Fall Fishing
Capt. Ryan McBride
September 17, 2008
Fort Lauderdale - Saltwater Fishing Report
It seems that we are in full swing of fall. Lots of bait around and hot fishing one day followed by slow the next. Following Ike we had a couple days of slow fishing followed by some hot dolphin fishing. The dolphin we caught ranged from 13-28lbs. We usually see those fish in the spring, so it was nice to see them come through on some of the debris from the storm. Along with dolphin there were a lot of cudas in the shallows. Though not a desired species they jump, run fast, and keep things interesting on slow days. We also have been catching skipjack tunas, as well as bonitas, kingfish and an odd sailfish or two. On the reef lots of snappers both muttons and yellowtails. Most of the snapper were from 80ft in to the shore.
Swordfishing seems to be consistent at night when you can get out. Most fish are on the smaller side (50-90lbs) but there is plenty of action from those fish. The daytime bite has been slow to non existent, but should improve the farther from the full moon we get.
With the mullet pushing through the past couple weeks we have been fishing some afternoon/evening trips for snook and tarpon. We have been catching 2-5 snook every night along with 2-3 tarpon a night. Mixed in with them have been snappers (mangrove, mutton, cubera). Also jack crevalle and horse eye jacks will test you tackle. The afternoon evening have offered a great way to beat the heat and target some light tackle species.
Underneath the surface the lobsters have been in good numbers with plenty of keepers. Most of the lobsters we have been getting from 10-20ft of water though others have been doing well in as deep as 80ft. The tropical storms tend to get the lobsters moving and clump them together, making a limit fairly easy.
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