Fort Lauderdale, Florida
http://www.ladypamela2.com
954-761-8045
BIMINI BITE REPORT
Ft Lauderdale is the gateway to the Bahamas. Due to the lack of local charter boats in the Bahamian islands, the best way to sport fish and explore the islands is to charter a boat from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Only 50 nautical miles from the South Florida coastline, Bimini is a prime fishing destination.
It all started with Lou’s wife, Anna. She was looking to surprise her husband and ship him and his three buddies off to the Bahamas for a weekend getaway with the guys. None of them had ever been to Bimini before, so they flew over a week before to check it out and they fell in love with the islands emerald waters and tropical atmosphere. A two day trip to scope out the island was all it took; Lou, Jose, Daniel and Garry were heading to Bimini to catch fish, eat freshly cracked conch and come home with a great story…or two.
Friday morning was the big day; the Frequent Flyer II was ready to go, with every fishing lure, rod and reel you could imagine. We blasted out Port Everglades around 1 PM and arrived in Bimini to clear customs just before happy hour. Jose and all his buddies got situated into their lush Bimini Bay cottage around 5 PM as the Frequent Flyer II docked at Bimini Blue Water Resort. We had big plans for Saturday morning so we let our anglers enjoy their first night on the town as we got all of our deep drop gear in order for an 8 AM start. Captain Peter and I are very familiar with Bimini’s waters and reef system and know of several great Yellow Eye Snapper spots we hit up a few months back. Deep dropping it was in 850 ft! We couldn’t have asked for a better bite, it was instant. The Yellow Eye action was non-stop; we caught 30 big boys and left ‘em biting. Our secret spot has never let us down.
The Bahamas basically serves as a hotel for Game Sharks and Lou was interested in getting his hands on maybe a 10 ft Tiger or Hammerhead to tell his buddies about back home. Bimini Harbor it was! The kite went up with a live goggle eye along with three fresh shark baits on the bottom. It didn’t take long before we got the bite. Peter yelled down “Big Blue Marlin on the left short!” I pushed the boat ahead to set the hook and we had him on. It wasn’t a Blue; it was a huge Sailfish starting his series of jumps right before our eyes. Lou jumped into the fighting chair without even thinking about it. Fighting the first game fish of our trip was the only thing on his mind. Twenty-four hours into our fishing trip and we had a cooler full of Yellow Eye’s and a Sailfish fight to rave about. I’m pretty sure every body went to bed beat, but anxious for another great day of fishing.
We got a head start on Sunday morning and said adios to Bimini. Trolling gear immediately went out and we were expecting anything. About 8 miles offshore a gaffer size Mahi – Mahi ate, weighing in around 25 lbs. After we got a few pictures of our first dolphin, he went straight in the box for dinner and we starting running back towards South Florida. Captain Peter and I were up on the bridge when I noticed another big Mahi swimming along side the boat. I spun the boat around quicker than ever, Peter pitched him a bait and we were hooked up! That dolphin jumped on our bait and didn’t hesitate. Jose reeled in the second Mahi of the day. To make a long story short, we landed another 25 lb’er before we arrived back at Lauderdale Marina.
Our three day Bahamas extravaganza turned out to be one helluva fishing trip with a great group of guys!
Tight Lines!
Captain David Ide
E-MAIL: ladypamela2@bellsouth.net
954-761-8045