Al wanted to catch a “large” fish, so I headed off to the Shark grounds south of Fort Lauderdale

Al Buccieri with wife, Pam, son, Nick and daughter, Veronica from Brandon, Florida chartered the Happy Day Today along with the Topshotfishing team to do some deep sea sport fishing in Fort Lauderdale, FL.  We had winds out of the east at 12 mph, blue skies, seas running 3-4 ft., blue indigo water on the second reef with a 1.4 knot current going to the north.

Al wanted to catch a “large” fish, so I headed off to the Shark grounds south of Fort Lauderdale FL sitting in 350 ft. of water.  We put three Shark baits out, one on the surface, one midrange and one on the bottom, a kite with two live Goggle Eyes and a butterflyed Blue fish for a teaser hanging from the outrigger.  As we sat there waiting for the Sharks arrival, I could see the dorsal of a Shark making circles trying to pick up the scent of the teaser.  This fish needs a lot more practice in following the scent as he swam off in the wrong direction.  Thirty-five minutes later another Hammerhead Shark appeared; this one swimming frantically from right to left as he honed in exactly on the teaser bait.  Five feet from the boat, an estimated 275-300 lb. Hammerhead Shark was trying to feed on the Blue fish, which I raised out of the water.  Our mate, Jackson, reeled in our surface bait and presented it within 2 ft from the Shark, but he was not interested.  At that point, I knew we had to make a change.  Immediately, I told Jackson to get a piece of Blue fish, put it on another rod and throw it into the water and at the same time I threw the teaser back into the water.  This time we were hooked up to the Shark, as the anglers witnessed this amazing sight only 5 feet from the boat.   The battle was on as Al jumped into the fighting chair, while the family cheered him on.  Fifty-five minutes later, the 8 ½ ft. Shark was brought to the boat, pictures taken and released un-harmed to do battle again.

The next few strikes were Kingfish

A graduation from college gift of a sport fishing charter was given to Ryan Pjescich by his mother, Thea, aboard the Happy Day Today along with the Topshotfishing team in Fort Lauderdale FL.  We had winds out of the east at 12 miles an hour, blue waters pushed into 80 ft. of water, water temperature at 78 degrees

Fifteen minutes after leaving the dock and purchasing a dozen live Goggle Eyes, lines  were in the water at 120 ft. by the sea buoy in Fort Lauderdale FL, less than 2 miles from shore.   We put two plainers down, both with double hook Bonito strips and sea witches in front.  For surface baits we went with two Ballyhoos and one jap feather.

As we trolled over the reefs catching a couple of Bonitos and Kingfish, a color change was forming – a perfect avenue for fish to migrate through.  With two kites up and two live Goggle Eyes from each kite, the action started.  Our first strike was a Mahi Mahi from the right long kite weighing in at 15 lbs – Thea was the angler.  The next few strikes were Kingfish – Ryan hooked up a total of 5 Kingfish, he brought in 3 weighing between 10-20 lbs, but two got away.   From there we set up the kite again – this time an explosion occurred from the right short kite as water flew up.  The line screamed and exited out of the reel at a very fast pace as the fish sounded - it was a good indication this was a Tuna.  Twenty-five minutes later, Ryan brought the Tuna to the boat as Jackson, our mate, gaffed the Tuna weighing 29 lbs.  From there, another tuna was caught weighing, 15 lbs.

With plenty of food for tonight’s dinner, it was time to head back to the dock at Bahia Mar 801 Seabreeze Blvd. Fort Lauderdale 33316.  

Casting shrimp on a bare hook with tiny float was effective...

Had Sue Cocking down from the Miami Herald today on 1/4/13 for a little fishing story for the outdoors section of the Herald.  There was a last minute cancellation to her original plans and we set something up the day before.  We decided to go for a backcountry islamorada fishing trip and to showcase a variety of fish, as that is one of the special things about fishing in the florida keys.  We started out near flamingo, fishing some high-water spots near some mangroves for redfish.  We caught about a half dozen or so, as well as a few black drum and sheepshead.  We later moved to some deeper moats on the change of the tide to look for some snook.  We did hook one nice one that broke us off near the boat, and ended up catching a few more black drum and sheepshead.  Later we moved to some other channels where there had been some nice muds with a good mix of fish.  

Trout, ladyfish, pompano, and a baby permit were to be had.  All fish to this point were caught on simple shrimp and jigs whilst islamorada fishing.  We started to use some tiny ladyfish pieces to catch pinfish,  and we mohawked them catching a couple dozen while bending the rod with other stuff!  We then headed out into the gulf of mexico fishing as the weather was slick calm and looked too pretty not to try.  We found several tripletail on the way out, and caught several keeping 3 for dinner.  Casting shrimp on a bare hook with tiny float was effective, and we even caught a few on light jigs as some were staying down a little deeper.  We then went gulf wreck fishing and caught several cobias up to 15 lbs, as well as another permit, and a large 100 lb goliath grouper!  Cobias were all caught on our fresh pinfish.  We then wanted to try to catch some mackerel, so we headed back towards sprigger bank and fished a few miles out from there.  

On the way we came across something very unusual - several large packs of bonitas in the 8 - 12 lb range feeding on something very small.  We didn't get any bites out of them, but were able to drive right on top to confirm what they were!  As soon as we anchored and casted in our mackerel area we had fish on, we put a little chum out and caught about a dozen spanish mackerel as well as a few bluefishfish and snappers.  We then headed home, another beautiful day here and fun to be had in all areas, not just islamorada flats fishing in the backcountry!  Capt. Vic Gaspeny has reported excellent water and temperature conditions for tarpon fishing in islamorada.  They caught 9 in early morning trips as well as a 30 lb permit.

Father and son team ended up with 10 Mahi

A good day fishing for the father son team as we ended up with 10 Mahi and one wee Wahoo. Also we did let a couple Mahi go due to smaller size fish.
The conditions for fishing in Fort Lauderdale were good for the Mahi bite due to the wind, however it was a bit choppy, the seas were 3’ to 4’, yet still made for a nice day on the water. We had a consistent Easterly wind for previous 5 days. The wind blowing typically pushes any floating debris closer to shore and with current makes for a good rip current. We left the dock around 7:30 and started fishing offshore of Fort Lauderdale around 8:15am in 200 feet of water. The trolling speed was 6 to 7 knots and we fished a spread of 6 lines. One deep line which was a Wahoo rig, a jet head skirted with a bonito strip. The 5 surface lines were Ballyhoos, one shotgun long, left and right long and left and right short rigger lines.

The first two Mahi we caught were in 250’ of water. Both fish ranged in the 8 to 10 pound range. After working the area for another 30 to 45 minutes, we continued to fish and head offshore in search of the rip current and weed lines. We trolled out to 650’ of water and that is where we located a good area to fish. The birds were diving, floating debris, a pallet, a well organized weed line and soon as we got to the area we had an instant Mahi double header. After catching those two fish, we continued to work the area especially where the pallet was floating. We ended up catching a small Wahoo, over 10 Mahi, we let 2 go that were barely legal, no need to keep a Mahi that is less than 23” when we had a nice box of fish. George and his son Anthony did a great job angling the Mahi. After fishing offshore in 650 to 700’ of water for more than half the trip, we decided to head inshore and try for a Sailfish for the George and Anthony.

We trolled inshore to see if we could find any more floating pallets and when we reached 400’ of water with no more bites, we ran into shallower water and set up on top of a wreck located in North Fort Lauderdale in an area called the Steeple. We had a dozen live Goggeleyes in the bait well. We fished two kites, which is two baits per kite along with two rigger lines with live Gogs. We used leads to get the baits down in the water column and we all awaiting a Sail bite.

We had around two hours left in the charter and gave a strong effort to getting a Sail on the line for Anthony, however we never did have a shot at catching a Sailfish. In the two hours of Sailfishing, we did have three nice bites from King Mackerel, all the three fish were sizeable Kings (15 to 18 pound fish), but all three Kings “sky rocketed” the Gogs and we did not hook them. Sky Rocketing is when a King Mackerel is trying to eat the bait and jumps 5’ or more out of the water, they either eat, chop and ultimately miss the bait in the air and did not get hooked. After the two hours of fishing in Fort Lauderdale, it was time to head back to the dock. Thanks again to George and Anthony as we had a good time fishing and we hope to have you back again in the near future.

The Honorable A. Henderson Scott, Commissioner shares his thoughts about Gray Taxidermy and the services provided.

I want to take some time this morning to let all of you know at Gray Taxidermy how pleased I am, not only by my 85", 175 lb. Tarpon Trophy, but by your customer service department as well. From the artist to the salesman to the shipping company and the person who crated the mount, I was treated with the utmost respect and courtesy, treated, in fact, as if I were your only customer. And though I shopped pricing on this trophy with other taxidermy companies, and could have gotten the mount cheaper, I am glad that I did not go the cheaper route. Indeed, my friend, who also caught a trophy tarpon that day, allowed his taxidermy to be done by a Gray competitor, hoping to save some money.

I saw his tarpon yesterday, and he saw mine, and we both agreed that a certainly person gets what he pays for. This is to say that if you select a "factory" taxidermist, you will get "factory" quality work. My trophy is realistic, life-like, colored to perfection, and could be hung in a museum; my friend's tarpon is more suited for the wall of a cheap inland seafood restaurant; the "factory"' tarpon has little coloring, no gills, and looks nothing like what he actually caught, while my tarpon looks just like it did when I pulled it from the water.
I am not new to taxidermy; in fact, I have a dedicated trophy room with over 50 fish and animals, and the tarpon is the center of attention when anyone enters the room, almost overshadowing a a full-mount standing brown bear... So, when I catch another trophy, even if it's a goliath tigerfish or a nile perch when I'm in Africa this October, it won't go to the nearest taxidermist some local recommends to me - it will go to Gray Taxidermy.

At any rate, I just wanted to share my thoughts with you on how pleased I am with your work and customer service. As I said, a person gets what he pays for, and you are more than welcome to share my sentiments on your website or with anyone who questions the price of museum quality taxidermy.

Sincerely,
The Honorable A. Henderson Scott, Commissioner

White Marlin and a Thresher Shark were caught this week will be mounted by Gray's Taxidermy

Fishing Fort Lauderdale this week has been excellent; all species of fish including a White Marlin and a Thresher Shark were caught this week. 

Allison and Tyler Fawber from Virginia stopped by the charter boat Happy Day Today to get some information about a fishing charter.  After boarding the boat and being pleased with what they saw, they decided right then to charter the Happy Day Today along with the Topshotfishing team for a deep sea sport fishing charter. With time on their hands, I suggested they visit the Holiday Park off of Route 27, 20 minutes from the boat, for air boat rides and to check out the alligators.  The following morning with blue skies, winds out of the east, southeast 7-10 mph, temperatures in the mid 80’s, we left the dock and 20 minutes later we had lines in the water at the sea buoy which sits at the drop off in 120 ft. of water off of Fort Lauderdale FL.

Both Tyler and Allison spoke of their air boat rides the day before and seeing the beautiful everglades and the wild life, including alligators.  We had two plainers for deep lines down and four surface baits.  I headed towards our artificial wrecks, which always produces fish.  The bait fish congregate around these artificial wrecks and in return the predators are there feeding on them.  Allison and Tyler kept taking turns being the angler catching Kingfish and at times two fish on at once. 

A good sign that the predators are nearby says Gray Taxidermy Captain Zsak

Ray Miller from Dallas TX was here in Fort Lauderdale FL on a convention and friend  had some spare time before his flight back home, so he chartered the Happy Day Today along with the Topshotfishing team to do some deep sea sport fishing here in Ft. Lauderdale FL.  Mr. Miller, accustomed to traveling an hour to the fishing grounds in Texas, was pleased that in 20 minutes he was in Fort Lauderdale’s fishing grounds, 1.8 miles from shore in 120 ft. of water.  

With the migration of Mullets not too far away, small schools have been trickling down the beach, and all pelagic fish - Sailfish, Sharks, Tarpons, Snook – will be following the migration.

We left the dock and 20 minutes later lines were in the water.  We had one plainer down with a 3 ½ blue reflector drone spoon, two Ballyhoos and two Bonito strips for surface baits and a Ballyhoo dredge.  We started catching a mixture of Bonitos and Kingfish.  The Bonitos were in the range of 10-15 lbs with the Kingfish ranging from 6-20 lbs.  Ray was our only angler on the boat; he bounced back and forth from one fighting chair to the other, using all five of our fighting chairs.  After working the artificial wrecks catching these fish, I headed out to another artificial wreck that sits in 450 ft. of water off of Fort Lauderdale FL.  I got closer to the artificial wreck and I could see the birds feeding on the bait fish – a good sign that the predators are nearby.   As I made my first pass over the wreck, the left long rigger came down along with the plainer rod and the right short rigger – three fish on at the same time with one angler –one by one Ray brought in the three Tunas weighing from 12-22 lbs.