Seasonal Fishing
Which Fish Are Biting Most in Fort Lauderdale Right Now?
By Nomad Fishing Charters | October 22, 2026 · 8 min read
The Answer Depends on the Calendar
Anyone who gives you one answer to this question is guessing. The bite here turns over every few weeks.
What does not change is that something is always biting. That is the advantage of fishing this coast.
Here is the honest rundown by season, so you know what to expect whenever you are reading this.
Fall Is the Mullet Run
Autumn is the best kept secret. The mullet push down the beach and every predator in the ocean lines up behind them.
Tarpon, snook, jacks, and sharks all feed hard in the wash. It is chaotic and it is close to shore.
Offshore, the kingfish show up and the bottom fishing stays strong. Fall trips often produce the most variety of any season.
Winter Belongs to Sailfish
November through April, the fronts arrive and the sailfish move in tight to the reef edge.
Yellowtail snapper fish well through the winter too, often better than summer once the water clears up. Wahoo show up for anyone willing to troll fast.
When a front makes the ocean ugly, the bay keeps producing. There is almost always a plan B.
Spring Builds
Spring is the changeover. Sailfish taper off, tarpon start their migration, and the first mahi show up in the Gulf Stream.
It is one of the better times to fish here because you have shots at both ends of the calendar in the same week.
Tarpon fishing gets serious in late spring, and it stays that way into summer.
Summer Is Mahi and Bottom Fish
April through August the mahi run, and that is the headline trip.
Mangrove snapper gather to spawn and bite hard. Sharks are active and easy to find. Night trips for tarpon are at their best.
The catch is the weather. Afternoon storms build off the Everglades, so summer trips push early.
What Never Stops Biting
Snapper. Every month, every season. The reef and the wrecks hold fish whenever we can get to them.
Jacks too. They are not glamorous, but they are always around and they pull like a fish twice their size.
That is why our bottom trips are the reliable fallback. If the glamour fish are not cooperating, the cooler still gets filled.
Call Before You Pack the Cooler
A blog post cannot tell you what ate yesterday. The water changes weekly, and the only real answer comes from someone who was out on it.
We fish here every week, so we know what is actually happening rather than what should be happening.
Want the current report? Call Capt. Orly at 786-266-0171 or ask what is biting this week and we will tell you straight.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is biting right now in South Florida?
It depends on the month. Fall brings the mullet run with tarpon, snook, and jacks. Winter is sailfish and yellowtail. Spring is the changeover. Summer is mahi and mangrove snapper. Call us for the current week.
What is the best month to fish here?
There is no bad one, only different targets. Winter for sailfish, summer for mahi, fall for the mullet run chaos, and snapper in any month. Pick the fish and the month follows.
What can I catch if the weather is bad?
Plenty. When a front stands the reef up, we fish the protected bay for snook, jacks, and snapper. It is a different trip, not a cancelled one.
What fish can I count on any time of year?
Snapper and jacks. Both are around every month and both bite well, which is why they anchor the trips we run when the seasonal fish are not cooperating.
