December 2009 Fort Lauderdale Deep Sea Fishing
Charter Captains Blog
12-24-09
Ft.
Lauderdale Fishing Daily
Blog
12-22-09
Ft.
Lauderdale Fishing Daily
Blog
12-21-09
Ft.
Lauderdale Fishing Daily
Blog
12-19-09
Ft.
Lauderdale Fishing Daily
Report
12-12-09
Ft.
Lauderdale Fishing Daily
Report
12-9-09 Ft.
Lauderdale Fishing Daily
Report
12-7-09
Ft.
Lauderdale Fishing Daily
Report
12-5-09
Ft.
Lauderdale Fishing Daily
Report
12-1-09
Ft.
Lauderdale Fishing Daily
Report
Dec 24 - Ft. Lauderdale fishing Daily Blog
Ft.
Lauderdale wasn’t offering
much in the way of fishing the day before Christmas. Seas were running
2-4’ and choppy. Joel and his family were concerned for the kids and we
had discussed fishing inside but gave it a whirl in the ocean that
morning first. After a very short time, with a few people not feeling
well, we went inside to see what could be had.
The great thing about kids is… they just don’t care
what you catch. All 4 armed with bait rods, we finally found some
Pinfish and the catching began. I wish I had gotten a picture of the
pandemonium that occurred. With Joel helping the youngest (5), the
others were on their own. Mom barely got her hands on a rod and the
smiles were very rewarding.
The
afternoon wasn’t much better for Vince and the crew. Visiting locals
from New Jersey,
we tried some trolling with little luck. A Kingfish, a Bonito and a
Barracuda were all that could be had. We put the kites up hopeful for
something big but never got our shot.
And with the sun sinking in the west, it was time
to go home. As much as I hate to say it, that’s fishing sometimes…
Captain Steve
Ft Lauderdale fishing (offshore)
Contact:
www.all-inclusivesportfishing.com
Biz phone; 954-761-8202
Dec 22 - Ft. Lauderdale Fishing Daily Blog
Mark, with family and friends in tow, showed up for
his Fort Lauderdale fishing
trip Tuesday morning. The main thing wanted was to catch fish, with some
effort put towards something big, like a Sailfish.
Always eager to please, we set out for some
trolling. With the winds very mild and no live bait on board, we
recommended a half bucket of bait just in case a tailer (free swimming
Sailfish) was seen.
The Kingfish were biting fairly well and within an
hour or so, we had caught 6 and missed a few others. Everyone had caught
a fish, so let’s give that Sailfish thing a try.
The wind had freshened some and there was plenty
for the kite, the absolute best way to present Goggle Eyes, so with two
kites up, we waited, and waited… and waited.
The radio had been quiet, little talk about
anything, much less Sails. A few had been seen earlier that day in
shallow water and the wind was moving us in that direction.
And here he comes. Andrew yells out at me and most
on board saw the fin up coming at the bait. And there he goes??? He’s
leaving? He just cruised by, never giving it much interest. And we were
running out of time.
A few minutes later, I saw something deep off the
transom and asked Andrew what it was, perhaps he could get a better look
at it. We found out shortly as a 7 to 8’ Hammerhead Shark came at our
kite bait. With their eyes on the outsides of the horns on their heads,
they don’t see well when up close to something and put on quite a show
when chasing a bait. We got just that. After a few minutes of this, he
finally found it, ate it and we set the hook on him and the game was on!
We usually use heavier tackle for shark when we
fish for them. Shimano TLD 25’s are not the gear to really land these
fish, but it can be done. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be today. After 5
minutes or so, we pulled the hook on the fish, he escaped and the angler
was disappointed. He might not have been so disappointed if he had known
that a fight of over an hour was in store for him…
I hope they’ll be back to try again. Mark and his
crew were a pleasure.
Captain Steve
Ft Lauderdale fishing (offshore)
Contact:
www.all-inclusivesportfishing.com
Biz phone; 954-761-8202
Dec 21 -
Ft.
Lauderdale Fishing Daily
Blog
Our
Ft.
Lauderdale fishing trip
began with a grey morning, not unusual when a cold (ok, cool for folks
up north) front approaches. Tenna’s group had requested catching a shark
along with anything else the day could offer. Just plain fishing for
fish rather than targeting one species is usually best and we were off.
On the way out the cut, just past the sea buoy,
birds were seen working on the water’s edge about another mile from
shore.
An edge had formed, a change in both current and
color of the water, an excellent place for finding fish and it wasn’t
long before we were covered up (all baits bitten at the same time) by
small Dolphin. We caught 2 of 3 that stayed connected and were off
looking for the birds once again.
The fish and the birds move exceptionally fast and
can sometimes be hard to locate again, but we found them again and were
again covered up, this time to get 3 of 4 with a couple of small
gaffers. Andrew was quick in getting the baits back out and on a turn,
another bite. This time it was a shark, one of the small reef types. Not
exactly what Tenna had in mind. I think she was thinking bigger. We let
the shark go after reeling it in and were back in the search, but the
action had ceased for the time being.
Into the reef for a try a some Kings but they
didn’t cooperate well. So we went back to that rip to see if more could
be had. We rounded out our catch with a few more Dolphin and a couple of
small Tuna.
In the picture, you’ll see one gentleman appearing
to hold a fish that isn’t there. He is symbolizing holding the shark he
caught. We release all sport fish these days, including sharks, big or
small.
Captain Steve
Ft Lauderdale fishing (offshore)
Contact:
www.all-inclusivesportfishing.com
Biz phone; 954-761-8202
Dec 19 -
Ft.
Lauderdale Fishing Daily
Report
Just returning to our dock in Ft. Lauderdale
from the boat yard, no fishing was scheduled for this day. Trei and his
friends called around 10 and saved us from sitting at the dock. We were
headed out for an afternoon of fishing.
As always, we were ready to go and headed out the cut around 11:30.
Things had been reported as slow from the few boats already out and
since coming from the yard, we had no live bait reserves. We began
trolling and things were slower than slow. One Kingfish was caught as
Andrew and I talked about a plan to improve our results.
We tried catching some live bait, but with strong winds and little
current, the Ballyhoo arrived but would not cooperate. We only caught
one along with a bullet Bonito on our way out from the bait area.
Two live baits… and one Kingfish. Not much to work
with. There had been some shark activity lately, let’s give that a try.
We were off to set up and hope to catch the boys from Michigan something big.
With the shark baits in the water, Andrew tossed
out our only live Ballyhoo on a spinning rod. Within minutes, and I mean
like three, I noticed a pull on the rigger clip. Andrew checked the line
and the next thing we see is the rod bent and a Sailfish jumping behind
the boat! Get the sharks baits up… NOW! Spinning rods are a blast to
catch Sails on and within about 15 minutes, we had landed, measured,
photographed and released this fish back into the ocean. While clearing
the lines, we had lost one of our shark baits. Ok, NOW what do we do?
With a bullet Bonito in the well, we went to one of
the wrecks close by. It took some time but we did get a bite and Trei
landed a huge Amberjack. Not as easy as it looks on TV, is it?
Being out of live bait, we resorted back to
trolling and lucked into some big Bonito and small Blackfin Tuna to
round out our day. It sure began slowly, but things improved as they
sometimes do when patience is rewarded with a nice prize.
Captain Steve Souther
Ft Lauderdale fishing (offshore)
Contact:
www.all-inclusivesportfishing.com
Biz phone; 954-761-8202
Dec 12 -
Ft.
Lauderdale Fishing Daily
Report
Today
Ft.
Lauderdale dawned a cloudy
and windy day. We had the pleasure of fishing with Ami and Wick out of Boston along with Frank out of Bermuda
aboard the Marlin My Darlin for our morning Ft Lauderdale fishing
charter. Seas were running 3 to 4 feet but it was a mixed up sea and not
very comfortable. A couple of passes by the #1 buoy produced a couple of
decent Kingfish. Frank caught a nice Dolphin to join the kingfish in the
fish box. We elected to live-bait at this point due to the bouncing
around because of the mixed up sea conditions. Kite fishing can save a
Ft Lauderdale fishing charter when Mother
Ocean
is a little frisky. Bow into the waves, little movement either inshore
or offshore and far less motion from the ocean. Sailfish would be the
primary target species. Bermuda Frank let Wick take the first sailfish
as he (Frank) was quite experienced. Wick brought the Sail to boat side
in about 20 minutes. Tough fight. We reset the kite spread and Sailfish
#2 showed up on an inside bait. Great aggressive bite (1st mate Andrew
had to coax the first one to take the bait) and a jumping fool. Gracious
Frank deferred to Wick again and Wick released this one in about four
minutes. The seas were improving greatly over initial conditions and Ami
decided her stomach was feeling a lot better and she took the next
strike, that’s her dolphin in the picture,
taken
about 30 minutes before it became the catch of the day as their lunch
entrée at the restaurant next door.
There is no substitute for an experienced first
mate on a fishing charter. Good sound decisions regarding presentation
and a knowledge of fish behavior on the bite and also at boat side as a
fight winds down by my deckhand give me the advantage of being
aggressive and confident in our program when opportunity knocks. Andrew
for President.
He might have had more fun than Ami, Wick or Frank.
Capt: Rick Brady
Ft Lauderdale fishing (offshore)
Contact:
www.all-inclusivesportfishing.com
Biz phone; 954-761-8202
Dec 9-
Ft.
Lauderdale Fishing Daily
Report
Fishing is fishing… even in Fort Lauderdale. From day to day, you just
never know what will bite until you try. With a split charter set for
the morning, we ventured out into calm seas and some north current. A
chamber of commerce day in Fort
Lauderdale, we were looking for fish to eat.
The radio crackled with news of some Kingfish just
north of the port. A hard turn to the left had us heading that way and
soon, the deep lines were both bent with bites. The kingfish bite was on
and our first 2 fish were on the way to the boat.
A tidal edge of green tide water against blue ocean
water was inside these fish about 200 yards. Each pass produced a bite
or two from the feeding Kings that were apparently feeding on Bullets
(small Bonito) that were hanging around an anchored Yacht.
While catching Kings is fun, a surprise catch of a
Sailfish is always welcome aboard the Marlin My Darlin and when the
rigger bite came down and began taking line, that was exactly what we
had.
With the rod passed to one of our anglers, another
bite was happening on the other side. Another sailfish was up and
interested, but faded off only to find the high line (a line fished from
the center rigger on the fly bridge usually way behind the baits). It’s
not often the captain gets to hook Sailfish from the bridge, but today I
was in luck and a second fish was now on.
And that’s the way it went the rest of the morning.
A short trip on time but a long one on catching. We ended up with our
limit in Kings and 4 of 5 Sailfish bites. I even got to hook a second
one from the bridge!
All the Sails were juvenile fish except for the
last one. The three we released before hand were 15lbs or less. One
might not have gone 8lbs. I wish we could have taken a picture, but when
they are that small, it is dangerous for them to be handled. Their bills
are extremely soft and a crack can cause them damage. We did manage to
boat one safely for pictures.
Always nice coming in flying 4 flags…
Captain Steve
Area fished: Ft Lauderdale fishing (offshore)
Contact:
www.all-inclusivesportfishing.com
Biz phone:
954-761-8202
Dec 7 -
Ft.
Lauderdale Fishing Daily
Report
Fishing in
Fort Lauderdale is just like anywhere else… It
requires patience on days when the bite isn’t exactly perfect. All the
preparation, skill and technique will provide you with opportunity when
the bite comes along, but some days you have to wait for that bite and
waiting can be the hardest part.
We had one of those days today. Two groups of
people, both great groups. The morning group from
Texas, the afternoon group from
Wisconsin.
Fishing
was slow, the radio almost silent as we drug live baits around from our
riggers. One Sail had been caught in 285’ and we were on our way into
deeper water. An hour later, another sail seen and caught in 130’ of
water. While only ½ mile separates these two depths, when the fish are
scattered like this, it means more of a random bite than groups of fish
moving through the area. With 6 hours to fish the morning, after 3 or
so, we gave up and tried some trolling. This gave us a summertime Fort Lauderdale grand Slam, but not too
impressive, a Kingfish, a Bonito and a Barracuda.
The afternoon began the same way, we needed bait
that was not caught on the morning and did much better with them in the
afternoon. Immediately going to live bait, we began our search once
again, wandering into deeper water hopeful for a Sail, but willing for
anything to bite. The water looked great and so did the baits but things
were still slow.
Schools of small Tuna were popping around the
depths and we tried to entice them with our baits, but they were too
small to eat them and we missed a few fish. Finally, one lone Dolphin
came by, was hooked and boated. Well, that’s something. LOL
With only a short bit of time left, we headed for a
rip current forming from the outgoing tide and as we got close, another
group of smaller Dolphin attacked our baits. We landed 3 of the 4 and
our time was up.
It is such a pleasure to fish for people like we
were lucky enough to have today. They came to have a good time, enjoyed
their day with us even though we were only able to catch them a few
fish. Fort Lauderdale provided us with a beautiful
day and though the fishing was tough, these folks will be back to try
again. They certainly deserve a better day. Hopefully, they will get it.
Captain Steve
Area fished: Ft Lauderdale fishing (offshore)
Contact:
www.all-inclusivesportfishing.com
Biz phone:
954-761-8202
Dec 5 -
Ft.
Lauderdale Fishing Daily
Report
Two Fort
Lauderdale
fishing charters, both on the same day. Both were fished exactly alike
and yet, the trips were totally different.
Our morning in
Fort Lauderdale today was with Arthur and
Fletcher. The day began with some light rain and a need for live bait.
After spending an hour or so anchored, we had caught Speedos (the
baitfish, not those little swim suits) and some Ballyhoo and were off
with great hopes.
Because of the rain, dragging the live bait from
the riggers was the best option and we did just that. For our efforts,
the hits were few and far between and only afforded us one Kingfish for
our efforts. While our guests were quite happy with our effort and their
dinner, it wasn’t exactly what we, the crew had hoped for these two,
very nice people.
A quick turn around and we’re off again with the
afternoon trip. The weather was changing and though the rain had stopped
in the morning, once again we had rain as we began. Only a few hits at
first, fishing the exact same way we had in the morning, fishing the
same area as the first trip.
A nice king was boated, and then a huge Spanish
Mackerel was caught on a live ballyhoo. And then the fun began.
A kingfish sky rocketed ( shot straight up from the
water) on a live Speedo and missed the bait, only cutting him slightly.
Again he shot into the air and missed the bait. Apparently, the
commotion attracted a sailfish’s attention, which came up and ate a
flatline Ballyhoo, right behind the boat and with that, the chase was
on!
Our angler was quite good, using the spinning rods
loaded with 20lbs test and within just 10 minutes or so had the fish by
the boat, where he was billed, (lifted into the boat) measures,
photographed and released. A true prize at 86”.
Feeling pretty good about ourselves, we deployed
the same spread and caught another King.
Time was running out and it was time to go home. As
we were clearing the lines, the high line felt a little heavy. With a
fast wind down on it, another Sailfish way out behind the boat, and I
mean way out there, began jumping. Game on once again.
Not quite as big as the first, still a fierce
fighter and within 15 minutes or so, ho too was released with high 5’s
all around.
The tale of two trips, both fished the same way,
but with very different results.
Captain Steve
Ft Lauderdale fishing (offshore)
Contact:
www.all-inclusivesportfishing.com
Biz phone: 954-761-8202
Dec 1 -
Ft.
Lauderdale Fishing Daily
Report
Today (Dec 1st) dawned absolutely
beautiful AGAIN. Another picture perfect day to enjoy a Ft. Lauderdale
fishing trip. An absolute total lack of wind dictated our plan to
approach fishing on this early winter day. We chose to live bait, and
the bait was Ballyhoo. A short trip to an inshore reef and a box of
fresh chum released while @ anchor and we had a baitwell full of frisky
baits. Many times we are hesitant to anchor down to catch bait, but
today we had a little extra time and it paid off. Twin his and hers
Sailfish for Mr. Kirk and his bride.
Both Sailfish were caught on 20# line (950SS Penn spinning reels) and
released in good condition. Smaller Blackfin Tunas rounded out the
catch. A trip into the Gulfstream in an effort to catch a Blue Marlin on
the heavy tackle didn’t result in any chances at the big boy. No guts,
no glory, and still a good day.
Type of fishing: Ft Lauderdale fishing charters
Contact:
www.all-inclusivesportfishing.com
Capt: Tom Kopper Sr.
Area: Ft Lauderdale fishing(offshore)
Biz phone: 954-761-8202
