Fort Lauderdale Charter Fishing/ Sharks
Capt. John Logan
February 2, 2012
Fort Lauderdale - Saltwater Fishing Report
Each year around this time when charter fishing off Fort Lauderdale you will encounter a few weeks of a shark presence in the waters. Today seems to have begun that period of time as we fished with Jeff, his son Sam, Devon, his brother Rory and Brie. Our morning group had wanted food fish and a few Blackfin Tuna was all we could muster. A shot at a Sail was had but he jumped off quickly and the double header Wahoo bite was also a poor result as razor sharp teeth bit through our lines. But out afternoon trip proved to be different as we trolled south trying to get some distance from the port so we could put out our baits in the very heavy current.
The live bait was not producing and Chris rigged a shark bait, they had been seen in the area. It wasn't long before we did have a strike but didn't connect. Teeth marks were on the bait, maybe just a small shark had tried it. We reset and again, it didn't take long before the line was running out and Sam jumped into the chair.
That's the great thing about being 16, no fear. He was quite surprised how strong the fish was though. The big rod bent hard over, Sam did well under the guidance of Chris to land this sea creature in about 30 minutes or so. Almost 8' long, this Hammerhead shark was NOT enjoying his sport fishing experience. He was measured, photographed and released in good form. I'm hoping Jeff sends the pictures he had for our gallery.
Still some time left, we reset and waited. Devon really wanted a Sail but we couldn't seem to raise one. Only a few had been seen all day. Time to go se we began bringing the gear in and as we did, another flash out by one of the kite baits was noticed. This was a smaller Hammerhead circling a Goggle eye in the kite. It always amazes me to watch these animals feed on a bait. They really aren't very good at it considering their eyes are about 1' or more apart… He finally had it but this time, he was on lighter tackle. Rory did well with this fish too as we brought in the gear and settled in for battle.
The second fish was brought to the boat and a bit easier to handle. A smaller version of Sam's fish, measuring at just over 5'. I managed to get this picture of Rory and Chris with the shark before releasing it back into the sea.
Pay no attention to the University of Florida hat he is wearing. There was some discussion on wearing that for the picture, what with me being a Seminole. LOL
Fort Lauderdale charter fishing and what will be each day is just never known till it's tried.
Target Species:
Sailfish, Shark, Dolphin, Tuna, Wahoo Kingfish, Bonito, Barracuda, Swordfish Marlin and more...
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