Fort Lauderdale Fishing Report 1/7/11, Saltwater Fishing Report

Sunny South Florida, winds out of the east northeast, 7-15 mph, seas 3-4 ft - another beautiful day here in South Florida, Ft. Lauderdale.

Going out with us this morning for his third trip on the Happy Day Today with Captain Zsak is Don Price from Ontario, Canada and his two friends. Two weeks ago was his previous charter and he caught a Sailfish – now he came back for a bigger fish. “How about finding a Shark for me”, asked Don – that sounds like a good game plan – the sharks are ranging from 150 to 350 lbs. In the past week the cold front that came through South Florida pushed the Sailfish and Sharks into Ft. Lauderdale waters. We started off trolling around catching King Fish and Bonitas for the two friends that came along on the charter.

“Well, Don, are you ready to catch your Shark” I said – he was. We ventured out to deeper waters in the 350 ft. range which is only 2 miles from shore off of ft. Lauderdale - this is an excellent Shark ground. On the way out our mate Mitch was rigging the fresh King Fish and the Bonitas we just caught for Shark bait. “You are going to use a 10 lb fish for bait?” remarked Don. That is just the appetizer for these guys. Mitch placed one bait on the bottom, 350 ft. down, one bait mid range at 150 ft., one bait on the surface, and we flew one kite with two live baits. Now we have all the water columns covered – all we do is sit and wait for his arrival.

Here comes a Mahi Mahi and he is eating the short kite bait. It is not a Shark, but it is still a nice 7 lb Mahi Mahi. As I was sitting on the bridge looking back over the baits, I spotted a dorsal fin of a Shark tracking the scent of the bait and cruising towards the boat. The Shark was hooked up on the dead Bonita surface bait. Immediately, the 100 lb test line screamed off of the International Wide 80 real. “Strap Don into the fighting chair,” I screamed to Mitch, “it is going to be a good fight.” One hour and 35 minutes later, here comes the Hammerhead Shark to the boat, still full of fight. Mitch grabbed the leader and the Shark decided to take off. After ten minutes, Don reeled the fish back to the boat as he friends were videoing the whole action. Mitch released the fish and let him swim away. The estimated weight on the fish was 275-300 lbs. Don said that he was glad it was over with because he did not have too much energy left.

We headed back from our 4 hour deep sea fishing charter trip to the dock at Bahia Mar, in South Florida, Fort Lauderdale. This ends another successful and adventurous fishing excursion on the Happy Day Today with Captain Zsak.

Join us and enjoy a once-in-a-life-time experience – 954-439-8106 – 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