September has been good to us here in Fort Lauderdale, besides all the hurricanes. TS Fay and Hurricane Ike just missed Fort Lauderdale, but we still felt winds up to 45 mph and rough seas. We're in the clear now, seas are calm and the fish are around.

After storms, fishing is unbelievable. The North current and the gulf stream brings all the debris right to Fort Lauderdale and debris usually means FISH! When trolling around debris, it's a win win situation; dolphin, tuna and wahoo are present.

Trolling offshore has been productive lately, too. King Mackerel's, Spanish Mackerel's, Wahoo's, Black fin Tuna's and Sailfish are showing up in good numbers.

September and November is the start of Sailfish season. Sailfish migrate moving down from the north right to our doorstep = South Florida! Live bait dangling from the kites really catches their eye. Sailfish season is one of my favorites, watching them jump behind the boat and reeling them in is a blast.

Just a few miles offshore Ft Lauderdale, there are several ship wrecks and artificial reefs. These wrecks are home to thousands of fish, large bottom fish, game fish and sharks. Large tackle and a large weight is the only way to go when fishing these wrecks. When live bait hits the bottom, it's usually an instant bite if somebodies home. Your catch may include Amberjack's, Warsaw's, Mutton Snapper's, Cobias and Bullsharks. These are large fish we're dealing with and man do they put up a good fight.

Several long hours of daytime swordfishing have been spent aboard the Lady Pamela II lately. Daytime swordfishing is a recent trend off the Fort Lauderdale coast and we have been innovative in tweaking our own strategies and it's working out well for us. Swordfish are primarily night feeders, but apparantly they eat during the day as well. A long leader, a 10lb lead and a 400lb test with a dead squid sitting on the bottom in 1800 feet of water is the trick. Manual or electric reel depending on your preference, but that bait is a long way down and you will most likely be handing it off to your buddy!

Sailfish season here we come.

Tight Lines!
Captain David Ide
Lady Pamela II