Ronnie And Richie Have A Great Day

Our friends Ronnie and Richie have been fishing with us several times in the past few months.  We really appreciate the fact that they keep coming back to fish with us so we wanted to do everything in our power to insure they had a great time!  The day before the trip, our crew caught bait and worked on all the gear to make sure everything was in good order. The L&H got an early start and headed straight to the fishing grounds. Lines were set as the sun was coming up, but unfortunately no early bite today.  After pounding the edge for a while it was time to work our way farther offshore. Finally we got a good bite on the long rigger and Ronnie went to work. From the way the fish was acting I was pretty sure it was a tuna. Not long after, Ronnie had a nice blackfin tuna to gaff! Continuing offshore, it wasn't long before I spotted a big weed line on the horizon! The area looked great as the crew began to pick away at smaller size mahi. Traveling south and into the current the conditions kept getting better and better. Birds, bait and game fish all cruised the weed line and it wasn't long before bigger and bigger mahi began to show up. Richie and Ronnie battled the hungry mahi and the action was nonstop!  The fish were all ten to twenty pounds and these scrappy fish put up a great fight on light spinning gear! For a couple hours, the team was having a mahi mahi free for all! It was so much fun, everyone was having a ball! I knew we were getting close to the limit so I had everyone take a break and cool off in the air conditioned salon! A final count revealed we were one fish shy of the limit! Ronnie quickly added another fish to our tally and it was time to try something else. We headed back inshore to try some deep dropping! Conditions were less than favorable, as the current was very strong! Nevertheless we decided to give it a try anyway. It was nearly impossible to fish, but somehow we were still rewarded with a few rosefish for our efforts. By now it was early afternoon and with a box full of fish everyone agreed it was a good day to head in a little bit early. The guys relaxed inside the cabin on the way home after another great day of Miami charter fishing on the L&H!

An L&H Type Of Day For Gus And His Guys

Gus and a couple friends booked the L&H for a full day of Miami charter fishing!  The South Florida weather was beautiful as we steamed offshore at sunrise.  Our plan was to try the edge first then work our way from there later in the day. As soon as the L&H crossed over the edge, the lines were set and they got bit immediately! This was a great start to the day as the sun was barely up over the horizon and our anglers were tied into hard fighting fish. The first fish to come in were feisty bonita. The action continued as the morning wore on much to the delight of the captain and crew! When the dust settled, the quick stop on the reef, netted us several bonitos and a few nice sized kingfish! Now it was time to head offshore to the gulf stream and try our luck further out. Only a few miles from the reef edge, the left short went off and we were once again hooked up! This time a nice wahoo was at the end of the line and after a nice fight, the fish was gaffed and put in the fish box!  Time to get going again and see what else the day had to offer. From my perch in the tuna tower I could see a big weed line off in the distance! Excitement and anticipation were the feelings I had as we headed for the weed line! It looked so good, there had to be some hungry mahi in our near future. All the conditions were right and it did not take long to spot the first mahi! A frisky live bait was presented to the colorful mahi as it cruised under the sea weed looking for an easy meal. The mahi raced over and engulfed the hapless bait fish and we were once again hooked up! Then up from the depths more and more fish started showing up.  Soon Gus and the gang were all busy hooking, fighting and eventually landing nice sized mahi mahi!  The weed line was full of fish and we had it all to ourselves! I slowly cruised the L&H down the line finding fish almost at will! All of the fish we were seeing were nice sized and every once in a while a big fish would come into the mix! The crew was working together like a well oiled machine! With perfect conditions for sight fishing it was almost too easy! After a couple hours I was sure we were close to the limit and decided to stop the boat and count the fish to make sure we did not have too many! We pulled all of the mahi out of our icy hold and just as we expected we had our limit of ten fish per person! Now it was time to try for something else! Since we were in twelve hundred feet of water, some deep dropping was the perfect tactic to try next! The crew quickly shifted gears and got out our deep drop rigs. By the time everything was set up we reached the first spot! As our anglers relaxed in the air conditioned cabin, the lines were sent down. Today was one of those days where everything that we tried seemed to work and the deep water bottom fishing proved to be no different. Immediately after the baits it the bottom we started getting bites. This time it would be the brightly colored rose fish that would fall victim to our baited hooks. Several drops were made and in short order the team added nearly fifty rosies to our nearly full fish box! By now it was starting to get late and time to head home.  As I steered towards home, a big school of blackjacks caught my eye. Why not have some fun with light tackle, I thought to myself, as I maneuvered into position. The guys broke out the little rods and artificial lures and put a hurting on the scrappy fish. We use these fish for a variety of things and even though we caught a bunch of them very quickly, none would go to waste! With the box full and our anglers exhausted it was yet another awesome day of charter fishing off Miami aboard the L&H!

Fun Morning With The Lee Marks Family

Our friend Lee Marks booked the L&H for a half day of Miami charter fishing.  Lee, his three boys, and his wife came aboard one nice summer morning! We have known the Marks family for a long time and they have always been good to us so it was important to make sure his family was well taken care of! It was a short trip to the bait spot and the Marks boys sprung into action. The boys were obviously accomplished bait fishermen and had plenty of frisky live baits in our circulating bait well in short order. It did not take long for the L&H to reach the gulf stream and start searching for pelagic game fish! As we worked our way further offshore, the conditions continued to improve. "Left rigger!"  Someone shouted as the line came out of the clip and we were hooked up just like that. A nice mahi danced on the end of our Bullbuster fishing line as young Stefano battled the fish to boat side. With dinner in the fish box, we resumed our hunt and soon found another mahi for the boys. The patches of sea weed were teeming with life. Consistent action with good sized mahi kept smiles on every ones faces! A few hours into our trip, Hunter found himself hooked into a big rainbow runner. This fish was a strong fighter, but its excellent table fare would make the fight worth it. With the rainbow and a bunch of nice mahi in our icy hold, it was time to start making our way closer in. Then out of nowhere, I spotted a big mahi on the surface and had the boys get a live bait to the fish. The bait hit the water and immediately raced for cover in a piece of sea weed. Not to be deterred, the big, hungry mahi charged over and crashed into the weed trying to get the hapless bait fish. It was a beautiful sight to watch as the mahi made several attempts at the bait before finally plucking it from the sea weed. As soon as the fish felt hook it went airborne in an attempt to throw the hook. Then another big fish showed up, and was quickly hooked. Just like that, we had two big fish on and the both went in separate directions. The two boys battled the fish and after a little while, Hunter had his fish almost to gaff range. Just feet from gaff,  the big mahi made one last jump and threw the hook. Unfortunately after a tough fight, the other mahi got away as well. Thats fishing, you win some and you lose some! The boys did not seem to mind and were happy to know that these fish would be waiting for them next time! We had a great ride back to the marina, where our crew took pictures of the catch and cut up a bunch of tasty filets for Lee and his family! It was a fun day and we look forward to fishing with these guys again soon!