Andrew Roydhouse

There are some monster sharks biting off the South Florida coast right now. This is the time of year that the big game sharks show up and man, are they biting with a fury. We've been catching some huge hammerhead sharks this week and last week, and the shark fishing season has just begun. These photos were sent to me by some lucky fishermen that fished with us recently. The big game shark fish are not a guaranteed species of fish to catch out there, but this is definitely the time of year to go fishing if you're looking to catch some really big game fish.

Hammerhead sharks are one of the most sought after shark species in the world. Their strangely shaped head, resembling a hammer, makes them a very unique shark. Their eyes are positioned on the lateral aspects of their hammers of the head, giving them the ultimate peripheral vision. Their skin is thick and tough, like armor plating. Their jaws are sharp with hundreds and hundreds of razor sharp teeth. They hunt their prey in the sun on the top of the water and in the blackness of the abyss on the bottom of the ocean. They are quite literally, nature's perfect predator.

Every year, between the months of March-June, the big game sharks like hammerheads run a massive migration northward along the South Florida coastline. The hammerheads that we're getting are between 6-9′ in length and average 100-300 pounds. These are some big fish. Along with the hammerheads are also the occasional sailfish, mahi mahi and big tuna. Also, this is a great photo of the big swordfish we caught on the Friday night swordfish trip, a Friday or 2 ago. This fish was around 165 pounds and fought us for over 2 hours. I'll have another report for you in a day or 2, but the fishing is great out there again finally, so let's go do some shark fishing.

Fish Species: Hammerhead sharks, sailfish, swordfish
Bait Used: live baits out of the kite
Tackle Used: 50-80 penn internationals
Method Used: kite fishing, trolling, bottom wreck fishing
Water Depth: 300-400'
Water Temperature: 80's
Wind Direction: North East
Wind Speed: 5-10 knots
Nice Hammerhead shark caught on a Fort Lauderdale shark fishing charter
Nice Hammerhead shark caught on a Fort Lauderdale shark fishing charter

Captain Josh leadering a big hammerhead to the surface
Captain Josh leadering a big hammerhead to the surface


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Andrew Roydhouse

About The Author: Captain Andrew Roydhouse

Company: Fishing Headquarters

Area Reporting: Fort Lauderdale South Florida

Bio: I am a 3rd generation fisherman out here off Ft. Lauderdale and have been fishing proffessionally all my life. My company, Fishing Headquarters, runs daily drift fishing trips, sportfishing privae and shared charters, night time swordfishing trips, and any other type of fishing you would like to try.

954-527-3460
Click Here For Past Fishing Reports by Captain Andrew Roydhouse