Ft. Lauderdale Drift Fishing – September 2020

Two for one red grouper caught recently aboard the Catch My Drift.
Two for one red grouper caught recently aboard the Catch My Drift.

The kingfish bite on the reef will be hot this month for the Fort Lauderdale drift fishing boats. The huge schools of bonitos, which had all but taken over the reef over the past couple months, are fading away. Kingfish once again will reign the reefs here in Fort Lauderdale. September is a great month for kingfishing. The best kingfish bite is typically between 90 and 140 feet of water, on the green side of the color change and especially around the inlet during the tide change. Most of our autumn kings range in size from 6 to 15 pounds, with a few very large smokers caught now and then. This time of year, a sneaky blackfin tuna or wahoo also might be caught on the drift. The hour and a half of the incoming tide is a great time to fish a fast whip jig for wahoo and tuna, both of which prefer a faster moving bait.

Bottom fishing will also be very good for the drift boats this month. Add a few ounces of lead to a drift bait and now you’re fishing for mutton snapper and grouper on the bottom. Mutton snappers are biting great this month, usually best on the afternoon drift and night anchor trips. September is traditionally one of our best months in Florida for mutton snapper. The cobia should also start moving through soon. They are curious fish and may swim right up to the boat to see what is going on. Keep a pitch bait ready to toss, just in case a cobia or other cool fish swims up on you. You never know what you may hook into this time of year.

Good luck fishing out there everyone. I’ll sea ya on the water.

Capt. Paul Roydhouse
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