Author: todd

More about Todd and the Miami Fishing crew.

Summer Trolling for Mahi-Mahi & Day-Dropping for Swordfish

The summer dolphin bite is in full effect.  Miami, and the Florida keys are alive with large schools of mahi-mahi.  All three boats in the fleet have been regularly catching fish from 3-10 lbs, schoolies, and “heavy lifters” are caught daily, with the occasional “slammer”, and lots of gaffers.

The colors on mahi-mahi are always spectacular, and it makes for a nice day for beginners or seasoned anglers a like.  Come catch a few nice mahi, and have Monty’s cook your catch lunch for you.  Nothing hits the spot quite like a cold drink and some fresh fish on these very hot days in south florida.

If you’re looking for the “big one”,  there have been some swordfish biting.  While it is a “higher risk/reward” type of trip, sword fishing can be extremely exciting when that bait gets bit.  Day-dropping has produced some large fish in Miami, and you’re always one trip away from a great fish story.

The great news, is while you’re out in pursuit of that swordfish, you’ll likely see lots of mahi trolling out and back.   There’s nothing like trolling up a mahi that is being followed by dozens, or hundreds of other nice fish.

Capt. Ray Rosher talks with Fly Navarro about trolling with Japanese feather trolling lures.  Mahi Magnet fishing lures are available at R&R Fishing Tackle.

Team Miss Britt Contender Win the Sailfish Challenge and $174,310!

Team Miss Britt / Contender, led by Captain Ray Rosher and Matt Neber, the lead designer of the 39′ Fisharound Boat, built by Contender Boats, released 16 of 16 sailfish successfully in their win at the 3 inlet Sailfish Challenge put on by Bluewater Movements.  The team’s release total was double that of the nearest competitor among the 64 boats in the tournament’s fleet. The win was capped off by victories in the top male, female, master angler category resulting in a paycheck of $174,310.

The team successfully netted $174,310 in prize money after 13 sailfish releases on day 1 on of the tournament, and an additional 3 releases on a slow day 2.

Stephanie Choate, of WildOceans.org – caught 9 of the team’s sailfish, and  cleaned up in the angler category winning the Top Female Angler trophy as well as the Master Angler trophy for the top overall angler in the tournament. Even more impressive, Stephanie has on the top female angler category in all three legs of the Quest for the Crest series this year.  Matt Bierly caught 4 fish, and brought home the top male angler award for his efforts.

The 39′ FA boat has been heralded by those who have fished it, and exemplifies the finely tuned details that helped Contender Boats to win the boat builder challenge trophy for 2017.  Contender racked up the most boat builder points from Joe Neber’s Contender One – a 39ST co-sponsored by Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, and several other Contender boats that scored highly in the the tourney.

By noon on Day 1, Miss Britt Contender had already released 11 sailfish between Lake Worth Pier and Palm Beach Inlet. They released two more fish in the afternoon to win the daily with 13 releases; six better than the next closest team. As it turns out, they could have stayed home on Day 2 and still finished with enough releases to win the whole tournament, however, they added three more on Day 2 for the 16 fish total.

Capt. Ray Rosher brought his team one step closer to wearing burgundy jackets in the quest for the crest 4 tournament sailfish championship series.

Another interesting twist is the Father / Son tie in the overall standings with one tournament left in the 4 tournament Quest for the Crest Series.  Joe Neber’s Contender One is in a tie for 3rd place with his son Matt Neber’s Miss Britt Contender.

Capt. Ray would also like to thank his sponsors:

Female Anglers of South Florida – LadiesLetsGoFishing.com

As per most things, I procrastinated on this post far longer than I should have.  I talked with Betty BaumaI Ballyhoo Rigging_rn a few years ago at a marketing conference in Fort Lauderdale (SFIMA), and great lady that has helped train and teach over 8,000 female anglers (mostly in florida), and has a passion, dedicated to helping lady anglers learn how to catch more fish.

The Ladies Let’s Go Fishing passion, has allowed Betty and team to volunteer time to teach women to fish as a part of their non-profit organization through the assistance of wonderful volunteers, and sponsors who donate excellent prizes, and fishing trips to help get a few more women tying knots and fishing in florida (and elsewhere).  If you know a lady in south florida that would like to learn to gaff her fish, tie some hooks, or rig a ballyhoo, call to get setup for a great weekend of education and fishing.

Learn, practice, and go fishing at the South Florida Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing university weekend April 29-May 1 in Dania Beach!

MwJJx7vQI2zNdS6A.jpgE Knots Hook to Line_rMiamiFishing.com friends get a discount off already low scholarship rate of $69 while it is still available.
Use coupon code SAVE10 to get $10 off!

On Friday is a welcome reception 6-8 pm with appetizer contest and silent auction.

On Saturday from 10 – 4:30 are offshore and inshore fishing classes and hands on skill practice with captains including casting, knot tying, gaffing, releasing, lure usage, conservation, trailer backing and more. A great chance to get one-on-one with the captains!
Sunday offshore fishing optional/extra. It is ok to register a male guest or teen, too.

H Class Lecture_rEvent is held at I.T. Parker Community Center, Dania Beach, FL, not far from Ft. Lauderdale airport. Register in advance online and check out the online auction, open to e-bids currently at www.ladiesletsgofishing.com. Fees vary depending upon time of registration but start at $69, fishing additional. This is one not to miss – the only South Florida event for this fabulous organization!
Phone: 954-475-9068.
Email info@ladiesletsgofishing.com

Call Betty to get signed up for the no yelling educational school of fishing.

Learn all about fishing at the skill stations with well known florida fishing captains.

Including

  • DE-HOOKING FISH & INSHORE LURES
  • GETTING TIED UP IN KNOTS – MULTIPLE STATIONS
  • BALLYHOO RIGGING
  • RIG UP YOUR NEW ROD
  • HOW TO USE OFFSHORE LURES
  • ROD & REEL MAINTENANCE – 4 Reel Services Peter Bilardello
  • TYING LINE TO CLEAT AND MORE – Freedom Boat Club of South Florida

Marina and Outdoor Skill Stations (second)

  • SPIN CASTING with Penn Reels
  • FLYCASTING
  • LANDING AND RELEASING (Gaffing Grapefruits)
  • NET CASTING
  • BOAT HANDLING WITH RANGER BOATS! (based on conditions)
  • TRAILERING TECHNIQUES – Practice backing your tow vehicle and trailer, with MAGIC TILT TRAILERS

fishing

On Facebook “Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!”
http://twitter.com/billfishbetty
954.475.9068 o. | 954.474.7299 f.

A Big Game_r

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please Bring Back the Bug Light – Miami’s Best Bait Spot

Thbuglightis is an open letter to those concerned that was sent to Bruce Marx, in regards to the Bug Light marker that was removed from Biscayne Bay.  You can help by doing the same – details available below.

We are hoping that with the support of the local angler community, a fish aggregating device (FAD) can be added where the bug light was located.

Here is our supporting letter – We urge you strongly to do the same if you are a fisherman in the Miami community.

Miami Fishing Charters, LLC strongly encourages you to support the installation of a Fish Aggregating Device in the location of the former Bug Light Marker within Biscayne National Park.

The removal of the Bug Light was a devastating blow to the local ecosystem and the charter fishing economy which supports many families in the Miami area. Bug light provided critical habitat for juvenile game fish, baitfish, and a variety of avian species, which took refuge amidst its structure. For decades, the waters around the Bug Light Marker were teaming with biodiversity – today, the entire area has become barren, devoid of any life which once thrived there. It is a travesty both ecologically and economically.

We adamantly believe that placing a Fish Aggregating Device where the Bug Light Marker once stood will lead to recovery of this important ecosystem. Aside from the positive environmental impact a Fish Aggregating Device would deliver, it is likely baitfish would return to the area as well. Baitfish are the fundamental element in the broader ecological spectrum that supports Key Biscayne’s marine biodiversity. Installing a Fish Aggregating Device where the Bug Light Marker once stood could help to restore the ecological balance that was disrupted by the removal of critical marine habitat.

We implore you to act responsibly by authorizing and supporting the placement of a Fish Aggregating Device at the former location of the Bug Light Marker.

Respectfully,

Capt. Charlie Ellis & Capt. Todd Malicoat

Miami Fishing Charters LLC
Miamifishing.com
3400 Pan American Drive
Coconut Grove, FL 33133

More information courtesy of Bruce –

Biscayne Channel Light (“Bug Light”) had been a part of the Miami maritime landscape since 1929. It’s primary purpose was to serve as a navigational aide to markthe entrance to Biscayne Channel. Over the years, Bug Light also served a critical secondary purpose as a Fish Aggregating Device (“FAD”) that provided a haven for various species of bait fish including pilchards; threadfin herring; blue runner and ballyhoo.

On July 27, 2014, Bug Light was removed by the United States Coast Guard. As a result, the fishing community has been greatly impacted since the bait fish no longercongregate in the area like it had when Bug Light was in place. A campaign is now underway to install a FAD at the location where Bug Light once stood in order to hopefully restore the bait fishery that previously had flourishedthere. Such action will require the support of numerous governmental officials, including Brian Carlstrom, the Biscayne National Park Superintendent.

In order to support this campaign, please prepare a letter/email and direct it tot he attention of Superintendent Brian Carlstrom outlining your experience with Bug Light and how it served such an important part of our local sport fishing. We need Superintendent Carlstrom to understand why it is now necessary to install a FAD in this area so that the bait fish can return. You can send your letters/emails to me at bmarx@marlowadler.com and I will ensure that Superintendent Carlstrom receives your comments. Thanks, in advance, for your support to this worthy cause.

The bug light was an ecosystem of fishing people as well as fish.  Dozens of fisherman met each morning around 7:00am to greet each other driving in circles over clouds of bait to be used for the days bill fishing expedition.

The economic impact of this change was more than significant.  About a dozen boats met nearly every morning in the winter to spring months to take people from all over the world fishing with the bait that was caught right there on the way to the grounds.

The impact of the loss of live bait has been devastating.  Every amateur angler from west palm to key west that has fished in miami knew of the spot as a first stop for livebait for the day’s fishing adventure.

We hope for the good of the entire fleet that there is the ability to renew the ecosystem we miss, and appreciate your time in helping to bring back this local treasure.

50Lb Bull Mahi, and the Fastest Fish in the Ocean

Capt. Charlie did a great post on “What it’s all about”, and I couldn’t agree more.

I opted to do the video version of the story this time around (see bottom of the post). We were lucky enough to capture the experience of two big dolphin being gaffed, and the 3 minutes of mayhem as they were at the boat.

Truly great to be able to spend time doing your favorite thing with some of your favorite people. The celebration in the video kind of sums up a pretty awesome friday afternoon. Also pretty glad we got to see the look on Capt. Scott’s face when he saw the first jump from that big bully mahi. He did an amazing job raising 15+Lb fish on very light tackle. Did I also mention he keeps us operational and is a pro at marine surveys in Miami? Thanks Scott!

Maritza caught her first sailfish, after having one charge us and break the line. Luckily we got the whole thing on video, and she caught the next one – her first billfish along with a nice blackfin tuna topped off the trip. She finally warmed up to touching pilchards as well.

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group photo

trophy dock shot
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Celebrating another year in the charter business with Sailfish, Mahi, Tuna, Cobia, T-shirts, and More!

It’s been a busy few weeks for us here at Team Marauder.  We celebrated another successful year this April, looking back on some amazing experiences.  We started off the month strong by joining Capt. Hunter Caballero of Paradise Outfitters in Venice, LA for another round of tuna fishing.  We were joined by Capt. Nick, and Capt. Scott and manged to boat a few nice 40-70lb class yellowfin (as well as a bunch of bonito and blackfin used as bait).    A wonderful tuna / crawfish fiesta ensued.

crawfish

I can definitely say that in the few years i’ve been sportfishing in Miami, my game has improved exponentially thanks to the help of some great folks who I’ve enjoyed fishing with.  You really do learn something new every trip if you want to.  Here’s a few of my favorite photos from the trip.

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yellowfin tuna

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tuna haul

It was actually a bit difficult to run off to Louisiana while the bite in Miami was so good.  The sailfish have been through in droves, large schools of bonitas, schools of gaffer mahi, and smaller blackfin tunas have been showing up as well.  We’ve had a lot of solid 3 and 4 sailfish half days flying kites while pitching live chum.  It never get old hearing someone tell us they caught their first billfish, or their largest fish ever while fishing aboard the Marauder.  We love catching big fish as well, and seeing a lit up sailfish tailwalk across the surface of the sea will always be an awesome experience.  Nothing beats watching those big billfish give our anglers the fight of a lifetime.  After watching a sailfish destroy a kite bait…the adrenaline of reeling against the fastest fish in the ocean is really hard to beat!

We’ve had a lot of fun in the last few weeks, putting people on their first sailfish, big amberjacks, and mahi-mahi.

The bait has been thick and plentiful in Miami waters, which can make for a great day of throwing pilchards as live chum.  We always aim to get a few livewells full of bait daily for our trips, and sometimes sabiki the larger threadfin herring before heading offshore to fly kites for the larger pelagic fish.

We’ve been having good luck with our new bottom sounder (courtesy of Capt. Scott cutting a hole in the Contender hull.) on the shipwrecks – landing large amberjacks and cobias.

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We’ve also put some new shoes (and legs) on our outboards – adding some new propellers (thanks to Frank & Jimmies), and some lower unit repairs which Capt. Scott pulled together.  The boat is running faster and more efficiently than ever before!

Lastly, in Marauder news, we’ve designed some T-shirts for our customers who have asked – you can finally order a t-shirt, long-sleeve, or hoodie through our cafe press store.

If you get a chance – we would love to have you come  out and fish with us.  The spring fishery in Miami is really incredible and an amazing time to enjoy a well deserved day on the water.  Give us a call or drop us a line, and join us for a beautiful day on the crystal clear blue waters of south florida!

miami florida sailfish

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Stuntdubl’s Weekly Miami Fishing Report #2

hammerhead shark catchThis week’s report will be a quick one.  Unfortunately, it will likely be a while before fishing pays the bills, so I’m working my butt off on internet projects.  We got out three times over the weekend for short trips.  The bite seemed a bit slow, but we hooked up on a couple mahi, got into one school of blackfin, and had a few kingfish and bonito bites.

We picked up a nice video of a hammerhead shark we caught of the kitelines.  Charlie wrangled him to the boat, and I leadered the fish. Check it out.

150 lb hammerhead shark in Biscayne Bay

Stuntdubl’s Weekly Miami Fishing Report #1

I’ve been getting more serious about my fishing game over the last three years.  What started as a friendly hobby has turned into a full blown angling addiction.  The website is up, and we’ve caught multiple fish.  It’s no longer time for practice.  It’s time to catch fish.

Sailfish are around, as well as blackfin tuna.  The bait has been consistent, and our electronics are all systems go thanks to a small fuse and an amazing mechanic.  We have no stereo just yet, but the Marauder is built as the fish slaughterer – entertainment is optional.  We’re consistently getting nice sandwich size dolphin (mahi for you non-florida types).   Every trip is an investment, and learning experience.  I’ll keep showing up for practice, and we’ll be ready to catch you a fish when you show up for gameday.

We learned an expensive lesson about not flying kites in a thunderstorm (along with some other folks in the fleet rumor has it), as well as how to re-rig a kite reel with floss loops from Super Mario.  Fishing is all about the details, and we continue to refine the basics as well as improve and update our techniques.

I think next week’s roundup will include quite a few more fish photos…here’s the highlights from our first week of operation.

Got a nice video of Noah getting after a nice big barracuda.

Come and join us for a trip aboard the Marauder.

 

May 6, 2012 Offshore Fishing Report Miami – Catching Dolphin Sans Electronics

Catching fish isn’t really as easy as they make it look on Sun sports channel.   It’s not even as easy as guys like Cap’n Nel Martinez make it look.  Like nearly anything worth doing, it’s a very strategic process that takes years of experience to get really good at.  We definitely logged some hours and caught some fish this past weekend despite our malfunctioning SIMRAD CA44.  The bite was slow, but we did see signs of life.  We saw several very large sea turtles – unfortunately with no cobia or other edible pelagics swimming with them.  The days were long, but we caught a couple nice dolphin sandwiches, and a pretty beasty barracuda. which young Noah Prince did a fantastic job battling to the boat.

Barracuda fishing in Miami
Noah's Big Cuda

 

Dad got in on the action as well, catching a nice  dolphin trolling the edge with our kites.

Dolphin Fishing in Miami, FL

Schoolie mahi-mahi are starting to show up in good numbers but many of them are smaller than the legal limit.  Bait has been relatively consistent at bug light – small pilchards and cigar minnows readily available.  We’ve had success catching dozens of medium sized threadfin herring inside government cut as well.

Special thanks To Brian and Noah Prince for joining the crew of the Marauder on a beautiful day at sea.

Marauder Fishing Enters the 2012 Grove Slam Dolphin Tournament

I’m going crazy with anticipation of joining the festivities at this year’s Grove Slam in Coconut Grove, Florida. The dolphin fishing has been nothing short of exceptional the past few weeks and i’m sure with the current weather forecast the fishing will be out of control. The talented crew of Ocean Promotions spared no expense this year putting together an all-start line up of bikini clad liquor promotion girls and awesome prizes.

Total payout this year is $10,000 sponsored by SeaVee Boats – with a plethora of prizes and free schwag for everyone registered. I’m most excited for the helicopter photography tomorrow! It will be the first aerial footage of the Marauder in action – and Todd managed to put together some new shirts just for the occasion!

Captain’s meeting starts tonight with a Luau Kickoff and then we’re back to the dock to reinstall our SIMRAD unit. The gentlemen over at Commercial Marine Electronics Repair in Pompano Beach hooked it up – although they weren’t able to retrieve our data the unit is still in fully functional condition. We’ve got a few ideas for our fishing itinerary saturday, and the report from the Top Gun arrived to my cell phone just a few minutes ago – Dolphin widespread in the offshore region.

Our plan is to load up on pilchards, blue runners, and cigar minnows friday afternoon so we’re well prepared for the early departure on Saturday. My game plan is to run south and troll a fresh spread offshore in search of floaters or grass patches. With a wave height of 0 and a wind speed of 0.1knts i’m sure we’ll have a fair shot at rounding up some frisky mahi mahi. I’m not confident we can bet on landing one large fish to win it all – so we’re shooting for quality + quantity as the winning combination.

This year’s tournament is significantly more high-stakes than years past. Tournament Director Tony Albelo managed to work a deal for the $1Million Dollar Mahi. The crew of the Miss Britt (possible the most bad ass charter outfit in south florida) went out wednesday and tagged three dolphin – one of which is carrying a tag worth $1,000,000.00 USD. While the odds of catching that fish are slim and none – the possibility is tantalizing to say the least.

We’re gearing up tonight and tomorrow for the event so we’ll be milling around the dock parties after the captain’s meeting at 7p.m. considering the aerial photo shoot leaves at 10am. tomorrow right outside our channel – i’m sure we’ll be right in line for some amazing footage. I can’t wait!

Tight Lines,

Capt. Charlie and Stuntdubl