Post Fay Report
Capt. Ryan McBride
August 27, 2008
Fort Lauderdale - Saltwater Fishing Report
Last week TS Fay came through and stirred up the water a little bit, this is good for summer fishing. Tropical storms stir up the warm summer waters and will make fish congregate shallower and make them feed like they haven't in weeks. Snapper is the top catch after the storms with lots of fish being caught on the shallower reefs from 50-35ft. Most of the snapper we caught were Muttons from 16-24" with most fish right in the middle. Best bet for the muttons was ballyhoo plugs, filet of kingfish, and butterfly jigs. Also the yellowtails seemed to pick up though we never specifically anchored up to catch them. Along with that the lobsters began to walk after the storm past, from Friday to Sunday lobsters could be found walking on the sand in 10-15ft. of water. The toughest part of the walk is stopping at 6/person as this can be done in a matter of minutes.
Offshore the dolphin bite picked up. It could be that they just don't feed when the storm is around or maybe the increased flotsam but more dolphin where biting well last weekend. Most of our fish were in the 20-24" range but we did catch a few bigger fish up to 15lbs. Most of the dolphin were found under sargaso and birds. Our dolphin were caught on small white bait and chunks of bonita. I have not heard, nor gone swordfishing since my last report but I would imagine the bite should be decent as they were given a rest for a few days with the storm.
On the reef snake kingfish (10lbs) remain with a few bigger fish (up to 20lbs) have been caught. We caught a sailfish last week before the storm and are always an option when the current is running. No tunas or wahoo for us this week but that doens't mean they aren't there, we just haven't been specifically targeting them. Kingfish and sails were caught live baiting on the troll and kite fishing.
Fort Lauderdale Fishing Forecast:
Labor day weekend is always a zoo but in general the reefs have been less crowded. We should have decent dolphin fishing through the week is the SE, E winds remain through the weekend.
More Fishing Reports:
