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 charter

Spring Time Fishing Is Here
Spring Time Fishing Is Here
March 15, 2026
Hello everyone Capt. Vinnie here, this week we had a really nice change of pace as the fishing started to heat up from what it has been. Trolling has begun to pick up decent this week with some nice catches of king mackerel and some large barracudas which have been biting good in the morning trips. Afternoon trolling is where majority of the action has been taking place. We have been catching some really nice sized blackfin tunas this week while trolling in depths around 200 feet. The later in the afternoon the better the bite. The best trip for that is going to be the 6 hour afternoon trip, with the time change we just had and being out there till 7pm your going to get that sunset window of fishing. Other then trolling this week live bait fishing on days there is wind to use the kites has been productive for larger fish, like kings, as well as jumbo tuna and sailfish. Live bait is not always going to be the best for action but it is going to be the best for bigger fish. Something good to remember before your trip depending on what you want to try and catch. Last but not least bottom fishing this week was very productive for vermillion snappers. March is a tough month to bottom fish because it is one of the windiest months we have and the conditions don't always line up for that type of fishing, but that few windows that we do get to do that it can be very good. Depths around 300 feet was the best this week with some jumbo vermillion snappers around 4lbs. 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, also 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 March we have select availability for fishing charters but for the month of April many dates remain. We have just gotten a taste of spring fishing this week and i would imagine its going to get better and better as April approaches. I would expect to see a few wahoo in the mix as well as lots of King mackerel and some really large tunas. Check back soon for new reports and pictures of some great catches. If your coming down to Fort Lauderdale and looking to do some deep sea fishing please look us up we would love to show you a great time on the water. More Later.... Capt. Vinnie
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Windy Week In Fort Lauderdale
Windy Week In Fort Lauderdale
March 8, 2026
Hello everyone, Capt. Vinnie here. Just like the title says thats exactly what it has been this week here in Fort Lauderdale. Windy conditions and big seas, which would mean that spring is here. For the fishing this week lets just say its been all over the place. The full moon that just passed a few days ago definitely hurt the fishing it has been a slow pic to best describe the bite. Now that the moon has passed we did start to see some really heavy tides. Strong northern current has moved in on the edge of the reef bringing new water constantly throughout the day and there has been some fish with it. Sailfish is still the popular topic and some days they have been biting super well and other days they have been impossible to find. For the most part this week with all the wind we have been having, kite fishing has been the best way to fish comfortably. With the live baits we have been seeing a good amount of mahi mahi although this is not the season for them a lot have been on the smaller side but just seeing them is a sign of a good season to come, we also have been catching some really nice sized blackfin tuna on the live baits some close to 25lbs. All in all there has been some good action on days and other days have been quiet, but it has been nice to see a variety of fish around. Other then live bait with spring being here there has been some nice amberjack that have shown up on some of the wrecks right off the coast, depths around 220 feet has some great shipwrecks to fish that hold some big fish. Last but not least we did have a great catch of some yellowtail snapper this week when the conditions all lined up correctly. We anchored up in around 70 feet of water and used lots of chum and some light tackle and we were able to catch 40 keeper snapper being our 4 person limit for the day. Im thinking for the week to come that the blackfin tuna are here to stay for right now as well as the mahi that are trickling through daily. Sailfish seem to be somewhat of a battle daily but if you want to catch them you have to fish for them plain and simple. With these rougher days there is a chance that you could hit the jackpot specially while live baiting there is always a chance of a large yellow fin tuna, so you just never know what you might catch out there. Looks like for the coming week the wind is not going to back off just yet so we will grind it out and hopefully continue to pick away at some quality fish. Please take a minute and check out some of our great photos of some recent catches that were caught while out on our deep sea fishing charters in Fort Lauderdale, Dania beach, and Hollywood 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 March we have plenty of availability so if your coming down to south Florida and looking to do some deep sea fishing we would love to show you a great time out on the water. more later... Capt. Vinnie
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Spring Fishing Is Coming
Spring Fishing Is Coming
March 1, 2026
Hello everyone, Capt. Vinnie here. Its been a super busy week for us here, lots of deep sea fishing charters and we are very grateful for all of our customers. For the report this week it sure seems like things have slowed down a bit from what it was a few weeks ago and thats normal. Fishing goes through a lot of ups and downs throughout the year. Its not always going to be great fishing just like its not always going to be slow fishing either. The weather patterns play a big role in fishing and it seems like right now we are in a transition period where things are moving towards spring from winter. Fishing wise sailfish is still the hot topic right now in Fort Lauderdale, the days that we have been having steady winds from the east have been the better conditions for fishing lately. Kite fishing with live bait still remains in my opinion the best way to produce fish but some days have been better then others. Trolling has been decent lately but it has been producing a variety of different species but not to many of one type. Kingfish, blackfin tuna, barracuda, mahi mahi are a few of the types of fish that have been biting via trolling. There is a full moon coming up this week so there could be a few opportunities for wahoo so be on the look out for that is next weeks report. Last but not least anchor fishing on the reef for species like yellowtail snapper has been very good when the conditions allow for it. The best winds for that type of fishery is going to be light winds from the east or south and northern current to take your chum right down the reef, we had a great trip this week doing that type of fishing catching 40 yellowtail snappers. Yellowtail snapper is one of the best eating snapper that we have available here in Fort Lauderdale and is a favorite of the florida keys as well. This week please take a minute 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. Coming up for the month of March i would imagine we are going to see the fishing overall as a whole pick up. Larger tuna should be in the mix as well as kingfish showing up too. Looking like for the week ahead there is going to be some steady wind from the southeast at around 15-20mph that should be just what we need to jumpstart the fishing i have big hopes for this week. Time will tell. As for the month of March spots are filling up quickly but there are still a good amount of spots available, so if your heading down to Fort Lauderdale and looking to do some deep sea fishing look us up we would love to show you a great time on the water. More Later.... Capt. Vinnie
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