Ft. Lauderdale offers much for families to do… The beach and ocean are main attractions and with our fishing so close, fishing trips don't have to take up an entire day in one's vacation. This was certainly the case today with Chris, his 3 sons, Tim, Tom and William and granddad Colin.
It can get humorous when we ask people what they would like to catch. Chris had made it clear he wasn't interested in fishing for Sailfish or sharks. They mainly wanted eating fish. I asked if we should cut the line if a Sailfish struck, they've been around. It was meant as a joke and he took it that way.
Our Dolphin scene hasn't been good lately, certainly a fish that would fit the bill if we could catch them. Going off shore in search of Mahi-mahi has been a low percentage catch lately so we chose to stay closer to shore for some Kings, Bonitos( just for fun) and some bottom fishing.
This time of year, trolling usually produces fish. The Kingfish and Bonitos were happy to oblige and we DID even have a Sailfish on for a short time. But this fish was not to be caught and jumped off the hook as they sometimes do. I mentioned we didn't want to catch that old thing anyway but the boys were disappointed. Justin and I were as well.
We got down south to one of my favorite spots and did a drop with small live baits. It didn't take long and the rod was bent! I honestly don't remember which son caught the fish but a nice sized Mutton Snapper was ours for dinner. Perfect, I thought… They're biting. But that wasn't the case… We tried 4 or 5 more times without a significant bite. We had simply gotten lucky, which is a main part of fishing sometimes.
A quick trip off shore a ways hoping for a Wahoo was a bust as were a few other places we tried dropping and as always, time passes to quickly and it was time to go home. But I was happy knowing Chris, his dad and the boys wouldn't go hungry.
Just a note… As we were on our way in from our last bottom drop, we almost ran over a 7' Hammerhead shark. It was right next to the boat and I pointed it out to the boys. They ALL wanted to catch it. LOL Sorry dad, you'll have to bring em back.
Family fishing trips in Ft. Lauderdale, a great way to spend some or all of a day…
Capt. Steve Souther
Ft Lauderdale Off Shore Fishing Charters
www.fanntasticfishing.com
(954) 728-9880
