Ft. Lauderdale Deep Sea Fishing Reports
Ft Lauderdale Offshore Fishing Report- August 2008
August in Fort Lauderdale
is hot… The weather usually reaching the lows 90’s by late morning we are
thankful for the sea breeze that finally comes along, though there is no
wind chill for 90 degrees…
As for the fishing here in
Ft. Lauderdale, if you want action, this can be one of the best times of
year to bend the rod. The action is usually steady with the fish on the reef
biting every few minutes.
Summertime means Bonitos
and a lot of them. These fierce fighters are of poor eating quality but a
blast to catch, especially on light tackle. They will hit the top baits
early morning and late afternoon, but as the water warms, retreat to deeper
water and be caught on the deep lines. It is not unusual to catch multiple
fish at one time, a sort of “Chinese fire drill” as most lines go down with
bites from these fish.
Kingfish are also a main
summertime player, being caught mostly on the deep lines throughout the day.
They average 6 to 10 pounds with a few bigger fish being caught. The smaller
fish are the best for eating if eaten fresh as these fish do not freeze
well. They can be frozen if they are to be smoked.
As we fish for these fish
on the reef, we also encounter a few Sailfish from time to time. While not
the numbers we get in the winter, Sailfish are in our area almost year round
to some degree. Blackfin Tuna also can be caught as they travel in small
numbers with the Bonitos that are here.
Both these species will diminish in another month only to reappear in
October when we start all over again.
With all this activity
going on so close to shore, it only stands to reason that predators be close
by to take advantage of the situation. The picture attached to this report
shows a family from yesterday. They spent 5 hours fishing with forty minutes
of that time involved catching and releasing a 105” Bull Shark as
represented by the flag being held. Missing from the photo are a few
Kingfish that were used for bait, as well as the Captain and Mate whom were
taking the pictures. They really didn’t need us in their picture anyway…
There are times we venture
from trolling the reef to fishing the bottom, just to change things up a
bit. Mutton Snapper, Amberjack and even some Grouper can be caught on both
the shallow and deeper wrecks and artificial reefs.
As we venture away from the
reef and head offshore, fishing has been erratic to say the least. Dolphin
(Mahi-mahi), a normal player in our summertime fishing, has not been biting
well. Some serious good luck has been needed to find these fish this year.
The boys we had on just a few weeks ago had that serious good luck with them
and caught a nice 23 pounder so it does pay to get out there and give it a
try.
As we head off shore
further, we get to the Swordfish grounds. The bite has been off for the last
month or so, with mostly smaller fish being caught when the bite comes. As
with all fishing, you just never know.
Well, that’s it for August.
Plenty of action and fish here off Fort Lauderdale’s shore. So, in the
immortal words of Jimmy Buffet…
“Time to stop wishin’
Time to go fishin’…”
Hope to see you soon.
Captain Rick
Captain Steve
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