By: Capt. Bruce Andersen
It’s December, the weather is finally cooling down, and the cold fronts and north winds are bringing awesome sport fishing opportunities to the Florida Keys. Species like sailfish, blackfin tuna, wahoo, king fish, and a variety of others can be found just offshore of the reef. The best way to target many of these Pelagic species is live bait fishing and one of the most effective ways of presenting a live bait is by kite fishing.
Suspending live bait fish like goggle eyes, sardines, pilchards, and cigar minnows from clips hung on a line going to a kite has become one of the most effective ways to target sportfish here in the Keys, especially sailfish. This method of fishing does several things, including enabling you to cover a lot of area with your baits behind your boat, keeping almost all the line and leader out of the water where it’s impossible for a game fish to see it, and giving you control of your bait right on the surface where a predator is likely to notice it.
If you’ve never done it before, it can seem overwhelming at first. But once you get dialed in to how everything works, it’s actually quite easy. If you’re on a fishing charter, it’s a great way for a customer to get involved. Once the kites are all set up and the baits are put out, the customer or fisherman can work the rod keeping the bait right in the perfect spot near the surface. This keeps everyone engaged and involved with the whole process. It’s a lot of fun, keeps everyone busy and helps teach you to pay attention to your bait.
Now get ready and pay attention. Sometimes there is some waiting involved, but when it happens there are not many things more exciting than when a sailfish comes up chasing your bait. Watching that black shadow come up from underneath the bait, chase it around, grab it and start to swim away while you feed him and then going for it, coming tight, pulling the line out of the clip, and watching that fish start to jump and go crazy is one of the most exciting things you can do offshore in the Keys. Even after doing it for many years, it’s always a sight to behold.
So, this is the time of year. If you’ve never done it before, give me or any of the other professional, experienced charter captains in the keys a call. Let’s get out there and try some kite fishing!
— www.captaineasycharters.com
—You can reach Captain Bruce Andersen at Capt. Easy Charters,
MM 85, call 305.360.2120 or email at: captbrucekey@comcast.net