Captain Dave Kostyo Speaks On Tarpon Fishing

Here I'm chatting with a few other members of the South Florida Fishing Club while we wait for Tony Roma's fantastic ribs to be served. The club meets at Tony Roma's Restaurant in Sunny Isles Beach every couple of weeks. On this particular night there was no Big Name speaker and attendance was sparse. We do have several well know fishing guides in the club, like Capt. Bouncer Smith and Capt. Dave Kostyo, guys who'll get you on the fish and teach you the tricks.

The next meeting will feature Capt. Dave talking about winter time tarpon fishing along Miami Beach and in the cuts leading to Biscayne Bay. The fishing is fantastic. It's mostly night fishing, drifting with the wind and the current while trailing a couple of lines baited with jumbo live shrimp or small baitfish like pilchards or herring.

The average tarpon you'll hook is going to be in the 40 to 70 pound range, but fish over 100 pounds are common. As soon as they feel that hook they start jumping like crazy, with the bright lights of the Miami Beach hotels reflecting off their silvery scales. Often they'll make long runs, ripping line off the reel and Dave has to crank up the engine and follow them before the reel is empty. I've fished with Capt. Dave a number of times and proved to him that you'll get more fish by fishing with a plug rod and 12 lb. test line, like bass fisherman use, but his clients tend to be lazy and want to save their strength for the fight, not waste it casting a bucktail jig. Too bad! They're missing a lot of fun.

Anyway, we're having a meeting on December 4th, the ribs will taste great, and Capt. Dave Kostyo is going to be the speaker. That's also the night that Hanukah starts at sundown and we have a fairly large Jewish membership. I guess if they were all that devout we wouldn't be eating spare ribs so I expect a fairly decent turnout anyway. If you live in the North Miami-Dade/South Broward area you're welcome to join us and hear what Capt. Dave has to say. Hell, you might even decide to join the club! Contact me for more information. preacherpop42@aol.com