Fishing for sharks and sailfish aboard the Hooked Up
Capt. Taco Perez
April 5, 2010
Fort Lauderdale - Saltwater Fishing Report
March 20
Today we had a father and son team Bruce and his son Aaron out for a morning of fishing for some Big game and that was just what we ended up with.
We went out to 350 feet of water and set out both kites with 3 live baits suspended from the kites along with one big dead bonito. We also set shark bait down about 150 feet and our last bait we sent to the bottom. It took a bit of pertinence but at last our deep rod bent over line was peeling off the reel and we were Hooked Up.
It was a good 45 min back and forth tug a war but at last we got this big 7 foot hammer head shark to the boat.
We got a quick measurement and a few photos and watched him swim away in great shape to fight again another day.
Thanks again guys for a fun fishing trip.
Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344
March 24
Today we had Jeff and Gigi from Wisconsin out for a day of deep sea fishing aboard the Hooked Up.
We had started out trolling the reef with our 2 p-lanners running deep and three baits skipping across the surface. We worked the reef for a couple hours with no luck what so ever.
Ok time for a change so we brought in all our trolling gear and set up top do a deep drop on a wreck that was sitting in about 210 feet of water. We made our drop and slowly worked our way around the wreck when all of a sudden BAM the rod bent over and we were connected. Gigi jumped in the chair and the fight was on. It took about 10 min to finally wrestle this 40 pound amber jack to the boat.
Ok the skunk was out of the box and we were hoping we could get another bite on the wreck. But after a good 30 min of trying this wreck was just not producing any more fish for us.
Ok time for another change. We set out both fishing kites with live bait suspended from 3 of the clips and one big dead bonito on the fourth. We also set shark bait down about 150 feet and a finale shark bait on the bottom.
It took quite a bit of waiting but at last something kept trying to eat our left long kite bait. Whatever it was it was fast as lighting but it just kept missing the bait. We figured it had to be ether a tuna or a Wahoo. But while all this was going on I noticed a big yacht baring down on us quick. The last I wanted to do was move while we had something out there trying to eat one of our baits but I was waiting till the last second and that was just what it took. And all of a sudden the kite clip opened and rod bent over line start4ee peeling off the reel and we were Hooked
Up, Gigi jumped in the chair and the fight was on. When she finally got her fish within J.J. range with a gaff it was all over for Mr. Wahoo. Nice going Gigi.
Ok now thing were starting to look a little better and now we needed to hooked Jeff up with a sea monster and shortly thereafter that was just what happen. Our deep line got hit the rod bent over and line just started screaming off the reel. It took Jeff a good 35 min to finally get his sand bar shark to the boat. We managed to slide his shark in the tuna door for a quick measurement to have a trophy made of his catch and to get a couple of photos than we slid him right back out the door and he shot off like a bullet.
Jeff and Gigi hope you guys enjoyed dinner and thanks again.
Captain Taco
March 25 and 26th
Today we've got Chris and his son Kyle from Baltimore fishing with us for 2 days.
On the first day we started out trolling the reef with very little success so we switched up and brought in our trolling gear and set out our two kites with live baits suspended from them and we also sent down the one bonito that we did catch trolling on the bottom in hopes of catching a shark.
And sure enough that was just what happen we got a good bite on the bottom bait rod bent over line started peeling off the reel and we were Hooked Up.
Kyle wasted no time jumping in the chair and the fight was on. It was a big back and forth tug a war for a good 30 min till finally Kyle got his first hammer head shark to the side of the boat.
The following day inshore fishing was what we were after. Kyle really had his heart set on catching a tarpon and while we tried three different hot spots the best we could do was we did jump off a good 90 to 110 pounder right behind the boat. However Kyle did manage to catch a Jack Carvel weighing over 15 pounds.
Here a little trivia for you readers out there Chris has this little company that makes hot dogs along with some bacon and hams. But back to the hot dogs made at Kunzler meats they make 56 hot dogs every second. That's a lot of dogs.
Chris thanks again sorry fishing was red hot but I think you guys had a good time and we are looking forward to fishing you and your son again soon. And Kyle good luck at school.
Captain Taco (954) 764-4344
March 27
Today we started out fishing with 6 guys that have been friends forever and get together now and then just to get away from it all and live a bit of the past together for a couple of days. We had Gary from Boston, Franklin from Charleston South Carolina, Eric from New Jersey, Frank from D.C. Paul from Conn and last but not least Costa Rica Mike.
We started out trying to catch a few live baits at one of the buoy out in front of Port Everglades inlet. But the baits just were not cooperating. We did manage to catch 4 and that's what we were going with. We were kind of in a little pickle because these guys really wanted fish they could eat and we knew that the dolphin fish and the king fish had not been biting very well. So we figured we would do a few deep drops on some wrecks to bend the rod and maybe catch a big mutton snapper.
The first wreck we tried for a good 30 min without a nibble however the second wreck while it did take a few min for the bite when we finally did get the bite it was a nice one. Eric jumped in the chair and the fight was on. It took Eric a good 10 min to finally reel up our first catch of the day. It turned out to be a monster amber jack. Ok so we had caught a nice fish but not really a good eating one so we still were not out of our pickle. We all talked it over for a few min and the decision was made to go off shore and look for some dolphin fish. Well let me make a long story short we never did find any dolphin fish off shore me and Captain Greg even changed spots and I worked the cock pit while he drove just trying to change our luck but still no dolphin fish.
As a last ditch effort we decided to try a wreck in shallower water that not many of the fisherman know about. Just as we got the bait to the bottom BAM we had a bite and this one was not pulling as hard as the monster we had caught earlier and we were all hoping it was a mutton snapper but it turned out to be a smaller amberjack.
After it was all said and done it turned out these guys had a ball and while they did want some good eating fish the main thing was for them to spend some time together with a few beers and a few laughs.
Guys thanks again and Mike have a good time in Cost Rica.
As we pulled back into our slip at the dock we had 6 more guys waiting for us to catch them some good eating fish.( O no not again!!) This time I was going to have to let these guys know how we had tried for good eating fish already today with no luck and that maybe we might try something else.
So they decided to give me the ball and to run with it as I seen fit.
Ok I'll get back to the fishing in a second but first let me tell you a bit about this particular fishing charter and how they had all gotten together. These guys just like our morning trip had known each other for years and they all lived in different parts of the country except for Richard who lived down here in Ft Lauderdale right down from where we dock the Hooked up. As it turned out Richard's wife had gotten a hold of all these guys and had them fly down as a surprise and when she asked Richard to help her get something out of their truck he found Donald, Justin, Tom Daniel and Bryan all sitting in the back of his truck. She had also bought them all a fishing trip with us and that's how the whole thing came together.
Great story but now for a happy ending we had to somehow find some fish!!
So I made the decision to go out to 350 of water set out 2 kites with 3 live baits suspended from them and shark bait also suspended from our kites. We also sent one shark bait to the bottom and another one half way down. Ok the trap was set and the beers were flowing and everyone was having a good time. All of a sudden I had seen a BIG shadow heading right for our shark bait that was suspended from our kite. Captain Greg put the reel in free spool and let him swim away with the bait. When Greg locked up the reel I could tell by the way line was screaming off the reel we were in for a long fight.
Birthday boy got in the chair and the fight was on. But I've got to say that 1hour and 10 min later as we got this MONSTER HAMMER HEAD SHRK to the boat each and every one of these guys had given it their all to get him to the boat. Now even though we had only caught one fish I could honestly say that everyone had caught a fish. (LOL)
We still had some time left so we went trolling and we did manage to catch a couple of black fin tunas and a bonito.
The last I seen of these guys they were next door at the Bahia-Cabana drinking and eating their tuna.
Happy birthday Richard and to the rest of our anglers today thanks sooo much we really enjoyed fishing all of you.
Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) Sea-4344
March 28
Today was definitely an unexpected miracle. To start off with going fishing aboard the Hooked Up this rough afternoon was Great Uncle Carl, Jeff, and the twins Max and Jamie, who are all from Long Island New York. Who knew these two kids would be able to withstand some of the roughest seas I've ever fished in. We started off with suspending the baits using the kites. As the constant rocking repetition continued pushing us around we would soon prove the ocean that is was no match for our 11 year old twins.
As the baits lay dangling in the water off Hollywood beach we had not one but two beautiful sailfish come up and give our twins a little run for their money. But as the ocean, the sailfish were no match for Max and Jamie. Both of them on separate rods and the fight was on! With their dad and great uncle by their sides helping them along the way these sailfish had no chance. Twenty five minutes into the fight and at last these sailfish were next to the boat.
I never would have thought these two eleven years old would be able to hold up under such rough conditions.
Way to go Max on your 85' inch sail and way to go Jamie on your 92' incher! We had a blast. Thanks so much. We look forward to fishing with you guys soon!
Captain Taco
954 764-4344 or toll free @ 877-SEA-4344
March 30
Today we had our regular customers /friends from Baltimore Tammy, Charlie their 2 sons Austin and Jacob and their good friend David out for a few hours fishing aboard the Hooked Up off the coast of South Florida.
We started out trying to catch a big shark. We set out both kites with live and dead bait suspended from them and we also set down a shark bait on the bottom about 350 feet down.
We waited this out for way over an hour without a bite.
Ok no sharks today but we needed to bend the rod on something so we decided to try a bit of wreck fishing. Once we got to the wreck we sent down a live bait and the second we hit bottom BAM we were Hooked Up. Jacob the youngest of the kids 12 years old jumped in the chair and the fight was on.
It was a back and forth battle for about 15 min till at last up popped this big amber jack.
Ok now that we had found fish let's see if we could catch another one. This time we hit bottom and once again got Hooked Up. David gets his chance at fighting a big fish and once again it turned out to be a nice amberjack.
Well it worked two times could it happen again to give Justin a shot since he had been giving the other a hard time while they were trying to reel their fish in? Yes once again Hooked up and now everyone was giving him a hard time. Not so easy is it Justin?
Ok it was time to go but this was David's first time deep sea fishing and he really wanted to get another shot at fighting one more fish before we called it a day. So once again down goes the bait and once again the rod bends over and line starts peeling off the reel. David get in the chair and the fight was on just like before except this fish is really giving David a fight for his money. This fish just would not quit and it was a good 20 min before we got a chance to see this monster amber jack. Nice going David that truly was a monster A-J.
To all of our anglers today thanks so much for a fun day of fishing aboard the Hooked Up.
Captain Taco (9540 764-4344
March 31
Today we started out fishing with Phil from Queens New York. We started out flying our kites in hope of catching a sail fish or a big shark but after a good couple of hours of not getting a bite it was time to try something different.
We went to a ship wreck that lay on the bottom about 210 feet down. Once the bait hit the bottom BAM we were Hooked Up. Phil had a good 10 min back and forth tug a war with this 40 pound amber jack. If it worked once maybe it would work again and it did. We ended up catching 4 big amber jacks.
As we pulled back to the dock we had one of my regular customers/friends Mads from Norway waiting for us along with his son Sanders. Mads has been fishing with me since he was about 12 years old and now it was time to introduce his son into the world of deep sea fishing.
We started out in 350 of water trying to catch a big shark but after an hour and a half with no bites I started working our way in to a little shallower water to see if we could get a king fish or bonito to bite.
As we were working our way in closer I seen a big splash in the water about 200 yard away from us then I seen another and than 2 at a time. It turned out to be a school of spinner sharks jumping all over the place. We slow trolled live and dead baits all around these sharks and I do mean a lot of them. But we just could not get them to bite.
Now I've got to say that it is not easy to leave fish to go find fish but they just were not biting so I decided to try a drop on a deep wreck to see if any more amber jacks were around.
The second the bait hit bottom BAM we were Hooked Up. We got Mads in the chair with his son on his lap and the fight was on.
At the end of the fight Sanders had caught his first big amber jack.
Mads and Sanders thanks so much and with any luck at all we will be catching you a big sword fish on Thurs night.
Back at the dock we had our afternoon trip waiting on us. We had a total of 12 people so we were going to need both boats the Local knowledge and the Hooked Up. We had Lieutenant Colonel Pete Hraba USMC, MaryAnn, Jimmy, Michael, Tommy and Lieutenant Colonel Fred Egerer USMC.
And on the local Knowledge we had Carson, Eric, Colton, Semper and Fred.
Fishing started out pretty slow aboard the Hooked Up while the Local knowledge went right to wreck fishing we went after sharks and or sail fish with kites flying and dead baits down deep.
The local Knowledge took a fast start catching a few big amber jacks while we did not even get a bite.
Than Captain Mike aboard the other boat gave me a call and told me that the spinner sharks were all over the place and that he had already had 2 on but busted both of them off.
We slid right in there next to them and watched them bust a third shark off. Mike had told me that he was getting his bites on live baits with light leaders. So instead of using live baits I went with one live bait and one dead rainbow runner down on the down rigger with heavy wire leader. As it turned out I made the right choice. All of a sudden the down rigger got hit and this spinner shark put on this great show for us dancing all over the surface. At first he was out of the water more than he was in the water.
We got him close to the boat a few times but every time J.J. would grab the leader the shark would go nuts and peel off a bunch of line.
Finally at I think our forth time next to the boat J.J. slid him in the door for a quick measurement and a couple photos and watched him dart off in good shape.
Thanks again to all of our anglers today.
Guys tomorrow starts April and I've got to say that if history has anything to say it is that April thru the first part of June is some of the best fishing you can get off the coast of South Florida so give us a call and let's get you Hooked Up.
Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344
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