Story originally published in The Palm Beach Post's Florida Outdoors section on April 27, 2008.
Fishing in Stuart will get you hooked: Climb aboard "My Other Honey" with Capt. Peter Morello.
By CHED CHASE
Special to Florida Outdoors
If you're looking to hook some serious sailfish — and dolphin by the dozen — look no further than off the coast of Stuart.
Sixty! That's the number of dolphin caught in one day aboard the My Other Honey fishing charter boat in Stuart, and things are just heating up, according to Capt. Peter Morello.
There's no shortage of dolphin and sailfish off the coast of Stuart and Port St. Lucie this time of year. In fact, Morello calls this "the best time to fish."
With weed lines about 350 feet offshore and wrecks and reefs in shallower water, a lot of game fish have come in from deeper waters to feed. Stuart also has its "resident sails," which are native sailfish that live in the area all year long and can be caught in 60-feet of water.
"This is probably the best month for dolphin. We can catch them all day and typically in the 15- to 19-pound range," said Morello, who has more than 25 years of experience on the water. "Same thing with swordfish; we can catch them all day long and we don't need to go out very far to do it."
Morello, and those who come fishing aboard My Other Honey, typically use live bait such as ballyhoo and herring. Near the weed lines, however, Morello has had success using dead bait to hook some great dolphin. A lot of bait fish, such as cigar minnows and sardines, are migrating into shallow waters and the bigger fish are moving in to feed on them.
"Stuart has a lot of man-made wrecks and coral reefs which is attractive for a bait fish, and that attracts the bigger game fish in from deeper waters."
Of the man-made wrecks, Morello recommends the Sand Hill, which is a big hill of sand dumped about three miles outside of the St. Lucie Inlet.
"The Inlet is fantastic. In Stuart, everything is close," said Morello. "A lot of charter captains will run straight out and drop their bait, then troll. With everything so close, we can pick up our gear and move on to find the fish. Even if we have to go 10 miles one direction, we'll do it."
For Morello, no trip is successful unless his customers have the time of their lives, and that goes for everyone who boards.
"I recently had an 86-year-old man catch an 80-pound sailfish," said Morello. "For me, it doesn't get any better than that."
My Other Honey currently offers half-day. 3⁄4-day, full-day and dusk-to-midnight fishing charters. Morello says his customers enjoy the boat, its safety, and the knowledge that he and his mate, Chris Watkins, offer their guests.
For more information, contact Morello at (772) 631-2015, or visit the Web site www.stuartflsportfishing.com
ABOUT THE CAPTAIN
Name: Peter Morello
Hometown: Cape Cod
Experience: More than 25 years
Specialties: Sailfish, mahi-mahi, swordfish
and blue marlin
Boat: My Other Honey
Boat specs: 44-foot Ocean Sport fishing boat, all electronic gear, on-board shower, ice maker, DVD player and other great amenities. Also equipped with fishing lights for ultimate swordfishing.
Port: Stuart
Fun facts: Morello caught an 869-pound blue fin tuna off the coast of Cape Cod in 1990, which later sold for $27,000. He also started the first fishing tournament for Special Olympics athletes, which he ran for more than 15 years. Not only did he raise money for the cause, but Morello took more than 30 Special Olympics athletes fishing for a day. Morello and his wife, Cheryl, are now members of the Special Olympics Hall of Fame.
Story originally published in The Palm Beach Post's Florida Outdoors section on April 27, 2008.
