Winter Mixed Bag
December 16, 2019 Dania Beach 5 photos

Trip Summary

This week on the YB Normal out of Fort Lauderdale Florida we have had what we like to call a mixed bag of fishing, which means for those of you that don't know what a mixed bag means its basically a mixed catch of species, a bunch of different kinds of fish are biting but but there isn't a steady catch of a certain type of fish. Anyways this week we have had a very good tuna bite In the early morning trips when the sun seems to be overcast, our best baits have been small lure like baby feathers and small spoons trolled on the planner at fast speeds, some of the tuna species the we have been catching are blackfin tuna and skipjack tuna both are great eating either sushi style or cooked. There has also been a nice bite of mahi or dolphin, this time of year when we have easterly winds of over 15mph for a few days in a row it tends to push the dolphin within a few miles of shore, and in fort Lauderdale you don't need to go far offshore to reach deep water, which is great because on a half day deep sea fishing charter you can actually go deep sea fishing, There should be some nice dolphin catches this winter so stay tuned for some great photos, dolphin or mahi are great gamefish because they are colorful and very acrobatic as well as very good table fair. Night time fishing has been very good for yellowtail snapper as well as mangrove snapper but this time of year can be tricky due to the weather, if the ocean is calm and the winds are light the night time snapper fishing will be best, strong winds and big seas makes it tough to anchor on certain areas that we fish, we have been doing very well on some of the deeper reefs in the 75-90 feet of water on the larger yellowtail snapper up to 3lbs, overall It has been a great week with a nice variety of different fish biting all good eating too! The fishing should continue to get even better and we should see some sailfish showing up very soon! If your ever in the Fort Lauderdale area and looking to do some deep sea fishing check out the YB Normal Sportfishing you wont regret it! Capt, Vinnie
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

New Year Fishing In Fort Lauderdale
New Year Fishing In Fort Lauderdale
January 7, 2026
Hello everyone Capt. Vinnie here, been a super busy week with a lot of charters, i personally want to thank everyone that came out fishing with us new and repeat customers. For the report this week fishing has been a true grind, some days have been literally not a bite till the last minute of the trip and other days a bite right off the bat and then no bites the rest of the trip. Thats how it goes this time of year the cold weather has a big play on the way the fish are going to bite, but patience pays to those that wait. Fishing this week the hot topic would be sailfish, we have been catching a few sailfish live baiting with a kite, depths around 150 feet seem to be the magic number where the sailfish are coming threw. Live bait may not get the most bites but usually the bites you do get will be quality fish. Other then live bait trolling has been very slow and it seems its wahoo or bust. Just coming off the full moon we did manage to get one wahoo and we worked hard to get that bite. The best trolling bite right now is going to be that late afternoon bite for those blackfin tunas, around 3pm is when they have been biting the best up until dark. Smaller spoons have been having the best luck and the blackfin tuna have been all different sizes from 2-15lbs mixed in with the tuna has been a lot of bonito as well. Bottom fishing this week has been the most consistent bite we have been having and has literally been the go to when all else fails, a mix of a few different snappers have been biting, yelloweye, vermillions, and lane snappers have been very prevalent on most bottom spots around 200 feet. We have also been catching some of the biggest gray trigger fish I think i have ever seen. All these species are great eating and can be a huge difference maker in having a great trip to a slow one. This week please be sure to take a look and 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 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 next few weeks i would imagine we would possibly see a spike in the sailfish action as well as the afternoon tuna fishing really heating up. Bottom fishing will continue to remain consistent as long as we have the conditions to do so. For the rest of the month of January we have plenty of availability so if your coming down to south Florida and looking to do some deep sea fishing we have plenty of different trips to choose from to suit your needs, and we would love to show you a great time out on the water... more later... Capt. Vinnie
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Pre Christmas Fishing In Fort Lauderdale
Pre Christmas Fishing In Fort Lauderdale
December 23, 2025
Hello everyone Capt. Vinnie here from the command center here, for this week we get ready for one of the busiest weeks in charter fishing here in Fort Lauderdale. The fishing aspect of things can be a little tough during this time of the year, there are a lot of things that play a part in that and majority of it is the weather. Cold fronts and constant winds changing directly can hurt the bite at times. For the report this week sailfish is the hot topic, we have been getting a chance at a sailfish almost every trip weather we are trolling or live baiting. This time of year we tend to put away a lot of our trolling gear and break out our live bait tackle. The sailfish bites we are getting have been all over from depths as shallow as 80 feet to as deep as 400 feet and a lot of that depends on wherever the bait is, flying fish, ballyhoo etc. Other then sailfish right now we are still seeing a consistent bite of mahi mahi which is very odd for this time of year but we will take it. All of the mahi have been scattered all over just like the sailfish they go where the food goes. Average size on the mahi have been around 10lbs, the perfect size for a great dinner. Other then the previous species mentioned last but not least blackfin tuna have been showing up on the afternoon trips. Something special seems to always happen when the sun is low in the afternoon. The primary method to catch these tuna is going to be trolling, smaller lures like spoons and squid skirts are going to get the most bites right now, as we approach closer to spring time we will start to see some larger blackfin tuna and those are going to be caught more on live bait. 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. This week and next week are very very busy weeks for sport fishing charters but lucky for you there are some spots available so if your coming down for the holidays and looking to do some deep sea fishing we would love to show you a great time on the water, remember fishing makes a great gift specially for families to get out and enjoy something together. From all of us at the YB Normal we want to thank all of our previous customers and new customers for coming out fishing with us over the year, we wouldn't be were we are today without you guys, on that note we would like to wish you a happy holidays and a Merry Christmas... more later.. Capt. Vinnie
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Back In Action In Fort Lauderdale
Back In Action In Fort Lauderdale
December 14, 2025
Hello everyone Capt. Vinnie here. I want to take the time to apologize for the lack of reports last week. In my previous report i was saying we were going to be doing a lot of work to the boat at the spa aka "boat yard" and we wouldn't be fishing for the next few weeks, but we are back now and the boat is looking better then ever for all of our customers to enjoy. It did take longer then expected but hey not every puzzle piece is going to fit just right the first time. Anyways enough about that, lets get to what you really come here for the fishing! For the report this week i would have to honestly say that things have slowed down a bit and thats standard issue for this time of year with cold fronts and weather changing constantly. Anyone that says the fishing is good all year round is lying through there teeth. Anyways fishing has slowed down a bit from what its been and honestly it just cant be good all year everyday its not possible, but if you are patient great things come to those that wait. The reef has been where most of the action has been and believe it or not mahi mahi have been the most common catch. Mahi specially in our area are a summer time and fall fish with winter time being rare to catch them but for some reason they have been biting in shallow on the troll, and with live bait. Trolling as shallow as the edge of the reef and as deep as 300 feet has yielded the best results, for the most part they have been scattered so a little luck is needed but they have been good size as well anywhere from 10-20lbs. Other then mahi there has been some sailfish around on the live baits being fished from a kite. Afternoons specially late afternoons have been as good as a guarantee for blackfin tuna, trolling is going to be the best method and smaller baits are going to get the best results. Average size on the tunas has been on the smaller size but thats standard for this time of year, even though the tuna maybe small they are still great eating and make wonderful poke bowls and sushi tuna. Last but not least the bottom fishing report is starting to heat up and this is the time of year is when i do the most of it, we have been seeing some larger yellow eye snappers right now on deep bottom spots around 400 feet. On the shallower spots around 200 feet we have been seeing some very nice porgys as well as vermillion snappers. This time of year when conditions are right bottom fishing is a great way to put meat on the table. Please take a chance and check out some of the great pictures of some recent catches that were caught while out on our deep sea fishing charters including a yellow eye snapper almost 10lbs, 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 next few weeks as of right now we have some availability for fishing trips and fishing makes a great gift specially for the holiday season. So if your coming down to Fort Lauderdale and looking to get out on the water we would love to show you a great time out there.. more later... Capt. Vinnie
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