# Sunday, October 4, 2026

© 2026 Morning Update · Tides and Fishing: Fort Lauderdale · Mon, 05 Oct 2026 03:08:10 GMT · 5:17

https://morningupdate.org/ft-lauderdale-tides-fishing/episodes/tides-and-fishing-fort-lauderdale-sunday-october-4-2026-2026-10-05/

Maya: Welcome aboard, Fort Lauderdale. This is your Tides and Fishing report for Sunday, October fourth, twenty twenty-six. I'm Maya.
Devon: And I'm Devon. The fishermen are up early tomorrow, so let's give them everything they need for the day ahead.
Maya: Let's start with the water. Tides at Port Everglades from Noah's predictions ran higher than normal today. High tide at two fifty-four this morning at two point nine feet, then a low tide at nine ten this morning at zero point six feet.
Devon: Then the big one. A high tide at three fifty-one this afternoon at three point one feet, flagged above normal. And a low tide at nine fifty-seven tonight at zero point nine feet.
Maya: For tomorrow, Monday, the pattern holds and the highs stay above normal. High tide at four eleven in the morning at two point nine feet, low tide at ten twenty at zero point six feet, high tide again at four fifty-seven in the afternoon at three point two feet, and a low tide at eleven oh two at night at zero point eight feet.
Devon: So the takeaway: we're running higher-than-average tides through the next few days. That's the fall pattern around here. More water moving in and out means more bait on the move, and that is exactly what predators love.
Maya: On to the fishing, and it is a good week to be on the water. The fall mullet migration is going off. Florida Sportsman's South Florida forecast, updated this past Thursday, says huge schools of mullet are sliding south along the coast and pouring into the inlets, including Port Everglades, on the outgoing tides.
Devon: And where the mullet go, the predators follow. Tarpon, snook, big jack crevalles, barracuda, and sharks have been feasting on them, mostly right on the outgoing tide. Plan your inlet trips around it.
Maya: Off the beaches, piers, and jetties, anglers have been catching snook, tarpon, jack crevalles, ladyfish, bluefish, and Spanish mackerel. The bait is everywhere. Schools of glass minnows, pilchards, and finger mullet are thick along the beaches right now.
Devon: Offshore, it is a mixed bag in the best way. Kingfish, sailfish, blackfin tuna, mahi, wahoo, and bonito are feeding on the baitfish schools anywhere from eighty feet out to three hundred feet of water.
Maya: Bottom fishing has been very good. Mutton and yellowtail snappers, porgies, and grunts are coming up over the shallow wrecks and rock piles in eighty to a hundred and twenty feet. Ballyhoo and Spanish sardines have been the top baits.
Devon: And the night bite is on too. The nighttime reef bite has been good for yellowtail snapper, schooled up on the deeper reefs. More on that in our night sky segment.
Maya: A second voice from the docks: recent reports from local Fort Lauderdale captains mention kingfish averaging ten to fifteen pounds, a blackfin tuna pushing thirty-five pounds, and schools of mahi inside two hundred feet that gave up several fish over ten pounds on one trip. Big barracudas are showing up too.
Devon: So the reports are not thin at all this week. The mullet run is the story, and everything that eats mullet is in town.
Maya: Now the marine weather. The National Weather Service in Miami issued its coastal waters forecast at four eleven this afternoon, for the waters from Deerfield Beach to Ocean Reef out twenty nautical miles. That covers all of Fort Lauderdale's water.
Devon: Tonight: east winds five to ten knots, seas around two feet, and the Intracoastal is just a light chop.
Maya: Monday: southeast winds five to ten knots, seas less than two feet, Intracoastal a light chop. Monday night: southeast winds around five knots, seas less than two feet, and the Intracoastal goes smooth.
Devon: Tuesday: south winds around five knots, seas less than two feet, with a chance of showers and thunderstorms late in the day. No small craft advisories are in effect.
Maya: So the go-no-go call is simple. Tonight and tomorrow are a green light for small boats. Light winds, low seas, nothing to worry about. Tuesday afternoon, keep one eye on the sky for those late thunderstorms.
Devon: And now for the night anglers, let's look up. Sunset tonight was at seven oh three, and true darkness settles in around eight twenty.
Maya: The moon is a waning crescent, only about thirty-two percent lit. It set this afternoon at three fifteen and won't rise again until about two eleven tomorrow morning.
Devon: Which means the entire evening is moonless. Anchored over the reefs after dark, you get a beautifully dark sky until the moon climbs back up around two in the morning. Dark skies are kind to the night bite, too.
Maya: Look east after dark and you'll find Saturn, sitting fairly high and unmistakable. And if you're still out Monday evening, catch the International Space Station crossing low in the southwest around seven twenty-seven.
Devon: Viewing conditions are about as good as it gets for October. No moonlight washing things out, and the seas are calm enough that you won't be fighting the boat while you watch the sky.
Maya: One more tide note: Monday afternoon's high tide at four fifty-seven reaches three point two feet. That extra water flooding the inlets and flats can kick the bite into another gear, especially with the mullet moving.
Devon: So here's your Monday plan. Work the morning high tide around four eleven, then fish the outgoing water at the inlets. Offshore, baitfish schools between eighty and three hundred feet are holding the pelagics.
Maya: Keep the live pilchards and finger mullet ready, watch for the birds, and stay out past dark if you can. The yellowtail are waiting on the reefs, and the stars are waiting above them.
Devon: That's your Tides and Fishing report for Fort Lauderdale. I'm Devon.
Maya: And I'm Maya. Tight lines out there, and we'll see you tomorrow morning.