Luis Perez

July is behind us and here we go into another action packed August.

We started out August fishing with Phil, Jacky and Steve all from Orlando Florida.

We started out trolling the reef trying to catch a few king fish and bonitos but what we ended up with was a box full of bonitos and our limit of king fish in no time. Than we worked our way to a ship wreck and set out a couple of live baits over the wreck and I've got to say the barracudas were snapping. They ended up catching 4 barracudas and one of them was a monster.

As we pulled back to the dock we had our afternoon trip there waiting for us and after them seeing the catch we had had in our morning trip expectations were high and we had a hard act to follow.

Once we got Cheryl, Steve, Brad and Brent all from Alberta Canada aboard we headed right back for the reef to see if we could do it again. Once we got all of our trolling gear set out there the fun began. The kings and bonitos were not biting like they were in our morning trip they were biting even better and the action was pretty much none stop. Once again we had our limit of kings and a box full of bonitos we worked our way back to the same wreck we had fished this morning. We set out our live baits and started working our way around the ship wreck and (BAM) once again the barracudas were there and biting. This afternoon they seemed to be even bigger fish. We only caught 2 but they were both over 50 inches long.

What a great way to start off August thanks again to all of our anglers today.

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

Aug 4

Today we had people from all over the country fishing aboard the Hooked Up.

We had Mike and his 6 year old son Jack from Jasonville, Joe and Marlene from Houston Texas, Ron from right down here in Fort Lauderdale Florida and Joe from Kissimmee Florida.

We set out our 2 planers running about 45 to 50 feet deep and we also set out 3 surface baits and started trolling down the reef. As it turned out we had made the right move the king fish and bonitos were snapping and everyone caught plenty of fish. We had our limit of king fish and I'm not sure how many bonitos we ended up catching but let's just say that there were so many the our mate Captain J.J. was giving Captain Greg a look that could kill (LOL)

What a fun action packed morning of fishing thanks again to all of our anglers today.

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

Aug 5

Today we had a family from Lakeland Florida Steve, Heather, Casey and Heather all out for a morning of deep sea fishing.

Once again we went right to where we knew the fish had been biting on the reef. We set out our trolling gear and yes once again the kings and bonitos were biting. Everyone had caught fish when all of a sudden we got a bite that was bigger than all the others. Casey jumped in the chair and the fight was on. It took Casey a good 7 to 10 min to finally reel in his catch. It turned out to be a nice barracuda. Nice going Casey. Thanks again guys for a fun filled morning of fishing and we are looking forward to fishing you guys again in Jan when the sail fish are here.

Captain Taco (954) 764-4344

Aug 6

Today we set out for a morning of fishing with Becky and Blake from British Columbia Canada and Dan from San Antonio Texas.

We set out 2 planner boards about 45 to 50 feet deep and 3 bonito's strips skipping across the surface. And once again the kings and bonitos did not let us down. They were biting like mad dogs and everyone one caught a lot of fish. We ended up with our limit of king fish and a box full of bonitos.

Fishing action has been pretty much none stop on the reef lately and the sail fish are just starting to show up so give us a call and let's get you HOOKED UP

Captain Taco (9540 764-4344 or toll free (877) Sea-4344

Aug 7

Today we had Neal who is in the service based out of San Antonio Texas down here in sunny South Florida visiting his girl friend Kimmie and they decided to spend the day deep sea fishing aboard the Hooked Up.

We started out trolling the reef catching some king fish and bonitos. Things were going good and we were catching fish but they were really looking for some good eating fish for a fish fry later on today. Now we knew that there has not been a lot of dolphin fish caught lately but Neal said he had plenty of beer to drink and if we found them great and if not O Well he had plenty of beer to drink. (LOL)

So off shore we went hoping for the best. We were trolling off shore for a good 30 min when all of a sudden we heard Captain Greg yell from the cockpit (there he is!) As I turned around I saw this blue marlin trying to eat one of our baits. It only took a couple of shots at our bait then faded off into the deep blue but what a sight and I had a good feeling that we just might find some fish off shore after all.

As we worked our way further off shore we found a good weed line and we started working down the line. I think that Neal had gone down stairs to use the bathroom due to all the beer he was drinking when all of a sudden there was a big splash by one of our baits line started peeling off the reel and we were Hooked Up. Since Neal was nowhere to found Kimmie jumped in the chair and the fight was on. By the time Neal came back outside Kimmie was fighting this monster dolphin fish and all there was for Neal to do was to cheer her on. It was a back and forth tug a war for a good 15 min before Kimmie got her fish close enough for Captain Greg to get a gaff into him. Nice fish Kimmie a 24 pound dolphin. We were all feeling good now well almost all of us Neal was a bit disappointed he did not get a shot at catching this one but hey we still had some time left and the way thing were going for us we figured we'd get another shot at some more dolphin fish.

As luck would have it we did get another shot as a matter a fact we got covered up with dolphin and we ended up catching 3 more dolphins at the same time.

Neal and Kimmie thanks again for a fun day of fishing and we're looking forward to fishing with you guys again soon.

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

Aug 8

Today we had all locals from down here in sunny South Florida fishing with us. It was Connie's boy Dale's birthday and she had chartered the boat and invited a few of their friends Aaron, Kevin, Brain and Gene to spend the morning out fishing with them.

We went right to the reef which had been producing fish for us all week and today was no exception. We set out both planner boards and 3 surfaces baits and started trolling down the reef. We ended up with some king fish some bonitos and 4 barracudas. Nice going guys and Dale Happy 40th.

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

Aug 9

Today we had a bunch of guys from Sebring Florida down to celebrate one of their friends Birthday. It was Jeff's birthday and Tom, Michelle, Todd, Paul and Eric thought that was a good enough reason to come on down to South Florida and do a bit of fishing.

All of these guys had done their share of fishing in the past and they were really looking for some good eating fish. So once again we started out on the reef doing some trolling for king fish and bonitos. After a good hour of trolling the reef and catching some kings and bonitos we decided to give fishing off shore for dolphin fish a shot.

So off shore we headed but the further off shore we got the more boats we seen and the water still did not look that good. We decided it was time to change plans.

If the bottom fish were biting we told them we would catch more than enough fish for their fish fry. As luck would have it we went over a ship wreck and dropped a chicken rig all the way down to the bottom. For those of you who might not know what a chicken rig is it's 8 foot leader with a lead at the bottom and 6 hooks tied in a row above the lead just far enough away from each other so they can't touch each other this way they don't get all tangled up.

We dropped our rig to the bottom and right away the rod started bouncing all over the place and we knew we were getting bites and had found the right spot to fish.

We ended up catching more than enough snappers for dinner.

Guys thanks again for a great day and Jeff once again Happy Birthday and enjoy dinner guys.

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

Aug 9

Today we had two dads with their sons fishing aboard the Hooked Up. We had Tom and his son Nick and Mike and his son Nick they were all from Philly.

We intended to troll the reef to catch some king fish and bonitos but what we got was that the reef was so full of bonitos that no other fish had a chance at getting to our baits. I do know how many bonitos we ended up with but I will say more than we wanted. We tried fishing a bit deeper and then we tried fishing closer to shore with no getting out of them. We did manage to catch one nice barracuda but all in all everyone had a great time reeling fish in one after another.

Thanks again guys now go home and rest those arms (LOL)

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

Aug 11

Today we had a father and son team Bill and Trey from Dallas Texas and Rossi and Sonny from Ohio.

We headed right out to the reef about 2 miles off the coast

of fort Lauderdale and started trolling with two lines down deep and three on the surface. Once again the kings and bonitos did not let us down. Then after everyone had caught fish we went to a ship wreck in about 110 feet of water and set out a couple of live baits on a wire leader and caught a big barracuda.

Thanks again Guys.

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

Aug 12

Today we got to the dock with no trips on the books but at the last second a guy named Herman from Stanford Ct walked up and was looking to do some fishing for a few hours. As we were getting the boat ready Herman walked down to the store to get a few things for his trip and came back with his wife Antonia and his two grandsons Herman and Isaiah.

So off we went heading straight for the reef again knowing that we had a good shot at catching everyone some fish pretty quickly. And yes once again the reefs paid off for us and we caught plenty of king fish and bonitos. Now that everyone had caught fish in fact some of them were getting tired of reeling them in we decided to go for a big fish.

We went to a ship wreck that lied about 210 feet of water and we sent down a live bait. The bait hit the bottom and the rod bent over. That's right that fast as soon as it hit bottom we were Hooked Up.

Little Herman jumped in the chair and the fight was on. The only problem was that this fish was winning this fight it was all little Herman could do to hold on to the rod. Ok time to make a few adjustments here. We got little Herman to get up for a second and Big Herman sat in the chair and than Little Herman got in his lap AND NOW THE FIGHT WAS ON. What a ball!! It was a back and forth tug a war for a good 15 min but at last the Herman's got this monster amberjack to the surface.

This fish weighed over 45 pounds WAY TO GO Herman.

I would love to post this great shot we got of Herman and this fish that was bigger than him but we are still waiting for Big Herman to send us the picture.

Thanks guys for such a fun day on the water.

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

Aug 16

About 2 weeks ago I got a call from a Susan out of Wisconsin who after talking to her a bit turns out that she grew up down here in Ft Lauderdale and was going to be here in town with a bunch of her coworkers and was looking to set up a fishing trip. So far so good right? Well as it turned out she went to a high school down here that was a big ravel to the high school I went to. The reason I am writing all this down is because somehow I had to get a shot at her during our fishing trip but I'll get to that later.

Ok so Susan brought along Liz from New Orland's and her daughter Katie from Baton rouge La she also brought along John and Joy from my home town New Jersey and last but not least Akbar from Dallas Texas.

So we set out for the reef the same as we had been doing all week in search of some king fish and bonitos but today was a little different and the current had stopped and so had the fish. We trolled for over an hour without a bite. Time to make a change and we needed to make a change fast because John was not feeling all that good nor was Katie.

I worked our way over to a ship wreck and dropped a live bait down to the bottom and from there it did not take long. The rod bent over and I went ahead with the boat trying to drag the fish away from the wreck before he got a chance to get us back into the wreck. Once we got far enough away from the wreck it was time for me to get my shot into Susan and she got in the fighting chair. I've got to say that by the sounds coming out of Susan I got my revenge she got her butt kicked. It was a big back and forth tug a war for over 15 min but I must admit she hung in there and ended up landing a 50 pound amber jack. (Way To Go Susan) At this point John was starting to turn all different shades of green and I knew that we would only have time for one more drop. Once again as soon as we hit bottom we got Hooked Up and this time Akbar jumped in the chair and again the fight was on. This one only took Akbar about 5 min to reel in and it turned out to be about a 15 pound amber jack.

I think I could have gotten John to give me a million $$$$ dollars to bring him back in but everyone agreed and we headed back to the dock.

Susan Thanks again so much you were a ball to fish with and John thanks for hanging in there remember no more foot long hot dogs before you go fishing.(LOL)

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

Aug 17

Today was a real family affair we had grandparents Elaine and Richard from Detroit Michigan and mom Sherri from Davie Florida daughters Ally and Christen also from Davie and their good friend Morgan also from Davie Florida.

We started out trolling the reef with a couple of lines running down deep about 45 to 50 feet down and three lines skipping across the surface.

Once again the reef trolling paid off for us we ended up with a box full of a bonito and three barracudas.

Captain Taco 99540 764-4344 or toll free (877) Sea-4344

Fish Species: King Fish, Bonitios, Baracudas,Dolphin Fish Sharks ECT
Bait Used: Live and Dead
Tackle Used: rods and reels, Kites and planners ECT
Method Used: Trolling Deep drops kite fishing ECT
Water Depth: 100 to 350 feet
Water Temperature: 78
Wind Direction: South East
Wind Speed: 5 to 15 knots





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Luis Perez

About The Author: Captain Luis Perez

Company: Taco's Hooked Up Sportfishing

Area Reporting: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Bio: My name is Taco and I run the best Fort Lauderdale fishing charter in South Florida! Heck, you won't have a better time on any fishing boat from West Palm to Miami. Why, because you get a sport fishing captain who has fished the waters of Fort Lauderdale for over 20 years. I know where to fish and how to fish for sailfish, marlin, tuna, dolphin, barracuda and just about anything that has gills.

954-764-4344
Click Here For Past Fishing Reports by Captain Luis Perez