Honoring Our Veterans - Knot Nancy Fishing Charters

[Captain Dave Kostyo]

For those who are wondering if the tarpon have shown up in the winter time location at Haulover Inlet, the answer is "no" as of Tuesday evening
November 8th. On that evening, there were two of us out fishing the
Haulover tarpon hole. We covered the area quite thoroughly and neither of us had a tarpon bite. We'll be testing the waters again during Thanksgiving week and will keep you posted.

Meanwhile, on Veterans Day, Friday, November 11th, I had the honor and privilege of taking three veterans fishing in the Veterans Day Fish Off out of Homestead Bayfront Park. I was able to participate in this event thanks to the wonderful generosity of Spinnaker Marina. They donated my fuel for the day. A very BIG THANK YOU to Mike, John, Donna, and Marilyn from me and the three veterans who fished with me. The event is organized by Captain Dave Sutton who works tirelessly to put this event together each year along with the help of many sponsors. The guides donate their time and we all had a blast doing our small part in showing our appreciation for what the men and women in uniform have done to allow us all to enjoy the freedoms we have.

We fished half way between Triumph Reef and Pacific Light in the 90 - 200 foot range. With no current, we were fighting off the triggerfish that ate our baits until we got out beyond 110 feet. On the second drift, George who was in the Navy, got to catch and release his first sailfish. The sail ate a pilchard on the long kite line in 111 feet. We got the official catch and a brief look at the sail before it took off and sounded. As we were working the fish back up, the hook pulled, so we didn't have the opportunity to take a boat side photo.

The next drift, Ernest, who is still on active duty with the Air Force,
caught and released a cero mackerel on a flat line. Next, the downrigger
got hit and Ernest fought a shark to boat side where I released it.

The Army was represented by Scott and myself. Although he didn't get a
chance to pull on a fish, I drew his name at the party after the fishing and
he won a raffle prize. George won a beautiful tile art of a school of permit for his sailfish catch and Ernest won a rod and reel combo for his
cero mackerel and shark catch along with a raffle prize too. Many other
prizes of all sorts were given away.

Captain Sutton is already planning next years event, so if you're a guide or a veteran and want to participate, give him a call and let him know.

Captain Dave