ReelCaster

Fort Lauderdale Fishing Report & Forecast

Today's best window: 1 PM to 4 PM

Do I need a license in Fort Lauderdale?

View Fort Lauderdale fishing map

The next 14 days in Fort Lauderdale

Data from: ECMWF + GFS + BlueCaster

  • Two weeks ahead

    Most forecasts stop at the weekend. This one runs a full 14 days, so you can pick the day before you book the time off.

  • One number, out of 100

    The best score anything in Fort Lauderdale reaches that day. Green is good, amber is fair, red is slow, and you can read it from across the room.

  • 11,424 scores behind it

    34 spots, every hour of every day, out to 14. This row is the best of them.

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Nov 13

Hour by hour today at Biscayne Creek

All times EDT

  • One real spot

    A city has no tide or wind of its own, so this is Biscayne Creek, the most fished spot in Fort Lauderdale, scored for King Mackerel.

  • Six readings, one clock

    Tide, current, wind, sea, air and sky, all lined up on the same hour, so you can see what is actually driving the score.

  • Currents, not just tides

    Modelled flow for the water off Fort Lauderdale, so you can see slack coming before you leave the dock.

Conditions
Time
11 AM
Now
Score
58
Fair
Tide
2.4 ft ▲
Flooding
Current
—
Flood
Wind
12 kn
E · steady
Sea state
Easy
2 ft @ 6 s NE
Air temp
83°
Warm
Weather
Partly cloudy
69% cloud
Hour 11 AM. Score 58 Fair. Tide 2.4ft Rising ▲. Current +1.3kn Flood. Wind 12kn E G16. Sea 2 ft @ 6 s NE Easy. Air 83.3°.

The spots people actually fish in Fort Lauderdale

28 more on the map

  • A year of catch reports

    The order here is how much each mark actually gets fished, not today's guess. The busiest water in Fort Lauderdale comes first.

  • Today's number too

    Beside each name is the best score that spot reaches today, so you can weigh a proven mark against a good forecast.

  • Every spot has a page

    Its own chart, its own species and its own rules, worked out the same way as everything above.

Every spot we score in Fort Lauderdale

Bathymetry: NONNA-10 + NRCan

  • Real charted seabed

    Depth soundings, not a stock map. The banks, reefs and drop-offs are where you can see them.

  • 34 spots, all scored

    Every spot we cover around Fort Lauderdale, each one carrying its own number for today.

  • Point at any of them

    The name, how busy a mark it is, and the tide, sea and seabed at its best hour.

Create custom spots

Our full model on your custom private spots.

  1. Drop a pinAnywhere on the water. The ledge you found, the bay nobody talks about.
  2. Name itYour name for it, not ours. It stays private to your account.
  3. Choose speciesPick what you fish there, and it starts scoring from the next run.

What you can keep in Fort Lauderdale today

  • King MackerelKeep2 a day · min 24"Open at all 34 spots we cover
  • DoradoKeep5 a day · min 20"Open at all 7 spots we cover
  • WahooKeep2 a dayOpen at all 7 spots we cover
  • Yellowtail SnapperKeep10 a day · min 12"Open at all 27 spots we cover
  • Common SnookKeep1 a day · min 28"Open at all 27 spots we cover
  • Mutton SnapperKeep5 a day · min 18"Open at all 34 spots we cover
  • Gray SnapperKeep5 a day · min 10"Open at all 27 spots we cover

Rules differ between management regions and change in season. Check FWC for the management region you are fishing before you keep anything.

All 34 spots in Fort Lauderdale

Every spot we cover around Fort Lauderdale has its own page, with the tide, the wind and the next 14 days.

That was one day. Pro opens the next fourteen.

Every spot on this map, hour by hour, two weeks out, with alerts when your water crosses the score you set.

$0 today, then $33 CAD a year, which is $2.75 a month. Card required, cancel any time.

When to fish Fort Lauderdale

Each row is shaded against that species' own best month here, so a dark cell means a good month for that fish rather than a comparison between them.

Relative abundance by month for each species around Fort Lauderdale
SpeciesJanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
King Mackerel
Dorado
Wahoo
Yellowtail Snapper
Common Snook
Mutton Snapper
Gray Snapper

King Mackerel: January excellent, February peak, March peak, April excellent, May fair, June poor, July poor, August poor, September poor, October fair, November excellent, December excellent. Dorado: January poor, February poor, March excellent, April peak, May peak, June excellent, July good, August fair, September fair, October good, November poor, December poor. Wahoo: January excellent, February good, March good, April excellent, May fair, June none, July none, August poor, September fair, October peak, November peak, December excellent. Yellowtail Snapper: January poor, February fair, March fair, April good, May excellent, June excellent, July excellent, August good, September fair, October fair, November fair, December poor. Common Snook: January poor, February fair, March fair, April fair, May excellent, June peak, July excellent, August good, September fair, October good, November fair, December poor. Mutton Snapper: January fair, February fair, March good, April peak, May peak, June excellent, July good, August fair, September fair, October fair, November fair, December fair. Gray Snapper: January poor, February poor, March fair, April fair, May good, June peak, July peak, August excellent, September good, October fair, November fair, December fair.

  • King Mackerel. Fort Lauderdale kingfish abundance builds with the fall southbound migration (late Oct–Dec). It peaks in late winter (Feb–mid-Mar), when Atlantic migratory kings stack along the reef edge chasing ballyhoo, sardines and goggle-eyes, and smokers move north on the spring run through April. In summer most fish push north, so abundance drops but never reaches zero, because resident fish remain over the deeper reefs and wrecks.
  • Dorado. Fort Lauderdale dorado are present year-round in the Gulf Stream, but numbers are lowest in winter (Dec–Feb), when cold fronts make catches sporadic. Abundance builds through March as northbound migrants ride the Stream, peaking from mid-April through May when big schools and gaffers push past along weedlines. Numbers taper through summer as fish move north, then a smaller fall bump in late September–October comes from southbound and resident fish before the winter low.
  • Wahoo. Wahoo off Fort Lauderdale peak in late fall (late Oct–Dec), when cooling water, strong fronts, and migrating baitfish push them along the Gulf Stream edge, with a secondary spring push in March–April. Summer numbers thin as fish spread offshore and north in warm water, but some wahoo remain present year-round.
  • Yellowtail Snapper. Yellowtail snapper are resident year-round on Fort Lauderdale's reefs, so the curve stays broad with no zero weeks. Abundance builds through spring as waters warm and peaks from late May through July, when spawning aggregations form on the reef edges. It then tapers through fall and reaches a mild low in winter, when cold fronts and turbid water push some fish deeper or south toward the Keys.
  • Common Snook. Snook are resident year-round in Fort Lauderdale's Intracoastal, New River, and inlets, so the curve never drops to zero. Abundance peaks from late May through August, when fish stack at Port Everglades and Hillsboro inlets and along the beaches to spawn. A secondary bump in early fall follows the mullet run. The winter low reflects cold fronts pushing fish into canals and warmer backwaters, where fewer are present in the open waters.
  • Mutton Snapper. Mutton snapper are year-round residents on Fort Lauderdale's reefs and ledges. Abundance builds through spring and peaks from mid-April through June, when fish stage and aggregate around the full-moon spawning periods (strongest in May–June). After the summer spawn disperses, numbers settle to a steady resident baseline through fall and winter.
  • Gray Snapper. Gray snapper are year-round residents on Fort Lauderdale's reefs, Intracoastal docks, inlets and nearshore structure, so the curve never approaches zero. Abundance builds through spring and peaks from late June to early July, when adults aggregate on offshore reefs to spawn around the full moons. Numbers ease through fall, and winter is the lowest stretch as cold fronts push some fish deeper or into scattered holding areas.

Before you go

Management areas

Water around Fort Lauderdale falls into one area, and the rules can differ between them. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sets them.

  • Florida Atlantic State Waters: Southeast Region
Licence you need

Florida saltwater fishing license

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission · 2026

Annual, Florida resident aged 16 to 64: $17.00

snook permit $10.00 a year, needed to keep a snook. Boat anglers fishing grouper, snapper or amberjack also need the free State Reef Fish Angler designation.

Anglers under 16 and Florida residents 65 and older need no license. Residents fishing from land can use the free shoreline license, and a pier with its own saltwater pier license covers everyone on it.

Do I need a license in Fort Lauderdale?Buy from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Fishing Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale sits on Florida's southeast Atlantic coast, where the Intracoastal Waterway and inland creeks give way to a chain of inlets and offshore reef lines. Its 36 fishing spots split between sheltered inside waters such as bays, creeks, and points and a stretch of artificial and natural reefs and humps beyond the beach. Common Snook headline the inshore fishery and peak from May through July, while Gray Snapper hold around the same structure with a peak in June and July. Offshore, King Mackerel run strongest from January through March and draw anglers slow trolling along the reef edges, with Mutton Snapper taking over the bottom from March into June and Crevalle Jack roaming both inside and outside waters. The calendar moves from winter kings into a spring and early-summer stretch when snapper and snook carry the fishery.

Common questions about Fort Lauderdale

›Do I need a fishing license in Fort Lauderdale?

Yes. Fishing around Fort Lauderdale needs the Florida saltwater fishing license from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. $17.00 a year for a Florida resident aged 16 to 64 in 2026. The snook permit ($10.00 a year) is needed to keep a snook. Boat anglers fishing grouper, snapper or amberjack also need the free State Reef Fish Angler designation. Anglers under 16 and Florida residents 65 and older need no license. Residents fishing from land can use the free shoreline license, and a pier with its own saltwater pier license covers everyone on it.

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