At the beginning of April a local sports celebrity decided to go deep sea sport fishing aboard the Lady Pamela II. It was a beautiful day and conditions were looking good in Fort Lauderdale. We ran just a few miles north of Port Everglades to the freight ships anchored offshore. We popped the kites with a lively set of goggs and it sure caught somebody's attention. Within 45 minutes, a 7 foot sailfish gave the angler and his wife a little show. We landed the billfish in the boat and reset quickly. Before we could even blink, the angler was hooked up again with a 35 lb cobia. Two bites within an hour, that's just pure luck. At this point in our trip conditions were getting nasty. Sea sickness was kicking in so we made it a day. However, it turned out to be an awesome day for the Lady Pamela II.
We have spotted some gaffer size blackfin tuna from the 5 lb range to the 38 lb range offshore. The Mahi-Mahi bite is starting to pick up as well. They are running anywhere from the 5 lb - 15 lb range within 500 ft – 800 ft of water. The wahoos are really getting turned on by those fresh bonito strips dangling from flashy sea witches we troll 30 ft – 50 ft deep.
This week's weather has really been playing some tricks on us Fort Lauderdale locals. A cold snap came through on Monday and the sailfish absolutely love it! With the wind coming from the NW blowing at 15 knots it makes for perfect sailfish conditions here in South Florida. The kings and bonitos moved through along with the 50 degree weather. Yesterday we averaged about 4 bonitos per trip – that's pretty good.
When the kings come through, the sharks do too! Hammerheads, makos and spinners are showing up on the wrecks just a few miles offshore. Fort Lauderdale houses several large wrecks and is known to have some of the best shark fishing in the world and the Lady Pamela II can assist you on your dream catch. Now is the time to land the trophy hammerhead or thresher shark you've always longed for.
Tight Lines!
Captain David Ide
