Today we had Jack, Travis, and Ed, from right here in Fort Lauderdale that wanted to catch some yellowfin tuna. We decided to make the run first thing in the morning so we caught 700 pilchards and loaded up our live wells the night before. We left the dock at 6:00 am and headed 79 miles northeast of Fort Lauderdale. It makes for a long trip, and fuel prices are high, but if you get lucky and find the fish, it is well worth the trip.

Once we got to the tuna grounds we were finding birds crashing bait but we were not catching the tunas. Ed was discouraged, and ready to go home after the first few flocks of birds didn’t produce fish, but I wouldn’t let him. We finally found the fish, and Jack caught a nice mahi-mahi. We started live chumming with the pilchards and all of a sudden there were mahi–mahi everywhere. We caught 7 mahi-mahi right away, and as we were live chumming and chunking, the yellowfins showed up. They too were everywhere around the boat, and JJ and I began casting baits. We hooked four huge yellowfin tunas right away and the battle began. It was all we could do to fight these fish on 50 lb smoke-colored Sufix® fishing line, with InvisiLine 60lb fluorocarbon leaders. The smallest fish was 65 lbs and we boated six nice yellowfins in all. This trip was a lot of work, but it was so much fun! Hurry up and give me a call, we have two more months of tuna fishing.

 Tight Lines,

Capt David Ide

954 761 8045

www.ladypamela2.com

Today, Al and I had a few guests on the morning trip. We trolled for a few hours with fresh bonito strips behind planer boards. The first two hours were slow, but the last few hours made up for the whole trip. We caught a nice size sailfish and one kingfish after the other. It was nonstop action! I haven’t seen the king mackerel bite like this in a long time.

It is trip days like this make me happy.

This afternoon a friend of mine Plaxico went fishing with Al and I just to relax; but also hoping to catch a sailfish. We had caught that nice one in the morning so I told Plax there would be a good chance that we could catch a nice sailfish in the afternoon. We tried for a few hours but could not get a bite, so we went sharkfishing in 350 feet of water. We had nice fresh kingfish and some fresh bonito, and I thought with a 1.5 knot north current we would get some action. After three hours though, there was no action at all.

Towards the end of trip I decided we should try a shipwreck on the way home. It was getting dark but I wanted to catch some fish. On our first few drops we missed a few bites and I wasn’t very happy, but on the last drop we hooked up and Plax got in the fighting chair. A monster amberjack gave him the workout he wasn’t quite expecting! Some people think reeling in fish is easy, but when it all comes down to it; there is no machine in the gym that can prepare you for fishing! Nice job Plax!

Tight Lines,
Capt David Ide
954 761 8045
www.ladypamela2.com

This year has been a weird weather year but the fishing has continued to be red hot. We just had a rare late-April cold front move through Fort Lauderdale and the sailfish started to bite again. We caught four nice fish the day before and three more today. I heard of some boats landing six or more fish, depending on how long they stayed out. That’s spectacular sailfishing for the end of April! We are using live goggleyes and kite’s for the sailfish, and the bite has been in 100 – 140 feet of water with a very strong north current.

We have also been trolling for, and catching bonitos and kingfish, along with mahi-mahi. They have been hitting sea witch feathers tipped with bonito strips, pulled behind planer boards. We are using planers that dive 50-75 feet under the surface. We are also hooking up a few wahoo and blackfin tuna on these planers.

Drift-Fishing

Daytime

The past few days we have been catching plenty of v-liner (snappers), grunts, and kingfish. We have also had a few blackfin tunas, and bonitos. These fish are being raised on ballyhoo chunks and sardines.

Nighttime

The nighttime snapper trips continue to be very productive. The past few weeks we have been catching lots of gray snappers, yellowtails, muttons, and vermillion snappers. We are landing some nice groupers with the snappers, but unfortunately they are strictly catch and release until May 1. On our nighttime snapper trips we anchor up in depths ranging from 45 to 90 feet of water on our reef system. We run out a nice meaty chum slick with the current and the action heats up in no time! Come on out and have some fun!

Today Mike and I had two half day charters on the Lady Pamela IV. On the morning charter we had retired NFL quarterback Elvis Grbac and his family out fishing for a four hour trip. We caught a few live baits then went to a shipwreck about 5 miles north of Port Everglades inlet. We baited the rods and on the first drop on the shipwreck we hooked a massive fish. Elvis’s son had a great fight on his hands, but he finally brought in a huge amberjack. We trolled around for another hour or so with no more bites, and then tried a few hours of sharkfishing. The amberjack ended up being our only bite but at least we caught a nice one.

Afternoon

 On the afternoon charter Mike and I caught some more live baits and then trolled for a few hours with no bites. We moved out into 350 feet of water and sat there for three hours, again with no success. It was just about time to reel everything up and go home when the mid bait rod bent over and we were hooked up.

Caitlyn, our 17 year old angler out with her father fought the mystery fish for a good 30 minutes before we caught a glimpse of a huge Mako shark. These are open ocean sharks that are only occasionally found closer to shore, so this was an exciting catch. Makos feed on swordfish, and we have been catching some swords during our nighttime swordfishing trips, so that may explain the presence of Makos in the area. This fish was a beauty, tipping the scales at 300 lbs and measuring over 8 ½ feet. Way to go Caitlyn!

Tight Lines,
954 761 8045
www.ladypamela2.com

The spring fishing season has started to heat up, and our anchor snapper trips on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights are becoming popular. These trips run from 7pm-11pm, and with daylight savings time we are catching both the dusk bite and the nighttime bite.

Last night, Adam and Joe had 10 people on our snapper trip, and they caught 40 assorted snapper, including yellowtails, vermillions, grays, and a couple of muttons.

April 7, 2012

Today the Lady Pamela IV and the Lady Pamela I each had two half day charters, and both crews were kept busy. Our anglers on both boats caught a few mahi-mahi and some kingfish in the morning trip. On the afternoon trip the Lady Pamela IV caught a few kingfish and a huge hammerhead shark out in 350 feet of water. There is nothing like the sound of line singing off of a 130 lb reel, with the rod bent nearly double to get our angler’s adrenaline going!

The next few months offer prime opportunities for shark fishing, particularly for hammerheads. We see plenty of the bigger hammerheads migrating through south Florida during April, May and June. These monsters cannot resist big kingfish or bonito strips fished on the bottom. Fort Lauderdale is the place to be if you every want to do battle with one of these titans. Come on down and give us a call.

TIGHT LINES,

CAPT DAVID IDE

964 761 8045

WWW.LADYPAMELA2.COM

Today, Darin and I were joined by Marc and his family from Ohio, for a day of fishing here in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We started the first few hours of the trip trolling for kingfish and tuna on the reef, working fresh ballyhoo and bonito strips from 80 to 350 feet of water. We had a few bites on the planers in 120 feet of water, but no good hookups. We finally caught one of the kingfish nipping the baits, then reeled everything in and went shark fishing. We put fresh baits out on the surface and on the bottom in 350 feet of water and it didn’t take very long before we hooked a monster on the bottom. We got Marcs’ son in the fighting chair for a long battle that none of us expected. The fight went on for over an hour before a 10 foot long hammerhead shark was up beside the boat. What a great fish. Way to go guys!

One of the other Lady Pamela boats had a full day charter with Captain Justin and mate Pete. They caught a few mahi-mahi and some kingfish in the morning. Then around 12:30 pm Justin called me to say they had hooked a white marlin in 650 feet of water while mahi fishing. Angler Cody fought the fish for 25 minutes before landing the nearly seven foot long fish. White marlin are an awesome, though infrequent catch here in South Florida. Nice job Cody.

March 31, 2012

Drift-Fishing

Last night the Lady Pamela III went out on the 7-11 night snapper fishing trip. On these trips we anchor up and chum for four hours, and the last few weeks have been very productive. We have been averaging 50-80 snappers on these night trips, so grab a rod or use one that we provide, and come on out and catch some dinner. There is nothing better than fresh broiled or grilled snapper with a nice lemon caper butter sauce. Or how about Bahamian-style baked snapper with tomatoes and onions? Got your mouth watering? Give us a call!

Capt David Ide

954-761-8045

Today Eric and a friend joined Chris and I for a six hour afternoon fishing charter. We picked up a dozen goggleyes on the way out and put the kites up in the air once we got to 350 feet of water. We set out one big dead bait and three live baits on the kites, plus two big shark baits, one at 150 feet under the surface and the other one on the bottom. During this initial set we saw anglers on a boat next to us catch a 150 lb tiger shark, so we were thinking it was our turn next. Sure enough, Chris yells down that there is not a shark, but a big mahi-mahi trying to eat the big shark bait on the kite. We tried to reel the dead kingfish slab away from him to pitch him a live bait but he wanted that dead bait, so on the third try we hooked him. Eric’s friend reeled in a beautiful 40 lb mahi-mahi.

We sat for another hour with no bites, so it was time to make a move. Chris and I had been talking the day before about a big shark hanging around a particular shipwreck. This fish had been tearing up the big amberjacks that we would hook over this wreck, leaving our anglers with only heads to bring in. We decided that today was a good opportunity to target that shark so we ran Eric up there to try and catch this sea monster. On the third try we hooked a monster bull shark that Eric fought for two hours. Day had turned into night before finally catching this huge beast. It was easily 550-600 lbs, and in the darkness it was fearsome looking. Great catch Eric!

Tight Lines,

Capt David Ide

954 761 8045

www.ladypamela2.com

Driftfishing Charters

Captain Adam and mate Joe hosted ten anglers on the driftfishing boat for our Saturday night six hour snapper trip. The team ran south for a while before deciding to anchor up in 70 feet of water. The spot they chose was the sweet spot as the anglers ended up catching 140 snappers, including muttons, yellowtails, mangroves, lanes, and a few others. They weren’t all keepers, and some had to be thrown back, but everyone brought home plenty of dinner! This definitely rates as one of the best nights of snapper fishing we have ever had.

March 18, 2012

Today Darin and I had two trips and the fishing was great. We were catching plenty of blackfin tunas in 350 feet of water. These fish were ranging from 3-8 lbs, a little on the small side, but good eating nonetheless. We also caught a few mahi-mahi in the 8-13 lb class trolling fresh ballyhoo’s and bonito strips.

On the afternoon charter our clients wanted to go sharkfishing so we went out to 350 feet of water and put out three big shark baits; two blackfin tunas and a kingfish. It wasn’t long before we got a bite on the bottom bait. This was a powerful hit, with the rod bent nearly in half. We gunned the boat ahead to set the hook as we got angler Shawn in the fighting chair. The battle was on, and 45 minutes later we had a huge hammerhead shark behind the boat. Some great pictures of this champion fish were taken, and then we tagged it and released it.

March 19, 2012

One would think that I would do something else besides fish on my day off, but today the weather was perfect for daytime swordfishing, so my friend Jack and I decided to go. We cruised out to around 1400 feet of water and at about 10:00 a.m. made our first 4 drops. There was no action, so we moved north 7 miles and reset our baits. On the fifth drop, we got a strong bite from what seemed like a good fish and we set the hook. Unfortunately, the hook pulled with the fish about 200 feet from the boat. We ran back to the same place and dropped again, and got a few more bites, but no hookups.

We did hear a great story from another angler to the south. He radioed to tell us he had hooked up a 350 lb sword that racehorsed to the boat, then jumped right onto the gunnel, halfway into the boat! Had he gotten all the way in, that green fish could have shredded the cockpit! Luckily, they were able to get the fish back into the water, wear it out, then boat it properly. We didn’t have that kind of excitement, but it was a nice day to be on the water.

Today was very fun day fishing with Jeff Neal, and friend Brian. I recently met these great guys out at the Safari Club International convention in Las Vegas. Jeff is a world renowned hunter and outfitter who books some of the best hunts in the world. He’s been organizing quality big game hunts since 1975. Today he was looking to catch a sailfish so we left the dock early in the morning, running 40 miles south, hoping to get into some of the sails that I had heard were off Miami. It was a quick trip with triple Mercury Verados wide open on the 36’ Invincible! After filling our baitwell with live baits we set up the kites out in front of Miami.

We caught our first few fish right around 12:00 noon today, with Jeff hooking into a monster hammerhead shark on 30 lb test, fighting the behemoth for over an hour. During Jeffs’ hammerhead fight we kept baits in water hoping for other action, and sure enough, Brian was able to bring in a couple of mahi-mahi while the shark was still on! Jeff finally got the leader to the boat and everyone got a good look at the shark before it broke the leader and swam off. We continued kitefishing the rest of the day, with a few kingfish and mahi throwing hooks, but no sails. Jeff did catch another thrill though, as a nice cobia snatched a bait off the kites. Overall, it was an awesome day listening to stories of Jeff’s hunting trips around the world. Not too many people have travelled the way he has. I can’t wait to get together again with the guys this summer! We’ve planned six days of fishing in Bahamas that should be a blast.

Tight Lines,

Captain David Ide

954-761-8045

www.ladypamela2.com

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

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.

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