Special Catch in Fort Lauderdale
December 20, 2020 Dania Beach 4 photos

Trip Summary

Capt. Vinnie here, and we do have a great report for you guys of some great fishing this week in the Fort Lauderdale area. We had a great trip with our friends from Texas where we started out trolling the shallow reef for a great kingfish bite on our deep lines using planers. The kingfish have been biting in depths of 80-110 feet of water using seawithes and bonito strips, the kingfish also have been nice sized as well averaging around 10lbs or so. Offshore lets talk about tuna tuna tuna. There has been lots of blackfin and skipjack tuna offshore in depths of **hidden content** feet of water just off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, the tuna have been feeding on small live baits like sardines and anchovy. The have been easy to locate but hard to get to bite due to all the bait in the water we have been doing best with small feathers fished on very light leaders like 30lb test fished very far behind the boat, when locating feeding tuna you want to try and troll around the fish and not directly through the mayhem, if you decide to go right through the school of feeding fish the noise of the engines will drive them down deep and they will not bite something to keep in mind... There has been a few mahi mahi around as well this is not prime season for them but we do catch them this time of year when trolling offshore for tuna and they are usually a little bit larger them are normal summer time fish. The story behind this report being called "Special Catch in Fort Lauderdale" is due to a fish that we caught with our friends from Texas called an African pompano now this fish is somewhat rare and is not easy to target we usually only catch 3 per year its more of an incidental catch then something we actually target, but in the winter time months there are a few areas in the Fort Lauderdale area that hold them and we decided to make a bottom fishing drop on a shipwreck that we know in the winter time has them, using small live bait called a pilchard we would drop to the bottom and wait patiently, the best part about fishing shipwrecks is you never know what you are going to catch could be a grouper, amberjack, or a snapper, but in this case it was an awesome African pompano, these fish are hard fighters due to there wide bodies and did I mention they are one of the best fish to eat on the table! All in all I was amazed and very happy to go out and actually target a fish that is so rare and catch it is enough for me. Anyways night fishing this week has been good with a great catch of yellowtail snapper as well as some mangrove snapper also, night fishing is great this time of year but remember to dress warm because some of the nights it can be pretty cold. The snappers have been biting best on the reef in depths of 40-70 feet using lots of chum as well as fish silversides and shrimp, and if your looking to catch a shark there has been plenty at night trying to eat our snappers as we are reeling them in. Day or night we got you covered for any type of fishing your looking to do. This week there is availability so if your looking to give someone a holiday gift of fishing we would love to have you, remember to follow us on instagram @Ybnormalsportfishing and like us on facebook for daily fishing reports..... happy holidays 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 captain

Quality Catches In Fort Lauderdale
Quality Catches In Fort Lauderdale
July 15, 2025
Hello everyone, Capt. Vinnie here. Sorry for the delay in reports I've been super busy out there fishing so I haven't been as free to write a report, but fishing everyday is a good thing it means I am dialed in to exactly what is going on in Fort Lauderdale. This week for the report we will start on the reef where the fishing has been very good plenty of action to be had while trolling the reef. In depths around 100 feet there has been a good amount of bonitos as well as a few kingfish some have been on the larger side too. Trolling with fresh bonito strips and sea witches fished under the surface using a planer has been a great combination to get bites. Moving a little deeper to depths around 200 feet there has been a solid blackfin tuna bite, but early has been best. Getting an early start at 7am when the sun is low has been the key to catching blackfin tunas lately. Average size on the tunas has been 5-10lbs with some as big as 20lbs. This week we were able to thread the needle and catch a beautiful wahoo around 25lbs (pictured). The full moon we recently had is a great time to try and fish for wahoo, working the depths from 180-300 will give you the best chance for the unicorn fish. As far as a mahi report right now I heard of a few fish way offshore in about 1,000 feet of water but not enough to make you want to head out there and look for them I would imagine it will be a few weeks till that fishery picks up. There has been a few gaffer size mahis on the reef in around 300 feet, no rhyme or reason just completely random but if they bite we will take them. For a bottom fishing report this week yellowtail fishing on the anchor has been somewhat decent, anchoring up in 80 feet of water and chuming will give you an opportunity to catch snapper and possibly some nice kingfish as well. Keep in mind though the conditions have to be correct for this technique to be effective. Fishing deeper for species like vermillion snapper has been spotty this week we haven't had good conditions this week to target fish like that in the deep there has been no current on the surface and very strong south current on the bottom, but that should change soon with the backside of the full moon. 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 and remember to give us a like and follow on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram @Ybnormalsportfishing for daily fishing content. For the rest of the month of July we do have some 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, on the contrary we did just move to a new location in Dania Beach which is right in between fort Lauderdale and Hollywood. We are closer to the inlet to get out to the fishing grounds and that means more fishing time and less travel time. All in all better for our customers, hope to get you out fishing with us soon. More later... Capt. Vinnie
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Great Start To July Deep Sea Fishing In
Great Start To July Deep Sea Fishing In
July 4, 2025
Hello everyone Capt. Vinnie here. This week we had some pretty good fishing right here in Fort Lauderdale that I can't wait to tell you about. The report this week starting on the reefs edge in about 90 feet we have been doing well on bonitos. Trolling a small spoon in the blue color has been the best bait lately. Also there has been some kingfish around on the troll to, fishing with fresh bonito strips and sea witches. Moving a little deeper there has been a decent bite of blackfin tuna specially on the days the sun is overcast. 200-300 foot has been best on the tuna and most bites are coming on our baits fished below the surface. Offshore report there has been a few mahi mahi around in depths around 700 feet. Most of the mahi have been caught on birds and scattered weediness. Although the size of them has been smaller that I would like there has been some keeper size mixed in with the underside mahi. For a bottom fishing report it has been pretty good when the conditions are right. Anchoring up on the reef has been very productive for yellowtail snappers and a few red grouper. Fishing in the deep when the currents and winds are light for species like vermillion snapper has been good as well. Wreck fishing has been somewhat decent for species like amberjack. This week we did a slow pitch jigging trip and had a very productive day jigging all different depths catching a variety of species like blackfin tuna, bonito, snapper, and amberjack. Remember this week to check out 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. For the month of July the fishing should remain very consistent with lots of days having very calm winds and seas, the bonitos should stay full force for a while and the tuna bite should stay pretty consistent as well, I would imagine for now the king mackeral bite will be spotty till the fall. Mahi has been consistent for now but from what I have seen in the past few years the months of August, September, and October are historically the best time for mahi mahi in our area so there is that to look forward to coming up. If your coming down to Fort Lauderdale and looking to do some deep sea fishing we have a good amount of availability for the rest of the month of July and would love for you to come out with us so we can show you great time out on the water. more later... Capt. Vinnie
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Nice Catches In Fort Lauderdale
Nice Catches In Fort Lauderdale
June 22, 2025
Hello everyone, Capt. Vinnie here. This weeks report is a good one, we have had a little mix of everything somewhat biting right off the coast of Fort Lauderdale. On the reef trolling as been somewhat consistent on days and other days its been very tough. Trolling with baits below the surface using a planner has been the best way to get bites regularly, the hot lure has been a 2.5inch silver spoon. A smaller spoon appeals to a lot of different predator fish like bonitos, king mackeral and tuna. A pink and white seawitch has been a good choice as well. Depths around 150-200 has been the most consistent and early mornings and late evenings has been the best window to catch fish. Bottom fishing this week has been very good, we have had excellent conditions for things like yellowtail snapper as well as deep water bottom fishing for species like yellow eye, and vermillion snapper. When the current is strong anchoring up in water as shallow as 30 feet has been producing nice sized yellowtail snappers. Most important about fishing in shallow like that is to have plenty of chum. If you run out of chum the snappers will not stay. Yellow tail snapper is one of the most popular fish in the Florida keys for dinner, almost every restaurant down there will have this fish as a special for the nights dinner. Yellowtail snapper is one of the best snappers for eating. Now you can't always fish for them the conditions have to aline just like every specific style of fishing. Deep water bottom fishing has been great as long as the tides are at a minimum when the current is to strong its very difficult to be able to position the boat over a spot and be affective at that style of fishing, conditions play a big part in bottom fishing in order to maximize it. Moving offshore there has been some really nice mahi mahi but your going to need to have an all day fishing charter to reach them, they been anywhere from 10-15miles offshore. The best advice I can give is to look for birds they will always be the best hint you can get, but don't ever pass up floating debris and nice weed lines as well. Your going to want to bring live bait with you offshore if you happen to get into a school of mahi you have something to cast to them. 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 in Fort Lauderdale, 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 June I would hope to see some more mahi as well as some afternoons tunas. I believe the bonitos will remain very steady throughout the summer months as well as the kingfish too. If your coming down to Fort Lauderdale and looking to go deep sea fishing we would love to have you out with us and show you a great time out on the water. Capt. Vinnie
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