Report Archives

We have moved our report section to our Blogs. Please click here to be re-directed.

NOTE: Full size image can be viewed in our photo gallery

December 13, 2009 : Dina, Ann and Shac, from Sweden, joined my crew, Capt. Brett and Jeff, for a 4 hour fishing trip in Sunny South Florida. This was their first time to Florida, let alone Ft. Lauderdale! The guys went to the number 1 can and shook the bag, catching several live speedos. The family enjoyed catching the bait with the light spinning rods. They slow trolled the speedos on stinger rigs, catching a couple king mackerel and a few bonitos. They made a drop on a local ship wreck and had a nice fish on, but unfortunately, the fish got back to the wreck and broke them off. No real big ones today. I guess thats why they call it fishing. Have a safe trip back to Sweden and we look forward to seeing you next year! Thanks for the trip. Capt. Stu and the crew of the Miss Bonita II

December 12, 2009 : Andrew and Brian joined us for round 2, this time with an addition John from Ohio. After yesterday, I didnt know if I would be able to give them a better experience the pressure was on! The wind had picked up dramatically, 20-25 knots, and the seas were building to 6-8 feet. I had strong Vikings aboard and they were ready to go. We had goggle eyes in the well and the kites at the ready. We went right out front of the buoy in ~140 feet. The water looked great, and today there was plenty of north current. We popped up the kites, put 2 livies on the right kite and a butterflied bonito on the 80 out of the left long, and another goggle eye short. It didnt take long! I saw a huge sailfish free jump next to our right long. I yelled out there he is! thinking he had already eaten the bait, and came up jumping. As I kept looking, that wasnt the case. It was just an excited free jumping sailfish, but I knew there had to be more. I told Jeff to watch the right long and a second later, Jeff said Ok, there he is hes walking! I screamed wind down, wind down! Jeff engaged the reel and we were tight. As were were trying to clear the other baits, and hold the boat into the big seas, a small 50-60 pound black tip shark ate the butterflied bonito, while we were fighting the sailfish. Now remember, the seas were 6-8 feet so I was concentrating on not getting the boat sideways. We finally cleared both sides, and here comes the shark that Brian reeled in up to the boat. The sailfish was still stretched out a few hundred yards. We got the shark up to the boat, and cut him loose. Now I was able to get back to the sailfish. I spun around and headed down-sea around and towards the fish, while Andrew was winding like crazy. It was much more comfortable fighting the fish down-sea. A few more minutes of battle, and Jeff had the leader, easing the fish up to his hand. He grabbed the bill and flipped the fish into the boat. We took some great shots and measured the fish. WOW! That was a lot going on all at once! We reset one more time, but we got chopped and ambushed by king mackerel. Unfortunately, we were out of bait. We went on the troll but without great success. We caught one medium bonito. We decided to keep the bonito alive and pull him around near the jetty. We got one ferocious bite by a large barracuda, but the fish unbelievably bent the hooks and pinched off one of the wire leads, getting away. It wasnt the most fish productive trip, but I did manage to catch Andrew his first Atlantic Sailfish, that will be immortalized with my mate, Jeff, in photography forever. Thank you guys for a great couple days of fishing, and a lot of fun! I look forward to seeing you again soon. See you next year! Capt. Stu

December 11, 2009 : Andrew and Brian, from Baltimore and West Virginia, respectively:

I would like to tell you that when these guys contacted me, they had already contacted almost every charter boat in South Florida. Fortunately, I gained their trust, and they liked my attitude. I assured them that both my engines would start (lol).

The conditions were excellent, the wind was coming out of the NE at about 10-15 knots. We stopped at T/T Live Bait and saw Tim and his son Tom for a dozen live goggle eyes to fill the well. My mate, Jeff, and I instantly knew we were gonna go right to it. We went right out front just north of the can. Unfortunately, there was very little current, which makes for a little less favorable. It looked too good though, so we popped up the kites in about 150 feet of water, and waited. Right off the bat, we got chopped off by a nice king mackerel. We reset the right side and waited. It didnt take long, and as Jeff was up on the bridge, we both saw the right short walking off. He flew down the ladder and put the reel in free spool, feeding Mr. Sailfish. It was time! GO! GO! GO! We were off to the races. The sailfish came out of the water, jumping and leaping several times right behind the boat. Brian jumped in the chair, and readied himself for the battle. Now at this point, the sea conditions were getting a little calmer, but it was still a little snappy. We cleared both kites as the fish was still taking line. What a strong fish! I finally got back around on him to help Brian gain some line. Finally, the fish neared the boat, but was still very green and staying deep. Jeff got the leader for the catch. We still did not have him in hand. Back and forth we went, the fish would come up and go back down. This lasted for about 15-20 minutes. Finally, Jeff managed to coax the sailfish up into his grasp. This was Brians very 1st Atlantic Sailfish. We brought the fish in for full measurements and a couple of really great shots! Back to the water he went. What an awesome catch! We didnt know if we were gonna be able to top that, since it was caught in the first hour of their 6 hour trip! Now confidence was really high and the camaraderie was strong. We went on the troll up north, catching a few black fin tunas, a couple bonitos, 2 nice dolphin and 2 king mackerel. We made a few drops on some ship wrecks up north, but the lack of current didnt help to entice anything to bite. We had a great day. Back at the dock, we took a few more pictures, I filleted the fish for the guys, and they took it over to the Bahia Cabana for the local catch fishermans lunch. They said they were stuffed! Im glad they enjoyed it. See you guys tomorrow! Capt. Stu and the crew of the Miss Bonita II

December 10, 2009 : Today, Beverly and Chuck, from Hershey, Pennsylvania, joined us for their 2nd half day adventure. This couple was as sweet as the company they work for (Hershey Chocolate!). We went right to it, popped the kites right up and put a spread of goggle eyes out. It didnt take long before we had an Atlantic Sailfish jumping all over the ocean. We caught a few other fish throughout the trip, including king mackerel, black fin tunas and 2 bonitos. Unfortunately, all the cameras were down and out, and I missed a really great photo opportunity. Sorry guys L We were there and saw it all. Thank you for the trips and we are looking forward to the sweet chocolates. See you next year! Capt. Stu and the crew of the Miss Bonita II

December 3, 2009 : Today, Art and his friend, joined us for a 4 hour fishing trip out in front of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. First off, I have to tell you guys that Art has traveled extensively throughout the country. He is not only spent over 9 years traveling down to South Florida, and exploring the Everglades, but he has been to the total opposite corner of the country, in the great state of Alaska. In Alaska, he cruised, explored and fished. We took the guys right out to the anchor balls. I shut the boat down and threw the chum bag overboard. It took a little while, but the speedos and ballyhoo showed right up. We all had a great time catching runners, speedos and assorted reef fish, one right after another, quickly filling the well. We untied, ran up north and put em out. We put a couple of ballyhoos on top, a speedo on top and a speedo on the down rigger. It was pretty good action. We got several bites on the down rigger on the light spinning rod, and a few more on top. Today was just full of king mackerel. The guys had a great time and we enjoyed the morning. Thanks for the trip. Capt. Stu and the crew of the Miss Bonita II

November 27, 2009 : We were fortunate to have Bob and Bobby Jr. (from Connecticut) and their good friend, Carl, join us for 4 hours on the water. The wind was blowing mainly out of the north and we elected to buy a dozen goggle eyes from the bait boat on the way out. We came out the inlet, and started heading north. Chris, once again, put out a beautiful trolling spread consisting of rigged ballyhoo on top and a spoon with a strip down deep. Even though it was quite windy, with about 3-6 foot waves, I was trying to chug my way north fast. We had one nice bite on the deep rod. It was a large king fish. Unfortunately, the fish pulled off right at the boat. We continued to troll further north until we got into an area named SAILFISH ALLEY. We popped the kites and Chris set out four live goggle eyes... 2 on each kite. We sat for about 2 hours with not a single scare. We decided to switch over and go back on the troll. No sooner did Chris have all but one of the lines out; here came a sailfish right up behind the short right ballyhoo. His dorsal fin was up and out of the water, and very easy to see, while we were trolling down sea. The fish followed the bait for quite a while, but never ate. By the time we got a livey ready to pitch to him, as fast as he appeared, he was gone. Bob was able to see the fish really well. It was really unfortunate that he wasnt hungry. We continued trolling back south, getting one nice bite on the deep rod. Bobby Jr. jumped into the chair. He struggled to fight the fish up to the boat. It was a beautiful bomber bonito. We put em right back out, and once again, the spoon got hit! This time it was a nice king mackerel that came into the boat. This was Bob and Bobby Jrs first time sport fishing ever. They let me know what a great time they were having! They said they will be back for sure! It was great meeting Bob, Bobby Jr., and Carl. Thank you very much for the trip and I look forward to seeing you in the Spring, when you return. Capt. Stu and Capt. Chris of the Miss Bonita II

November 16, 2009 : Today, Megan and Tyler decided to take their parents fishing for a 4 hour trip. Capt Chris and our first mate, Jeff, were ready to go with the engines warmed up to start the day. The kids had a great time with Capt. Chris and Jeff on the water on a near perfect day. I think this was their first experience on a sportfish boat, and the kids had a permanent smile for the day. Pictures are worth a thousand words! Looking forward to seeing you guys next year! Capt. Stu and the Crew of the Miss Bonita II

November 12, 2009 : Compared to yesterday, today was a bust! It was overcast and the wind turned back out of the west.The water was clean, but it didnt have the deep beautiful blue to it. We started out trolling up to the north with limited success. We caught one giant bomber bonito and a nice king mackerel. The fishing was slow for everyone.After trolling for a while, the boys popped up the kites, with live goggles eyes and waited and waited and waited. There was a trickling current to the north, but today was like fishing in desert. There just wasnt any life around. We saw one small center console boat hooked up to what looked like a sailfish or a nice dolphin. But today, we didnt have our shot. It was wonderful afternoon, and the camaraderie was great, but the fishing could always be better. Today was one of those days where you would say thats why they call it fishing! Thank you guys for coming out and better luck next time! Capt. Stu and the Crew of the Miss Bonita II

November 11, 2009 : We would like welcome our mate, Jeffrey, back! He is an exceptional fisherman and always a lot of fun to have on the boat. His first day back started with a bang! Susan and Bruce, from Massachusetts, along with Joe and Joe from Cherry Hill, NJ, set out on this overcast cloudy afternoon. Even though there were a few scattered showers, the crew was in high spirits. The wind was coming out of the NE with a moderately cool temperature. The conditions for kite fishing were perfect! They stopped off at the local marina and purchased dozen live goggle eyes (big eyed scad). These baits are only caught at night or the very early morning hours just before light. So, to say the least, they are nocturnal. Chris ran out and up north to about 250 feet. It looked great! Jeff popped the kites up from the cockpit and launched the baits one by one. The kites allow you to keep all of your main line up and out of the water while only a frisky live bait, with the hook bridled in his back, is dangling and struggling erratically on the surface. The leaders are about 10 feet long with a length of red marking tape attached to the swivel. This allows you to keep an eye on where the baits are. However, the kites can also be used to deploy fresh dead baits. Jeffrey rigged up a small butterflied bonito and launched him out of one of the kite clips. It took only about 15 minutes before a nice black tip shark piled on the butterflied bonito. In a short while, the shark was up to the boat for a couple quick pictures and a release. The boys reset with all live goggle eyes. Again, a short wait was on. BOOM! A magnificent Atlantic Sailfish piled on one of the baits. Off to the races! The fish screamed out 100 yards of line, leaping and jumping out of the water. Bruce jumped in the chair, fighting the fish for a good while, up to the boat. Jeffrey leadered the fish to the boat, grabbed him, and pulled him in. This was Bruces first sailfish ever, let alone the biggest fish he ever caught! There are some great action shots and one really nice one of the Jeff and Bruce with the fish. By this time, they were way up North, when they decided to put the trolling gear out and head back south. Jeff spotted a big school of mahi, where the birds were diving. Chris drove towards the fish. They managed to hook one nice mahi for dinner. The rest of the fish got spooked. It was a great afternoon, and the whole gang had a great time! Thank you, guys, for joining us out for a great day on the water. I hope Bruce enjoys the sailfish on his wall for years to come with lots of great memories! Capt. Stu and the Crew of the Miss Bonita II

November 2, 2009 : This morning, Rick joined us from Missouri for a private 6 hour charter. Now, while talking with Rick via email, he had mentioned that the biggest fish he ever caught was probably only a few pounds. He has never really saltwater fished before. Boy was he in for a treat! It was a beautiful morning. We ran right out to the anchor balls. There was a screaming south current in shallow on the reef. It only took a few minutes before the ballyhoo and speedos showed up behind the boat. I threw the net on them and blacked out the well. Chris and Rick caught a few speedos while they waited for me to load the net. We were off! I ran up north towards several cargo ships that were anchored offshore. Chris slowed the boat down and I started deploying the ballyhoo, one by one. Before I could get the 3rd one out, a mahi came out of under the bow of one of the ships and attacked the long bait. We were on! It was Ricks first mahi he had ever caught. I switched the short bait to the long and as I was rigging another short bait, WHAM! We had another beautiful mahi on. Now, I finally was able to get all 5 top baits out and I deployed on a spinning rod on the downrigger. We headed offshore looking for an Atlantic Sailfish no bites. We got one downrigger bite, but it was a small bonito. We freshened up all the baits with new live ballyhoos. I made my way back south with the current out in front of the Dania pier at about 90-100 feet of water. I noticed a beautiful rip with scattered weed and lots of small bait. It didnt take long. We got jumped all at once. BOOM! All of the live ballyhoo got hit. We had 5 on at once. Rick reeled the mahi in one by one while Chris flipped them into the fish box. We put them back out and again I headed out a little deeper. We raised a small sailfish, but he never ate. Something must have spooked him. We had a few more bites but never connected the hook. Overall it was a really successful day, and a beautiful one at that! Rick said he had an exceptional time and enjoyed the day immensely. Capt. Chris and myself look forward to fishing with Rick again soon. Thanks for the trip! Capt. Stu and the Crew of the Miss Bonita II