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Kite fishing has been around for years. One of the many advantages of kite fishing include using a live bait to create a disturbance on the water surface, enticing a game fish, which would normally be boat shy, to aggressively kick into a feeding mode. For conventional gear fishermen, nothing can quite beat the adrenalin rush when a 200 pound tuna leaps completely out of the water to take his hooked bait. For fly fishermen, targeting such large fish is not really the norm, but using a kite is actually one of the easiest and most productive forms of teasing a fish to within casting distance of the angler. It does not matter what species you target in the salt water. Tuna, sailfish, dorado, and several others are all easily caught on a fly by using the kite to support the teaser bait. However, few people realize the incredible potential of catching huge roosterfish by using a kite on the back edge of the surf line. Because of the difficulty to catch a roosterfish on a fly rod, the rooster is often called the “permit” of the Pacific. Using a kite system for the teaser bait, not only brings the boat wary fish to within an easy 60 foot casting distance, but they do so with abandon. There really is no secret to it. The very lively and very obtainable live bait is in the water one second, and at least to the roosterfish, it is gone the next. Little does the rooster realize the teaser man spotted his name sake comb slicing towards the bait, and with a couple of pulls on the teaser rod line, the bait went vertical to about 5 feet above the surface. The only thing the rooster sees at this moment is the fly hitting the water about 10 feet from him. It makes sense to the rooster – the snack was here, escaped for a second, and there it is. But, it won’t get away again! Basically, kite fishing is just running a standard fishing kite about 150 feet off the transom. The kite has its own rod, with a separate rod used for the teaser bait. About 80 feet back from the kite, a release clip is attached to the kite line. The line from the teaser rod is then attached to the release clip, allowing the bait to drop down at a near vertical off the kite line. Boat speed, wind speed, and the size of the teaser bait all determine how well the kite is flying and the action of the bait on the surface. As conditions change, adjustments are made with the teaser rod. For instance, if the wind dies down a bit, as the kite drops from its previous height, some line must be reeled in on the teaser rod to keep the teaser bait from sinking too far below the surface. If the wind speed picks up, and the kite rises again, some line must be pulled off the teaser rod’s reel in order to not have a bait flying above the water surface. Trolling when the wind is low, drifting, or even anchoring a boat under more windy conditions are all very effective kite fishing methods. Wind speed is the key. Boat speed should never be more than the normal speed used for trolling the live teaser bait. If you are drifting and need to slow the boat down a bit, a sea anchor will do the trick. Conversely, if there is little or no wind, a helium balloon can be attached to the back side of the kite to give it the additional lift needed to control the bait. When targeting the roosters and big jacks on the kite system here in Ixtapa / Zihuatanejo, I have found it best to fish from a panga. The smaller boat is more maneuverable when playing tag with the Pacific Ocean waves that would like nothing more than to have your boat’s name plastered all over their face. A 25 foot panga has plenty of room for a captain, teaser man, and two fly anglers. Each angler takes turns on the kite. Deviating from the traditional release clip concept off the kite line, tie a dropper loop in the teaser rod line about 80 feet from the swivel used to attach the kite to the line. The dropper loop readily slides through the guides and winds on the reel with no adverse affects. Once the dropper loop is out past the rod tip, just fasten on a paper clip. Because we are teasing, and not wanting the fish to take the bait, there is no need for a release type clip. The teaser rod’s line will easily slip into the weightless paper clip, eliminating a lot of problems with a light wind using swivels and a heavier release clip. Besides, not too many rods have guides large enough to allow even a small swivel to pass through the first few eyes and wind onto the reel. The dropper loop allows for the kite to be brought all the way to the rod tip. This makes it easier to launch the kite, and also to bring it back in when fighting a fish. Due to the boat maneuvering into and away from the wind, it is important to quickly get both the teaser bait and the kite back into the boat once a large fish has been hooked. The simple system of using the paper clip allows this to be done in minimal time. Slow trolling the kite and the teaser bait into the wind, and just beyond the wave line, makes for a perfect casting situation for a right handed caster. Usually, the breeze is heading from the ocean to the shore, keeping the kite off the starboard corner, and the bait skimming the actual backside of the waves. This is almost like the ideal planer board situation. The right handed caster will be casting about 45º off the corner and only 60 feet away. For the left hand caster, a small weight can be added to the corner of the kite, to at least keep it straight behind the boat. His cast is not as ideal, but he should not have to worry too much about snagging the boat on the back cast. When a roosterfish attacks the bait, the shoulders and tall dorsal fin are usually out of the water. This makes for a good visual for the teaser man to start stripping line into the boat to get the bait in the air. Large jack crevalle are a different story. They may blind side the bait from underneath, surprising everyone. When this happens, and the bait is stolen by a large jack, make a couple of quick blind casts, strip as fast as you can, and more than likely you will pick up one of the others in the school. The fish teased up while kite fishing are so aggressive, it is almost unbelievable. I have had clients, taken completely by surprise, accidentally hooking a roosterfish or a very large jack only 25 feet from the boat. In order to water load the line for a quick cast, the line was trolling behind the boat, and when the competition is fierce for the kite bait, the other bait in the water, and only 30 or 40 feet away, is easy pickings. The fact the other bait in the water is the fly, makes no difference to the feeding frenzy going on behind the boat. For bait here in the Ixtapa / Zihuatanejo area, we primarily use goggle eyes. The 6 to 8 inch long baits are very hardy, and available year round. Two dozen bait only cost about $10, and will last the entire day. Using a rubber band, the goggle eye is bridled with a bait needle through the nose vents, and attached to a small swivel on the teaser rod’s line. Our roosterfish here average 35 pounds, and 50 pound fish are not uncommon. For really large roosters, troll a fly on a conventional outfit for a while and just a half mile off the shoreline. After you catch a mackerel or small bonito, bridle the bait the same way, and head back to the beach. These roosters are really big, therefore the best outfit is an 11 wt or 12 wt., and be sure to have at least 300 yards of backing on a quality reel. The 11wt is almost perfect, because it casts and handles better than a 12wt for most people, but yet has plenty of backbone. The IGFA record is not very far out of reach. Using a kite for teasing is by far the easiest method, and the most productive for getting a shot at that big and elusive rooster on a fly. Mr. Ed Kunze 011-52 (755) 553-8055 (international) 553-8055 (local) Toll Free (U.S.) 877-772-2252 AOL Instant Messenger ID: IxtapaEd Gaviotas No. 6, Villa Pelicanos Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo Guerrero, Mexico 40880 edkunze@gmail.com 
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