Hoping to catch a Wahoo that I can let Gray Taxidermy build a trophy mount from

They wanted to catch eating fish, so in twenty minutes we were in the fishing ground, the drop off,  in 120 ft of water off of Fort Lauderdale FL.  We put two plainers down – a 3 ½ blue reflector drone spoon on one and a double hook Bonito strip with a blue and white sea witch in front in the other with four Bonito strip baits and a yellow jap feather for surface baits. 

 I worked the reefs in and out from 250 ft. of water into 70 ft. and back out again, catching Kingfish, Bonitos and Barracudas on the surface and plainer rods.  We had double and triple fish on at the same time – which made it very exciting in the cockpit – with one line going over and under the others.  From there I headed offshore and found a sargassum weed line in 600 ft. of water hoping for some Mahi Mahi’s to appear, but with no luck I headed towards one of our artificial wrecks that sits in 410 ft. of water north of Fort Lauderdale FL, hoping to find a Wahoo lurking out there.  Instead we caught a few Mahi Mahi’s. 

With a total of 17 Bonitos, 2 Mahi Mahi’s, 4 Kingfish and 4 Barracudas, we headed back to the dock in Fort Lauderdale FL.  As the action was hot and heavy for the majority of the trip, the birthday cake brought on board the boat was never touched, which I am sure will be eaten with the fish dinner tonight. Back to the dock at Bahia mar 801 Seabrezee Blvd. Fort Lauderdale 33316

For the past two weeks, Shark action has been excellent

Our charter today out of Fort Lauderdale.  We had variable winds 5-7 mph, 2 ft. seas - a picturesque sunny day here in Ft. Lauderdale.  Rick’s goal was to catch a large fish, and I suggested we find some nice large Sharks off of Fort Lauderdale.  For the past two weeks, Shark action has been excellent here in Fort Lauderdale.

Off we went – twenty minutes after leaving the dock we were in 350 ft. of water north of the sea buoy off of Fort Lauderdale FL, close to one of my favorite artificial wreck, a 220 ft. freighter that was sunk back in 1981.  These wrecks hold various types of bait fish and in return the predators know where to feed.  These are the “supermarkets” of the seas.  We put out three Shark baits, one on the surface, one midrange down 150 ft. and a third bait sitting on the bottom.  I could see a dorsal fin approaching our surface bait; the fish was not aggressive at all.  It swam slowly to the bait but was not interested and swam past the bait to the south of Fort Lauderdale.  A few minutes later a fishing boat to the north of me called on the radio and said he saw a Shark heading my way – hopefully this one would feed.  As the Shark approached the surface bait, he was very aggressive, and he grabbed the Shark bait – the fight was on!!!!!  This Shark was a big one!!!  Rick jumped into the fighting chair, and we secured him and the rod down with safety lines.  The tug of war continued, and Rick was doing a fantastic job reeling in the Shark, while support was heard from the girls.  Finally the Shark appeared 50 ft. from the boat – a Golden Hammerhead, and all were amazed by its size.  The fight was a long one with losing and gaining lines, but finally Rick subdued him and brought the Shark to the boat.  We measured the Shark in the water, and it was 107” long and approximately 350 lbs.  Pictures were taken, the Shark was released and Rick decided to do a replica mount. Back to the dock at Bahia Mar 801 Seabrezee Blvd. 33316

With sweat and achy muscles, Rick accomplished his goal, and was ready to head back to the dock in Fort Lauderdale FL.  For a successful and adventurous deep sea fishing charter in South Florida forSailfish from Gray Taxidermy, Shark, Bonito, Mackerel, Swordfish, Snapper, Wahoo, Tuna, Mahi Mahi and Grouper contact Captain Zsak.

Deep sea sport fishing off of beautiful Fort Lauderdale FL

An old acquaintance of mine for the past 20 years, Mark Armstrong, and grandson, Lucas, age 7, daughter, Sarah, and friend, Chris Barber, chartered the Happy Day Today along with the Topshotfishing team to do some deep sea sport fishing off of beautiful Fort Lauderdale FL.  Young Lucas was a very inquisitive angler, and as he boarded the Happy Day Today, he was full of questions:  What type of bait are we using?  What kind of fish will I catch?  How big with the fish be? and so on and so on….  I answered all his questions as we were leaving the dock, and he was satisfied and pleased.

We left the dock to do some  Fort Lauderdale Fl. fishing with blue skies, winds out of the east at 15 mph, 3-4 ft. seas.  Twenty minutes later, lines were in the water north of Fort Lauderdale in 120 ft. of water, which is our drop off.  From there a ¼ of a mile further will put you in 600 ft. of water. 

We started off trolling with two plainers down, one with a blue and white double hook Mullet strip and the other with a double hook Ballyhoo and a pink sea witch in front.  For surface baits we had four Bonito strips and one jap feather.  It did not take long before Lucas got his first fish, a 12 lb. Bonito with Sarah, Lucas’ mom, recording the action. Our next strike was a triple header – three fish on at one time.  Grandfather, Mark, Grandson, Lucas, and Chris brought in the catch:  One Tuna and two Bonitos.  The action was non-stop – hot and heavy – one fish after another.  Then, our plainer rod then bent over and the line screamed off the reel – I knew it would be a good size fish.  Lucas was our angler, strapped into the fighting chair, and was rewarded with a 22 lb. Kingfish.Back to the dock at  Bahi Mar 801 Seabreeze  Blvd Fort Lauderdale Fl. 33316 

With 13 Bonitos, 3 Kingfish and 3 Tunas, Lucas’ first salt water sport fishing charter was a huge success. This experience will be a part of 7 year old Lucas’ childhood memory forever and The Kingfish may be reproduced by Gray Taxidermy to preserve that memory.  For a successful and adventurous deep sea fishing charter in Fort Lauderdale FL for Sailfish, Shark, Bonito, Mackerel, Swordfish, Snapper, Wahoo, Tuna, Mahi Mahi and Grouper contact Captain Zsak

The Sailfish took a couple of swipes at the Ballyhoo

Barry Chamberlin, chartered the Happy Day Today along with the Topshotfishing team to do some deep sea sport fishing off of Fort Lauderdale, FL.  Barry, his wife, son and friend were our four anglers.

We left the dock and twenty minutes later we were 1.8 miles from shore which is the drop off sitting in 120 ft. of water off of Fort Lauderdale FL.  This is the advantage to fishing in Fort Lauderdale because from Miami, it is 7 miles to the drop off and in Palm Beach it is 11 miles.  We started off trolling with two plainers down, one with a double hook Mullet strip with a pink sea witch in front and the other plainer had a double hook Bonito strip with a white and blue sea witch in front. For surface baits we had four Ballyhoos and one Bonito strip with a ¼ ounce jap feather in front.

As we trolled north of the sea buoy in Fort Lauderdale to one of the artificial wrecks that sits in 220 ft. of water, our first fish was a 12 lb. Kingfish on our plainer rod, followed by another 10 lb. Kingfish.  As I continued to work the artificial wreck off of Fort Lauderdale, a dorsal fin popped up on the right short Ballyhoo.  Sailfish!!!!  The Sailfish took a couple of swipes at the Ballyhoo and was unsuccessfully hooked up.  The Sailfish was not stung and still looked for food.  Then our bonito strip with the jap feather came out of the outrigger.  Our mate, Jackson, teased the Sailfish again, this time we had a good hook up.  Mr. Chamberlin was the angler on this Sailfish and successfully brought the Sailfish to the boat. 

We wanted to target a Shark so I headed towards an area where Sharks congregate.  One surface Shark bait, one midrange Shark bait and one bottom Shark bait was our fishing set up.  All of a sudden, the surface bait screamed the line off of the reel – it was a nice Hammerhead Shark.  Thirty-five minutes later we pulled the hook.  Back to the same area with the same set up.  This time we had two Sharks on at the same time, one from the midrange bait and the other from the surface bait.  Forty minutes later, one Shark was brought to the boat and pictures were taken.  Shortly thereafter the hook was pulled on the second Shark.  Trolling back to the sea buoy we caught another Kingfish weighing 22 lbs.

Catching Bonitos and a few Kingfish

Joy Lee from Fairhaven, New Jersey and friends chartered the Happy Day Today along with the Topshotfishing team to do some offshore sport fishing in Fort Lauderdale FL.

Twenty minutes after leaving the dock we had lines in the water at the drop off, sitting in 120 ft. of water. Our surface baits consisted of two Ballyhoos, two Bonito strips and for deep lines we ran two plainers one with a 3 ½ blue reflector spoon and the other with a purple and black sea witch in front of a double hook Mullet strip.

I worked the reef in and out from 80 ft of water out to 170 ft. Our first bite was a 9 lb Bonito from the surface bait. The action was consistent, catching Bonitos and a few Kingfish. With seven fish in the fish box, I headed to one of our 34 artificial reefs located in Fort Lauderdale. When there is little or no current, it is a good practice to work areas around wrecks. One of our plainer rods got a good strike, as line peeled off the reel at a quick rate. Joy was the angler and brought to the boat a 46” Barracuda. Pictures were taken and the cuda was released. From there we added a couple of Black Fin Tunas to the rest of the catch and headed in.