March 4, 5, 6, 2012

A nice cold front moved through the Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale area the last few days which dropped the daytime temperatures to around 60 degrees. The sailfishing is absolutely the best right after these cold fronts, and that’s why people come down here in the winter months. South Florida is the best place around for world class wintertime sailfishing. On just about every trip we’ve been hooking up 1 to 6 sailfish per trip. This is good news because we’ve only had a couple of good cold fronts come through this year. We’ve also been busy catching other fish, including mahi-mahi, a few wahoo, and plenty of blackfin tunas up to 8 pounds. The kingfish continue to be plentiful on the reef.

Driftfishing

The driftfishing here in Fort Lauderdale has also been hot the last few days, with lots of yellowtail snapper, kingfish, bonitos, and gray triggerfish. The gray triggers, which can grow up to 12 lbs, are one of the most underrated food fish around, and many anglers toss them back as “junk” fish. In reality they have excellent food value, it is just that they are tough to clean because of their leathery skin. I have learned from my trips to the Bahamas, that Bahamians, when offered yellowtail snapper or triggerfish, will always take the triggers!

In addition to the traditional driftfishing, we have been running out to the continental shelf for a little deep-dropping for tilefish. This is another tasty fish that are being caught using three hooked ballyhoos and/or a ballyhoo rigged on a yellow or white jig.

Tight lines, Captain David

Feburary 23, 2012

Today was a great day as I got to fish with my best friend Matt, who also worked as my mate for the day. We were booked for an all day swordfishing trip with Wayne and Richard, and we were looking forward to a cool day out on the water. In prepping for the trip, I discussed the Lady Pamela II boat options with the guys, recommending our 37 foot center console open fishermen. This is a great daytime swordfishing boat because we can get out to the fishing grounds quickly, giving us more fishing time one of the keys to successful swordfishing.

It wasn’t long after we left the dock that we were making our first drop. As soon as the baits hit the bottom we had a swordfish, and Richard caught the first fish of the day. Throughout the rest of the day we had a few other swordfish bites but no solid hookups. It was with the last hit of the day though, that we had the big hookup! This fish fought tooth and nail until about 500 feet from the boat when it pulled the hook. That’s the ways it goes with fishing, you win some and lose some! We wrapped up the trip with a nice ride home in calm seas, coming across a huge weedline about 5 miles offshore. There were mahi-mahi everywhere and we quickly caught the guys some dinner to round out another great trip! Is wrong to say that I love my job?

Tight lines.

February 19, 2012

Today was a bit of a smorgasbord of both fish and fishing styles. We started the morning out by trolling for both kingfish and mahi-mahi, catching a few kingfish, but no mahi. In the afternoon we decided to take advantage of 76 degree water and fish for sharks. This kind of warm water in February makes it primetime for big sharks. We moved out to 350 feet of water and put the big fresh kingfish baits out on three 130 Penn International rod/reel combos. We were geared up for the big one and within an hour we had a large game shark on the other end of our line. The battle was on for over an hour before catching site of, landing, and releasing, a monster 14 foot Thresher shark. Threshers put up great fights because they have huge strong tail fins that can be up to half the size of their whole body. What a great way to start shark season! 

  February 20, 2012

This morning, Tom, his wife, and their three little kids fished with the Lady Pamela II crew. We started out catching a few little bonitos for the kids, mainly to get them involved in the fishing, and to have a little fun. We then began trolling for bigger game, catching a few king mackerel to use for shark bait. The mackerel baits were set up in deep water and it didn’t take very long for a huge hit. The funny thing is that it was a huge sailfish, not a shark. What a surprise! I had never seen a sail eat a kingfish! Anyway, we got him to the boat and Tom was simply elated. We reset the shark baits, hoping to catch a huge game shark, but no such luck. Even so, it was beautiful day offshore, with clear skies and 80 degree temperatures. You just can’t beat Fort Lauderdale at this time of year.

Tight Lines,

Capt David Ide

954 761 8045

www.ladypamela2.com