As the weather cools in the north, here in Fort Lauderdale a seasonal change occurs even though the weather still remains very warm. All different types of baitfish begin to migrate south through our area and as this food source moves, so do the fish that feed on them.
Each year in September, Fort Lauderdale's waters just off the coast become alive with schools of bait. Spanish Sardines, Cigar Minnows, Ballyhoo, Mullet and Herrings all move south along our coast. On calm days, the schools of bait can be seen from the beaches. On days with waves on the beach and the sand becomes stirred up, they move into deeper and cleaner water. With this abundance of baitfish moving through our area, the fishing gets better and better as migrating schools of ALL species we catch here follow the food source.
Our fishing tactics change somewhat from the trolling we usually do to having some of these live baitfish aboard. This time of year you will run across fish feeding on these schools. Sailfish, Tuna and Dolphin are the most common to encounter. Wahoo, Bonito and Barracuda can also be caught in the area of these schools of bait. Even Blue and White Marlin come into the shallow waters where they are not usually found to enjoy the abundance of food. And when the opportunity presents itself, a pitched live bait can yield some exciting action, usually pitched on lighter tackle.
We have already seen this beginning here. Small Sailfish, usually the first to appear following the bait, have begun to show and play havoc with our trolling baits. Usually under 5' in length, they weight little but have the agility of the full grown Sails. And because of their smaller weight mass, they spend more time in the air as it takes little to expel themselves from the water.
Tuna also make a strong appearance this time of year. Again, we have seen this beginning already and chasing a school of feeding Tuna is a blast, as our guests yesterday found out. The water explodes with each lunge of fish feeding. While most are in the 10 to 12 pound class, there are some Blackfin caught over 30 and the occasional Yellowfin running with them as well.
What has been unusual for this time of year is the Dolphin presence. Usually something we can catch fairly easily in the summer months, they have not been plentiful off shore this year. However, in the last week or so, Dolphin have been showing up in small groups in fairly close to shore and with some regularity. We do expect their numbers to begin to drop off some in the next few months, but that's the great thing about fishing, you just never know what will come along.
We'll keep you informed and hope you check back often.
Tight lines…
Capt Rick and Steve
http://www.marlinmydarlin.com