Key West Kite fishing
Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2017 10:20 pm
We chartered out with Al Ware Are the Fish Charters out of The Hurricane Hole , Key West Fla., today on a breezy , 15 -20 mph, mid 80 degree day for a try at sails. The seas were running 4-5 ' with an occasional 6 'thrown in, on top of a pretty good swell. A wild, wonderful introduction to kite fishing. In order to keep the kite in the correct position to run 3 lines with big eyes on a float for bait, meant the boat , a 34' center console with twin 300 E-techs, had to be in the trough all day. The kite pulls 3 lines out 3 or 4 hundred feet , attatched with clips, same as outrigger or planer board releases, and adjusted so the bait is suspended just subsurface. If you let it get too deep , the sharks can get it, but with there mouths on their bottom side, they have a hard time getting the bait in their mouth.
The day started out slow but finally after 2 hours, my buddy Paul hooked a Sailfish on the closest line and the fish , maybe a 7 footer came right at the boat, around the back , and leaped almost into the boat. I think the leader rubbed on the bottom of the boat and he was gone. We spent the next couple of hours catching large bonita, 10 to 15 lbs, which put up a pretty good fight themselves. Evidently bonita are a good indicator for Sails. After we had a hectic flurry of doubles on Sails , but quickly lost one , and I saw the other surface a 1/4 mile away. My friend Sam got it within 100 feet of the boat , but with a spectacular leap he broke off. I finished the day off with a 30 pound cobia, my first ever which fed 6 o f us dinner , a nice flaky white meat. Just seeing Sailfish close up is very exciting and I may go again on Sat. Tomorrow is a nighttime tarpon trip. Hopefully bones next week. The Keys are the place to be when your not on Champlain, just beautiful.I will try some pics later.
The day started out slow but finally after 2 hours, my buddy Paul hooked a Sailfish on the closest line and the fish , maybe a 7 footer came right at the boat, around the back , and leaped almost into the boat. I think the leader rubbed on the bottom of the boat and he was gone. We spent the next couple of hours catching large bonita, 10 to 15 lbs, which put up a pretty good fight themselves. Evidently bonita are a good indicator for Sails. After we had a hectic flurry of doubles on Sails , but quickly lost one , and I saw the other surface a 1/4 mile away. My friend Sam got it within 100 feet of the boat , but with a spectacular leap he broke off. I finished the day off with a 30 pound cobia, my first ever which fed 6 o f us dinner , a nice flaky white meat. Just seeing Sailfish close up is very exciting and I may go again on Sat. Tomorrow is a nighttime tarpon trip. Hopefully bones next week. The Keys are the place to be when your not on Champlain, just beautiful.I will try some pics later.