Fort Lauderdale fishing report for the week of September 17, 2026. The mullet run has pushed into Broward County in full, and the inlets have been the place to be at first light. Offshore, a nice weedline has set up along the edge and the mahi have been on it. It is a good week to fish both.
What’s Hitting
This week the mahi are the offshore headline. Schoolie to gaffer-size fish are on the weedlines and debris in 300 to 600 feet, with a few bigger bulls mixed in, and the first sailfish of the fall have shown on the edge in 120 to 180 feet. Kingfish and bonito are steady on the reef in 90 to 120 feet. Inshore, snook are stacked at Port Everglades and Hillsboro Inlet on the outgoing tide feeding on mullet, and they are in the surf at first light along Fort Lauderdale Beach and Pompano Beach. Tarpon are rolling along the beaches and inside Port Everglades after dark, and jacks are blowing up bait everywhere.
Where to Find Them
Offshore, run out to 300 feet and look for the weedline, birds, or any floating debris, then troll or run-and-gun along it. For sailfish and kings, the reef edge in 120 to 180 feet off Hillsboro has been the zone. Inshore, the Port Everglades jetties and the rocks at Hillsboro Inlet hold snook on the falling tide, and the beach from the inlet south along Fort Lauderdale Beach has snook and tarpon in the surf line at dawn. The bridges on the Intracoastal light up with snook and tarpon at night.
Tides & Conditions
Moderate tides this week with the first-quarter moon Friday, and the morning outgoing tide has been the best inlet window. Seas have been 2 to 3 feet with a light east wind in the mornings, building with the afternoon storms. Water is in the mid-80s and clear along the beach, and the current on the edge has been running north, which is good for the sailfish bite.
Tackle & Tactics
For mahi, a spread of small ballyhoo and skirted lures along the weedline, with a spinning rod rigged with a live pilchard or a chunk bait ready to pitch at any school that comes up. Sailfish want a live goggle-eye or pilchard on a kite or a slow-troll. At the inlets, live finger mullet on a 5/0 circle hook or a flair hawk jig on 40-pound fluorocarbon for the snook. For tarpon on the beach or at the bridges, live mullet or a large swimbait on 60-pound leader and a heavy spinning outfit.
Local Intel This Week
The 15th Street boat ramp at Cox Landing is the most convenient public launch for Port Everglades, with the Alsdorf Park ramp in Pompano Beach serving Hillsboro Inlet. Shore anglers are catching snook and tarpon from the Anglin’s Pier area in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and along the beach at Hillsboro. Fish are concentrating at the inlets on the outgoing tide and along the beach around the mullet pods. Snook season is open on the Atlantic coast; check current FWC regulations, slot sizes, and seasons before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
When you find a mahi school on the weedline, leave the first fish you hook in the water beside the boat. The rest of the school will stay with it, and you can pitch baits to the others one at a time instead of watching them scatter.
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