Kite Fishing in Miami & The Bahamas

When kite fishing comes up in any conversation about fishing in Miami or The Bahamas it's all about explosive action, surprising and unbelievable catches. Kite fishing is mostly done with live bait like threadfin hearing, blue runner, or the often preferable and frisky goggle eye.

In a nutshell, the kite is used to suspend the bait on the surface of the water, not allowing the bait to dive. Regardless, the bait continually tries to dive, and its struggle to do so puts out a distress signal that sounds like a dinner bell to any nearby predator.

Like most days, it starts out by catching live bait. With our baitwells full, we run out just pass the reef where we start to deploy our kite(s). There are different kites depending on wind speed. The appropriate kite is hoisted using a kite reel. The reel can be specially designed for fishing kites, or can simply be a stout offshore rig adapted to fly a fishing kite. Each kite can hold up to three baits, and we usually use 2 kites.

Since the baits are always suspended at the surface, the strikes by marauding gamefish can be spectacular. One of the most common targets when kite fishing is are sailfish. It never ceases to amaze us when these majestic creatures rise up out of the water with the bait fish in their mouth…

Other common catches while kite fishing include wahoo, kingfish, dolphin (mahi-mahi), tuna, and marlin - not as common, but not as rare as you would believe. Then there is the occasional 300 lb. hammerhead. Talk about getting your juices flowing.

The best season for kite fishing in Miami and The Bahamas is from Mid October-May. This type of fishing is very productive because gives us the opportunity to have many lines in the water with where the baits are presented in a natural way. With so many lines in the water and in the air, it does require a bit of cooperation with the anglers onboard.