Sailfish Reign Supreme on the Fort Lauderdale Reefs
Capt. Rod Roydhouse
November 23, 2019
Fort Lauderdale - Saltwater Fishing Report
The winter weather is here and that means a huge influx of sailfish head into our waters. Sailfish are the most sought after gamefish in the world and in the winter, Fort Lauderdale is the best place to come to catch them. They go from being a low percentage or rare catch to a high percentage and fairly regular catch for our sportfishing charters. Some charters even get to catch multiple sailfish, especially when we have cold fronts move through, when catching 10 or more sailfish in a day is possible. Not every day do the sailfish bite that outstandingly, but we live for the days when we have to scour the boat to find more sailfish flags to fly because we ran out of them.
Mahi-mahi are the other species that we catch a lot of during that time period. Mahi bite good in 200-300ft of water in November and December, especially on the East and Northeast winds. They love it when the ocean gets churned up and blows the seaweed in to the 200-300ft range. The seaweed collects a plethora of bait fishes and makes for happy hunting grounds for medium sized to large mahi. When people ask me when the best times of year to catch mahi are, I tell them November and April. There are two spawning events per year with mahi and this is one of them.
Big game sharks, mutton snappers, black groupers and cobia are all big bottom species that are biting around the wrecks this time of year also. Fishing around a shipwreck or an artificial structure on the bottom, is like taking the bait right to the dining room. You are basically dropping a live bait, right on top of the fishes head. When it works, you get a bite as soon as the bait hits the bottom. No waiting, just a big bite on a big game fish instantly as the bait is suddenly placed right in front of the fishes nose. When it doesn't work and you don't get a bite in the first 2-3 minutes... reel up and hit another spot. It's a fast paced style of fishing where the boat can pick up a sizable fish in a small investment of time.
All kinds of good fish are biting this time of year and almost anything is possible. Tunas, barracudas, wahoo, kingfish and African Pompano are just a few of the species I didn't already mention that are all caught randomly and regularly this month. All of our Fort Lauderdale fishing trips have potential for greatness, it's just a matter of being in the right place, at the right time, with the right baits out. Good luck fishing everyone. I'll sea ya on the water.
Capt. Andy Roydhouse
www.NewLattitude.com
954-707-2147
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