Fishing Fort Lauderdale on Happy Day Today with Capt. Zsak
Uncle and nephew, Anton Axefors and Lars Ekbers from Sweden were vacationing and visiting relatives here in Fort Lauderdale. Their outdoor expedition included a visit to Holiday Park in Everglades City to see the gators and a deep sea sport fishing charter with the Happy Day Today along with the Topshotfishing team in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
We had intermittent showers, along with the sun popping up; the temperature was in the mid 80's, winds were out of the east at 10 mph, 2-3 foot seas. These Swedish anglers have had experience fishing in other oceans and were excited to encounter different fishing techniques here in South Florida.
Fifteen minutes after leaving the dock at Bahia Mar, lines were in the water in 120 ft. at the sea buoy in Fort Lauderdale. We put down a #8 plainer with a 3 ½ blue reflector drone spoon and five surface baits and a Ballyhoo dredge teaser. I started trolling crisscrossing the reef in depth of water ranging from 80 ft out to 200 ft. Our first strike was a Bonito in the 12 lb. range, followed by a few more Bonitos and a 16 lb. Kingfish.
From there I could see a color change running off to the northeast of Fort Lauderdale. As I headed towards it, I could see the rip forming as the water was swirling around, which is an excellent avenue to follow. With debris and bait fish present, the area looked very promising. Our left outrigger came down as Lars reeled in a Black Fin Tuna. As we kept trolling, we caught a total of three Tunas and two Barracudas. As I kept working the color change/rip, a black shadow appeared on the dredge teaser – Sailfish. Jackson, our mate, dropped a bait back to the Sailfish and on the 3rd attempt, we were hooked up. The Sailfish exited the water and tail-walked away from the boat showing his magnificent color and power. Ten minutes into the battle, the line went slack as he dislodged the hook. As we trolled again, this time the plainer rod bent over and the rod tip bounced up and down erratically, a tell tale sign it was a Wahoo. Anton was the angler and fifteen minutes later Jackson gaffed the Wahoo weighing 21 lbs.
With happy smiles on their faces, the anglers retired to the a/c salon for the ride back to the dock at Bahia Mar 801 Seabreeze Blvd. Fort Lauderdale 33316.
For a successful and adventurous deep sea fishing charter Fort Lauderdale FL for Sailfish, Shark, Bonito, Mackerel, Swordfish, Snapper, Wahoo, Tuna, Mahi Mahi and Grouper contact Captain Zsak. - 954-309-7457 or email us at tzsak@bellshouth.net Website: www.topshotfishing.com.
