This morning we started out fishing with Adam, Linsey, Mark (AKA the coach) Thomas and Donnie. They had all come down from Wilmington Ohio to watch their foot ball team the Hawk eyes kick some butt in the orange bowl game.

I’ve got to admit that fishing has been on the slow side due to what they call a blue moon but I just call it a week of a full moon and with having a full moon I believe that the fish feed all night and with little to no current the fish just haven’t been biting as well as they usually do when we have a cold front down here in sunny south Florida.

So having said all that we just wanted to make sure that everyone got to catch fish and also catch a good buzz.

We decided to just stick to trolling the reef first in reel shallow into about 70 feet of water and then back out to about 350 feet of water and just zig zaged our way down the reef.

It turned out to be the right move while we may not have filled the fish boxes everyone caught fish and we ended up with four nice king fish and two bummer bonitos.

Guys thanks again for a fun morning of fishing and good luck with your foot ball game.

As we made our way back to the dock we had Sam, Marcus, Lucas, Dave and Howard from Bristol Ct and from Lowell Ma waiting for us and eager to try their luck at some deep sea fishing.

Once again I’ve got to say that fishing truly was slow today and I know that J.J. had been busting his butt all day just trying to make something happen for all of our anglers today. So in lou of that I thought I would give J.J. a break and I ended up working the cock pit this afternoon and J.J. got to drive the boat and see if maybe he could find the fish.

To make a long story short we while we did end up catching a couple of fish we sure as heck did not fill the fish box. But I’ve got to say that it seemed to bother J.J. and I more than our customers today they all had a ball and are looking forward to their next fishing trip.

I guess a lot of people are just glad to be out on the ocean and away from their everyday work routine. To all of our anglers today Thanks so much and we are very much looking forward to fishing all of you again soon.

Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344

Today we had a shared charter with Francois and his brother Jean from Switzerland who had fished with us a couple days ago and Andy from Atlanta Georgia who now lives down here in South Florida and Danny and his son Cody from Lexington Kentucky.

We started out trolling the reef just trying to get a few fish in the box to break the ice but as it turned out trolling the reef was just not producing any fish.

We were talking about switching up and trying something different as I trolling over a ship wreck when all of a sudden we got a bite. Cody jumped in the chair and the fight was on. This fish was pulling harder than a king fish or a bonito. We figured it was a foul hooked fish so I slowed the boat down almost to a stop when all of a sudden I seen something way back on the surface and it was brown so I knew it was not a king or bonito. As Cody got his fish closer to the boat we could not believe what we had on. It was a 20 to 25 pound grouper. Holly cow a grouper ate a silver spoon. (A spoon is metal artificial bait)

This was the first time I’ve ever caught a grouper on a spoon. Never the less we were all happy about this strange catch. Way to go Cody.

We were all talking about our catch and joking around about it and I said we do this all the time aboard the Hooked Up as a matter a fact I said watch I’ll do it again. (I was kidding) As we trolled around I made another pass over this wreck and I was more shocked than anyone else when BAM the rod bent over again and the fight was the same as the last one. This time Andy jumped in the chair and son of a gun another 20 to 25 pound gang grouper. Way to go Andy.

Well if it worked twice what the heck lets go get another one BUT that was not to happen as you can image I made about 1,000 more passes over this wreck but that was all it was giving up was the two big groupers.

Ok back to trolling the reef. Now it seemed as if the reef came to life Cody caught a big barracuda.

 Francois and his brother were catching bonitos and king one after another and now things were clicking good aboard the Hooked Up.

We ended up with a box full of fish and everyone ate well today.

Thanks again to all of our anglers today. Today will be one of those fishing trips I will always remember.

Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344

Today we were in search of good eating fish and as much action as possible. So we loaded up Larry from South Carolina, Wayne from Tampa Florida, Craig from Houston Texas and Wilbur from Ohio a cooler full of beer and we were all set all we needed now was just a little luck.

As it turned out we had plenty of luck on our side.

We started out trolling the reef catching plenty of king fish and bonitos. As we got to a ship wreck off the coast of Holly Wood Florida we brought in all the trolling gear and sent down a live bait right down on the wreck and BAM the rod bent over and we were Hooked Up.

Wayne jumped in the chair and the fight was on. At first we did not know if Wayne had a fish on or if a fish had Wayne on. (LOL) this fish had no intentions of being caught but after a good 15 min of back and forth fight Wayne finally got this 40 to 45 pound greater amber jack to the boat.

Way to go Wayne and FYI we never did see to much more of Wayne after this fight he seemed to spend the rest of the trip relaxing on the couch in the AC.

After a few laughs and some high fiving we went back to bottom fishing only this time we dropped what we call a chicken rig which is 5 hooks in a row with a lead at the bottom.

We were trying to catch some snappers and that’s just what popped up after our first drop.

We did a few more drops catching snappers and having some laughs.

We ended the trip by going off shore looking for some dolphin fish but sorry to say we never did find any dolphin.

I’m not sure why but this has been the slowest year for dolphin fishing I’ve ever seen. The only silver lining I can think of is that maybe next year will be twice as good.

Guys thanks again for fishing with us aboard the Hooked up and hope you guys enjoyed your fish fry.

Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344

Today we had a shared charter with James and Lorie from Texarkana Texas and brothers Francois and Jean from Switzerland.

Once again we went right to trolling the reef and yes once again there were some king fish and bonitos biting.

After everyone had caught plenty of kings and bonitos we tried slow trolling a live bonito over a ship wreck and BAM we were Hooked Up. This time Lorie got the rod and after a good 15 min of back and forth fight she gat this nice barracuda to the boat.

At this point we had worked our way about 7 miles south of our inlet so we had to run back toward home. As we got to our inlet we decided since we still had one live bonito left in our live well that we would just take a couple min to see if any fish were around the ledge that is just outside of Port Everglades inlet.

It only took about 2 min till BAM we were Hooked Up again with another big barracuda. This time James jumped at the shot of fighting one of these big fish on light spinning tackle.

James fought his fish for about 10 min and just after J.J. grabbed the leader and was about to bring this big barracuda aboard the hooks pulled. (RATS) O well it was still considered a catch since J.J. had the leader in his hand.

I would like to thank all of our anglers today for fishing aboard the Hooked Up and Francois and Jean we are looking forward to fishing with you guys again on Saturday.

Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344

Today was just one of those days that seemed everything thing we did just paid off in a big way.

We started out our morning trip with Jerry and John from Ft Lauderdale and Bill from Texas and Andy from Atlanta Ga.

We started out trolling the reef with 2 planer boards and three surface baits. Today the reef was on fire we were catching king fish and bonitos one after another.
I don’t know how many bonitos we caught but we filled the box with them along with a bunch of king fish to boot.

Once again these guys also wanted some good eating fish and king fish while you can eat it there are a lot better tasting fish out here.

We brought in all the trolling gear and started fishing the bottom trying for some snappers. As luck would have it the snappers were snapping and we caught our limit of snappers in about 45 min.

Guys thanks again and we are looking forward to fishing again with you guys soon.

As we pulled back to the dock we our afternoon trip waiting to give their luck a shot aboard the Hooked Up.

We had Dave and his two sons Matt and Daniel from Cincinnati Ohio.

Once again we went right to trolling the reef and YES they were still biting well and we were catching kings one after another.

Since we only had 3 anglers aboard we could only catch 6 kings due to a bag limit but once we caught our limit we went to a ship wreck and set out a live bonito with 3 big trouble hooks in him.

All of a sudden the water exploded and we were Hooked Up.

After a back and forth fight for a good 15 to 20 min up popped this 50 inch Greater Barracuda. Holly cow this one was a monster!

Way to go guys thanks again for fishing aboard the Hooked Up off the coast of Fort Lauderdale.

Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344

What a great action packed trip we had today with Micki, Howard, Daniel, Sam and Aaron all from Weston Florida.

We started out trolling the reef catching king fish and bonitos. Fishing was good but these guys were looking for some fish for dinner and king fish was just not at the top of their list of food fish.

So we did some deep drops trying to catch some good eating snappers but while there was a few there they just were not biting very well.

Ok time for plane C we set out our live baits hopping for a big bite. BIG BITE was just what we got a big sail fish was all over the bait and Aaron was all about it.

Aaron was in the chair in a flash but at first I think the sail fish was in control. This fish was all over the place at first dancing all over the surface than down deep just digging as if it was never going to stop peeling line off the reel. What a great back and forth tug a war but Aaron hung in there and at last got this nice 87 inch sail fish to the boat.

We got a quick measurement and a couple of photos and watched him swim away in good shape.

WAY TO GO AARON

Guys thanks again sooooo much for a fun fishing trip you guys are first class and we hope to see you again soon.

Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344

Today we had Dan and Randy from Davie Florida and from Adventurer Florida got together and gathered up their kids Drew 7, Dean 5, Gabe 5, and Jaden also 7 years old for a morning of Deep Sea Fishing aboard the Hooked Up.

What a fun action packed morning it turned out to be. We started out trolling the reef catching king fish and bonitos.

 As we worked our way to the south we got to a big ship wreck that lay in about 110 feet of water on the bottom. We set out a live bonito with 3 big trouble hooks in him and from there it only took a fem min till BAM the water exploded and we were Hooked Up.

Line was peeling off the reel and this monster barracuda was jumping and everyone on the boat was hooting and yelling. What a blast. After a good 15 min back and forth fight at last up popped this 42 inch barracuda.

Way to go guys and thanks so much for a fun day on the water.

Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344

September is finally here and so are the king fish and bonitos.

Today we had Vance and his wife Jennifer and their two sons Spencer and Cameron.

We went right to trolling the reef with two planners running about 45 feet down and 3 baits skipping across the surface.

While the king bite was a bit slow today only catching one the bonitos kept us busy catching a box full of them.

Thanks again guys we enjoyed fishing with you and looking forward to fishing with you guys again.

Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344

Today we had Ian and his wife Desire and their two children Carmon and Maya.

They had come down from Lake Shakopee Minn to enjoy a little South Florida Sun Shine.

While the sun may have been shinning I’m sorry to say that the ocean was a bit on the rough side today and we only got to fish for a short while. HOWEVER!! Talk about LUCK J.J. got the baits all suspended from the kites and from that point on it did not take long before a monster barracuda swam up and we were Hooked Up. After about 7 to 10 min Ian reeled in this nice 48 inch barracuda.

J.J. got the baits right back out there and BAM here comes this nice sail fish and we were Hooked Up again. This one gave Ian a little tougher time coming to the boat but after a good 20 min back and forth fight Ian finally got his trophy to the boat.

Way to go guys and Ian looking forward to hunting with you in the next few weeks.

Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344ooked UpH,sdfakopwerkopwermklolookkjklpkomkodfijseirue-v5w0789uefjioSE kopiopjkiopuiopiopiopiopiopiopvffgf.,.

Today we had Steve and Laurel, josh and Mike all from Gaithersburg MD. Trolling was slow today so we got some live baits from the bait boat and went right out to 150 feet of water.

We set out both kites with live goggle eyes suspended from them. It did not take long to get our first bite and it turned out to be a nice barracuda. Right after J.J. got the baits set right back out there and BAM another big barracuda.

Both nice fish but not the monster we were looking for. All of a sudden up popped a sailfish and now we were Hooked Up. Laurel jumped in the chair and the fight was on.

It was a back and forth tug a war for a good 20 min till finally Laurel got this big sailfish to the boat.

Way to go Laurel!!

We ended up with a couple big barracudas one sailfish and a smoker kingfish.

Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344

Ok this one goes to Frankie for the best Father’s Day Present of all.

Frankie got her husband Todd a fishing trip for Father’s Day and today was the day he decided to get together with his close friends and do a bit of deep sea fishing aboard the Hooked Up.

So we loaded up Todd, Tim, Mike, Gus, Pete and Quinde ( from sunny South Florida), a lot of beer and what some of the guys were calling coke in glasses but it was very clear coke and they seemed to be getting happier with every drink they had.

It was pretty clear to us that these guys were out to have a good time and that is just what we did.

We started trolling the reef with 2 planers running 45 feet deep and our 3 surface baits skipping across the surface. But today trolling was just not producing many fish. We caught a couple of bonitos and one king that we almost got to the boat but it was eaten by a big barracuda right behind the boat.

Ok time for plan B we brought in all the trolling gear and set out our kites with 4 live baits suspended from them. We had Pete who kept slamming the door on the boat I think he thought he was attracting the fish with that and we had Gus who decided to take a hit for the team and he started chumming the waters for us. I don’t know which one of these two guys actually attracted the fish but before we knew it we had a sailfish up on our right short kite bait. But this one did not eat.

Within in 10 min we had another sail fish on our left short kite bait. J.J., the mate, tried to feed him the bait but the sailfish got all wrapped up in the line came up jumping and got away. (RATS!)

Ok 2 sailfish up within 10 min we felt we had a good shot at catching one of these guys.

Soon after that we got a bite on our right long kite bait and we were Hooked Up. Quinde jumped in the chair and the fight was on. After a good 8 to 10 min Quinde reeled in this monster barracuda. Ok not a sailfish but a nice fish all the same. 

J.J. got the baits right back out there and all of a sudden another sailfish popped up. This time we got a hook into him and we were Hooked Up.

Tim jumped in the chair and the fight was on. At first this fish was dancing all over the surface but after a while he settled down and just kept digging down. After a good 15 min Mike jumped in the chair to give Tim a hand. (Finally got him to the boat.) Way to go guys!

Now we were looking good and we still had some time left on the clock. J.J. got the baits right back out there and BAM here comes another sailfish. This time Todd jumped in the chair and once again the fight aboard the Hooked Up was on.

This was a back and forth tug of war for another good 20minutes until Todd finally got his sailfish to the side of the boat.

Talk about an exciting morning of fishing!!

Guys, thanks again!  Todd I really think that Frankie needs to spend a bit of time at the mall on you for this trip. (LOL)

Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344

Today Norman from Tuscaloosa Florida was entertaining about 15 colleagues that own assisted living facilities all over Florida. We ended up using 3 boats to get all of them out fishing and also put together a little tournament.

Ok let me introduce the players.

Aboard the Hooked Up we had Norman, Rich, Joe and Emit.

Aboard the Marlin My Darlin we had Rick, Jeff, Dion, Worley and Bob.

Aboard the Local Knowledge we had Cliff, Scott, Bob, Tony and Kent.

All the boats seemed to start out trolling the reef catching king fish and bonitos. However, we knew that these guys were calling each other saying that they had caught this and that but all the Captains knew that we were all catching the same fish, kings and bonitos.

After a couple hours of trolling the reef the boats and Captains started making their moves for bigger and more fish.

The Marlin My Darlin went off shore looking for some dolphin fish while the Hooked Up set out some live goggle eyes (Live Bait) and started slow trolling in hopes of finding a sailfish. While the Local Knowledge bottom fished.

The Marlin My Darlin struck out off shore never finding any dolphin fish. Aboard the Hooked Up they got one shot at a sailfish but never did get a hook into him. However ,the Local Knowledge started out catching snappers to try to catch the most fish then they clinched it by landing a 60 pound Amber Jack.

Way to go to all the guys aboard the Local Knowledge they walked away with everything.

Norm thanks again it was a blast and we all can’t wait till next year to try it again. And to all of our anglers today thanks again for a great time.

Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344

Today we had Amanda and Jim from Dallas Texas out for a few hours of deep sea fishing aboard the Hooked Up.

Trolling had been producing fish for us all week so we went right back to trolling the reef.

We set our two planners out running about 45 feet down along with three surface baits skipping across the surface.

When I say that the bonitos were biting like mad dogs I just don’t know how else to put it. I’m not sure how many we caught let along how many we threw back. But I think it was somewhere around 1,000,000,000 (LOL) Along with a couple of KingFish.

Guys thanks again for a fun morning of fishing and sorry about your foot ball team I just don’t think this is the year for the cowboys (LOL)

Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344

Today we had a shared charter with Willy from Westin Florida and Nick from New Jersey.

Getting fish in the box was the plan today and the best way of doing this was once again trolling the reef with two planners running about 45 feet down along with a few baits skipping across the surface.

Once again it was the planners that paid off in a big way. The kings were there and hungry so we ended up with a box full of kings.

Willy and nick thanks again for fishing with us aboard the hooked up and Willy we look forward to fishing with you again in October to catch you that sail fish you want.

Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344

Today we had Ashley and Alex from Switzerland and Alan from Ft Lauderdale out for just a few hours in the late afternoon for a bit of deep sea fishing.

Now I’ve got to say that there is nothing better than writing a great fishing report about what a good day of catching we had aboard the Hooked Up.

BUT if all my reports were about how great the fishing was every day well let’s just say that is just not fishing and I am sorry to say that today was one of those slow days on the rip.

We started out trolling the reef knowing that was going to be our best shot at throwing some fish in the box but today in the late afternoon it just was not happening.

We managed to catch a couple of king fish with our planners but that was it.

So we switched over to some shark fishing but once again no luck.

Alan thanks again for your patience and remember we owe you one.

Guys it would be a lot easier if I just skipped this report but I pride myself on telling it like it is and most of the time we get the best of the fish but once again it is fishing NOT CATCHING.

Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344