Miami - Haulover to Fowey Light

4/1/02 What a change in current does to the fishing. As the week progressed the current died off and with it the fishing slowed down. On Friday the current was almost at a standstill and the fishing was slow. Come Saturday, the current picked up to about 1 – 2 knots to the North, the blue water moved in to about 200 feet, and the sailfish started biting. We had three sailfish on our morning trip and 7 sailfish in the afternoon trip. We managed to get 5 out of those 10 sailfish. The ratio wasn’t that good, but having 10 shots in a day is pretty good. Besides the sailfish we also caught kingfish, and heard of a few boats that caught some cobia. On Sunday, the current was off the charts. At one point the current was going 5 knots to the North. The blue water edge moved in to about 130 feet, and everything looked like it was about to explode. With the conditions as good as they were, I figured our sailfish would come quick. Two hours into the trip, and we didn’t even have a bite. Go figure – conditions were perfect, we had great baits (goggle eyes and herring) wind for the kites, but no bites. We made a move, and within minutes we had our first sailfish. We ended the day with two sailfish and we saw one or two more. Not bad, but considering the conditions, I would have expected more. I was not the only one scratching my head, as the other captains had similar thoughts. Well, hopefully the sailfish were taking a break, so they can fire it up for the Miami Billfish Tournament this upcoming weekend. Got to go goggle eye fishing, so I; ll be back in touch after the tournament. Update – 4/2/02 Went tarpon fishing tonight, and it has been the best tarpon fishing I have seen this season. We ended up 5 out of 7 tarpon, and every fish except one, over 100 pounds. The tarpon strikes were vicious and all the tarpon made long runs from the beaches and into the cut. Don’t miss out on great tarpon fishing – Give me a call and lets set up a trip. Tight Lines and Good Fishing, Capt. Dean Panos