Winter time Mahi Fishing
November 26, 2019 Dania Beach 4 photos & 1 video

Trip Summary

Temptures down in south florida specially in Fort Lauderdale have been chilly lately for us Floridians, but just because its cold outside doesn't mean that the fish are not hungry. In the winter time in Fort Lauderdale we have some special events take place! Now when you think of mahi or dolphin fish you think of summer time and offshore, well in the winters down in Fort Lauderdale there is an abundance of live bait mainly ballyhoo on our deeper reefs the mahi are an open ocean fish and they go where the food is so naturally in the winter time mahi are feeding on ballyhoo and will come as close as 20 feet of water to catch them. In the winters in fort Lauderdale the mahi fishing can be very good when locating birds or showering bait on the reefs. This week we had some great customers that fished with us from older customers to children, as I always say all ages are welcome on the YB Normal, one great memory from this week was a charter that we took with 2 older women, Louise and her friend Linda, they decided to charter the YB Normal for a 4 hour private morning trip while there husbands stayed back and went to some of the great casinos around the area, we caught some nice mahi as well as kingfish, bonito and a large barracuda, we were fishing 2 planners down as well as 3 surface baits of seawitches and strips. We also caught some nice mahi and kingfish with Tim who booked a 6 hour charter with us, like I said earlier if you can locate birds or even bait showering inshore on the reef the mahi will be there and thats what I found, we also caught some great vermillion snappers on some deep spots, it was a great trip with plenty of good fish for dinner. The night time fishing for snapper, like yellowtail, mangrove, and mutton snapper has been very good we have been almost limiting out every night we go it has been cold so you want to dress accordingly but it has been very good. Our winter time fishing is just starting here in Fort Lauderdale and it should only continue to get better as it gets colder, we should see a great push of sailfish here very shortly which is exciting because they are a great gamefish so something to look forward to with the next few cold fronts... till next time Capt. Vinnie If Your ever in the Fort Lauderdale area and looking to do some deep sea fishing check out the YB Normal they have plenty of trips to target any type of gamefish you would like as well as an awesome crew that is professional, what are you waiting for the fish are biting!!!
Vinnie Sacks
Dania-beach, 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 charter

Back To School In Fort Lauderdale
Back To School In Fort Lauderdale
August 11, 2025
Hello everyone, Capt. Vinnie here. This week the fishing has been just plain excellent off the coast of Fort Lauderdale right now. For the report this week we will start offshore. There has been a pretty consistent mahi mahi bite this week and some good size on them too. There has been a good amount of large weed patches and some birds offshore right now. Some days there is just to much seaweed to fish in 1 trip so the key is to look for the birds thats what is going to pay off. If you can get lucky enough to get in front of some there has been plenty of hungry mahis willing to take your baits. Average size on the mahi has been anywhere from 5-10lbs with a few larger fish around 15lbs in the mix. Moving inshore the reef has been hot right now on the troll. Plenty of action especially if you only have a half day trip. A lot of false albacore or bonito right now but mixed in with them is the other species like king mackeral and blackfin tuna, trolling with fresh strip baits and seawitches is our go to to get bites. Early mornings you tend to see more action with surface baits but as the day goes on the deeper baits fished under the surface using a planner get more bites. Also on the reef there has been a few sailfish around even though sailfish are more of a winter time species we have been catching a few on our trips. Last but not least bottom fishing for species like vermillion snappers has been excellent right now with some large ones close to 5lbs, most structure in depths around 200 feet has them pretty consistent right now, we did manage to get lucky this week and catch a beautiful red grouper, we dont catch many grouper in our area so everyone we do get is a treat for sure. This week please be sure to take a look at some of the great photos of some recent catches that were caught while out on our deep sea fishing charters and remember to give us a like and follow on social media platforms like facebook and instagram @Ybnormalsportfishing for daily fishing content. Like the title says "back to school" this week the kids return back to school and the fishing industry slows down a little bit buisness wise but that doesn't mean that the fishing slows down. The month of August in my opinion is one of the best time to chase fish like mahi in our area. As well as wahoo, kingfish, and tuna. If you have an opportunity to get down to south Florida and do some deep sea fishing right now it is one of the best times, it is off season so hotels are cheaper and the weather is excellent everyday, I can't find an excuse not to come fishing for a few days. Anyways for the rest of the month of august we do have a good amount of availability for deep sea fishing charters, so look us up we would love to show you a great time on the water. Capt. Vinnie
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Good Start To August Fishing In Fort Lau
Good Start To August Fishing In Fort Lau
August 4, 2025
Hello everyone Capt. Vinnie here, It has for sure been a hot one this summer and August is just as hot, but the fishing has been pretty hot as well, so for the report this week fishing early and late has been the ticket or as we like to say beat the heat. The inshore report there has been a very action packed trolling bite for species like king mackerel and plenty of bonito or little tunny, although these guys are not the best to eat they are a great fight for beginner anglers and experienced ones too. There also has been a few sailfish around on the reef that have been eager to take our trolling baits which is a great surprise specially for summer time fishing, moving a little deeper there has been a few blackfin tuna around in the early mornings in depths around 200 feet. Offshore report for species like mahi has been some what tricky some days they are here and biting and other days they can be hard to find, there has been a lot of big patches of seaweed with lots of bait underneath so there are signs of life, in my opinion I still think birds are the number one thing to look for offshore they never lie! The mahi we have been catching have been decent size anywhere from 5-8lbs with a few bigger ones mixed in. The bottom fishing report this week has been very good with some nice catches of yellowtail snappers as well as a few mutton snapper also, all these species are being caught while on the anchor and chumming. In the deeper bottom fishing areas there has been some jumbo vermillion snappers and a few yellow eye snapper as well. When the conditions allow for it the bottom bite has been the go to for putting some fish in the box for a great dinner. This week please be sure to take a look at some fo the great photos of some catches that were caught while out 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. On the horizon coming up we have a full moon approaching which in august is usually a great time for wahoo in our area so be on the lookout for that in future reports. One thing is for sure the heat is here to stay right now and I think to a point it does effect the fishing in certain ways just like to effect us a human beings. When the sun is at its highest like around 12 noon it seems that the fish take a little bit of a break due to the heat. This time of year I always recommend going early or late so keep that in mind if your looking to get out fishing. For the month of August we have a good amount of availability so if your coming down to south Florida especially Fort Lauderdale and looking to do some deep sea fishing we would love to show you a great time out there on the water... More Later Capt. Vinnie
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Seaweed Making It Tough In Fort Lauderda
Seaweed Making It Tough In Fort Lauderda
July 23, 2025
Hello everyone, Capt. Vinnie here. This week in Fort Lauderdale the deep sea fishing has definitely been a true grinder and will test you mentally. The seaweed or "sagassum weed" has been a real pain in the you know what, it has been pretty much everywhere from the beach on out to our fishing grounds and it has been making it very difficult to fish on some days and other days there isn't any seaweed as far as the eye can see. There is no way to actually tell if it will be bad the day your charter is, its just a gamble. On days the seaweed is minimal our fishing has been good, on days where it is everywhere and virtually un fishable our catch is really reflecting it. For the most part we have been getting it done some days though it seems by the skin of our teeth, anyways for the report this week trolling has been somewhat productive but this week I would say the afternoon has been the best time to fish, plenty of bonitos still around along with some decent sized king mackerel too. Later afternoons have been producing some really nice blackfin tunas and the occasional wahoo is still in play. Heading offshore for mahi mahi really has been a crap shoot you could catch a few but they might be all undersize or you can spend all day and never find anything thats just the gamble you have to be willing to take if your searching for mahi. Bottom fishing report has been the most consistent thing going right now anchoring up on the reef and chumming has been producing some nice catches of yellowtail snapper as well as a few mangrove snappers mixed in, 60 feet seems to be the sweet spot, although anchoring up does require some current and specialized conditions I have been catching them most every time on the anchor wether there is current or not. This week we did catch one of the biggest trigger fish I think I have ever seen, so make sure to check out that photo. On the days that the seaweed has been everywhere it makes the first mates job 3 times harder due to all the work he has to do in order to keep the baits clean, hopefully in the next few weeks it passes through so we can fish like we normally do. 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 Dania beach fishing out of 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 July we only have a few dates open with availability but the month of August has lots of availability and is one of the better months in my opinion to get out fishing in Fort Lauderdale so if your coming down and looking to do some deep sea fishing look us up we would love to show you a great time out on the water. Capt. Vinnie
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