March of the Fish – Offshore Fishing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
March has been one action packed month here in sunny South Florida aboard the Lady Pamela II, no fish recession here! March is one of my favorite months to fish offshore in Ft Lauderdale, it’s finally warming up and we are seeing a mixed bag of tough fighting game fish and those delicious eating fish the Southeast is known for. On Saturday the 14th, we landed a Silky Shark just north of Port Everglades, went 1 for 2 on the Sailfish bite and fought a monster Amberjack off a wreck in 300 ft of blue water, in the matter of 4 hours. Our anglers went home with sore arms and a memory to last a lifetime. This is the type of deep sea fishing I live for, rod bending and screamin’ reels. Don’t get me wrong, there have been days where the fish haven’t quite cooperated with us aboard the Lady Pamela II, but for the most part the hook ups have been not stop and we’ve been coming home with great catch!
Sailfishing has been hit or miss lately. They disappeared for a bit, then a little push came through and the bite picked up for us in Ft Lauderdale. Sailfishing is one of my favorite types of fishing, watching the Ballerina of the Sea jump 30 feet behind the boat is one sight to see. Fighting the Atlantic Sailfish is a blast and look for the action to continue keeping our anglers smile into Spring. You only have a short time left to land a Sailfish, let’s take advantage of it aboard the Lady Pamela II now through the beginning of May!

The Mahi – Mahi have been solid in 300 – 500 ft of water offshore. We’ve noticed that trolling with live blue runners and popping the kites with goggs dangling on the surface does the trick with the dolphin. The bite has been unbelievable, literally. We’ve been catching anywhere from 10 lb Mahi – Mahi to 30 lb, 40 lb and even 50 lb beefers.


During the first week of March, the Blackfin Tuna were showing up in good numbers offshore and in the cockpit. We were averaging 3 nice ones per trip, which I’ve never seen in my years of sportfishing offshore Ft Lauderdale. It was great while it lasted but it has slowed down a bit, at least for the Lady Pamela II fleet.
Trolling for Kingfish comes in at #1, being the most consistent bite offshore right now in Fort Lauderdale. We’ve seen some monsters out there and caught a handful of 30+ lb’ers. It is common to land 3-5 nice ones per trip these days. The kings are definitely lingering in our backyard as we speak.
Wreck fishing has been great, producing big Amberjacks, Cobia and Barracuda’s in anywhere from 65 ft – 300 ft of water. Amberjacks are one of the toughest fighting game fish we hook up with, average encounters will leave your arms sore for a few days and a grin on your face from ear to ear. Let’s not forget about the infamous Barracuda either, stealth in the Inlet as well as on the shipwrecks. Their mean set of teeth and shiny, silver coat will truly amaze you.


The Lady Pamela II has set sail for Swordfish a few times throughout the month of March. The bite has been good on either side of the full moon, going home with at least a few bites and a 200 lb’er in the pit. On the full moon, the average sword weighed in around 100 lbs. Last week we were fishing a few miles offshore with a surface bait on top and a 100 lb Broadbill came up interested, ate the bait but spit the hook.
Spring time is here and so are the Game Fish! The Game Sharks have migrated South to about 300 ft of water and the trick to these bad boy’s is a bloody kingfish head hanging out on the bottom. It really seems to turn them on. We will soon start to see a wide variety of Sharks in South Florida such as the Great Hammerhead, Mako, Sandbar, Bull Shark, the Big Eye Thresher, Spotted Tiger Shark and the Silky Shark. Talk about a brutal fight…hook up with on these guys and chances are you’ll be passing the 130 off to your buddy to take a breather.


Tight Lines!
Captain David Ide
954-761-8045