wreck fishing and good reef action
April 02, 2019 Hollywood 4 photos
Amberjack
Amberjack
King Mackerel (Kingfish)
King Mackerel (Kingfish)
Bonito
Bonito

Trip Summary

Today aboard the YB Normal out of Fort Lauderdale Florida we had some great customers from Michigan, they had come down and book an 8 hour Sportfishing charter with us. Leaving at 8am sharp and returning around 4pm we had excellent weather today with flat calm seas and 75 degree temps, we started out catching some live bait at the whistle bout out of port everglades inlet in Fort Lauderdale florida which is only 1 mile from the beautiful beaches and in 120 feet of water, we put some chum in the water and caught some live blue runners to use later in the trip, we made a 1 hour ride after catching bait to a deep shipwreck where we would send one of the live baits on a heavy rod down to the bottom in hopes of catching something large, within minutes of sending down the bait we had gotten a bite and something large at that, mike was the angler and he fought the fish till he couldn't anymore and his sister Emily had to get on the rod and help after about a 30 min hard battle we had seen color on the fish and it was a beautiful golden amberjack weighing around 40 to 45lbs and excellent fighting fish and a trophy non the less. After we decided to do a little bit of trolling for a few hours and had many multiple hook ups on bonito and some king fish, the bonitos are not great table fair but what they lack in food value they sure do fight hard, the kingfish we were catching were on planners which take the baits under the water to depths of 30-60 feet of water, kingfish are in the mackerel family and are pretty good eating if fresh they do not freeze well but they are great fresh and great for smoked fish, we ended up catching 7 kingfish and 9 or so bonito everyone was having an excellent time and steady action. After trolling we decided to make another ride to another shipwreck off the fort Lauderdale coast, there are many artificial wrecks off the coat of fort Lauderdale only a few miles from the beaches as well, while making the move everyone decided to enjoy some lunch and air condition in the cabin of the YB Normal, we made it to our destination and decided to use another live bait and drop it on a ship wreck, another very fast bite and mike was the angler and decided to try and redeem himself and not let his sister help he did a great job and caught another golden amberjack, weighing almost 50lbs and incredible catch and definitely a once in a lifetime fish and experience. Time was running out and we decided to head back to the dock everyone with smiles on there faces and a cooler full of fish, we headed back to our slip in beautiful fort Lauderdale docked the YB Normal safely and unloaded the fish for dinner and pictures another great trip....
Vinnie Sacks
Hollywood, Florida, United States
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Sailing out of Port Everglades In Fort Lauderdale for over a decade YB Normal is ready to take clients out for a great day of fishing. Captain Vinnie offers a range of trips, with four to 8-hour packages and the choice of coming as a group or jumping aboa...

Other reports from this captain

May Mahi In Fort Lauderdale
May Mahi In Fort Lauderdale
May 18, 2025
Hello everyone, Capt. Vinnie here, this weeks report I would say might be what alot of people have been looking to hear, offshore earlier in the week the bite was hot for mahi mahi. Offshore anywhere from 700-1000 feet is where majority of the action has been. If your heading offshore look for the seaweed patches, some have been as big as a football field. On days that it Is flat calm it is easy to spot but on days there is a slight breeze look for slick water that is the tell tail sign. There hasn't been much for birds offshore but if you happen to find like a frigate bird its worth following him around for a while, he could lead you to that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Most important thing in my opinion when going offshore looking for mahi is to bring some live bait. Pilchards would be my 1 choice. The live bait is key specially if you happen to get a few fish on and there is a scool behind the boat, you want to be able to give them a reason to stay around and if they are finicky the live bait will chance there whole demeanor. Moving inshore on the reef, late afternoons have been the best for blackfin tunas, although the bigger ones we were seeing earlier in the month have kind of taken a break, there have been some medium to smaller ones around. Anywhere from 180-280 feet has been the sweet spot and the later in the afternoon the better, right up till dark. Wreck fishing for hard fighting fish like amberjack has been pretty good this week as well, we have been having some heavy currents and that has been making for some excellent wreck fishing conditions right now. Live baits like small bonitos, blue runners, and goggle eyes are good choices to drop on shipwrecks around 200-300 foot. Heavy tackle is a must if you want to catch one of these big fish, nothing less then 100lb test. Last but not least trolling on the reef has been a little slower then normal kingfish bite has been so so, some days better then others I would imagine here shortly things will pick up in that department soon. This week please check out some of the great photos of some recent catches that were caught while out on our deep sea fishing in Fort Lauderdale and remember to give us a like and follow on social media platforms like facebook and instagram @Ybnormalsportfishing for daily fishing content. Coming up for the rest of the month of May, seems like the mahi bite is just beginning to heat up so that should only get better and better as we get closer towards the summer. We still have plenty of availability for the rest of the month of May so if your planning a trip down to fort Lauderdale and looking to do some deep sea fishing please look us up we would love to have you out fishing with us.... more later.. Capt. Vinnie
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Full Moon Deep Sea Fishing In Fort Laude
Full Moon Deep Sea Fishing In Fort Laude
May 12, 2025
Hello everyone Capt. Vinnie here, this week I can honestly say fishing has been some what difficult and not the red hot action we normally would see, specially for this time of year. This week the deep sea fishing has been tough, the full moon this week has brought upon us some very heavy tides and the seaweed has been about as bad as it can be making it very difficult specially for the crew, endless work to keep the baits clean from the seaweed. For the report this week starting first offshore, there has been a few mahi mahi. There hasn't been much seaweed offshore it has been mostly on the reef, so most of the mahi we did catch were just random in the middle of no where, there also has been a few mahi on frigate birds. The mahi have been getting bigger and we are starting to see more keeper size fish, although I would imagine we are going to see a good push here shortly I would say in the next few weeks. Moving a little inshore blackfin tunas have been the main culprits. Live bait has been the best choice specially for the larger tunas and larger I mean close to 30lbs. Although live bait is going to be the best choice for the larger tunas, you can still catch them trolling. Smaller feathers and squid lure imitations have been the best choice and later in the afternoons are going to give you the best chance specially with the full moon going on right now. Moving further inshore there has been a decent showing on sailfish with the live baits too, all the tide we have been having is putting these fish on the move and a live bait being suspended from a kite is going to give that picture perfect presentation. Fishing shallow like around 75-90 feet gives you the most time fishing due to the current. With the current being so strong fishing just inside the tide is going to keep you on a slower drift giving you more opportunity to get a bite. Other then sailfish there has been a few nicer kingfish on the live bait too. Right now we are in a great time of year to target some big game sharks specially like hammerhead sharks. This time of year specially when we are kite fishing we tend to have a few hammerhead sharks try and eat our live baits, it is quite a great show. All sharks are catch and release but they do make a for a great fight specially if thats something your looking for. This week please be sure to check out some of the great photos of some recent catches that were caught while out on our deep sea fishing charters in Fort Lauderdale, also remember to give us a like and follow on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram @Ybnormalsportfishing for daily fishing content. On the horizon, even though the fishing has been slower then normal this week its not going to be a consistent thing specially for this time of year, usually on the backside of the full moon fishing is historically better, so be on the look out in the next few reports for some great catches. For the rest of the month of May we have a good amount of availability so if your coming down to Fort Lauderdale and looking to do some deep sea fishing we would love to show you a great time on the water.. Capt. Vinnie
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May Deep Sea Fishing in Fort Lauderdale
May Deep Sea Fishing in Fort Lauderdale
May 4, 2025
Hello everyone Capt. Vinnie here, I have a nice report for you guys this week, fishing has somewhat slowed a little bit but still has been consistent as well. Just on the reef is where we will start depths around 100 feet have been producing some nice sized kingfish while trolling with our deep lines. Pink and white switches have been the norm, fresh mullet strips have been the best strip bait of choice right now because fresh bonito is hard to come by. Other then kingfish there has still been a few sailfish around if your using live bait, also with the live bait some bigger kingfish around 20lbs. Moving offshore in depths around 200 feet there has been a pretty consistent blackfin tuna bite, early mornings and late afternoons have been best. We have been doing well on smaller lures around 3-4inches long fished on the surface way back behind the boat. Most of the tuna that we have been getting trolling have been a little smaller around 3-6lbs but some nicer ones in the mix around 15lbs as well. We did manage this week to thread the needle and catch a trophy size wahoo around 35lbs. We got the bite in 400 feet of water on a color change of green to blue water. Further offshore there has been a few mahi mahi but they have been mostly undersize. If your heading offshore and looking to search for mahi I would recommend trying to find some birds or weeds. This time of year you have to find something to fish to, there is a lot of ocean out there and you want to make all your time out there count. I would also recommend bringing some live bait with you offshore just incase you happen to come across something because if you have live bait its hard for the mahi to say no. This week please be sure to take a look at some of the great photos of some recent catches of fish that were caught while out on our deep sea fishing charters in Fort Lauderdale and remember to give us a like and follow on facebook and instagram @Ybnormalsportfishing for daily fishing content. Coming up here for the next few weeks we have lots of availability for deep sea fishing charters and the fishing is beginning to heat up. The month of May is a great month to do some fishing here in Fort Lauderdale and is notorious for big tunas up to 30lbs. I would imagine soon we will start to see some more mahi mahi to but time will tell. If your heading down to Fort Lauderdale and looking to get out fishing we would love to show you a great time on the water. more later.. Capt. Vinnie
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