Fishing in Fort Lauderdale is just one of the many attractions of things to do while visiting us. Many families come for the sun, the beaches and to generally relax and have some fun. Our family today has fished with us 5 times before and had very poor luck. Ken made this quite well known as he boarded the boat.
He recognized Justin, the mate and captain when I'm not there. Ken's wife Jodi, his daughter Katie and her boyfriend John, who I called Tim for most the trip, showed up with drinks and food for the afternoon. Ken immediately wanted to know what we would catch. I'd never fished with Ken before and told him what the trends were but couldn't give a definitive answer, it is fishing after all. He mentioned in 5 trips they had caught just 1 fish. I had to ask why he came back with us then? He just smiled…
It was also mentioned to me that neither Jodi nor Kate had ever caught a fish. We we're just going to have to see what we can do about that! So a trolling we went and the Kingfish were biting. Ken and John brought the first few in and I then found out why Jodi had never caught a fish. She stays on the flybridge with the captain. She doesn't like boats and feels comfortable there. So I had to wait till the bathroom called her down on deck to get her the first fish of her life! I have to tell you, this is one of the best parts of my life as captain too. It might be just a Kingfish, but this was her first Kingfish, first fish. And that is truly something special.
We ended up catching and keeping 6 Kings and a Bonito, tossing back a couple of small Kings and missing a few. The bite was slowing and Ken wanted to try for something big so we went deep and deployed a slightly better buffet offering to the fish gods.
A few shark baits and a few livies from the kite was all we needed. With the action slowed, we waited for our first visitor which was a huge Hammerhead Shark! He came for the bait in the kite and both Justin and I were in awe of his size. He took the bait, ran with it and when we went to set the hook? The line snapped at the reel with a loud shot like sound. Talk about disappointment, we were crushed. This happens so seldom, we are tenacious about our fishing gear.
As the cruelty of a loss like this settled the bottom rod went off and we were once again connected to something big! Ken was in the chair first and fought the fish for a while. Then John settled in and after about 30 minutes, we got a look at another Hammerhead Shark that had taken the bait. About 8' in length and 200+ pounds, this fish wasn't happy with the boat and ran the line out all the way to the bottom. With Ken back in the chair the fish was again brought to the boat and pictures taken before releasing her back to the sea. Both the fish and anglers were exhausted.
With time running short we tried for a few Tuna but struck out and headed home with our bounty. The restaurant next door would provide dinner, which delighted Jodi as to not having to cook.
This family had fun fishing in Fort Lauderdale and as some groups do, they became more than guests, they became friends. Both Jodi and Katie caught their first fish, a sea monster was released and the story will live on. I have to say, I had a ball on this trip as well. Thanks to all.
Tight Lines
Captain Steve
