Ft. Lauderdale Fishing April
Capt. Mike Johnson
May 5, 2010
Fort Lauderdale - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fort Lauderdale Fishing Blogs April
April fishing has been great this year. Big sharks, sailfish, mahi mahi, kingfish, blackfin tunas and more have shown up in great numbers, along with some bruiser amberjacks. Some trips of interest are Tommy, Eric, Ron and Scott from Michigan slammed some big amberjacks on the "Local Knowledge" in the morning on April 5th and in the afternoon Chris, Chris Jr., Silas and Rob from New York caught a beautiful mahi mahi, 2 blackfin tunas, some snappers and a giant amberjack. On the 6th fishing Fort Lauderdale on the Local Knowledge was Mike, Leslie, Maggie and Sarah from Atlanta. We started of on the troll and caught a small tuna and didn't get much action after that so we popped the kite and caught a nice mahi mahi right off the bat, we got the baits set again and rewarded with a nice sailfish that put on one heck of a show. After a short battle we got it close for some pictures and released it to fight another day. Tim and Randy from California Scored kite fishing with three big mahi mahi and a sailfish as well. Guy, Richard, Dean and John got into some mahi mahi fishing Fort Lauderdale. Jack, Mikey and Ed from Maine busted up some amberjacks, the snappers and some kingfish.
On the 23rd Alex, Ken and Pasha from Miami scored huge and got into the fight of their lives when they asked to go shark fishing on the Local Knowledge. The kites went up with a spread of goggle eyes and a big shark slab and mid way another slab and one more on bottom. We fished for a long time with no results and decided to reel everything in and try something else. The kites and top baits came in, then the mid shark bait and the on the way up from the bottom the very last bait got slammed and slammed hard. The Fight Was On! It was on for awhile. The big fish took long hard runs and then punishing dives straight down testing both angler and tackle. The beast was finally subdued it was a giant Thresher shark pushing 650 pounds. Great job Guys!! We then had a little bit of time left so we ran over to a deep wreck and dropped a live bait. We got the bite right away and after a twenty battle brought a huge amberjack to the boat. Great day guys.
Jerry, Jason and Bob from California and Rhode Island did some Fort Lauderdale charter fishing on the Local Knowledge and caught 3 bonitas and a mahi mahi on the troll and a nice amberjack wreck fishing.
On the 26th Jimmy (my brother from another mother), Mike, Art (the Brew Master), Todd and Big Russ fished Ft. Lauderdale which felt more like Costa Rica in the Rainy Season. It did not stop raining the entire time we were out there. We lost a wahoo at the side of the boat, caught one king and one bonita. Fishing was slow and the weather was miserable. You wouldn't know it though these guys were having a blast! Right up till the lightning started, I'll admit it I was a litlle scared too as one big bolt was entirely too close for comfort. Since I had the group all day the next day we went in early and tacked the time we lost onto the next day. So we got an extra early start at 6a.m. and we ended up having an incredible day. We caught live bait at the buoy first and then ran straight to a wreck. We got bites on every drop and everyone caught a big amberjack and in fact Art the Brew master got a real treat. When one of the other guys jacks was coming to the boat it had another one with it and we were able to pitch it a live bait light spin tackle. What a fight, Great Job Art! We did a litlle trolling next and picked at a couple small kings and a bonita or two and then we went for it. We put up the kites and put out the shark baits. Todd Struck first when a 200# hammerhead shark jumped on a 30# pound outfit intended for sailfish. What a battle but we finally won. You just never know what you will catch or how when you charter fish Fort Lauderdale. Jimmy was next with an awesome sailfish that ripped and tore the surface of the ocean trying to rid itself of the hook and Jimmy's angling expertise. Both the Hammerhead and the sailfish were released unharmed.
Mark this next day in Fort Lauderdale Charter Fishing History
April 28th 2010
My friend and great customer Buffalo Bill joined us on a beautiful South Florida day for what turned out to be an incredible day of fishing for Bill and myself. You see, Bill has been trying to catch a sailfish for twenty something years and he's a great guy with good Karma but the sailfish thing just wouldn't line up for him. The sailfish would bite the week before or the week after he would go and not only would the sailfish not bite it seemed like everything else shut down as well. So just to ease a little pressure of us we ran to a wreck first thing and Bill caught a giant and I mean a giant amberjack about 90#'s what a great way to start the day. We dropped one more time and Bill scored again with a smaller jack about 20#'s. After some high fives and some Ball Busting we ran to the North to set up the kites for Bill's elusive Sailfish. We got covered up with good size kingfish right away and put a few in the boat and missed a few others. Then It Happened, I mean it really happened, a sailfish popped up under the left short kite bait. Everyone saw it as it circled the bait once then grabbed it and swam off. It can't be, will this be our chance. The mate Richard engaged the reel as Bill went for the fighting chair. The line released from the clip smoothly, the line came tight, Bill took the rod, the fish took the line and began jumping. This is the sailfish Bill and I have been waiting for forever. I know in my heart if we catch this fish the bad jokes will stop, the ball busting will be over, Bill will have fulfilled a lifelong dream and I will be a hero. It went great, the fish put on a great show, came up to the boat and in for some pictures and then went back in the water to fight another day. Then right after all the hoots and hollers and some high fives my balls were being busted again. One can only dream. Great Job Bill! We then pushed out deeper to see if we could catch a hammerhead shark, we actually had one in the spread earlier in the day that wouldn't eat. When I got where I wanted to be we deployed the baits and it didn't take long before a nice 300-375# hammerhead made her presence known on the big slab bait out of the kite. We spotted the beast 50 yards out as she homed in on the scent and engulfed the bait in one bite. Bill was in the chair again for an even bigger battle. We got or rather Bill got very lucky and we caught the fish very quickly between Bill's incredible angling skills and my boat handling. Richard grabbed the leader and I put a release gaff in the shark's mouth and we pulled her half way in for some great pics. Bill thank you again, Say hey to Dennis R for me and Ken. How about one of those testimonials now!
Fort Lauderdale Fishing Forecast:
Look for the same action in May Just More Of it!
Capt. Mike
www.fishlocalknowledge.com
954.522.4773
Target Species:
sails,sharks,mahi
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