Luis from Miami booked us for an all-day fishing charter in Fort Lauderdale aboard the “Happy Day Today” from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm. We had good conditions with light easterly winds and 1-to-2-foot waves. We left Bahia Mar Marina, and within 25 minutes had lines in the water. Fortunately, deep water is located just a few miles off the Fort Lauderdale beaches.
The first mate had a spread of 2 deep planner lines and four surface rigger lines. We started the Fort Lauderdale fishing charter heading south in 150’ of water towards a sunken shipwreck. The Bonita fish were biting, and every line was getting a strike. One by one, every person in the group had caught a fish two times over. The strikes were on the deep planner lines, rigger lines and high line. We fished the Fort Lauderdale reef for about 7 miles until arriving to the sunken shipwreck.
The conditions were ideal for bottom fishing with a light north current. The first mate rigged a live bait with a 24’ leader and a single circle hook. He sent the bait down to the up-current side of the wreck, and as soon as the bait touched down, fish was on!! Carmelo was the angler, and he fought the fish. After a good fight, an Amberjack surfaced. We took a picture and released it back in the ocean. We repeated the process, and this time the rod bent over a little more and pulled heavy drag. Luis was the angler and caught a large Amberjack. These fish congregate around the structure and feed on any baitfish passing by.
Just outside of the sunken shipwreck is a good area to target larger game fish. I positioned the boat facing into the current in 250’ of water, and the first mate set out 3 dead baits - one on the surface, the second in the mid depth around 125’ of water and the third bait right on the bottom. About 30 minutes into dead bait fishing, the bottom rod bent over, and line started peeling off the reel. Luis got strapped into the main fighting chair and started fighting this fish. It took around 45 minutes, and up came a Bull Shark. The first mate wired the remaining 20 feet of line, and we were able to get a couple of pictures, then cut the hook out of the Sharks mouth.
About an hour left in the charter we switched back to trolling the reef heading back up to the north and continued catching fish. In total we caught 18 Bonitas, 2 Amberjacks, a handful of Barracuda and 1 Bull Shark.
On July 27th Rusty Howard, who has fished with us many times in the past, brought his wife and daughter out for a 6-hour fishing charter in Fort Lauderdale. To begin the trip, we started at the sea buoy catching bait. This was a perfect fit to get his young daughter some fish, as well as loading up the bait well with some freshly caught Blue Runners and Speedo baits.
Next, the first mate rigged up a wire treble rig and hooked the live baits. We fished four rigger baits and one on the down rigger which is about 60 deep. Typically, the down rigger gets most of the hits.
The first strike was on a rigger bait. The line came out of the rigger clip and started ripping off drag. Rusty had stand up gear and started fighting the fish. Once the fish got close to the transom, the first mate reached out and gaffed the King Mackerel. We continued fishing the baits on the drop off, and the next bite came on the down rigger. The rod bent over, and line started ripping off. The fish swam away at a high rate of speed, and after a good fight, Rusty brought in a smoker King Mackerel. The first mate reached out and gaffed the King and put him in the fish box. We continued fishing the spread of baits, and once again, the down rigger line got a strike, and we had another King on. Just like before, once the fish was within range, the first mate gaffed the fish and in the box. We continued fishing the same spread of baits, as we were capitalizing on nice Kings on live bait, which is an exciting way to charter fish in Fort Lauderdale. This time we had a Sailfish behind one of the Speedo baits - he was following the bait - we fed the Sailfish, and as the fish was swimming away, he came up jumping very soon after feeding. This is a sign that the Sailfish knew something was wrong and felt the hooks. When the angler started to reel tight, the Sailfish had got off the hooks and swam away. It’s frustrating to lose a fish, but it’s part of the game, which is why we come back for more.
Next, we headed over to a sunken shipwreck in 130 feet of water. The mate rigged a bridled Speedo bait and sent it down to the wreck. It took about 15 minutes for the bait to start swimming around frantically. Knowing something was about to happen, Rusty stood by the rod ready for action. He set the hook, and fought the fish, which ended up being a Mutton Snapper. The first mate reached out with the gaff and in the boat. We spent the last part of the Fort Lauderdale charter trolling in 300’ of water. The mate set out deep planner lines and four surface lines. We ended up catching one Black Fin Tuna on the deep planner line.
To book a deep-sea fishing charter in Fort Lauderdale contact Capt. Dave Zsak at (954) 439-8106 or check out our website at: Topshotfishing.com - Facebook, YouTube and Instagram