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

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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Catching Nice Fish In Fort Lauderdale
Catching Nice Fish In Fort Lauderdale
May 26, 2025
Hello everyone, Capt. Vinnie here, this week we had some great fishing just like expected for this time of year right off the coast of Fort Lauderdale. I have a nice report for you guys, just on the edge of the reef the kingfish action has been about as solid as it can be. Depths around 100 feet have been the sweet spot, trolling has been the best method to get bites. Although this week the kingfish have been smaller in size than previous weeks they make up for it in sheer numbers. I have been having the best luck with fresh mullet strips and seawitches. Other then kingfish right now on the reef the bonitos have showed up as well, although there not great eating they are a good fight and very important for us in order to have fresh bait daily to catch other predator fish. Still a few sailfish around on the reef as well if you wanted to fish with live bait and of course if the seaweed will let you! Moving offshore the mahi action has been very consistent right now. The best action has been when the wind is barley blowing and the ocean is glass calm, when you have those type of conditions it helps the seaweed form in a line and makes it easy to locate. Seaweed lines in around 800 feet have been where the mahi have been. Surface baits with fresh strips and a chugger style head has been our go to, the key is the chugger style head because some days the weeds are more scattered then other days and this style of lure tends to not catch as much weeds and give you more time fishing and less time shagging weeds. Also when your offshore looking for birds is going to help increase your odds to catch fish, birds in the area is a good sign that there is life so very important to look for birds. If live bait is available I would say its smart to bring with you just incase you happen to get into a school of mahi. Last but not least moving back inshore late afternoons have been very productive for blackfin tunas, we have been catching some nice sized ones with live bait. Live pilchards on super light tackle is the ticket as well as being out there in what we call the witching hour. Depths from 160-220 feet has been the most productive. You can still catch the tuna trolling but your going to catch the smaller ones, when I say smaller I mean anywhere from 3-6lbs, if you want the jumbos close to 20lbs live bait is going to help make that happen. 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 to finish out the month of May and to start June off we have plenty of availability for anyone that is looking to come down to south Florida especially the Fort Lauderdale area and do some deep sea fishing we would love to show you a great time on the water... Capt. Vinnie
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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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