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Fort Lauderdale Charter Fishing

Capt. John Logan
March 12, 2012
Fort Lauderdale - Saltwater Fishing Report

Charter fishing off Fort Lauderdale this time of year for Sailfish is not quite like the types of fishing and action we have during the spring and summer months. Not that the action can't be rapid, it just usually isn't. Normally there is a wait, sometimes for quite a bit for that bite to come. But when it comes, boy do things light up!
Our past week or so has been much like this. While the number of fish we catch each trip is reduced from other times of the year, the size and quality of that bite means spending a bit more time in the chair fighting a BIG fish, like the Sailfish that are biting right now. 
We've been busy and my blogs have been slow in coming. I apologize for that.
This week we had John and his 9 year old son William aboard. They have a family tradition that at age 9, each child gets a solo trip to what they would like to do, a sort of bucket list for 9 year olds. William wanted to go fishing and for the first time in his life, he held a rod and caught a few fish. Apparently, they repeat this at age 15. William said he'd be back. 
But most our trips have been had with the kites up in search of Sailfish. This time of year, these fish travel through our area heading south. Their movement is rapid and in order to get the bite, you sometimes have to almost hit them in the head with a bait to get them to notice. We had this just the other day, watching 2 fish swim right by the boat completely oblivious to the buffet we had waiting for them.
While fishing for Sails can seem boring as you wait for the bite, all that goes away once the fish is on. In one instance, we had Chad and his wife Rachael aboard on a company outing. One Sail was caught and released and Chad was not the angler. So intent and amazed at what he saw, he rebooked us the next day on a private charter to target Sailfish and wouldn't you know it? The first fish we see? It was a shark. LOL
But this shark turned out to be a blessing in disguise for traveling either with him or close by, were a few Sailfish.
We watched as the shark came in on a long bait. He appeared to eat it, we saw the line jerking and fed him only a short time. But there was what looked like a Sailfish there too. The line began to run out, we pulled ahead to set the hook and almost instantly, our line was slack with nothing. We assumed we had been cut off by the shark's teeth but had no time to investigate; a Sail had appeared at the short bait and was eating.
We fed the fish as he continued running south toward the boat and was almost even with us when we set the hook. As we cleared the other lines, Chad found he had hooked the fish from hell. We were down to 1/3 spool of line left by the time we could offer to help him by moving the boat.
This fish seemed to have unlimited energy but Chad followed directions well and soon needed no coaching. It took almost 40 minutes to land this fish for measurement and pictures. It then took us another 10 to revive him to release him back into the sea.

Click to Enlarge Photo


Many of our trips lately have had this one or two fish ending. Lots of first timers with a big fish on the line. Some had an easy time of it like the fish Chad saw caught the day before. Others were not so lucky as the battle seemed to be endless.
What will your battle be like charter fishing off Fort Lauderdale for Sailfish?

Target Species:

Sailfish, Shark, Dolphin, Tuna, Wahoo Kingfish, Bonito, Barracuda, Swordfish Marlin and more...

More Fishing Reports:

 

The Marlin My Darlin is a 46' Hatteras that is comfortable, clean, fully air conditioned and rigged for ALL types of fishing in our area. We excel in entertaining ALL levels of fishing experience from the first time novice to the experienced angler. Located on Fort Lauderdale beach, our dock is just minutes from the fishing grounds so your time is spent fishing, not traveling. Check out our sites, you'll be glad you did.

Contact Info:

Marlin My Darlin Sport Fishing
801 Seabreeze Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
Phone: 954-761-8202
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