Busy Afternoon Half Day

It was a windy, fall, afternoon half day and our trip was only four hours. With some frisky live baits swimming happily in the large circulating bait well, I decided to head straight to the edge and get right to it. As the boat slowed down just past the edge of the reef, the baits went out and we were fishing in no time! Our guests for the afternoon were from the mid-west and were happy to catch anything.  Suddenly a decent sized mahi charged in and ate out long rigger bait. I made a turn to go back through the area and another good sized mahi mahi came racing in on my bridge rod. The fish swam behind the skipping bait for a few seconds before committing to it and we were on again. Happy with our quick start, we continued to work the area. This time when the rod bent over it was from the pull of a good sized kingfish. Customers, crew and captain alike were enjoying the immediate success as the L&H pounded the spot. Suddenly I saw a sailfish closing in on my bait dragging from the one rod I was fishing from the fly bridge. The fish tried the bait, but missed. Not to be deterred, the hungry sail came from behind with even more determination. When the sailfish grabbed the rigged, natural bait I dropped back for several seconds to make sure the feeding billfish had time to swallow the bait. Upon feeling the sting of our sharp hook, the beautiful sail took to the air and raced for the horizon. Everyone grabbed a rod and began clearing lines as fast as possible so we could begin to chase the fleeing billfish that was now several hundred yards away! After a tough battle we had the fish along side the boat for a few quick pictures and a healthy release. Quickly the lines were set back out and the hunt for gamefish resumed. Out in the deep, a frigate bird swooped down to the waters surface, a sure sign that a feeding gamefish was not far behind. When we reached the spot where the frigate was diving, I could see a couple sailfish chasing bait only a few feet below the waters surface. Maneuvering the L&H into position, and presenting a live bait was just what the doctor ordered and one of the hungry sailfish casually swam up and engulfed the hapless live bait. By now everyone knew the drill and quickly cleared the other lines so we could chase the fish down. Shortly thereafter we had our second sail of the day alongside the L&H for a quick release. With only a little time left, it was time to start working our way back in. Just before taking the lines out of the water and heading for the marina, I spotted yet another sailfish chasing bait on the surface. For the third time in only a few hours, we were hooked up to a brilliantly colored, majestic sailfish! This fish determined to get away, greyhounded at a feverish pace across the clear, blue water! The L&H performed that familiar reverse rumble as we backed down in hot pursuit. Finally after covering a lot of ground we caught up to the now exhausted sail and made another successful release. On the way home our home, our clients enjoyed the air conditioned salon as they reflected on another great day of sport fishing off Miami aboard the L&H!

Great Day For Leo And His Crew

Our friend Leo chartered us for a full day with some of his friends and we were excited about the possibilities!  Leo likes to get an early start so we were the first boat out!  The weather was beautiful as we ran to the bait spot.  Being the first boat to the bait patch is always nice and in short order we had what we needed for the day.  With a baitwell full of frisky live baits the L&H headed offshore to the gulf stream, armed and dangerous!  Just a couple miles inshore, of the spot we were planning on starting at, I spotted some birds on the horizon!   As we got closer, I could see a frigate and a few terns working over some fish!  "This is convenient" I thought to myself as I climbed the tuna tower to get a better look!  As the boat slowed down, I could see a nice school of hungry mahi swimming on the surface!  The crew sprang into action and soon there were colorful mahi being hooked up left and right!  As more and more fish showed up, it seemed like the perfect time for Leo to try his luck with the fly rod.  Leo made a great cast and within seconds a nice size mahi raced in and devoured the fly!  After some great angling by Leo, and a lot of maneuvering around other hooked fish, he brought his mahi to gaff!  We stayed in the school for a while and boated a bunch of mahi including several on fly!  With most of the other boats still scrambling for bait, we were in the meat and off to a great start!  Our team continued to pick away at mahi all morning as the L&H worked to the south.  Just before noon I spotted a piece of debris off in the distance.  As we got closer, I could see plenty of mahi and a cobia swimming by the floater.  Leo quickly hooked the cobia and shortly thereafter boated a nice triple tail!  Leo and the crew stayed busy with mahi and also caught a bunch of black jacks for good measure!  With a bunch of mahi and black jacks in our icy hold, it was time to switch gears and do some bottom fishing.  The boys got the rigs ready and when we made it to the spot, the lines went out immediately.  As soon as they hit the bottom, we were bit immediately!  Soon, the brilliantly colored rose fish were coming over the rail at a feverish pace!  The crew worked hard to keep the rigs going in and out and in no time at all there were several dozen rosefish in the box!  With a bunch of fish to clean and pictures to take, everyone agreed it would be a good idea to head in a little early!  It was a great day for Leo and his crew aboard the L&H and everyone went home a little sore from catching fish as well as big bags of fillets for dinner!

Max Has a Great Day

We went charter fishing that morning and the conditions were great! Our group from the morning trip managed to release eight sailfish so needless to say, I was chompin at the bit to get back out there! There was still plenty of bait so, the plan was to head strait out and start fishing right away! It wasn’t long at all and we were back to the edge and the kites went out. Before the crew was able to get all the baits out we hooked a triple header sailfish! This was just the start I was hoping for! Max was able to release two of the three sailfish and again the baits went back out. Before all the baits were out, two more sailfish were dancing behind the L&H!
After releasing both ends of the double header, I ran to the south to get back in front of the fish. The wind was starting to die so the kites were barely staying up. Max managed two more sailfish releases before the wind stopped and now we were at six releases for only a couple hours fishing! While the guys were working on a helium balloon (to keep the kite aloft) I spotted a free jumping sailfish. Seconds later, we were in position and the second the first bait hit the water a sailfish came up and devoured it! Hooked on light line, this sailfish took off greyhounding for the horizon! Although the fleeing sail did its best, it was no match for the L&H! The maneuverable Miami Charter Boat charged back on the suborn billfish and before long, our mate was able to successfully release our seventh sailfish of the afternoon! Now it was time for the helium balloon to do its job! After only minutes of waiting, Max hooked a sail on the kite and was able to catch and release the fish rather quickly. After that, the L&H was still in a good spot and so out went the baits. Again, Max hooked up right away, but this sailfish was much tougher, and it was a long fight. Finally, Max had his ninth sailfish of the afternoon at boatside. Max was very satisfied with his day and at the same time exhausted! I wanted Max to get to double digits, so we raced back to set up one last time. As soon as the first bait went out it was eaten by a hungry sailfish! We backed down quickly on the sail and my good friend Max released his TENTH SAILFISH of the afternoon! I was so very happy and proud of him! It was an amazing accomplishment and an action packed afternoon that none of us will soon forget! 

A Fun Afternoon With Drew

Drew came along on an afternoon sport fishing adventure aboard Miami's Best Charterboat the L&H!  The weather was beautiful and we took our time catching bait.  There were no other boats out so we had it all to ourselves.  As we ran offshore there was huge amounts of sea weed.  I knew where the fish had been the past few days so the plan was to run strait out and start in the same area we had been fishing.  No sooner had the L&H slowed down and baits started going out, I spotted something floating offshore of us.  It turned out to be a piece of wood with some rope entangled around it.  To get us started we found nice dolphin, a few tripletail, jacks and loads of triggerfish.  The seaweed seemed to go on for miles so we began to ride it to the south.  Right away I began spotting dolphin and when the bait went out the hungry mahi would race over to it.  The fish were all decent size and Drew was enjoying throwing out the bait and hooking the fish himself. A couple hours later we found ourselves in a nice school of keeper dolphin.  All of the sudden like so many times before a big fish swam up while we were busy catching small ones!  Drew was able to quickly hook a bait and throw it in front of the hungry mahi mahi.  The ravenous dolphin raced over and engulfed the happless baitfish much to the delight of every one onboard our successful charter fishing boat.  As usual Drew, our friend and repeat customer was able to battle the stubborn fish to the boat without any issues.  After the big fish was in the fish box our well oiled machine was able continue to work on the school.  Since we were close to our limit I decided to start heading inshore. This turned out to be a good move as I spotted nice size tuna breaking the  surface of the water.  The tuna were moving fast and it was difficult to to get into position.  Adding to the equation was the fact that there was so much sea weed.  Sometimes we would have everything looking right, but just as the fish were about to see the lures we would be covered up with sea weed.  Finally we go what the pass I wanted and hooked a triple header!  Line melted off the fin-nor reels as hooked tuna ran in all directions.  After some fancy footwork and alot of pumping and reeling all three of the tasty tunas found their way into the fish box.  The lines went back out and we caught another double header tunas.  After this Drew was ready to enjoy the air conditioned salon as we made our way comfortably back to Crandon Park Marina in Key Biscayne!  Once again it was another fun and successful day of charter fishing on the Miami Charter Boat L&H!

Richmond Brothers Have A Busy Day

The Richmond brothers have been charter fishing off Key Biscayne before, but never on the L&H!  We were excited to fish with three brothers and got an early start to what would be a great day of sportfishing on Miami's best charter boat.  After loading up with bait we headed out to try the edge first.  In the first hour of fishing the guys landed several bonita and a few kings.  From there we started heading to the south.  A friend on another boat told me he saw a big dolphin and there was a nice weed line so the boys started getting ready for mahi as we motored to the south.  Soon we reached the area where I heard about the mahi, and started to search.  A few minutes later we spotted a big bull dolphin swimming down the weed.  It was very close to where my friend told me he was and it was similar in size to what he said so I was sure it was the same fish.  We backed around chasing the acrobatic bull as our angler gained line at a feverish pace.  Minutes later we gaffed the fish and once again resumed the hunt.  A couple miles further I spotted a couple frigate birds working and this find would vault us into some excellent dolphin fishing.  Before getting even remotely close to the birds we started catching fish.  Within seconds the brothers were all hooked up to dolphin and would stay like that for a while.  More and more fish continued to swim up as the group added more and more mahi to our icy hold.  Around mid day the action started to slow down and we decided to go even farther south.  I was sure the guys had never seen or caught a permit so we pushed inshore to give it a shot.  We reached the area and looked around for a while without seeing anything.  The conditions were not bad, but without seeing any fish I was just about to leave.  Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a truly large fish.  The bait went out and the big, hungry permit raced over and engulfed it!  And just like that we were on!  Bullbuster line melted off the reel as we chased the angry fish in hot pursuit.  As was the norm for the day, our angler did a great job and after an exciting battle had the exhausted fish in the boat!!  We were so happy!!!  The brothers were happy with the permit and and the crew was happy with the great weather and great fishing that we were enjoying!!  By now we were pretty far from the dock and it was starting to get late so we started heading back.  On our way home we added a nice cobia and a few more dolphin to finish up what was a fun and exciting day of fishing on Miami's Best Charter Boat the L&H!!!

Sports Grill Guys Are In The Meat

We took our friends from the Sports Grill for a full day of Miami Charter Fishing!  These guys fished with us a few months ago and had a great time.  We got an early start, pulling out of Crandon Marina in Key Biscayne, FL just before 7:00 am.  The guys relaxed in the air conditioned salon on the way to the bait spot. Because of the early start, the bait was very cooperative and the L&H was on its way offshore in no time!  It was only a short ride to the gulf stream and with a lot of sea weed in the area, it looked fishy! Only minutes later we had our first fish, a nice mahi that Paulie hooked on a live bait. As we continued south, our team started finding more and more fish. Before long, every one was hooked up and with dolphin behind Miamis Best Charter Boat! As more and more of the tasty mahis made their way to our icy hold, the days catch continued to grow. At one point, as the guys were catching school sized fish, a nice one, over twenty pounds showed up. Before anyone was able to do anything, Paulie delivered a perfect cast and hooked up. He fought the fish flawlessly and had the tired mahi boatside in short order. By early afternoon everyone had caught plenty of fish and with the wind picking up we decided to go in and try kite fishing. Our goal was to see if we could get lucky and add a tuna to the tally. There was a lot of seaweed on the edge. That in combination with the sun’s glare in our eyes would make it tough to fish the kite. None the less we put everything out and were soon fishing with twelve live baits in the water. Twenty minutes later, Eddie hooked a big fish on the center kite!  From the way the fish was acting we were pretty sure it was a tuna. The Sports Grill guys know how to fish and Eddie had the fish at the boat rather quickly.  They now had nice tuna to go along with some fresh mahi. A little while longer, another big fish was hooked up and this time it was dads turn. After a fun fight, dad was able to add another nice sized tuna to what was already a great catch! By now it was starting to get late and everyone agreed to start heading back! Back at Crandon Park Marina we pulled out the catch, took some photos for our guys and cut up a bunch of fillets for everyone!

Jake Martin catches his 1st White Marlin!

Jake Martin and his dad wanted to do some Charter Fishing so they booked Miami’s Best Charter Boat!  My son James was the mate for the day and our plan was to head offshore to the gulfstream.   A few miles offshore we put out the lines and began trolling.   About fifteen minutes later I saw a billfish behind the right long outrigger and I went to yell down to James.  When I looked down, James was ready with the rod already in his hand.  The fish rolled on the bait and James made a perfect drop back and we were on.  Everyone quickly cleared the rest of the lines so we could start to chase the fish!  When we got everything clear the fish had a lot of line out and it was time to chase it down. Jake began to get line as the L&H backed down in hot pursuit! James did a great job coaching our young angler as he battled the feisty billfish! The fish was still on the surface so we backed down hard to get close. As we charged back I could see the leader and then … I could see the fish, it was a beautiful white marlin!! White marlin are very rare and this was the first one we have caught in a while. The marlin faught hard and would go down deep for a little bit and then come up jumping! We took our time and the young angler did great. After a tough fight we were able to get the marlin by the bill. James was able to pull it in the boat for some quick photos before releasing our white marlin back to the sea unharmed!! What a thrill!!! It was so exciting, but now it was time to move on and find something else. A few miles further out I saw a big mahi on the surface and James made a perfect cast to the fish. The mahi raced over, inhaled the bait and took off jumping. Again, we started backing up and as the L&H performed that familiar reverse rumble it quickly closed the distance between the big dolphin and the end of the gaff! Moments later, James reached way out, made a perfect shot and hauled the big mahi over the rail! We resumed the hunt and started finding nice sized mahi more and more frequently! Our team was working like a well oiled machine as more fish found their way to our icy hold! As the day wore on, our catch continued to grow as we steadily picked at fish all day. Near the end of the trip the team added a few bigger dolphin to finish off what was already an outstanding day of charter fishing on the L&H!!!

Danny And Family Get In On Some Action

Our friend Danny took his brother in law and two nephews out for a full day of charter fishing on our  Miami charter boat the L&H!  With a west wind I was not sure how the fishing was going to be, but   for as long as I have known Danny he has been good to me so I wanted to make sure he had a great day!  The bait was a little slow, but after a while we managed to get enough.  We started out trolling to the south and missed a few fish and finally managed to land a nice tuna.  After that, the plan was to put the kites up and see what would bite.  The conditions were less than desirable, but everyone remained optimistic.  Not long after the baits were out a nice sailfish came to the left middle,  grabbed the helpless baitfish and took off jumping toward the horizon!  Unfortunately during the ariel display, the angry sail managed to break the leader.  The disappointment was short lived, however, as we started getting good action on our deep lines.  First a few small jacks, then one of the boys hooked something much bigger!  Line melted off the fin-nor spinning reel and the young angler held on for all he was worth.  After a tough battle, Danny's nephew hauled in a big kingfish!  We were back on track!  Our crew continued to find steady action with the sub-surface baits including another nice king and a decent cobia that was destined for the dinner table.  Around mid day we got bombarded with a barrage of bites all at the same time!  From the way the fish were acting I could tell they were bonitos, but none the less watching four anglers try and fight seven fish was good fun! All of the sudden one of the bonitos came racing at the boat with a big bull shark right on its tail!  My quick thinking crew rapidly hooked the shark rig up to the ten pound bonita and threw it right back over the side.  Within seconds we were bit and the bullbuster braided line melted off the gold fin-nor reel!  Danny was going to have to fight this beast as it was too large for his young nephews!  After the big shark took off on the initial run, Danny put maximum drag on the fish and was able to get the 350 pound bull to the surface in about a half an hour!  The boys were able to get some great underwater footage of the fish (using an underwater camera on a long pole) before we released it to fight another day!  From there I took us to a shallow reef where the boys had non stop action with barracudas on light tackle!  When the bite slowed on the reef, our plan was to head back offshore and try dropping for golden tilefish.  These fish are excellent eating and we catch them in very deep water.  This is a type of fishing that Danny loves to do and is very good at so I knew he would be excited.  When we arrived at the spot the conditions were good and it didn't take long for us to start hooking up!  As expected, Danny had the hot hand and he caught more than anyone.  In less than an hour we caught our limit of golden tiles to around fifteen pounds and decided to call it a day!  Our guests enjoyed a nice smooth ride back to the marina in the comfort of the air conditioned salon!  Back at the marina we took some photos, had plenty of laughs, and cut up a bunch of fish for Danny and his family to enjoy!  All in all it was another great day of fishing and fun on Miami's Best Charter Boat, the L&H!!!

Great Day For Newman Family

We had our friends, the Newman family, out for a full day of fun filled charter fishing with us on our charter boat, the L&H.  Our good buddy, Trevor, was joined by his father and brothers for what would turn out to be an action packed day of fishing out of Key Biscayne!  With an early start, our team was able to be the first ones to the bait spot and were thus rewarded with excellent bait fishing!  It was just about as good as it gets and in no time there were a couple hundred frisky live baits swimming in the L&H's large circulating bait well.  I pointed the boat south to where the best fishing had been the past few days.  When we reached the area, everyone was excited to see great conditions (beautiful blue water and strong north current).  It did not take long to start getting bites after the kites went out.  First a sailfish then a couple mahis and things were looking good!  As we battled the second sailfish of the day, I saw another fish grab the left short kite bait.  None of us on board were sure what we had, but all of us knew it was a nice fish.  The Newman brothers did great battling the two fish.  When the first end of our double came up, I could see that it was a real nice wahoo!  My son James reached out and gaffed the tasty wahoo and muscled it to the fish box!  Our efforts were then switched to the angry sailfish.  Again we were able to seal the deal and before long released the powerful billfish to fight another day!  After our double, the boys quickly reset and all the baits were back in the water.  From my perch in the tower I could see a frigate bird wheeling and diving several hundred yards offshore.  It was time to get out there and find out what the bird was looking at.  Before long, I had Miami's best charter boat in perfect position to intercept the migrating gamefish!  Seconds later I spotted a nice mahi, then another and another and another.  They were hungry, eating everything, and there were a lot of them!  Like a well oiled machine, our team sprung into action and began firing out more baits on our custom leeward rods and fin-nor spinning reels!  From my view in the tuna tower, high above the action, it was a beautiful sight to behold.  Everyone working together, hooking up and boating the nice size mahis, and repeating the process over and over.  In short order the guys had landed at least twenty fish all of them nice size!  It was not yet lunch time and the days catch was looking very good!  As we drifted north, the Newman family continued to catch fish and stay busy.  More mahi, a couple nice kingfish, a cobia and another sailfish were added to the tally and there were a couple mystery fish, we hooked on the kite that were eaten by the ravenous bull sharks!  By early afternoon, our anglers were tired from reeling in fish and decided to head in a little bit early.  I suggested we give it five more minutes.  Just then another big sailfish grabbed the left short kite bait and we were once again hooked up!  This one was Trevor's fish and he did a great job working the magnificent sail to the boat for a clean, healthy release!  It was a great ending to a great day of fishing with our friends the Newman family!

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!