Fishing aboard the hooked Up
January 2010
Today
was kind of a special day aboard the Hooked up we are
heading out fishing for sail fish for a new TV show that
will be airing on the discovery channel call Extreme
Fishing.
We
were joined by the host of the show Robson Green the
director Jason Holmes, Camera Craig Herd, Sound Peter
Prada, Associate Producer Findlay Mcrae and Location
Producer Sarah Hunt all based out of Scotland.
We
started out filming at the dock for over an hour talking
about how we were going to target these sail fish and how
the fishing kites actually work. After filming for a few
min at the dock the crew asked me if I would mind working
the cockpit so that I would actually be there with Robson
during the fishing and hopefully the catching.
We
headed out with a couple of things in our favor and a
couple of things working against us. We had cool weather
about 53 degrees which was good and we also knew that we
had caught a few sails in the past few day. But once made
the decision to run about 5 miles to the north we realized
that not only did we have no current what so ever but we
also had just barely enough wind to hold our kites up in
the air. But here we were and we were going to make the
best of the conditions we had.
Once
Captain J.J. got the kites up in the air I started hooking
our live goggles (bait) way in front end of the bait this
way J.J. could keep bumping the boat forward to keep the
kites flying and the baits would just be slowly trolled
across the surface.
We
struggled at this for well over 2 hours without a bite.
(RATS)
Then
J.J. yelled down from the fly bridge that he had been
talking to a friend of his who was fishing about 11 miles
south of us and that he had some north current down there
and the he had caught a sailfish. Having said that
everyone onboard grabbed a rod and we got all the baits in
a quick as possible and we started our hour long journey
down to the south.
As
soon as we got there hopes were high and the water had a
good blue color to it but the wind had let out even more
so keeping the kites up became a real struggle.
We
managed to keep our kites flying for about an hour but
that was just not working out to well for us so we brought
in the kites and set our baits out connected to the out
riggers and started slow trolling them back and forth
between 150 feet of water out to over 300 feet back and
forth. All of a sudden out of nowhere popped up this
dolphin fish and we were Hooked Up. As Robson was reeling
his first fish of the day in we saw another dolphin fish
swimming around than another and than even more dolphin.
Ok so this was not the fish we were looking for but hell
we had fish behind the boat and they were biting. When it
was all said and done we had over a half a dozen dolphin
in the box and we managed to get some great footage of
these fish jumping and even some underwater shots of them
and we all get to have a great dinner to boot.
I’ve
got to admit it was a real let down to have never seen the
sailfish we had worked so hard to catch but everyone
seemed to have a great time all the same and they said
that they did get some real good footage for their show.
In fact they said that the chemistry onboard the Hooked Up
was so good that they were going to give it another shot
this coming Sunday if they struck out with this other boat
they had already made reservations with.
As
it turned out they had reserved Bouncer Smith out of Miami
Florida and while the fishing was not red hot the
following day either Bouncer did manage to pull a rabbit
out of his hat and finally put them on a real big sail
fish. (Way to go Bouncer)
To
Robson and the rest of the crew at Extreme Fishing thanks
again for a fun day of fishing and thanks again for the
opportunity to be on your show. We are all looking forward
to watching the show sometime this summer.
Captain
Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344
Jan
12
Today
the weather is in the 30s and I’ve got to say that we
down here in Sunny South Florida are just not used to this
weather BUT the sailfish sure do seem to turn on like no
other time of the year as right now and today was no
exception.
We
started out our day with Tom and Steve from Main Toney
from Baltimore, Louis from Texas and John from Alabama.
Once
again we started out picking up some live baits from the
live bait boat and went right to kite fishing. We set out
our kites in 180 feet of water with our live baits
suspended from the kites.
It
didn’t take long before we got our first bite and as we
were trying to feed the first sail fish a bait another one
popped up and than one more popped up. We ended up hooking
2 out of the 3 that had popped up.
We
caught those 2 and set our baits right back out there.
Once we got everything set back out there another one
popped up and we hooked this one as well.
By
the end of our 4 hour trip with about 2 hours and 45 min
of actual fishing everyone on the boat had caught a
sailfish.
Five
sailfish in less than 3 hours of fishing now that’s what
we call RED HOT FISHING.
Thanks
again to all of our anglers today and once again we are so
sorry about not having our camera fixed yet so we never
got any pictures of the fish.
If
any of our anglers today can e mail us some photos we
would love to post them along side our reports.
Captain
Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344
Jan
13
Today
we had 3 guys Joe, J.R. and John from Chicago out for a
few hours of deep sea fishing off the coast of Ft
Lauderdale aboard the Hooked Up.
We
started out picking up some live baits and went right to
kite fishing in about 200 feet of water. Once we got our
baits all set out suspended from the kites the trap was
set and we began our wait. Fishing started out a bit slow
for us but after a bit of patience up popped our first
sail fish of the day.J.R. wasted no time jumping in the
chair and the fight was on. It was a big back and forth
tug a war for a good 20 min before J.R. finally got his
big sailfish along side of the boat. We got a quick
measurement to have a replica trophy made of J.R., s catch
and watched him swam away in good shape.
(Ok
one down and 2 to go.) After getting all the baits reset
out under the kites we started our waiting again and sure
enough BAM we got another shot and this time Joe jumped in
the chair and his fight was on. I’ve got to say that
while all of this fishing was going on John was down
stairs sleeping and he really either did not care much for
deep sea fishing or maybe he was feeling a little under
the weather but all the same with all the shouting going
on we finally managed to wake him up and we also managed
to get Joe’s fish to the side of the boat. (Ok 2 down
and 1 to go.)
Once
again we got the baits back under the kites and once again
the trap was set. All of a sudden we saw a big shark fin
swimming around by our kite baits. J.J. kept reeling the
bait up in the air every time the shark tried to eat it
because we were using monofilament leaders and we knew the
this shark would bite threw the leader as if it was hot
butter. But some how J.J. turned his head for just one
second and BAM we were Hooked Up to the big hammer head
shark with a monofilament leader.We all decided it was
time to put John (AKA sleepy head) in the chair. We knew
that our odds of catching this shark with no wire leader
were slim to none but all the same John went at it. After
a good 10 min of fighting this shark John somehow had the
fish turned around and heading toward the boat. BUT sorry
to say we ended up breaking him off about 50 feet from the
boat.
Guys
thanks again for a fun morning of deep sea fishing
Captain
Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free at (877) SEA-4344
Jan
15
Today
we had some good friends of mine on board Jeff, Jim and
Pam all came down from Jacksonville just because I had let
them know that the sailfish bite was on. We were also
joined by our old friend Captain Scott from Ft Lauderdale
but he was just there to help us drink all the beer that
Jim had brought along and also to help out in the cock
pit.
Our
day started out with loading up the boat with plenty of
beer and vodka. Once we had the drinks loaded onboard we
went right to getting some live baits just in case we
decided to do any fishing (LOL)
The
ocean was a bit on the rough side today I would say 4 to 6
foot seas so we knew that fishing was going to be a bit
tough but we all felt we were up for the challenge.
Today
we had Captain Greg driving the boat and yes yours truly
was down in the cock pit. Once we got to about 150 feet of
water Greg set out both kites and we suspended our little
live goggles from the kites.
Everyone
on board had caught sailfish in the past so we had preety
good anglers ready for the fight. But we never expected a
bite as fast as we got our first bite. I would say our
baits were out there no more than 10 min till the first
sail fish showed up on our right long kite bait. The sail
grabbed the bait and started running with as if were never
going to stop till will locked up the reel and set the
hook. All of a sudden this fish went absolutely nuts
dancing all over the surface of the water. Pam jumped in
the chair and the fight was on. I really think this fish
spent more time in the air than in the water.
Like
I had said before all of our anglers had caught sail fish
in the past and I’ve got to say Pam really put it to
this fish. She got her sail next to the boat in 12 min and
this was all during a pretty rough day. Once we got the
fish near the boat it still was going nuts. Check out this
shot!!
Ok
one down and one to go. Jim was chomping at the bit to get
his chance in the chair. We got the baits right back out
there and it seemed like in no time BAM we were connected
again and Jim was in the chair hooting and hollering.
Jim’s fish did not do quite as much jumping around as
Pam’s fish did but this thing just kept digging down
deep and it was a reel bear to finally get next to the
boat. Once we got it next to the boat I don’t know if it
was the beer or the vodka or if was just the size of this
fish but Jim decided he really wanted a photo and a
measurement of this monster 95 inch sail fish.
After
a quick picture we got this monster back in the water in
great shape to fight again another day.
This
is Jim and I getting him back in the water a quick as
possible.
This
is Jim trying to kiss me but I managed to run to the front
of the boat and I can still say that I’ve never been
kissed on the lips by a guy (LOL)
All
in all it was simply a blast fishing today and to all of
our readers out there if you’re looking to fight a big
fish the time is now. We should have these big sail fish
and big sharks here right thru May so give us a call and
let’s get you Hooked Up but remember no kissing Taco at
least not the guys.(LOL)
Captain
Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344
Jan
22
Today
we had Frank and his son Zach from Wilton Manners in South
Florida and Jeff and his son Joshua from St Petersburg
Florida Dave from Houston Texas and also Dave from New
Jersey.
The
whole idea of this fishing trip was for the 3 doctors to
relax and to catch the kids some fish but we had no idea
what a great trip it would turn out to be.
We
started out by stopping by the live bait boat and picking
up a dozen live goggle eyes than we went right to kite
fishing. We set out both kites with 4 of our live baits
suspended from the kites.
Ok
now the baits were all set out there and the trap was set.
After
about 10 min of waiting we seen a sailfish jumping (we
call it a flopper) just north of our long kite baits and
he was heading south so we let the kites out just a little
further hopping to get one of our baits right in front of
him. But what we didn’t notice was that while we were
trying to get our baits out further Captain Greg seen
another sailfish chasing our short right kite bait and
before we knew what was going on Greg was feeding this
sailfish a nice hearty goggle eye. Just like that BAM we
were Hooked Up
11
year old Zach jumped at the chance to fight his first
sailfish. He jumped in the chair and the fight was on. It
was a great back and forth tug a war for over 15 min till
Finally Zach got this nice 85 to 89 inch sailfish to the
side of the boat. We got a couple of good pictures of
Zach’s first sailfish and watched him swim away in great
shape. Nice going Zach.
While
Zach was fighting his sail we also managed to keep all the
other kite baits out there hopping to get in front of the
flopper we had seen in the first place. While we never did
get in front of the first sail we had seen we did manage
to catch Zach’s fish and it only took about 5 seconds to
get the forth bait back in the spread. And once again the
trap was set.
This
time we waited a good 30 min and then all of a sudden BAM
here comes another sailfish all over our short left kite
bait. It took this sail no time at all to catch his meal
and the fight was on with 7 year old Joshua in the chair.
I’m not sure what was lit up more the sailfish or this 7
year old kid that was all over the sail fish fight. While
Joshua was about 55 to 58 inches long this sail was at
least 87 inches long and what a ball it was just to watch
these two battle it out. At the end of this 32 min fight
Joshua ended up being the victor. (Way To Go Joshua)
What
a great day it seemed we could do no wrong today but wait
once we got the baits back out there Greg yelled out that
he thought he seen anther fish way out there by the left
long kite bait. Once I got a look at what I thought was a
shark Greg locked up the reel and came tight with the so
called shark I thought I seen out there but much to my
surprise out came this sailfish dancing all over the
surface of the water and we were Hooked Up again with
another sailfish.
This
time Dave jumped in the chair and the fight was on. It was
a 15 min back and forth tug a war but Dave got his fish to
the boat and after a couple of quick pictures next to the
boat we watched him swim away in good shape.
With
only a few min left in the trip we got a bite on our right
long bait only this time no one seen the bite but we
figured with all the sails we were catching this just has
to be another sail.
I
think it was Frank that jumped in the chair but all the
same whoever it was this fish never came up jumping and
was coming in a bit too easy. As it turned out it was a
skip jack tuna.
I’ve
got to say what a fun day of fishing with pretty much none
stop action and to top it off none of the other boats were
seeing any sails so like they say every dog has his day
and I guess today was ours.
Thanks
again Frank and the rest of our anglers today.
Well
we are way into January and the bite has been red hot so
give us a call and let’s get you HOOKED UP off the coast
of SUNNY SOUTH FLORIDA
Captain
Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344
Captain
Taco (9540 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344