The summertime bite is officially in full swing off Fort Lauderdale! We’ve been running hard out of Bahia Mar, hitting the local reefs, wrecks, and deep blue water to keep our anglers’ rods bent. Over our last few outings, the ocean gave us an incredible mix of high-speed surface runs, beautiful color on the wrecks, and pure muscle in the deep.

Here is how the action broke down across our recent trips.

The Catch Breakdown

Blackfin Tuna: Rapid-Fire Action

The Blackfin Tuna blitz has been spectacular. We’ve been finding them consistently in the clean water lanes between 200 and 500 feet. Trolling small feathers and squid spoons has been the ticket to triggering these line screamers.

The absolute highlight of the week, though, was having a young angler step up to the plate. He handled a beautiful, hard-fighting Blackfin like an absolute pro, matching the fish turn for turn until we got it over the gunwale. Moments like that are what family fishing is all about!

African Pompano: Wreck Royalty

When we shifted gears to work the deep wrecks, we struck silver. We managed to trick a gorgeous African Pompano. Known for their brutal downward pulling power and stunning, mirror-like looks, these fish are an absolute trophy on light vertical jigs. They are fantastic on the table and even better on camera.

Dusky Shark: Deep Water Muscle

For the ultimate adrenaline rush, we headed further out to target big game. June is prime time for apex predators off Fort Lauderdale, and the deep blue delivered a massive Dusky Shark. We rigged up the heavy tackle, and it turned into an absolute battle of endurance. After an epic, back-breaking tug-of-war, we brought the powerful predator alongside the boat for a clean release.

Current Conditions & Captain’s Strategy

While the summertime bite is red hot, the ocean is throwing some challenges our way:

The Grass Situation: A heavy push of Sargassum weed has moved in along the coast, which can make a mess of trolling spreads.

The Solution: The key right now is finding the clean water lanes and open edges. When the weed is too thick on top for a clean troll, we pivot immediately to deep-dropping on the wrecks or drifting live baits where we can control the presentation.

The Setup: Light surface trolling rigs for the Blackfins, heavy vertical jigs for the wreck residents, and 80 to 100-pound test heavy tackle for the big game sharks.

Whether you want to watch your kids reel in their very first gamefish, hook a silver trophy on the wrecks, or test your strength against a giant shark, the local waters are producing right now.