The year ended with some great fishing off Fort Lauderdale. We have been catching sailfish, king mackeral, dolphin, snappers, groupers, and other fish. On the reef the sailfishing has slowed but other fish seem to have taken up the slack. We are still seeing 2-3 shots per day of sailfish and when the wind is up we are seeing those numbers double to triple.
Also on the reef especially after a day or two of east wind we are catching a good amount of dolphin. Mostly smaller fish but they keep the bites coming inbetween sail bites.
Kingfish have been in all depths and have been biting on the surface and the deep baits from 20-300ft of water. Big fish and small fish are mixed in but the fish seem to be moving deeper recently as the inshore fish have been messed with too much.
On the bottom the grouper fishing has been phenomenal, unfortunately the season closed on Jan 1. Mostly gags but a few black groupers were mixed in. We can still catch and release a few but it is best to let these fish spawn in peace for the rest of the season.
On the deep wrecks off Ft. Lauderdale we have also caught a few decent mutton snappers. The wrecks in the 200ft+ range seem to be best with light current to keep the baits in the right zone. Also on the same wrecks a few jacks, rays, bonitas and more are there to tug on.
On the beach we have found a few schools of sharks that are great action on light tackle. It is really exciting to see a school of 10-50 sharks hone in on a couple chunks of bonita in 10 ft of water.
Offshore the swordfish have been biting well in the day and night off Fort Lauderdale. Give me a call if you want to get out there.