Updated: Thursday, May 14, 2026 · Next update: Thursday, May 21, 2026
This Fort Lauderdale fishing report covers mid-May, when the offshore game takes over. Mahi reach full peak in the Gulf Stream, daytime swordfishing picks up, and inshore the tarpon action shifts to a strong night pattern in the canals and the Intracoastal. Mahi are the lead target, with good color changes and weedlines running 8–12 miles offshore. Plan around light southeast winds, ideal for running offshore through Friday, and the Saturday new moon, which sets up strong night tarpon fishing and an excellent dawn beach window.
What’s Hitting
Mahi-mahi lead. Boats running east 10–15 miles to the color change and any weedline find scattered schools of schoolies with bulls mixed in. The daytime swordfish fleet gets busy, with decent numbers of fish in the 100–200 lb range and the occasional bigger fish in the mix.
Tarpon roll at the bridge fenders along the New River and 17th Street from full dark to about 2 AM. Snook are on the beach in good numbers at first light.
Where to Find Them
Mahi action is best at the 14-fathom curve east of Hillsboro Inlet and at the Hillsboro Ledge. Run east 8–12 miles to the color changes and work any weedline or floating debris. Daytime swordfish boats drop in 1,500–1,800 feet, mostly 1,500–1,700 feet east of Port Everglades.
The tarpon night action fires at the New River fenders, the 17th Street Causeway pilings and the Las Olas Bridge from 9 PM to 2 AM, and the Port Everglades Inlet produces on the outgoing. For beach snook, the standout is the half-mile of beach immediately south of Hillsboro Inlet.
Tides & Conditions
Expect water temperatures of 79–81°F. Light southeast winds are forecast all week, with ideal offshore conditions through Friday. For swordfish, the best window is the slack high tide. The new moon on Saturday sets up strong night tarpon fishing and an excellent dawn beach window. Beach snook run from sunrise to about 9 AM, and the Port Everglades Inlet fishes best for tarpon on the outgoing after dark.
Tackle & Tactics
- Mahi: ballyhoo on light skirts is the standard troll. Pitch live pilchards or chunks to floaters and fish under birds.
- Swordfish: rigged squid on electric reels in 1,500–1,800 feet.
- Canal tarpon: live shrimp, small pilchards or a dark fly worked slowly at the lights. A dark fly throws a strong silhouette against dock and bridge lights, which helps tarpon track it.
- Beach snook: DOA Bait Busters and live pilchards worked through the wash.
Local Intel This Week
Hillsboro Inlet’s south beach at dawn is the consistent snook spot from sunrise to about 9 AM; get there before sunrise and work the wash with live pilchards or DOA Bait Busters. Anglin’s Fishing Pier gives shore anglers a way onto the beach, and George English Park offers public Intracoastal access for the canal and bridge tarpon. The Port Everglades Inlet produces tarpon at night on the outgoing, and the New River bridges, Las Olas and 17th Street, load with rollers after dark. Check current FWC and federal regulations and seasons before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
Let the birds find the fish. Mahi hold on weedlines and debris 8–12 miles east, and frigatebirds track mahi chasing flying fish, so a working bird often marks a school before any weedline does. Run the color change watching the sky, and when you find birds, pitch live pilchards or chunks underneath them.
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