Top Shot Sportfishing Charters

Fort Lauderdale shark fishing charter

Dennis, Taylor and Tyler from Iowa book the charter boat Happy Day Today for a fishing charter.  Dennis owns his own fresh water tackle shop and wanted to get offshore for some saltwater deep sea fishing action.  The guys wanted to have fun catch some fish to put on the grill.  We had nice conditions with an easterly wind blowing 15 mph out of the East with a couple foot chop.   Easterly wind is generally a good wind direction for all fishing conditions . in  Fort Lauderdale fishing shark charter The Mahi Mahi get pushed in closer to the shoreline.  East wind allows us to kite fish as well as pushes pelagic species up along the drop off which is where we spend a lot of time trolling and live baiting.   We left the inlet and we did not have to run far before I saw some weeds forming and that very deep cobalt blue water with some flying fish in the area.

what makes Fort Lauderdale an excellent place for deep sea fishing?

The nice part about fishing in Fort Lauderdale fishing shark charter is the continental shelf is very close to land and we travel just a few miles to hit the deep water.  The first mate started rigging an offshore spread of baits which consists of naked Ballyhoo, lures, and teasers . in Fort Lauderdale fishing shark charter We fish a shotgun, two long and two short riggers with a deep planner line and two teasers.  It is always a good practice to have a few spinners out and ready to pitch if there is a floating log or large raft of weed, additionally Mahi will have multiple fish and followers when bringing one in.  Having the pitch rod ready will increase your chances of catching that extra few fish out there in the spread.  I started trolling in 400 feet of water and heading offshore.

I told the guys to keep their eyes open for any birds or anything floating.  We made it out to 600′ of water then we found a nice current edge with some weed lined up and soon as we made the turn the rigger line came down and we had a Mahi Mahi on.  We caught that one and ready with the pitch in hand there were not any followers.  Continued working the edge and got another bite but this time it was a double header.  Both fish came up along side the boat, the mate reached out and gaffed each one then in the fish box .  I pitched a few live baits out waiting for another bite but we possibly caught the school in this area and did not get any other bites.

live baits

After spending some time trolling this edge with no other bites we decided to try fishing for another species.  We got on top of a sunken ship wreck and put out our bullet gear.  This is smaller jigs used with a Boone bird to catch Bullet Bonita.  We made a half dozen passes over this wreck and caught enough live Bullet Bonita to fish a few spreads . The first mate rigged up all the rods with wire rigs with treble hooks.  This is very effective rig when using these baits.  Since everything eats bullets and a lot of these species have teeth, this rig increases the chances of landing most of what bites the bait.  We sent out a high line, two long baits and a down rigger.  I made a pass with the live baits over the same wreck and the down rigger ball bounced which released the clip, line scoped up and drag started coming off the reel.

After a nice fight we caught a nice Barracuda . The guys took a few pictures and we let the cuda go . The mate rigged up another deep bait and sent it down on the down rigger. Back to the live bait trolling spread . I started working the baits to deeper water and slow trolled them out to 200 feet of water. This is a good depth for all species.  I was working them in shallower water to 150 feet and back out to 300 feet of water fishing the drop off.  The deep line popped out of the clip and we waited a minute before checking the bait and it was fine but something scared him enough to pull out of the clip. Shortly after sending the bait back down on the down rigger I saw the left rigger bait splashing.  Soon as I told the guys to get ready for the bite the line came out of the rigger clip and we had a nice fish on.  Just a second later the other rigger line came ripping out of the rigger clip and we had a double header on.

Catching wahoo

Both fish were pulling out drag and both fish were ripping offshore , The guys started fighting the fish on either corner of the cockpit.  The fish were going in opposite directions then they turned and started heading towards each other.  We did everything to keep the lines separated but unfortunately we ended up losing one.  This fish was ripping off and making dives down.  The angler did a great job and after a long battle he was able to get the fish up along side the boat.  The mate reached out with the gaff and with a nice head shot hauled in a Wahoo.

Fort Lauderdale fishing shark charter

Next we decided to try wreck fishing with these same live baits.  The first mate rigged one up and sent it down to the structure.  Soon as we reached the bottom the line came tight and the fish cut us off , This time we rigged one up with wire and sent another bait down, same as before the line came tight and this time the fish stayed on .in Fort Lauderdale fishing shark charterThe guys brought up a Shark.  We took a quick picture and released it.  After a fun day fishing it was time to head back to the dock.  If interested in booking a fishing charter contact Capt. Zsak with Top Shot Sportfishing Charters at 954-439-8106,