Fort Lauderdale fishing charter aboard the "Happy Day Today", Saltwater Fishing Report

A group of business men affiliated with Bank of America from all over the Southeast came down to Fort Lauderdale FL for an offshore fishing charter aboard our 46’ Hatteras the “Happy Day Today”.

With blue skies, wind direction out of the east, north east and the winds around 12-15 mph and temperatures in the low 80’s, made for an nice day on the water. As we untied the lines and departed the dock, I placed an order for a dozen live Goggle Eyes from the bait boat, Gogs make for a great bait kite fishing for all palegic species. We left the jetties heading for 120 ft. of water on the drop off at the sea buoy in Fort Lauderdale FL, the sea buoy is and has been a great place to live bait fish for all species (Sailfish, Mahi, Kings, Amberjack, Cobia, Sharks among other species).

The day before produced a double header Sailfish at the sea buoy, therefore, there was no reason not to go out to the same spot over the wreck located 135 ft of water just outside of the sea buoy. As I got close to the wreck, I could see schools of flying fish exiting the water. We put out two kites and four live Goggle Eyes from the kites and one live Goggle Eye from the outrigger. To make it more inviting for the Sailfish, we had a bait well full of Finger Mullets. By throwing a dozen or more live Finger Mullets over the side (chumming with live bait), attracts more predators - we repeated this every 15 minutes.

As we sat there waiting for the Sailfish’s arrival, a Mahi Mahi ate one of our live Goggle Eyes, the angler brought it to the boat and the mate gaffed the Mahi Mahi and put in the bait box. We threw over more free swimming live Finger Mullets, more Mahi Mahi’s appeared. It is very unusual this time of year to be catching Mahi Mahi’s in the 20 lb. class, which we have been catching - this is more of a Summer time fish. Next, a Hammerhead Shark appeared and ate our live bait from the right short kite. Thirty-five minutes later, the Shark was brought to the boat, pictures were taken and it was released. With an hour left in our charter, our Atlantic Sailfish appeared, eating our left kite bait. What a spectacular show this Sailfish put on – tail walking that seemed to go on forever but was only a minute long. Patrick was our angler on the Sailfish and he brought this magnificent fish to the boat. We lifted the Sailfish out of the water to take its picture and then quickly release.
A great day fishing for the guys and got lucky with a nice bag limit of fish, it was time to head back to the dock.
To reserve a fishing charter, please give us a call or email to inquire about a charter or reserve a fishing trip for Sailfish, Shark, Bonito, Mackerel, Swordfish, Snapper, Wahoo and Grouper.
Captain Zsak. - 954-439-8106 or email us at www.topshotfishing.com.

About the Author:

Captain's Bio: Welcome to Fort Lauderdale, Florida's longest running fishing charter boat the "Happy Day Today" fishing since 1978. The charter boat "Happy Day Today" is a 46' Hatteras with twin Detroit's fully equipped with all Shimmano and Penn tackle. The fish we target are Sailfish, Swordfish, Mahi, Wahoo, Tuna, Mackerel, Grouper and Snapper. We fish hard and want you to have a great time fishing out of Ft. Lauderdale. Capt. Tom will discuss with you what has been biting and what our best chances are to target a specific species that day. We encourage our customers to contact us to go over any detailed information about the fishing charter (954) 439-8106 or visit the website at www.topshotfishing.com