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When most people think of fishing in Fort Lauderdale, the first things that come to mind are dolphin fish (mahimahi) and fighting sailfish, but truth be told, what most anglers opt for when they get on the water are Yellowtail snapper.
Yellowtail snapper are most often found on reefs, so utilizing a good Fort Lauderdale fishing chart combined with an onboard chartplotter and fishfinder is critical. Believe it or not, good Yellowtail days are those with strong currents and cloudy/ murky water.
"If there's no current, there's probably not going to be any yellowtails," says Captain Steve Seigel of Fort Lauderdale Fishing Charters. "It's absolutely critical"
Once you've found your spot, anchor along the deep edge of the reef up current and throw some chum in the water. Some fishermen make their own chum, but the frozen blocks sold at nearly all tackle shops are clean and easy. You'll need at least a couple of blocks for every hour you fish. Chum is critical because you want to get the fish going after all the little pieces of food flowing past them. For this reason, it's a good idea to wait fifteen minutes or more before throwing your lines in the water - a perfect amount of time for your first beer or cocktail.
You can bait your hook with just about anything: shrimp, squid, minnows, silversides. The type of hook is not critical, we've seen success with circular hooks, and shank hooks, but you'll probably want to utilize smaller hooks, even if you're going after larger snapper. Somehow these guys can spot all but well disguised hooks.
The objective with your lines is to let them drift back over the reef along with the flow of chum. Drop your line in the water and keep the spool open so that it drifts naturally. Most likely this will mean holding the rod with one hand and using your other hand to let out the line. You want to keep the bait in motion.
An alternative strategy, which is generally less successful and probably will wind up in you catching grunts and other reef fish is to drop your line down to the bottom and then put a few turns on the rod so the bait is just above the reef. In this scenario, live shrimp seems to work well. But again, you're going to end up wasting bait on things you don't want. Still, this strategy is a lot easier to implement and to explain to young or inexperienced anglers.
Trick of the trade: cloud your bait in rolled oats. That's right, most kids most dreaded breakfast food is a delight for yellowtails. Pour some of the oats into the water each time you cast your bait.
Keep your hand firmly on the line so you can monitor it for bites. When you do get a fish on, fight it hard and get it up to the boat fast. Keep in mind that these Yellowtail are a meal of choice for many large fish and if they lock on to one straying from the school or the reef there's a good chance they're going to try to steal your lunch.
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