Ft. Lauderdale fishing report for the Happy Day Today, Saltwater Fishing Report

The Walker family from Rhode Island chartered the Happy Day Today to enjoy some Florida sun and to get away from the weather up north.

The conditions for the day were variable winds 3-5 mph, calm seas and blue skies, was the setting for our fishing charter as we left the dock.

With a distance of 1.8 miles to travel to the fishing grounds, in twenty minutes we were at the drop off in 120 ft. of water off of Fort Lauderdale with lines in the water. We had live Goggle Eyes in the bait well with the hope of the wind picking up enough to fly our extra light kites. But, with no winds or current, I decided to start trolling. Ray Walker said he would love to catch a Sailfish, so that was our main target. I headed towards one of my favorite artificial wrecks south of Fort Lauderdale that sits in 180 ft. of water. With no current, it is a good technique to fish around any structures such as artificial wrecks, drop offs and freighters anchored out in deeper waters.

We had one plainer out, with a double hook Bonito strip and a pink and blue sea witch in front of it. For surface baits we went with two Ballyhoos short, two Bonito strips long and a green and yellow jap feather on the center and a Ballyhoo dredge as a teaser. Our first strike came from the plainer rod which was a King fish in the 8 lb. class. From there we picked away at a couple of Mahi Mahi’s and a few Black Fin Tunas. With no wind or current in sight, I headed towards one of the freighters anchored in 160 ft. of water. As I got closer to the freighter, I could see bait fish by the surface near their anchor chain. With our first tack going pass the ship’s anchor chain, a black shadow appeared on the right short rigger, chasing our Ballyhoo bait, which sat behind the dredge teaser. It was a Sailfish!!!! With the dorsal fin out of the water and the bill swatting at the Ballyhoo, Ray became excited as he watched the action. Finally, the Sailfish pulled the Ballyhoo out of the rigger and the fight was on. With the Sailfish performing his acrobatic jumps and tail walking, everybody cheered Ray on. Ray brought the fish closer to the boat and Mitch, our mate, leaned over the side and grabbed the bill for picture taking. Afterwards the Sailfish was released to swim away and do battle another day.
With a good catch of fish on the charter boat Happy Day Today and the Topshotfishing team, it was time to start heading back from our offshore trip.
For a successful and adventurous deep sea fishing charter in South Florida for Sailfish, Shark, Bonito, Mackerel, Swordfish, Snapper, Wahoo and Grouper contact 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