Gamefish Action on the Fort Lauderdale Edge
Capt. Paul Roydhouse
January 28, 2016
Fort Lauderdale - Saltwater Fishing Report
There are a lot of nice fish biting on the outside edge of the reef in Fort Lauderdale this past week. Sailfish, dolphin, wahoo, tuna, kingfish, sharks and barracudas are biting in 100-200ft of water, right on the color-change. Kite fishing is the best action on sailfish and bigger dolphin. Trolling is the best for action overall with lots of blackfin tunas biting, some kingfish, scattered mahi-mahi and the odd-ball wahoo or sailfish. You can catch just about anything this month.
The water gets deep quick in Ft Lauderdale. 1 mile offshore we are in 100ft of water. If you go another mile offshore the water gets 600ft deep. The Gulfstream current also hugs that dropoff and which makes the inside edge of the Gulfstream the best area to fish. That also happens to be just outside the edge of the reef, making it an even better zone for action. This area is known to Floridians as 'Sailfish Alley'. Sailfish and just about any other desirable catch happens in this water column.
Blackfin tunas and kingfish make up the most action on the reefs and this is one of their best months. Trolling is a great way to fish this time of year because it allows you to cover a lot of territory, different depths and different areas. Trolling is highly effective for getting action and bending the rod as well as hunting down more sought after fish like mahi-mahi and wahoo.
Wreck fishing is great too for a change up but also for the big game fish that show up this time of year. Amberjacks come through in huge numbers in the Springtime and the first wave of them are showing up now. We find them in 200-400ft wrecks and you MUST use heavy tackle to get these fish clear of the structure below, else they will take you down into and wrap you up on a piece of the wreck. Heavy gear allows you to try to use the boat to pull these fish clear of the wreck before they can counter. Amberjacks, big grouper and cobia are all residents around the wrecks this season and what we may lack in action in wreck fishing this time of year, we make up for in sheer size of the fish we pull up.
This and next month are the last 2 spectacular months for sailfishing off the south Florida coast, so get out there soon to capture these awesome gamefish. Shark fishing is about to begin so we do have some monster fish to look forward to in the months to come. February last year was just plain awesome for blackfin tunas, wahoo and mahi-mahi last year, so we're hoping for a repeat of last year's great February successes. Good luck fishing this month everyone. I'll sea ya on the water.
Capt. Paul Roydhouse
www.FishHeadquarters.com
754-214-7863
Target Species:
Sailfish, dolphin, wahoo, tuna, amberjack, grouper, cobia, sharks and barracuda.
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