Fishing Reports
December Sails Are Here
Report Date: December 18, 2009
We are settled in to some pretty good fishing in Miami. The sailfish are biting and even when the conditions are not right we are still averaging 2 to 3 sailfish per day. Our best day last week we caught 8 out of 13 sailfish. Catching 8 sailfish in a day is no doubt a great day, but as the cold fronts come though, these days will get even better. What I like the most about sailfishing in South Florida is that a lot of the fishing is visual. You get your kites out with baits dangling on the surface and then you wait. While you are waiting you are looking in the water and looking all around for signs of fish. More often than not, you will see the sailfish before it eats the bait. This is important as you can react to the bite instead of just waiting for the rod to double over. It is also way more exciting to see the fish come up and eat the bait. Once they are hooked, the dance is on as they usually run, jump, flip and do all sort of wild acrobatics trying to shake the hook lose. We strictly use circle hooks for sailfish and that allows the hook to be lodged in the corner of the jaw. It eliminates gut hooking and ensures a healthy release. Fish caught on circle hooks tend to dance around more and fight harder since they are not hooked in the stomach or other vital organs. We tend to tag a lot of our sailfish and it is surprising how many recapture reports I get. Just yesterday I received a recapture report from a sailfish I tagged in Miami last February. That same sailfish was retagged last week and was in excellent condition. It just goes to show you that catch and release, especially with circle hooks does work.
Besides sailfish, there have also been quite a few dolphin around. The dolphin have been mere peanuts to fish up to 20 pounds. There have also been a few decent size kingfish as well as some small blackfin tuna mixed in with skipjacks and bonitas.
Since my last report, we did one more daytime swordfish trip. We made 4 drops and had 4 fish on. The first fish turned out to be an escolar. The second drop we hooked a fish and lost him on the way up. The third drop produced a 200 pound plus swordfish. This fish fought hard and was barely hooked in the cheek and the lower jaw. I saw where the hooks were placed and luckily backed off the drag so as not to pull the hooks. Backing off the drag though made the fish fight harder and pull more line, but we were lucky and after an hour or so got the sword boatside. Our fourth drop we had another bite that we missed and then called it a day. I don’t have any more daytime sword trips booked this week or next, but if the weather is right, I’m sure that the swords will cooperate.
As we get real close to the holidays, if you still haven’t found the perfect gift, I do offer gift certificates for a trip aboard the Double D. I also still have some open dates during the holidays, so if you relatives or friends in town or simply want to go fishing give me a call and we can set it up.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Dean Panos