Sailfish, sailfish, sailfish! November is one of our best months for catching sailfish, our most sought after game fish. In Fort Lauderdale we have the perfect location for targeting these hard fighting and aerobatic gamefish. The Gulfstream current comes closer to shore in Fort Lauderdale than anywhere on the eastern seaboard of the United States. Just inside the Gulfstream is our 100′ reef that runs parallel to our coast. If you were designing the perfect place for sailfish to congregate, you couldn’t do any better than just offshore of Fort Lauderdale. The narrow strip of water between 100-200ft deep is known as “Sailfish Alley”. It acts as the migrating highway for almost all the sailfish that move northward along the Florida Coast. Nowhere I have ever fished is there such a concentration of these highly prized gamefish. The best technique is a method called ‘kite fishing’. Using kites, we can suspend live baits so that they are held high on the water’s surface, struggling to keep their heads underwater. These struggles send off ‘fish-in-distress’ signals that sailfish can pick up on from a long distance away. Of all the fishing tactics devised to catch sailfish, kite fishing remains the most effective.
Offshore fishing this month is great, too. Mahi-mahi dolphin are biting excellent this year and if last year is any indicator of how this year will be, we caught boatloads of mahi-mahi throughout last year’s November. Mahi-mahi are gregarious fish, so if you hook into one while trolling, look out for more. There probably are more in the area. Usually with dolphin, we catch them underneath floating debris such as boards or seaweed floating on the top of the water. This month, we catch most of them just trolling open ocean. Keeping an eye peeled for birds working a school of fish is always a good idea. Trolling offshore, trying to cover the most territory possible is the way to catch them this month. And when you are fishing this way, usually trolling at a slightly faster clip, you can also entice wahoo or tunas to bite. Wahoo are another offshore gamefish that bite well this month. If sailfish, mahi-mahi and wahoo aren’t to your liking, wrecks hold some nice fish too such as cobia, groupers, jacks and sharks. It’s a great month to come fishing in Fort Lauderdale. Tight Lines!
BIG TIP: Watch and wait for cold fronts this month as cold weather really gets the sailfish frisky!
Capt. Brett Magers
New Lattitude Sportfishing
(954) 707-2147
www.newlattitude.com