Special Catch in Fort Lauderdale
December 20, 2020 Hollywood 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
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

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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June Deep Sea Fishing In Fort Lauderdale
June Deep Sea Fishing In Fort Lauderdale
June 11, 2025
Hello everyone, Capt. Vinnie here. This week we had some great deep sea fishing right here in Fort Lauderdale. Summer is in full effect, summer heat possible afternoon showers too, but the fishing has been pretty good to say the least. For the report this week starting on the reef the trolling bite for species like king mackeral and bonito has been some what good. Just pass the reef in 100 feet is where most of the action has been taking place. Using a planner to take the bait down below right into the strike zone has been the best choice to get bites. Fishing fresh baits with seawitches is going to be the go to choice for kingfish and as for the bonito a blue 3.5 inch spoon as been just plain deadly. In the month of June and July the seaweed can be a real pain with the water being warm, some days the seaweed has been non existent and other days it has been as bad as it can be. These conditions alot of time will dictate where and how you we be able to fish. Other then trolling the bottom bite has been pretty good with some nice catches of vermillion snappers as well as a few porgy. We also did some wreck fishing this week and caught a larger amberjack about 40lbs. (pictured). Coming up on this full moon, it might make some of the currents a little stronger then normal so bottom fishing for species like snappers could be a little difficult with a stronger tide. Heading offshore there has been dolphin or mahi mahi out there if you have a longer trip. The direction of the wind really dictates where the fish will be. When you have more easterly wind for a few days the fish are closer to shore but if it turns more west the fish move offshore, that can play a huge factor in location. Best advice is to be on the lookout for birds as well as floating debris and seaweed patches. These clues will give you the best chance to produce fish. This week please take a minute to 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. Coming up for the next few weeks the weather should be excellent although hot, the fishing should be good as well. We should start to see some solid bonito and a kingfish on the reef and hopefully the tuna will be back too, offshore for mahi should remain very steady throughout the summer months. If your looking to do some deep sea fishing down in south Florida exclusively fort Lauderdale we would love to have you out fishing with us and show you a great time on the water. More later... Capt. Vinnie
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Hot Fishing Before The Summer Heat In Fo
Hot Fishing Before The Summer Heat In Fo
June 1, 2025
Hello everyone Capt. Vinnie here, what great week of fishing right here in Fort Lauderdale. We have had a hot bite going on right now with a few different species. The report this week the reef is where the majority of the action has been. In depths as shallow as 100 feet the king mackeral bite has been outstanding. Fish anywhere from 10-25lbs have been being caught and in good numbers. Trolling with baits under the surface has been working the best in order to get bites. Fresh bonito or mullet strips are going to be the key. Other then kingfish the great bonito run has started for us here in Fort Lauderdale and even though bonito are not great table fair they are one of the most important fish to catch in charter boat fishing. They are excellent bait for multiple things including trolling and bottom fishing, also bonito are very hard fighters. Moving a little deeper in depths from 180 to 300 feet we have been catching some quality blackfin tuna. The tuna bite has been best early in the morning and late in the afternoons, pretty much when the sun is at its lowest points during the day is going to be your best window if your looking to catch tuna. Offshore the mahi mahi have been fairly consistent, some days have been better then others just like all fishing but for the most part you can find them daily if your offshore. My advice like always when heading offshore in search of mahi is to look for signs of life and something to fish to, for example birds, flying fish, seaweed, etc. Taking the time to look for these type of clues are going to give you a better chance at catching fish and possibly save you alot of time out there. 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 and remember to give us a like and follow on social media platforms like facebook and instagram @Ybnormalsportfishing for daily fishing content. Coming up here for the month of June, fishing should be very consistent and some great calm weather as well. One thing that I think will improve is the mahi fishing I think we will start seeing some bigger fish and more of them, so that would be a positive. If your thinking about coming down to south Florida exclusively Fort Lauderdale and looking to get out to do some deep sea fishing we have some availability for bookings the next few weeks and June is a great time to get out deep sea fishing here. Look us up and we will show you a great time out there on the water. Capt. Vinnie
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