Mahi and Wahoo on fishing charters in Fort Lauderdale
Capt. John Logan
December 2, 2017
Fort Lauderdale - Saltwater Fishing Report
Gone was the rain today just as the weather forecasters had predicted. It is always nice when a weather prediction that calls for a good day hits it right on the money. We enjoyed mild temperatures, sunny skies and comfortable sea conditions today on our fishing charters in Fort Lauderdale. We had a morning charter and also an afternoon and both trips had Wahoo (5 today, nice to see them here again) and some Mahi-Mahi as well.
The first hour didn't go so well with only smaller Bonito biting our baits so we slipped just off the reef line and the fishing improved. The first Wahoo came out of 300 feet and the others were spaced apart in water from 350 to 500 feet in depth. Scattered weeds with a couple of edges that were holding bait, lots of bait, were in turn holding the Wahoo and Mahi. All singles with no schools that we saw. A few Blackfin ( as pictured) and Skipjack Tunas in those same areas as has been pretty dependable and we also caught a small Yellowfin Tuna, unusual for here.
With a good portion of the moon now we did manage some bites on the surface lines but the biggest Mahi-Mahi and Wahoo were taken on the braided line deep planer rods. Large Bonito strip baits fished with a Stan Ruer Sea Witch over the front third drew lots of attention. They loved the ones with a lot of pink today, especially this morning. Stan is a retired charter boat owner/captain who fished for years out of the next inlet above us ( Hillsboro) and he has a decal on his car window that says "Fish Fear Me", and they certainly did. He hung up his cap years ago but continues to make those and other lures for those of us lucky enough to still head offshore, and those of us lucky enough to have the pleasure of dragging his beautiful creations at the end of our lines. Many things fishing have changed over the years. Reels with silky smooth drags holding hundreds of yards of line, graphite rods with guides impossibly smooth and strong. Razor sharp right out of the box hooks the size of your pinkie capable of amazing strength. But there is no out of the box ( other than thinking outside the box) for Mr Ruer, just a tweak or two, here and there, of a proven design, made one at a time, that just keeps on catching.
We are looking at a decent forecast for the weekend but there will be a bit of a chop as the wind hopped back up late today. That wind should keep the Mahi close and hopefully won't blow out the weed edges. Strong south current on the reefs but that slows somewhat off the edge. Lots of life in the weeds on the edges outside of the reefs as we said and that hopefully won't change. Some Snappers and Grouper available but you have to fight that current for now. Kings totally took today off and didn't bite in any color of water.
Tight lines, good fishing and catch some fish this weekend. We'll see you on the rip.
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