Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Charter fishing with the family the day after Christmas in Fort Lauderdale? Well, truth be told, Fort Lauderdale and the south Florida area is loaded with families on vacation as we begin our busiest week of the year.
Our morning was with Brian, Lawrence and his 2 boys, Richie and Nate. Both boys started out quiet but Richie got over that quickly. Lots of questions and everything was exciting.
A beautiful day with seas 2-3? we fished south on the troll looking for edible fish. The day started slow and the radio was quiet from the other boats. A cold front? Ok, a cool front was approaching and had the wind blowing pretty good from the south. We managed a Mahi-mahi, a nice Tuna and a couple of Mackerel. Dinner will be served! We also caught a few Bonito, the bigger ones, and some small ones for live bait but our live bait efforts were a washout even though a few Sails started popping up toward the end of the morning.
Our afternoon trip was with John and his son, Jeff from the New England area. These boys just came on the boat and began having fun. Among their possessions? A bottle of champagne. When asked what they were celebrating, John replied their catch. We hadn?t even left the dock yet. LOL
With the cold front being closer, the wind had shifted to more of a southwest direction which subdued the seas and also the fishing. Trolling only produced a few fish, Bonitos mostly, and some misses that are yet to be determined. But being on the boat at sea was their day and they were enjoying it.
We caught a few more smell Bonito for live bait and again tried our luck. And it took a while too but? Don?t you love when there?s ?a but?? I do? ? But, we DID get a bite, a BIG bite too. Jeff got the call and sat amazed at watching the spool give out its line. With over half the line out, the fish then ran again and had us down to less than a quarter spool.
The fight took over 20 minutes and was quite tense as the fish finally got close to the boat. We got a look at him and could only tell he was a nice one as he finally became tired and each crank drew him closer until finally, Chris was able to gaff him and boat this massive Kingfish.
Finally, resting in the fishbox, I heard the pop of the champagne? John caught a nice picture of the fish with Jeff and Chris at sea? Then he caught a small Silky Shark. ? Sorry, John, Jeff wins this one.
Just another day charter fishing with family in Fort Lauderdale.
Capt. Steve Souther
Fort Lauderdale Off Shore Fishing
www.all-inclusivesportfishing.com
(954) 761-8202
