The most common question I get asked daily is “What’s Biting Right Now?”.  Well, now is the time to get your big wahoo in Fort Lauderdale. There is an abundance of bait around including small bonita known to us as “bullets”.  The wahoo love these baits and it doesn’t take long to get the bites especially this time of year.
By trolling 4 bullets each on wire with a trailing hook for insurance, we put 2 flat lines and 2 off the outriggers. We attract many gamefish into our spread including sailfish, king mackerel, mahi and tuna. Yesterday, was no exception. The day started started hazy with a cold front bringing the temperatures into the upper 60s off our beach along with calm seas. I knew my clients were going to have a great day.
When it gets cold down here, it is typically freezing in the rest of the country. This means many of the gamefish such as sailfish have migrated into our waters as they are the warmest and the bait is plentiful in shallow. This makes Fort Lauderdale some of the best fishing in the country.
With 4 baits out, we hear one of the outrigger clips pop and our drag starts screaming!  The bait didn’t stand a chance and our angler jumped onto the rod and the fight was on.
Wahoo are some of the fast fishing in the sea with said speeds of 60mph!  So when they see a beautiful bait fish like the ones we present, they get it on the first try no problem.  With some great angler work and keeping the boat at a slow speed to keep the line tight, we got the great fish on the gaff and in the boat.

The rest of the day was rinse and repeat with a total of 4 wahoo being caught from 30 to 50 pounds along with several kingfish.
As mentioned, while fishing using this highly effectively method of matching the hatch to the local baits, we do catch many other fish.  Big King Mackerel love a trolled live bait as well and in the shallows there are many big spanish mackerel right now. There are no fences in the ocean and while you never know what is going to be under your bait, now is an awesome time to book your holiday fishing trip and take advantage of some great fishing.

Back at the dock was all smiles for our clients. Wahoo is some the of the best sashimi.  When prepared right it is also excellent on the grill as well.  Many of our clients like to eat it raw or make a ceviche with it.  No matter how you decide to prepare your fresh catch, we clean and bag it for you. If you are traveling, you can pack it in a styrofoam cooler and it will stay fresh until you get home.
That’s the report for now, we are heading back out there now and looking for a repeat of yesterday.
Tight Lines and Happy Holidays,
Captain David