School of Sportfishing at Pier Sixty-Six

The School of Sportfishing at Pier Sixty-Six is an immersive, sportfishing educational program preparing anglers of all experience levels and ages for an on-the-water adventure with Hammer Yachts. Participants will get the chance to expand their knowledge on topics in the classroom with IGFA instructors, including knot tying, bait rigging, species ID, gear and tactics, and IGFA angling rules in a classroom setting at Pier Sixty-Six Hotel and Marina. Then, they will have the opportunity to put all of these newfound skills to the test on board the HammerCatch in collaboration with Hammer Yachts. 

For additional questions regarding this program, please contact IGFA Education Manager Nick DeGennaro at [email protected]. 

Fishing Reports

04/16/26

After a very engaging class, students were more than ready to board the HammerCatch. With a light east wind, Capt. Matt Gittelman was able to cover ground quickly after departing Pier Sixty-Six Marina to the south, looking for a promising piece of water. He throttled back in about 200 feet of water, which had good blue color and north current. The kites were quickly deployed, and within five minutes, the left middle threadfin was being pursued by their first sailfish! Sage Cottle went to work on this one, his first ever, and got their first release of the day. As is always the case with kite fishing, changing conditions called for changes in kites and boat positioning, but the students stayed persistent and diligent! Next up was Nic Tollerfield, who now had his first-ever sail on the line that crushed the left long goggle eye. After some laps around the boat, that fish was their second release of the day. Not long after, Delfin Pernas was tight on their third sailfish that ate the right long goggle eye! This fish put on quite the show, and after some acrobatics, it was safely released next to the boat! The crew went a perfect 3/3! Nabil Atrach and Nic added some nice dolphin that ate a mix of kite and flat-line baits to round out a great day on the water.

03/19/26 

With a stiff NE wind, Capt. Matt Gittelman steered the HammerCatch north out of Port Everglades Inlet after students attending the class departed Pier Sixty-Six Marina, where he had some blackfin tuna bites the day before. They set up in about 200 feet of water and had some good life with birds and packs of flying fish being put up. They were able to fish both kites with ease, as well as three flat lines with a mix of goggle eyes and threadfins. It didn’t take long before Charlie Walsh was tight on a nice 10-lb dolphin(mahi-mahi) that ate a goggle eye out of the kite. Capt. Matt made a move just south of the inlet to finish up the trip and set up on a nice drift, taking them from 170 to 110 feet of water, which resulted in a flurry of bites! Once the dust had settled, both Charlie and Emilie Walsh had each released their first sailfish and added some more dolphin and a barracuda to the mix. Not bad for their first time fishing in the salt!

02/19/26 

After class, students left from Pier Sixty-Six Marina with Captain Kevin Lamadrid aboard the HammerCatch and turned south out of Port Everglades inlet to start their day. With a light NW wind, Capt. Kevin opted to set the boat up to drift over some structure in 130 feet of water. They were able to get two kites up with the help of the helium balloons and fish a mix of goggle eyes and threadfin herring, as well as a goggle eye on a weighted flat line. Not long after, Brian Scheidegger went to battle with his first sailfish that ate a threadfin off the kite! After a 10-minute fight and some acrobatic jumps, they got a healthy release on that fish. With no more bites, Capt. Kevin kept them moving south towards Haulover inlet, where he set up in about 150 feet of water. This time, their goggle eye on the weighted flat line got bit, and Wayne Baker bested a cobia that was just a few inches under keeper size.