Author: Alex Wexler
You Can't Beat Kite Fishing In Miami
On Friday October 21st I set out to the edge with my buddy Ryan Peters (@fishgopoo) in my 16' Whaler with the goal in mind to harvest a Sailfish to make a Gyotaku print. Every year at the beginning of Sailfish season I take just one sailfish to do this with and get my prints for the year.
"The fish stayed deep.. we figured it was a big bonita... we were stoked to see if was a 25Lb Blackfin"
Ryan had to be at work by 9:00am so time was not on our side. We loaded up the boat at my house with the gear at 4:30 and set out to launch. We had planned to baitfish until first light and then run out to look for the edge. It was blowing about 15 out of the NW. We experienced some anchor problems when bait fishing but ended up making a long drift over and past the spot with Chum. The goggle eyes started biting pretty good and we were able to get about a dozen candy-sized baits before first light came.
We ran out to about 110ft, put the Chute out, and started to set up the kite. Within a few minutes Ryan had a 3 rod spread out and we were fishing by 7 am.
On the 16 whaler I have a rod holder on my seat back set up for a trident. When we go kite fishing we fly one kite, 3 rods off the kite, and have a mid-depth rod going off the bow. Our leaders are about 15ft of 50lb Bullbuster Flourocarbon attached with a loop knot to a circle hook. We had a few chops at first and when bringing in the Kite to change baits the the long rod started peeling off. I grabbed the rod and was hooked up. Soon after, the short went off and Ryan was tight as well and we had a double. Ryan got his fish to the boat first, about a 10 pound kingfish. My fish stayed deep and we were figuring it was a big bonita. He never really circled near the boat but I could feel the tail beets on the line. When he came in gaffing range we were stoked to see it was a 25lb blackfin. Ryan grabbed the gaff and it was game over.
"The bite we were looking for came on the long bait."
After that nice little first light double we put the spread back out and continued our drift. About a 20 minute wait until the next bite. We saw a splash around the middle bait. I dropped back to the fish, got tight, and a nice cow gaffer mahi took to the sky. This mahiwas stubborn and did not like the boat. Made a bunch of arial displays by the boat and took some nice runs.
Eventually she subdued, Ryan got a nice gaf shot in her, and we welcomed her about the boat.
About another half hour went by with nothing but a few chops. 8:50 came... 10 minute warning... We knew the long bait was looking a bit lazy but hadn't changed it out as we were getting near the end of fishing anyways and the middle and short were still frisky.
Wouldn't you know it... the bite we were looking for came on the long bait. Didn't see the bite but saw Mr. Sailfish breaking water in the distance. Started winding and came tight. This is what we came for. Ryan began clearing baits and we were in. Fish came to the boat pretty quickly but not without some nice ariels. From his jumps he looked short of the legal 63" lower jaw/fork limit.
He made a few jumps by the boat before leader that made us think differently. We got him alongside and took out the measuring tape. The fish measured out to be 64". Boom... we got what we were looking for. I hoisted the fish into the boat and we turned in to get Ryan to work in time.
I dropped Ryan off and thats when the real work began. I spent the rest of the day cleaning down the boat and getting as many prints off of the fish as I could.
I ended up getting 18 prints in total. 4 full tuna prints, 3 kingfish prints, and 11 sailfish prints. 6 full prints and 5 head prints. I have yet to detail the prints but am working hard to have them done asap. Here is what the direct prints off the fish look like.
I have started detailing one of the sailfish and captured GoPro footage of the entire process. I will post the video once everything is finished.
As I finish the prints they will be available on my website for purchase. Check out my ambassador profile for my website where I list my fish prints. Thanks for reading my fishing report!
Tight lines.
Alex
We hope that you enjoyed this article by #BullbusterAmbassador Alex Wexler. The goal of the Bullbuster Community is to provide you with resources that help you spend more time fishing. Get started by ordering your fishing line online and brand direct. Save your time by skipping the traffic and getting it delivered to your doorstep, and save money by not buying your line through an extensive network of middle men.
