Key West Waterman Merch - Charter Recommendations & More www.keywestwat... Want to buy or sell in the Florida Keys? dot.cards/made... Follow Along on Instagram: Aaron - / keywestwaterman Madeleine - / paddlin_madeleine
well that was absolutely one of the coolest eats ive ever seen on RU-vid...slow trolling for kingfish with a live runner and thats what eats it. AMAZING!
For those that dont or didn't know bluefin make there way down the coast around the keys and then north into the northern gulf to spawn. There is a bluefin fishery in Florida which is highly specialized. Most encounters in the keys go just like the one we just watched. Typically while mackerel fishing one eats a live bait and thats that. I believe the Florida record is around 800 pounds and was caught out of either Pensacola or Panama city. We catch them occasionally mixed in with yellowfin on the otherside of the stream off the east coast typically in mid to late march. When I lived in marathon on 2 separate occasions, one in late January one in February, we actually had bluefin come into the chum slick while yellowtail fishing. Absolutely wild. As always my friend great video!! PS you did the right thing, break em off quick dont stress them.
Justin Drummond caught one a couple years back out of Port Aransas Texas that filled a third of the Gulf of Mexico quota and broke the Texas record by a long shot. It was deep winter and we all geared up our 80ws and trolled the day after, dudes were coming back to SPI with broken rods, empty 80ws and a rare occasional blue fin to show for it before they moved on
That Bluefin smash reminds me of me, my Dad and 2 Brothers fishing off the Outer Banks in the early 2000's. We were charter fishing for Dorado and Wahoo when the long line got smashed by a Giant Blue Marlin. It looked like a Volkswagen jumping out of the water. The Captain put me in the fighting chair and all I could do was hold on. We watched it for about 1 minute as it breached from starboard to port with INCREDIBLE speed before it snapped the line. I will never forget it !!
@@KeyWestWaterman I think you should enter the big game fishing tournaments, once you can fund it. IMO, you and your friends would be very competitive.
@21:59 I have literally watched that portion over and over again!! That was a massive Bluefin and kudos to you for letting it go. Many would have tried to fight it but you did the right thing. Another amazing Key West Waterman video!!!
Awesome footage of the eat- rare stuff. You made the right call breaking it off. You’d be a while trying to get that thing even close to the boat with your tackle. And, as you note, playing it would only increase the chances of unintentionally killing it. Well done 👍
it's nice ( and rare ) to see you genuinely happy not sure you noticed but you have a life most would kill for and it's rare to hear you laugh like a kid , nice to see m8 .
That blue fin bite was epic. Some of my favorite memories are the one's that i got spooled or got away. Another great video as usual, Aaron you're the man!!
Kudos! Excellent content, flawless narration and pro editing. Can't wait to toss some fresh Kingfish into Old Bay boiling H2O. Again, Kudos and Keep Livin' Life Large ! Mui Bueno Livin' The Keys Dream!
Reminds me of working offshore of Fort Myers Beach about 55-60 miles, crystal clear water and I looked down and swore I saw a yellowfin. Told the Captain, "If I didn't know better, I'd tell you I just saw a yellowfin." He told me, "You're silly for thinking you know better, that's the magic of the ocean."
King Mackerel one of my favorite eating fish off the grill! Prep as follows: - filet & skin, cut out dark blood line - marinate 2 hours soaking in pan with your favorite Italian dressing - pat dry with paper towels - brush on melted butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, whatever your favorite seasonings are - grill in a enclosed basket , keep basting, flip once during grilling, until filets are white and thin blade goes through easily, remove from grill and basket - enjoy eating, kingfish is stunningly good!😊
The bluefin made the hairs stand up on my arms ! What a turn on ! I have chased them a few times. There’s nothing like big tuna. I can remember fishing on the reef in the winter and seeing big tuna like that one crashing baits in our chum slick for yellowtail. I’m here in Key West visiting family. Weather has been terrible yesterday and today as you know.
Great video brother, i am half way watching this video at this point where you lost the 2nd fish, and wanted to suggest you to use circle hooks instead of J hooks, just try it... Now will continue watching❤
Aaron, do you ever feed the dolphins with some of your bait when you have a bunch? Seems like that would be so neat! BTW--- I chat with your younger sister Kelly also (LOL) 😁
4:00 -- "Sabiki's are always a nightmare" Bro! You've GOT to step up your game and get a sabiki rod then, life changing! I bought the Danco conventional two-piece 7'8" sabiki rod from West Marine for just $40 and use it to pier fish. Fun as hell and the rod cleverly stores your sabiki rigs inside safely, no screwing around. The Danco rods come in both convention and spinning, and in 2- or 3-piece. I heard the 2-piece is better since there are less hang ups on the inside for the small hooks to get snagged on. Danco also sells a sabiki rig kit to go with it (1 oz lead bell weights, sabiki dehookers, many sabiki rigs) but you probably aready have all that.
@@KeyWestWaterman -- Gotcha I never sabiki fished because I don't have a boat. But then learned that it's a great outfit to target topsmelt around a fishing pier near my house.
Irresponsible to fight that fish....... Dumbest line I've ever heard..... You still had TV drag set, And you are literally on a boat where you can chase him down and gain line back at any opportunity you want.... I would respected decision if you actually got a look at the fish but when your fishing a reel that puts out well over 50lbs of drag at only 50% tension if that, its a dumb move no matter how you slice it. What a waste of time just to see a googen move. Video ended..
lol what do you mean got a look at the fish, I watched the fish eat. and False, that reels max drag is 35 lbs. you weren't there you have no idea what my drag was set at, and I did chase the fish for about 5 minutes with the boat while I was weighing out my options, the video was chopped up. What do you think would have happened if I locked the drag down with a 40 lb leader and fish that size. It would have popped anyways. or I could have let it spool me and left 350 yards of braid attached to the fish. Everyone is an expert from the couch, Thanks for your input!
Great video Aaron! Personally, I really enjoyed king mackerel done in steaks and bbq’d. It had great flavour. I’ve never had it smoked. I do find Floridians and some others states on the gulf are quite snobby when it comes to certain fish. Thanks for sharing & giving me another way to try!
By far, my favorite videos are of you Catching, Cleaning, Cooking the food you catch. I've always wondered how to clean and cook the stuff I catch Not being familiar with what I catch, I throw back everything I catch because I don't know if it's poisonous or not. I have an autoimmune disease and don't know what is safe to eat. But you have done such an awesome job of informing me of how to clean, cook,and eat what I catch. Thank you.
Done in Trinidad and Tobago king fish is one of the most sought after fish, it’s good table fair, I guess it depends on where you grew up, we usually fry slices then curry, or even make ceviche with it.
Little Shimano music! You need to plan a trip next year in December-January up here in NC. Blue fins off the beach in many cases. Weatherman does alot of drinking in december and January!!! Lol
The biggest fish we hook on runners is wahoo and kings which are never a problem with the 8000’s i normally troll small conventional with the live baits but this day i wanted to try out my new reels.
We in Destin also like kingfish too. We usually cube it up like you but prob twice the size cubes and roll it in an eggwash then 1/2 and 1/2 flour and cornmeal with Everglades spice mixed in and then flash fry it in a big wok with peanut oil. You serve it with tarter sauce and a salad or avocado slices.👌👌👌. Try it and tell me I’m crazy.😎
That first strike on the left runner was probably a cuda. That’s almost exactly how they’ve always acted hitting a live bait in my experience. Especially the big ones
That fish looked way bigger than 300! I haven't gotten to watch any eat the bait like that but I've been part of a few captures of 73"+. There's no way he would look that big from a distance on a go pro if he wasn't BIG.
That was epic smash from blue fin bro!!! Hope it didnt smoke your brand new drags !!!!! got test run, now you know cant handle 200+ tuna lol that fish we would have fought on a 130 tiagra for 2+ hours lol
Absolutely phenomenal video capture of the breaching Bluefin !!!!! Holy COW! You are Honorable and did the correct thing. Bravo Sir....... Sometime place a trolling camera on you line so you could see the Hit from under water! Let me know if you ever had the opportunity to try the Flasher with glow Squid at depth to see if it worked with that frequency of light..... Cheers from Wisconsin.
Definitely did the right thing I had no clue even got bluefin here in Florida and I bet you that thing was every bit of 150 200 pound fish maybe even more Great video as usual Aaron
you'd know better than me you were there, the camera is extremely zoomed out compared to real perspective. I have videos of 30 lb kings jumping at that distance that look like 20" cero mackerels.
You said the universe led you to go fishing that day. Then, when you were filled with joy at hooking the bluefin, you repeated “Oh my God! Oh my God!”. The first verse of the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth.” While 4,000 years later the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, said, “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”- John 3:16. Also, in the Great Lakes area, especially Wisconsin, we have fish boils using the native whitefish- boiled in large caldrons with potatoes, over an open wood fire, then smothered with melted butter & lemon.
Sick bite! I jumped with the Bluefin lol! Your making me want to go get a king now. POMPANO have been on the menu lately! I got a couple Sheepshead I'm going to do the poor man's lobster with! I heard it was great with them. Thanks for the reminder, and thanks for the great videos! Boats looking great, I love them Mercs!! Cheers 🍻
Awesome.. I feel your excitemet. If I was there, and that was me, I would be thinking "Tred Barta would have caught that fish" 😂 I have added a few drops of liquid crab boil to fish (Striped bass, white bass) for improved "lobster like" flavor.
Kingfish is mad underrated if its bled, iced, and eaten soon. Bluefish as well. I had my girlfriend do a blind taste test with king, bluefish, Spanish, and black sea bass. Rating went: 1. Blue 2. King … … 3. Spanish 4. Black seabass
I actually like fresh baked kingfish off the ice. Growing up in NJ, a lot of times bluefish was all we had. I find the two very similar. And, smoked bluefish is very good as well. (Cue the bluefish/NJ haters) That bluefin strike was awesome. You did the right thing breaking it off. Just getting to see something like that would make my day, but fish in the box is always nice.
Aloha. P.S.,spectacular ahi strike! I watched Joey vt catch a 10ft bluefin, 3 miles off North Carolina a few weeks ago. Reeled it in himself, 3 man crew.
Fishing alone is tough... You need a good chaser to man the wheel. Too bad. Would have LOVED TO SEE the Blue Fin.!!... and you lost $30 of line!... lol
Growing up in Palm Beach County in the 70s, we would have grilled Kingfish steaks from time to time. I remember loving them. Not sure how they were seasoned...maybe salt and pepper, then squeeze some lemon on.
My mom used to make poor man’s lobster out of Halibut! I think you would only be able to call Halibut a poor man’s fish if you lived in AK, and even then it’s a stretch. It was amazing though. I will definitely try that with my next king, might even try it with bonito? Oh yeah and the Tuna bite was pretty cool too!
Another great video Aaron! I am going to try your Kingfish recipe. I like Kingfish though. I like to broil it with some teriyaki sauce. I have never really understood why people don't like it. When I go fishing with my neighbors, I'll take all the mackerels and let them have the snappers. I'd eat a mackerel over any snapper, any day.
Lol there’s always one. You’d know better than me you were there! The GoPro is extremely zoomed out and makes everything appear tiny from distance. And the blue runner you couldn’t even see that it swallowed whole was 14”
I hooked a bluefin off key largo years ago on a live bonito about the size of the one you threw back,similar tackle, 20# class spinning gear. What kind of deal did Shimano give you? 50% or full ride?
That blue, tho… I find that Old Bay can cure a lot of things that make foods taste not so good. I got turned onto it in Maryland eating blue crab. Now I want to see someone make poor man's lobster with carp. Thank you and I want to tell you that you made a pretty awesome first impression on me with this video. Your wife is lovely and I believe I'll send you a croc for that canal. 😉🖖🎣
I’ve only had one bluefin on in my life and it was on the back of a coast guard cutter back in the 90s.. it wasn’t huge but it was over 100lbs.. got it up to the boat once then the line gave out.. the crew was excited because we were going to have fresh food because we were living on rice & beans after the refrigeration failed 🤷🏼♂️ we got into a mess of yellowfin later that day.. still a hellova fight & a fond memory
Was living in Northern Alberta, and Burbot were the fish that we did just this with, under the same name. The Burbot are a freshwater offshoot in the Cod family, ugly, slimy, and prone to coming back to life in the sink, when you thawed them, after a day of ice fishing. But soooo good food! I have been walked away from by a couple sturgeon over the years, where they just went, and paid me no mind. Good ethical call on that. The answer to "What do i say?", is like to be a really nice thank you note to Shimano, as well as sending them that clip of the breach hit of a WAY to big fish, eh? Thanks!
I saw your story and was looking forward to the video. Options are to risk and tie another rod and reel to the existing Rod and reel for an additional 300+ yards. My personal choice would've tried to land that fish of a lifetime and would have risked the loss. I have landed many 700+lb sharks on Tarpon gear on 65lb braid, long battles on spinners. 27 years of experience as a captain. No disrespect at all. Choices are made at the time needed.
Outstanding clip of the BFT>> I will email you an old kingfish recipe that an older king fisherman than me gave me, my wife and a good friend would. Not eat it until i made it and did not tell them either. Only 3 ingredients < Worcestershire, OJ and Karo syrup
It’s ashamed that you didn’t have a rod and reel that would have been capable of getting a big fish like that to the boat for release if it was too big. Incredible footage of the bite.Something I am sure you will never forget.
Cool vid, that tuna eat was amazing! Hey something you can try next time, bring your broth to a boil, add the fish and turn the heat down. The goal is to get it just below a boil. It will take a little longer than normal but it should be worth it. I haven't done it with Kings but I've done it with Yellowfin scraps for an awesome tuna salad. Works for Salmon as well. Tight lines.
Random but I’m jealous of your live well! Looks like it stays sealed up pretty well being pressurized. I have a 25 open and tried to pressurize my livewell and almost sank the boat the hull had so much water in it and burnt up the bilge pumps!
In my experience most people who turn their noses to the mackerels have had bad experiences with people who didn’t clean the fish properly. “Steamed for the grill” with skin still on and bloodline still in, filleted with skin still on and bloodline in etc. The mackerels are imo all good eating with proper prep, fried or grilled with and of course fresh not frozen, ✌🏼
Probably would have been a world record on that light of tackle. I can’t see how it would be possible to land it. If it didn’t break the reel and you had someone driving and about 15 hours to fight it? Insane. Not very long ago a guy hooked one on electric in Miami sword fishing and he thought it was a massive swordfish so he had light drag and it still took him like 12-15 hours or something. Killed the fish fighting it for so long and still had to release it dead. Definitely a good decision breaking it off.
Nice day on the water. My dog heard you cat talking and went crazy. lol Great afternoon sitting on the porch overlooking the mangroves with your great wife. Awesome!
trevalas are my go-to rod.... i have probably 8 or 9 of the damned things in different sizes and shapes. They are awesome for literally everything.... and nearly indestructible!
I’ve sorta been watching your videos from time to time in one of your first videos you went through a short introduction about your journey and I believe you said that you worked for Teco or People’s gas? I did some work for Teco last summer around different parts of Florida as a contracted CP Tech, I started looking at career opportunities and was just curious from your experience was it or is it a good place to work?
I wonder what you would have done if you hadn't seen the tuna come out of the water...? Probably get spooled. I definitely would have chased and tried to fight it longer but you were morally right in your dilemma to pop it when you did. You would have killed the fish otherwise - either by exhaustion or by it trailing a spool full of line around for days. Good show. Thanks.
Caught a 195.4 yellowfin on a top water spinner in Venice Louisiana. Fish broke everyone on the boat took over 2 hours. If it makes you feel better you never had a chance on that light of a rod by yourself so it was a good call
Great decision on the tuna early release, it was a monster. That decision is what I like about your channel. If there was one person on RU-vid that I would love to meet is you. Great video. PS I know live and fish 20 minutes south from where you grew up.
You'll be enjoying it a lot more as you great video a little older I've lived here 55 years and I live dwhere you do. Really enjoyed your video Aaron. But I had to laugh call me when you had the tuna on the little rod I thought cut the line before he s p o o LS you. Try and stay warm is 59 here this morning. Also I never heard of a poor man's Lobster but I enjoyed seeing that thank you
I've had kingfish a couple of times. Once it was grilled the other was broiled and can't remember having any bad thoughts on it. But on the other hand I'm not picky about what I eat.
I was in the Keys fishing near alligator reef just throwing small lure in the clear water maybe 50 ft deep. I've seen one huge giant bluefin came up to a lure but didn't get the bite. That was like 15 years back.
Do you guys catch a lot of bluefins in the Keys? Would that have been your first bluefin down there? Awesome video of the dolphins and everything else. Be safe catchem up buddy
Hi Aaron. In this part of the world, if I catch 2 king fish same size as yours, the money I''m getting for selling them should cover the whole fishing trip👌
Enjoy your channel. If alone what do you do if the boats in gear and you slip overboard? No life jacket, might be in a bit of trouble there mate. Just a safety comment.
They call monk fish, poor mans lobster. Similar look. Should have tried it like you did. When you live in md. Fresh fish isnt easy to get. Im sure most would kill for a day old king
