Thursday, November 28, 2013
Josu Gaubeka Has A Great Half Day Of Miami Charter Fishing
Our friend Josu, who has fished with us on Miami's best charter boat, the L&H, several times before was back out to do it again. Josu often fishes with his family, but today he was joined by some business associates. After catching some live bait we decided to start the day off doing some kite fishing. Only a few miles off Key Biscayne, there was nice blue water and a light current. While we were setting out the baits, a hungry sailfish came and ate the right middle kite bait, then two nice sized dolphin engulfed the two other live baits dangling from our fishing kite! While all of this was happening, another feisty Atlantic sailfish attacked the left middle kite bait and just seconds later a large dolphin rushed in to devour the only bait left in the water! Just like that, our group of four fishermen were hooked up to five big fish, all at the same time! I maneuvered the L&H over to the first big mahi and Jim gaffed the colorful fish and put it in the fish box. Then minutes later the second mahi came over the rail and shortly after that the third mahi joined his companions in our icy hold! Now it was time to concentrate on the sailfish. I backed our charter boat toward the frisky billfish and before long both fish were released unharmed to fight another day! It was a terrific start to Josu's day of charter fishing and the L&H was just getting warmed up! Jim quickly reset the kite baits and almost as fast as the baits were going out, they were getting eaten by hungry gamefish! Two more sailfish were released and a few more good sized mahi were brought aboard. Then Josu got a big bite on the deep line and everyone knew that this was going to be something different! After a good fight, our angler hauled a beautiful twelve pound mutton snapper into the boat! It was beginning to feel like one of those days where we could do nothing wrong. Another multiple hook up yielded a few nice size tuna to our growing catch and as Jim put the last stubborn, sushi quality tuna in the box some more mahi mahi swam up. The customers quickly started casting out live baits on our custom leeward rods with fin-nor spinning reels and in the blink of an eye there were mahis jumping everywhere. We were able to catch most of the fish in the school and now it was almost time to head back to Crandon Park Marina. We agreed to reset the baits one last time and give it a few more minutes. As luck would have it, we found ourselves hooked up to another triple header. This time our group of fishermen found themselves battling three different species. Another nice mahi came aboard, the fifth sailfish of the day was successfully released and our friend Josu put the icing on the cake when he reeled in a gorgeous grouper that had taken a live bait suspended just off the bottom! I continued to ride the tower on the way home searching for just one more fish. Just seconds before turning the L&H west and heading for home I spotted two big mahi swimming in only forty feet of water. Like clockwork, two baits went out and both fish were hooked up! After some acrobatic jumps by the wonderful mahi, both fish were gaffed and added to our nearly full fish box! Everyone onboard enjoyed the smooth, calm ride back to the marina. When we arrived at the dock, with sailfish release flags flying high, Jim and I took some photos of our guests with the days catch. After that we cleaned and packaged a bunch of fish for our guests to take with them! I was truly a great half day of Miami charter fishing for Josu and friends and just another example of why the L&H is Miami's best charter boat!
Friday, November 22, 2013
Good Day With Danny And Daniel Huebsch
Danny had been fishing on the L&H for a very long time. Today he was joined by his son Daniel and I was very excited about having the next generation along with us. We got a very early start and were the first ones to leave the marina. After leaving the marina we went north, but today the bait were very tough to catch and it took a long time to get what we needed. At first, fishing with the kites, our team started strait out front. The water was a greenish blue and there was not much current, but it was worth a try. After a while with no bites and reports of better conditions farther to the south it was time to reel in the lines and make the move. After running south almost twenty miles it was like we were in a different ocean! Beautiful blue water was all the way in to the reef and there was a very strong north current. We put the baits back out and got a few nice mahis right off the bat. A short time later I saw a sailfish tailing down sea way inshore of us. I maneuvered the boat close to the sail and it grabbed the first bait he saw and Danny was hooked up. The sailfish was very strong and full of energy. As Danny continued to fight the sailfish out in the deep, another fish ate one of the kite baits off the bow and we now had a father and son double header! Danny and his son did great fighting the sailfish and we were able to release both fish successfully. After adding a couple more mahis to the fish box, it was time to make another run back south. As soon as the baits went back out, Daniel hooked a nice fish on the deep line. After a good battle, our angler hauled up a nice grouper. It was shaping up to be a good day. Not long after boating that fish, our guys hooked two more sails on the kite. Again it was a father and son double header! As before, the father son duo did great and were able to get both fish to the boat and release each fish unharmed. Daniel had a flight to catch so the L&H headed back in a little early to make sure he did not miss his plane. All of us onboard had a great time and we are looking forward to getting back out there with the Huebsch family soon!
Monday, November 18, 2013
Juan Fabini Stays Busy With A Variety Of Fish
Juan Fabini has fished with us on the L&H before and we were excited to have him back out with us! The fishing had been good lately so we were excited about what the day had to offer. After catching bait we decided to start out kite fishing, but with very little current we did not get any bites. Off in the distance I could see some birds so we pulled the kites in and headed toward the flock of diving sea gulls. As we got closer, everyone watched as nice size tuna tore up the surface of the water. Within seconds we were hooked up and line melted off our fin-nor reels! These fish fought hard and the crew worked together to put several nice fish in our icy hold. It wasn't long before we found another hungry tuna school and as we fished the school it seemed as of more and more fish started showing up. Our lines were getting bit as soon as they hit the water and it didn't seem to matter what we put out, the fish would eat it. Before long the two couples fishing with us that day had landed almost thirty of the mixed sized tunas. Out of nowhere, we caught a nice mahi mahi and added that to our collection of fish. With a light current, it seemed like a good time to try some deep water bottom fishing. We trolled out to a spot in over one-thousand feet of water and sent down several circle hooks with a large lead baited with cut bait. We started getting bites almost as soon as we hit the bottom, and Juan and his guests started catching rosefish one after the other. Although we did not get any big bites our team landed almost forty of the colorful rosefish in short order! It was time to start heading back in, but I stayed in the tuna tower and continued to search hoping to find something on the way home. Just north of the inlet I spotted a pack of four sailfish swimming on the surface. The fish were hungry, but unfortunately luck was not on our side! We hooked all four sails, but were only able to get one of them alongside the L&H for a successful release! The other three sailfish got away for a variety of reasons. Nonetheless, Juan was very happy with the sailfish release as this was the first he had ever seen! We headed back to the dock and took some photos and cut up some fish for our friends. It was another fun day on the L&H and we kept Juan and his guests busy with a variety of good eating and strong fighting fish!
Friday, November 15, 2013
Kai Has Good Half Day
Kai is from the northeast and came down to fish a half day with us on the L&H! The wind was out of the east at about fifteen knots and the seas were running two to four feet. We decided to head offshore to the gulf stream and look for mahi and tuna. At first the action was slow, but then I saw some birds off in the distance. As I got closer to the diving gannets, we could see nice size tuna feeding underneath! Our first pass yielded a triple hook up and things were starting to look better. I stayed with the birds (and feeding tuna) as they traveled north with the gulf stream current. Kai (our star angler for the day) continued to catch nice size tuna one after the other. Finally after a couple hours we had to leave the school as we were getting pretty far north and had to fight the current to get home. I steered the L&H down the same line that we followed the tuna school earlier and we still managed to catch a few more of the hard fighting fish. Just before it was time to start heading for the marina, we spotted a frigate bird and decided to check him out. As the L&H motored close to the diving frigate, a couple of nice dolphin raced in and got hooked up. Then a big dolphin appeared and Kai hooked this fish on light tackle! Again, Kai showed us his superb angling skills as he battled the stubborn mahi all the way to gaff! Jim reached out and sank the gaff in the mahi and pulled the fish over the rail! By now we were running late for our afternoon charter and our team raced for the dock! Kai decided to get his trophy mahi mounted and we cut up some nice tuna fillets for dinner. It was a great half day of fishing and we are looking forward to fishing with our pal Kai again soon!
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Great Family Fishing With The Kids
We went out on a family fishing trip with my wife Debbi, our three children, my dad, brother Freddie and his two kids (Jody and Hayden) along with our long time friend Jim Hendrix and boy did we have a good time! After getting an early start, the L&H headed offshore. Before the sun even broke the horizon, Debbi spotted a frigate bird off in the distance and as we got closer everyone could see hungry tuna feeding under the diving frigate! Excitement mounted as we approached the school of fish and when we got into position, lines started popping out of the outrigger clips, rods began bending over, and reels and children started screaming from the pull of the fast moving tuna! Five tuna pulled for all they were worth, but they were no match for the five eager children who battled the strong fish to the boat! Before long, blackfin and skipjack tuna were coming over the rail and landing in the fish box! Jim and Freddie stayed in the tower and kept up with the rapidly moving tuna school. Multiple hook ups were the rule rather than the exception and Debbi and I worked feverishly to keep getting the lines out! Before most people were even out of bed that morning, our crew of kids (most of whom were under the age of 10) had boated over twenty nice tuna to about fifteen pounds! Everyone was having a blast! As the sun continued to climb, the tuna became more difficult to catch so we decided to head further out! Several miles offshore, I was watching the bottom machine when I watched the water depth plummet from 1000 feet to over 1200 feet in less than one hundred yards! We had found a deep hole in the ocean floor out in the middle of nowhere!! Freddie and Jim quickly spun the boat around to the spot I had now marked on our gps! James readied a rig and we baited several hooks and sent them to the bottom with a large lead. The instant our rig hit the bottom, we began getting bites! The kids started taking up the fish with the help of an electric reel. As everyone peered over the side, anxious to see what we had, we were delighted to see a full string of nice sized rose fish! There was one on every hook! We sent the rig down again, and this time with even better results! Although I didn't think it was possible, we had a fish on every hook, but this time one of the hooks had two fish on it!!! It was amazing! We made a few more drops with great success and then decided to call it a day. We headed back to the marina where we had pizzas delivered and took a bunch of photos with the kids and cut up lots of great eating fish for my brother, dad and family!!!!!
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