Fort Lauderdale Deep-Sea Fishing Report — What’s Biting ✅ Top Species & What You Can Expect The Best bet during this cold snap is tuna, Wahoo, and Kingfish: These species are appearing around deeper reefs and wrecks — especially later in the day, or near favorable current breaks. Sailfish: Sailfish are showing up with increasing frequency — December is historically one of the stronger months for sailfish action off Fort Lauderdale. Kite fishing with live bait is working well on many recent trips. Mahi‑Mahi (Dolphin fish): Hard to find but, Still in the mix offshore. While mahi-mahi fishing slows somewhat compared to summer, there have been solid reports of mahi-mahi in 200–400 ft of water — especially when seas are a little rough, which tends to push pelagic species closer to the reef edge.