantic Sailfish. I have won this award 7 out of the past 10 years and this would only be possibly due to the great charters I have plus all the sponsors that help us out immensely. I am also thankful for having such a hard working mate (Billy) who also won top Sailfish mate of the year. A special thanks to my family for putting up with my long hours. It takes dedication and hard work to achieve this award but is well worth the smiles we put on people’s faces!

The next few months will be hardcore kite fishing mostly for sailfish, with a few swordfish trips mixed in. We have the Miami Boat Show coming up in February and we are almost completely booked up, but still have one or two days open. Give us a call and let’s set up that wintertime trip and come enjoy the beautiful weather we have in South Florida in the winter!

Tight Lines
Capt. Dean Panos

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