I eyed a spot at the southwestern tip of the Cameron, Louisiana, jetties and made a cast. My lipless crankbait hit the water.

As the lure sank, I began my normal seven-count before making the first pull. I stopped at three. It felt as if the lure had hit a rock and got stuck, so I set the hook — just in case.

The rod immediately doubled over, the drag screamed, and for the next 15 minutes, a super-sized redfish put my muscles and tackle to the test.

Catching redfish is fun. Catching big redfish is really fun. And one of the best ways to do that in early fall is with crankbaits at jetties.

Gearing Up for Fishing Crankbaits

Endless varieties of crankbaits flood the market, especially for bass fishing, but the most effective crankbaits for redfish are lipless.

As the name implies, these lures feature no protruding lip, a characteristic that allows this kind of bait to be fished at specific depths. Lipless versions can be more versatile because the angler essentially controls the fishing depth.

Rat-L-Trap has long led the industry, but my favorite is the Super Pogy by Bomber Saltwater Grade. It comes with a high-pitch rattle that I’ve found effective. Other options include the Nobondo Lipless Crankbait, Nomad Design Madscad and Biospawn Rattle Bot.

Best colors include chrome, white/black, chrome/pink, and bronze. I use a casting reel rigged with a 30-pound green P-line braid tied directly to the lure because I fish in dingy water. In clear water, add a 36-inch fluorocarbon leader if needed.

I like a medium-heavy action, 7 1/2-foot rod but have a particular preference for its composition. I learned about this while fishing over the years with four-time Bassmaster Classic champion and living legend Rick Clunn.

Super-sensitive rods actually work against you when fishing with crankbaits, Clunn told me. A fish actually pushes the lure in pursuit; if you’re fishing a super-sensitive (graphite/composite) rod, you’ll set the hook before the fish actually has the lure.

Clunn collaborated with Wright & McGill a few years back to create the S-Glass Series of rods that incorporate traditional fiberglass technology with a modern flare. I use these rods for crankbaits and have had serious success everywhere from the Mississippi River near Venice, La., to the Cameron jetties.

With glass rods, I have had far more hookups than misses because I can’t feel the bite until the fish takes the lure. You’ll find numerous fiberglass crankbait rods on the market, and they can make a massive difference in the pursuit of redfish.

Location and Technique

Around the jetties, start fishing near the boat cuts [Ed’s note: Texas jetties feature breaks in the rock wall about halfway out that allow small boats through] to take advantage of reds foraging on baitfish moving between the channel and Gulf side of the jetty rocks. “You get shrimp, shad and crabs pushing through, and the reds will move in and feed,” says veteran jetty angler Bill Killian.

Anchor up-current of the cut and work the lure against the flow. “Throw it out toward the cut, let it sink a few seconds, and then reel it in as fast as you can. The pressure of the current will allow the rattles to work really well,” he says.

Also look for jetty reds in the deep holes usually found around the southern tip of the rocks and northward about 50 yards. At these spots, the current wraps around the jetty structure and carves out large holes. Reds congregate around large boulders that have fallen off the main wall into these holes.

Read Next: More Redfish Fishing Tips

Throw out the crankbait, let it sink to the level of the rocks, and rip it. I pull a few feet and then reel a couple of cranks. Repeat that three or four times and recast. The reds usually hit just after the first pull and sometimes on the fall.

While it might sound counterintuitive, if you see dolphins feeding in the area, that’s a fortunate sign.

In my logbook, I’ve noted dolphins feeding in the vicinity every time I’ve caught lots of bull reds. The times we had fewer fish, I saw no dolphins feeding. The presence of dolphins often indicates menhaden, a primary forage species for big reds.

Releasing for the Future

As everything from algae blooms to bycatch in the menhaden fishery puts pressure on redfish populations, catch-and-release becomes increasingly important — particularly for the big, breeding-size reds that inhabit jetty systems.

Scientists say the discard mortality rate for all sizes of redfish averages around 8 percent, though the type of terminal tackle used plays a major role. In general, lures deep-hook fewer fish than J-hooked natural baits.

In fact, one fish Killian caught at a nearshore gas platform off the Sabine Pass, which I tagged for Texas Sea Grant, made a reappearance three weeks later two miles away at the Sabine jetties. As the super fat bull redfish surfaced, Killian netted it. We quickly noticed a tag covered with slime.

I removed the growth, and my heart raced as I realized the tag said Sea Grant.

After examining our data, we realized it was the same fish Killian caught a few weeks before. It taught me firsthand that releasing big fish pays off, and I will carry that and deep respect for these bulls with me for the rest of my life.

The post Fishing Crankbaits for Gulf Jetty Redfish appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

An angler on an overnight tuna and swordfish charter out of Narragansett, Rhode Island, caught the largest mahi-mahi the state has ever seen in late August. Fishing with Maridee Charters, angler Karl Mohr, of New York, battled the 37.56-pound, 59-inch dolphinfish to the gaff.

“We were pumped. I’ve never seen one that big,” said AJ Dangelo, who was running the deck for his father, Capt. Andy Dangelo. “It’s not typical to see mahi in our area over 10 pounds. You see a few big ones every year, but nothing that big.”

Juvenile mahi move into the waters off New England with warm Gulf Stream currents in summer. They congregate around “high flyers,” which are tall buoys with radar reflectors to help lobstermen find their pots. The mahi are a popular plan-B target when the tuna fishing is slow.

Doubled Up on Big Mahi

During Mohr’s trip, Capt. Dangelo had taken them about 85 miles offshore to an area known as Fishtails. They were trolling over about 700 feet of water, right on the north edge of Block Canyon.

AJ said Capt. Andy was pushing to see how close he could pull his spread to the buoys when they doubled up on mahi.

“The first one we got to the boat was a nice cow, maybe 15 pounds,” AJ said. “And I told the angler it was a good fish. I didn’t think the other one we had on was a mahi, because it wasn’t coming in like one.”

When AJ gaffed the second fish and brought it over the rail, he knew they had caught something special. The big mahi should replace a record that has stood for nearly 30 years. Although Rhode Island doesn’t officially recognize dolphinfish for state records, it does list a 32-pound, 4-ounce, 58.5-inch mahi caught in 1995 as a “Notable Catch.”

With this fish, AJ thinks he’s found a lucky combination for Meridee. Two years ago, Mohr caught a giant wahoo that would have been a record if they had documented it properly. The big wahoo and the record mahi both came on the same Sterling Tackle spreader bar—same lure, same angler.

Mohr’s wahoo weighed 91 pounds, “with the guts out,” AJ said. Also listed as a “Notable Catch,” the largest Rhode Island wahoo on record was caught in 1998 and weighed 80 pounds.

In case you’re curious about what an overnight trip out of Rhode Island looks like, AJ said they troll for yellowfin and big eye tuna during the day and spend the night swordfishing.

“It’s a blast,” he said. “They look like zombies when they get back to the dock. They’re all delirious. People try to get some sleep here and there, but everyone’s so excited that it’s hard to sleep.”

The post Huge Mahi Tops 30-Year-Old Record appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Normally, harvesting 108 red snapper from the South Atlantic might be enough to earn you some jail time. Not if you have Florida Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs).

Studies being conducted on Florida’s east coast right now are allowing recreational anglers to catch and keep red snapper, and there’s still plenty of opportunity to put your name in the hat for a chance at an EFP.

Team Buck Rogers Charters out of Jacksonville got their hands on four of these golden tickets known as EFPs, and they are busily cashing them in. With an allowance of 36 red snapper per trip, six lucky anglers likely have sore arms from pumping and reeling.

“We’re piling them up. We’ve got four permits and 36 snapper per trip, and we’re 100 percent so far,” said Capt. Chad Starling. “It’s not hard. We did it in 45 minutes. That’s what happens when it’s been shut down for 14 years.”

Fishing with an Exempted Fishing Permit

EFPs allow the take of out-of-season fish for scientific research. Team Buck Rogers is participating in one of three red snapper and grouper studies being conducted right now by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). With a captain, a mate, six anglers and an FWC representative onboard, they have fished three of these fast-paced meat runs on September 18, 19, 20. Starling is confident they’ll boat their 36 snapper a fourth time on Oct. 1.

“Every fish gets harvested,” Starling said. “I mean, you go out and fish for 45 minutes, keep everything you catch and then come back.”

In a social media post on Sept. 23, Team Buck Rogers said their captains have carpal tunnel syndrome from filleting fish and that they’re running through their Ziplock bags. The anglers get to keep the meat and FWC keeps the carcasses for study.

In a press release, FWC indicated these studies are intended to collaborate with anglers to collect data on red snapper and test ways to reduce red snapper discards. Starling said he hopes they’re looking at the fish from his boats and seeing all sizes and ages of red snapper, which would be evidence of a population that’s healthy enough to allow more regular harvest opportunities.

Since 2011, NOAA has managed South Atlantic red snapper under an intense rebuilding plan with extremely limited federal seasons and bag limits. It has worked well, according to the many captains and recreational anglers who say they are seeing more snapper than ever. Continued strict regulations are a source of building frustration. This summer in the Atlantic from North Carolina through Florida, NOAA—through the South Atlantic Marine Fishery Council—allowed recreational anglers just a single day to harvest one snapper per person.

“Like you, FWC is frustrated with the current state of Atlantic red snapper management,” said Jessica McCawley, director of FWC’s Division of Marine Fisheries Management. “We recognize that people are seeing more red snapper than ever on the water. These particular EFPs try to turn discarded fish into landed catch and improve angler satisfaction by testing different management measures.”

How to Get an Exempted Fishing Permit

The trips Team Buck Rogers Charters takes with its clients are part of a program called FWC Study Fleet. FWC selects five charter captains every three months to participate by fishing Atlantic waters off northern Florida. To get in on one of these trips, private recreational anglers must likely be preferred clients of one of the captains selected.

For private recreational charter captains who want to get involved, eligibility details and enrollment information are available at myfwc.com. For instructions on how to apply watch this video.

There are also two programs that allow private recreational anglers to keep a few red snapper. The FWC Hot Spot Fleet program is for private Florida anglers who fish north of the NASA Vehicle Assembly Building at Cape Canaveral. The SE FL Snapper Grouper Fleet program is for private anglers who fish south of that point.

“For years, FWC has heard that anglers want to directly provide data to improve the management of Atlantic red snapper,” said FWC chairman Rodney Barreto. “This is your opportunity to do so. Your participation is not just desired; it’s essential for these studies to be a success and improve management.”

Up to 200 private anglers will be selected for each fleet every three months by lottery. Each selected angler will be randomly assigned to a group, either experimental or control. There are different requirements for anglers fishing the two groups, and experimental group anglers will be allowed to harvest three snapper per day during official fleet trips.

All three fleet programs have three remaining application periods: Oct. 4-14, Jan. 3-13 and April 4-14.To learn more about these programs go to myfwc.com. For instructions on how to apply watch this video.

The post Harvest South Atlantic Red Snapper Now appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

The best Florida saltwater anglers know how to follow the fish. A hotspot one day might be barren the next when fish are on the move. Migratory fish urges set in once autumn arrives, and depending on the Florida species, cooling waters can trigger fish to scatter along the coast, or even offshore. Both resident and highly migratory species are involved. 

The home bodies — such as spotted seatrout, redfish and snook — don’t go far. Popular beach runners such as pompano, Spanish mackerel and bluefish are the long-range travelers that come from northern waters. They follow their preferred water temperatures into Florida when fall arrives. Still, surf casters can tell you these three species are available year-round in Florida waters in limited numbers. 

Water temperature is the main driver for all of the aforementioned fish movement. However, forage availability (which is tied to not only water temperature, but to salinity and habitat changes) also has a bearing on when fish move and where they go. 

When Gamefish Move from Open Waters to Backwaters

Years ago, I learned how seasonal changes affect fish in the Ten Thousand Islands area on Florida’s Gulf Coast. I quickly learned enough of the territory to know the difference between the “inside” and the “outside” waters. Inside was from a line roughly halfway between the open Gulf of Mexico and the mainland creeks that lead deep into the Everglades’ freshwaters. Outside meant from that same point out to the open Gulf. 

My favorite spring and summertime grass flats on the Gulf side became devoid of the specks by late December once cold fronts came through twice a week. I lucked into tight schools of them around oyster bars of the inside bays. Severe January cold snaps forced them into the salty mangrove-lined creeks and rivers of the mainland. 

The same was true about red drum and snook. During September and October, the two species were commonplace around the outside islands and oyster bars on the edge of the Gulf. But when it cooled down, they moved deep into the backcountry. And they did not come out until April, unless winter was mild. Those migrations are very short, but unmistakable.  

Moving from Flats to Offshore Waters

Florida Bay might have the best summertime inshore mangrove snapper fishery in the state, mostly over grass in 5 to 8 feet of water. It peaks in late summer, but by November, most of the fish of legal size move out to deeper water, on both the Gulf and the nearshore Atlantic reefs off the Keys. The void they leave is quickly filled by hordes of Spanish mackerel, cobia and pompano that originate in Panhandle waters. Those fish stay until May, before heading north, and the snapper return. 

Gamefish Head South for the Winter

Pompano — officially Florida pompano — are sensitive to water temperature fluctuations. I chase them both in the surf with bait and surf gear and with fly rods when they enter the Indian River Lagoon. By January, chances are the water temperatures from Hobe Sound north may fall below 63 degrees F, and that triggers them to move south en masse.

Though it’s been on the mild side in recent years, I recall a handful of seasons when the pomps vanished from their normal spots, so I scouted waters as far south as West Palm Beach. The beaches there were swarming with pompano. A 5-degree water temperature difference was the key. 

Biscayne Bay bonefish are a perfect example of a fish on the move. Autumn water temperatures are ideal, so October and November see lots of hungry fish on the flats — both on the mainland and oceanside. But a cold December through February sends them to primarily the Atlantic oceanside flats, or into deeper water such as nearshore patch reefs. 

Inside Tip: Bonefish are known to “huddle up” in schools of hundreds and head south to the Keys to find the warmest water possible. 

Fish Ranges Expanding Due to Climate Change? 

Florida anglers are continually reporting catches of saltwater species farther north of their typical range, and just recently, multiple tarpon were spotted by anglers as far north as Maryland’s northern Chesapeake Bay. An occasional sighting has happened over the years, but this summer’s numbers are impressive. Warming Atlantic waters allow for this, and many biologists and anglers think climate change is the trigger. This is strictly migratory behavior — the tarpon must head back south as winter approaches, or they perish. 

Florida snook are creeping northward into the Florida Big Bend. On the Gulf coast, snook typically ranged to Tarpon Springs, but by 2020 they were encountered in the Suwannee River, 80 miles to the north. Since that time, state wildlife researchers are hearing reports of the popular linesiders in the Florida Panhandle. The term “neo-native” applies to snook, and any fish species native to a particular region, but is expanding to nearby regions because of climate shifts, such as fewer hard freezes in winter. 

Like tarpon, snook can’t withstand prolonged cold weather. In fact, snook typically die in water less than 50 degrees after more than a few days. You have to wonder if any snook in the Florida Panhandle have actually survived a winter? There was a small snook kill in 2018 around Crystal River, where snook were not present years ago. Three nights of freezing weather killed them. 

And it’s no secret that the peacock bass, a tropical fish first released in South Florida canals and lakes to control other invasive species, are now flourishing in waterways as far north as Boynton Beach. The original northern range was northern Palm Beach County, with the epicenter of the population being Dade and Broward counties on the east coast. Gulf side, it was mostly Everglades waters, and Collier and Lee counties. 

Peacock bass do not tolerate water temperatures under 60 degrees, though they have survived cold snaps in some of the deeper canals. Considering a recent string of warm winters, without hard freezes south of Orlando, it’s anyone’s guess how far peacock bass will push north.

The post Temps Trigger Migratory Fish Movements appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

That the ocean’s most advanced and highly developed swimming machines are also among the most popular of game fishes with the world’s saltwater angling enthusiasts is hardly a coincidence. As anglers, we have tremendous respect for the spirited fighting qualities of tunas — difficult to release, should we wish to, because they truly will fight their hearts out when hooked. So what is it that makes tunas the über-fish of our oceans? The more we learn about our favorite game fish, the more fascinating they are.

Are Mackerels Tuna? What Are True Tunas?

Tunas are part of the family Scombridae, which also includes mackerels, large and small. But there are tunas, and then there are, well, “true tunas.” Two groups (sometimes known as “tribes”) dominate the tuna clan. One is Thunnini, which is the group considered true tunas, characterized by two separate dorsal fins and a relatively thick body. The 15 species of Thunnini are albacore, bigeye, black skipjack, blackfin, bluefin (three species: Atlantic, Pacific, southern), bullet, frigate, kawakawa, little tunny, longtail, skipjack, slender and yellowfin.

The other tribe is Sardini; these tunas — the dogtooth tuna and several species of smaller true bonitos — are somewhat more mackerel-like (notably with a more elongated body and a row of sharp, conical teeth).

How do Tuna Swim so Fast and Hard?

Sport fishermen know that when they hook a large tuna, they’re in for a long, drawn-out, relentless battle. Nothing characterizes tunas more than their powerful, tireless swimming. In fact, these fish have no choice but to swim endlessly: As explained more thoroughly below, they’re ram ventilators, meaning forward motion is required as they move with mouth open to force water past their gills.

Most fishes, such as groupers, snappers and jacks, can remain motionless and respire by opening and closing their mouths to push water through their gills. Tunas have lost the ability to do that (even if they could, such small pushes of water wouldn’t offer their large gills the tremendous flow they require to supply their systems with oxygen). A suitable motto for tunas, then, is “swim or die.”

How tunas have evolved to move efficiently through the water is reflected in their design, both externally and internally. Of their fusiform body shape (tapering fore and aft), Sport Fishing Fish Facts expert Ben Diggles says, “Their almost-perfect hydrodynamic shape minimizes drag with a very low drag coefficient,” optimizing efficient swimming both at cruise and burst.

And these torpedoes are perfectly streamlined, their larger fins fitting perfectly into grooves so no part of these fins protrudes above the body surface. They lack the convex eyes of most fish; rather, a membrane covering tuna eyes remains flush with their heads, maintaining a surface with minimal drag. Keels and finlets in front of the tail provide stability and help reduce the turbulence in the water ahead of the tail.

Unlike most fishes with broad, flexible tails that bend to scoop water to move a fish forward, tunas derive tremendous thrust with thin, hard, lunate (moon-shaped) tails that beat constantly, capable of 10 to 12 or more beats per second. That relentless thrust accounts for the unstoppable runs that tuna make repeatedly when hooked.

As with other fast-swimming fishes, a primary limitation on top speed for tunas is cavitation, which at high speeds can slow them and even damage fins. (Cavitation is caused when negative pressure forms tiny air bubbles, which then collapse and form shock waves. Cavitation can damage the metal in propellers — and cause lesions in the fins of fish that swim “too fast,” such as tunas.)

Why Is a Tuna’s Meat Red?

While many of the characteristics that account for the tuna’s remarkable swimming ability are visible externally, some of the most astonishing adaptations are internal.

Certainly, that includes their extensive aerobic red muscle. Many fishes are ambush predators, relying on bursts of speed to feed but swimming slowly otherwise. Their bodies are mostly filled with white muscle — glycolytic fibers used in infrequent burst swimming. Tunas employ far more red muscle; their oxidative fibers prove ideal for long-haul, constant swimming without fatigue. Also, red muscle is full of myoglobin, which stores oxygen in the muscle tissues, for use as needed.

With so much red muscle demanding that much more oxygen, tunas’ gills — their organs for respiration, of course — are huge. For example, a tuna has seven to nine times more gill area for its size compared to relatively sedentary trout. And, not surprisingly, you’ve gotta have heart: Moving great amounts of oxygenated blood through their bodies requires tunas to have far larger hearts than most fish. Not only that, but another way tunas have advanced beyond most fishes — which have a constant heart rate — is their ability, like mammals, to vary their heart rate, maximizing efficiency.

Can Tuna Warm Their Bodies?

Arguably the most striking and sophisticated adaptation we can’t see — but science has revealed — is the ability of larger true tunas to heat certain areas of their bodies. They do this through what are known as the retia mirabilia (“wonderful net”), an ingenious counter-current vascular heat-exchange system. Basically, parallel veins and arteries exchange blood, allowing tunas to conserve metabolic heat via what is called regional endothermy, warming their red muscle tissue, brain, eyes and viscera well above ambient water temperatures.

This regional endothermy gives them the same metabolic advantage that Homo sapiens and other mammals enjoy. In fact, tunas couldn’t sustain the swim-or-die lifestyle nor be the relentless eating machines they are without that higher metabolic rate, allowing them to swim longer and faster, their brains and eyes to function better in cold water, and their viscera to digest more quickly and efficiently.

Further demonstrating the brilliance of their plumbing, larger tunas can shed excess heat from their bodies during periods of intense feeding (in essence, while doing wind sprints) via their retia mirabilia, which uses blood from gills cooled by ambient water to reduce body heat. This system also undoubtedly comes into play as one factor in the amazing endurance that hooked tunas show to resist their capture.

How Deep do Tuna Swim?

Much of the evolutionary success of tunas derives from their ability to transition from warm to cool waters in a way that most — less advanced, cold-blooded — fishes can’t manage.

Satellite tagging has revealed much about the feeding behavior and movements of large tunas, including their tendency to dive into deep, cold water. Scientists have documented that yellowfin feed at times in waters much deeper than once believed, but the bigeye is a champ in the deep-dive category, often feeding in waters exceeding 1,500 feet — and diving to more than 5,000 feet.

Apparently, these daytime deep divers are taking advantage of what’s known as the deep-scattering layer, a concentration of biomass (plankton and larger organisms) typically settling by day into 1,500 to 2,000 feet of water (which rises to or near the surface nightly). This is the same DSL in which swordfish feed during the day. Perhaps not so surprisingly, daytime swordy anglers have been hooking some large tuna while dropping deep.

The other abyss-loving tuna is the bluefin. What large yellowfin, bigeye and bluefin have in common that enables them to feed at great depths is body mass. Juveniles and smaller species of tuna, lacking that, lose body heat too rapidly to allow them to leave near-surface waters for long.

Heat is lost in the frigid waters at depth, but rewarming occurs when tunas move up into warmer waters — where heating occurs at 100 to 1,000 times the rate that it’s lost. (This may be facilitated with blood bypassing lateral heat exchangers, so blood warmed and oxygenated in the gills by ambient, warmer waters enters the red muscle directly.)

What large tunas have in common that encourages them to feed so deep is simply an abundance of food in these cold but productive waters.

How Far do Tuna Travel?

The same motivation to find more and more food accounts for far-ranging horizontal movements as well as vertical dives into colder waters. So, for example, in the North Atlantic, the world’s largest giant bluefin are caught at the most northerly edges of the species’ range — the Canadian Maritimes — and in the South Pacific, the largest giants come from the most southern part of the southern bluefin’s range — off New Zealand’s South Island. In both instances, only the great body mass of giants provides enough thermal inertia — a small enough ratio of surface area to volume to prevent rapid cooling — so they can take advantage of vast schools of prey.

Large tunas are truly superfish, at the zenith of evolutionary design and success as predators among the ocean’s fishes. Little wonder they’re among the very most popular targets worldwide among saltwater recreational fishermen. The more we as anglers understand these magnificent fish, the more we can appreciate the opportunity to fish for and catch them.

Is Disaster Imminent for Tunas?

Tunas occasionally make it into mainstream news, and when they do, the circumstances (for continued survival of the species) usually sound pretty dire. However, a scientist at the University of Washington, found that just 30 percent of commercial tuna stocks had an abundance below that which would produce maximum sustainable yield.

Recently, Atlantic bluefin tuna have made a noticeable comeback. And anglers are taking advantage of it. In particular, many Northeast area anglers have spent the summer months targeting tuna of all sizes, both inshore and far offshore.“ The abundance of tunas and their relatives has declined from pre-industrial levels, but in general, they are at sustainable levels,” said Maite Pons, Ph.D..

The post Common Questions About Tuna appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

It was a slow summer at Hudson Canyon off New York, but we were headed out anyway, because you can’t catch tuna when you’re dry on the dock. We weren’t halfway out when we saw life — a half-dozen whales rolling, and tails rising among what must have been 100 or more tightly packed bottlenose dolphin. Dozens of shearwaters flocked around the ­commotion. Extending outward for 100 square yards, storm petrels dabbed the blue 75-degree surface waters. The sonar screen read 180 feet.

One cast into the mayhem created instant action. As soon as the bail closed, a fish grabbed the lure, and the rod doubled over at an impossible angle. Line easily peeled off the reel against a good 30 pounds of drag. The mate looked over at me with a big smile on his face and said, “Well, I guess we’re not going to the canyon.”

Running way offshore for big pelagics is ingrained. Want to catch tuna? Hit the “deep,” the “edge,” the canyons. And whether you see life or empty ocean, deploy a spread and troll blindly for hours. But in recent years, most of the good fishing has occurred well inshore of the canyons, and trolling isn’t required.

Tuna Feed on Sand Eels

We owe this success to one thing, and one thing alone: sand lances, Ammodytes americanus (known locally as sand eels) — long, slender, 6- to 8-inch ­low-trophic-level fish with a pointy snout.

In past years, when the sand eels have shown up — usually by mid-June — they’ve appeared in extraordinary numbers. Anglers know about it pretty quickly because often the entire list of oceanic predators also find them. Not just those with fins, but those with wings as well. Everything appears to eat sand eels.

To be clear, this bait does not reside in deep water. As the name suggests, sand eels prefer relatively sandy habitat in 40 fathoms or shallower. They also burrow at night into the soft substrate and spend their days feeding on zooplankton. They’re not equipped to frequent deep, high-­pressure water, thus don’t expect to see big ­concentrations at the canyons.

Why do they gather, and why recently have they flooded the 20- to 40-fathom area from Maryland to New York from mid-June to mid-September? Those are more-difficult questions to answer, but it seems likely that the mass migration involves a food source. Adult and larval sand lances feed primarily on copepods (immature crustaceans) and other tiny animals, so they might be focused on a new zooplankton bloom.

Regardless of the reason, the ­sand eels now congregate so thickly that once you’re into them, you often can’t read bottom on your sounder. And it’s clear that when they’re abundant, they attract a host of predators — most important of which are bluefin and yellowfin tuna — that gorge on the smallish baits with reckless abandon.

Where to Find Sand Eels and Tuna

“It’s all about finding life when you make these midshore tuna runs,” says New Jersey charter captain Gene Quigley (shorecatch.com). “I’d say we look for whales more than anything, but there are certainly other indicators.”

Not only do whales and tuna feed on this same prey, but both bluefin and yellowfin tuna often swim directly beneath the whales, possibly slurping up stunned sand eels after a whale has lunge-fed.

“We look for [bottlenose] dolphin too,” Quigley continues. “Not just the rolling ones, but the ones that are clearly smashing sand eels.”

Finding cow-nosed rays in 150 to 200 feet of water in July or August might be one of the best tuna signs. “Man, you run across a school of cow-nosed rays, and you’re a fool not to stop on it,” says New York captain Cory Crochetiere. “Drop a jig under them, and it’s often an immediate hookup.”

On a clear, calm day, you can see rays pushing water when they’re on the surface. But often they swim 10 feet or more down. When they pass under your boat, they’re easy to see. For better or worse, rays also hit a jig or soft plastic.

Rays often appear accompanied by storm petrels, or what we call “tuna chicks”—small unassuming birds that seem to dance on the water. Just the presence of these birds, with or without the rays, can indicate sand eels, and subsequently tuna.

The petrels clearly don’t feed on sand eels. More likely they’re eating the same planktonic animals as the sand eels. A mother lode of storm petrels signals a mandatory stop, but even if you see just a half-dozen, give it a try. “We had our largest bluefin one year, casting a stickbait at a flock of what was maybe six or seven tuna chicks,” Crochetiere says. “A 250-pound-class bluefin came out of nowhere and crushed the plug.”

Shearwater birds also can suggest the presence of sand eels. If you see shearwaters circling high above the water, make a stop. They might be seeing something that you can’t, such as big pods of sand eels or even cruising tuna.

While you’ll likely see such life fairly close to shore, inside 20 fathoms, you probably won’t see tuna, at least during the June-to-September period. We really don’t stop on anything inside 20 fathoms, unless we see obvious signs of tuna feeding. Generally, we find the sweet spot in the 30-fathom range.

However, even in that depth range, if the water looks green or dirty, most of the time we just move. You occasionally might find bluefin in less-than-blue water, but rarely yellowfin. Look for sand eels in cobalt-blue offshore water. That doesn’t guarantee tuna, but work the area. Nearby tuna eventually will find that bait.

Tough Tuna Fishing Gear

We fish these sand eel aggregations with soft-plastic and hard baits, using stout spinning tackle. Our favorite reels include Van Staals , Shimanos, and Daiwas. For a more affordable alternative, try the newest Penn offshore spinners. Reels should be spooled with at least 80-pound braid and 6 to 10 feet of 80- to 125-pound fluorocarbon leader.

Rods must be specific to the tuna-popping-and-jigging game as well. Popping rods measure 7 feet, 6 inches to 8 feet, 4 inches long (casting distance is important), and they should be strong in the butt section for extended fights and real lifting power.

Rods to fish soft-plastic eels can be shorter, at 6 to 7 feet, but they should demonstrate the same parabolic composition. Madd Mantis makes an affordable 7-foot all-around rod.

Summer Bluefin Tuna Fishing

Sand eels usually start to show in the 30-fathom range by mid-June. “It’s generally a water-temperature thing,” says noted New York offshore angler Ray Phelan. “Right around 65 degrees, we start to see them, and they get more abundant as things warm.”

Late spring also marks the appearance of larger (for spin-fishermen) bluefin in the 200-plus-pound category. Moving into July, the bluefin become more manageable in size—in the 80-pound range.

“Yeah, we get a few on poppers and stickbaits,” Crochetiere says, “but during the past couple of years, the shearwaters were so bad that you’d waste valuable time untangling birds. Most of the fish we catch [when that happens] are on RonZ soft-plastic baits.”

The soft-plastic tail wiggles so easily that you won’t have to impart much action to make it resemble a sand eel. Even when working this bait very slowly, it still features a ton of movement. “Tuna will often grab it on the drop,” Crochetiere says. “And we’ve certainly caught fish just dead-sticking them,” or leaving the rod in the holder.

We’ve learned over the years that bluefin like a slow bait presentation. Even with plugs, a long, slow retrieve draws way more strikes than a fast one. Once you get the RonZ below the surface, avoiding a shearwater attack, it works really well. Yes, metal jigs can and do work, but not as well as these 10-inch soft plastics.

When the birds abate, Crochetiere mixes in some poppers and stickbaits such as the Nomad Riptide. This 200 mm (8-inch) translucent floating stickbait features a single strip of reflective tape on its sides, and closely mimics a sand eel. Work this bait in a slow, sweeping fashion. Other effective plugs include the Siren Deep Seductress, Shimano Orca and Daiwa Slider.

“Poppers are pretty awesome too, if for no other reason than the often-violent blowups,” Crochetiere says. His popper choice: the Madd Mantis Atasi. “Not so easy to find anymore, but there’s something about this plug that draws crazy strikes.”

Late-Summer Yellowfin Tuna Fishing

By late July or early August, you might catch a yellowfin while targeting bluefin in that same, general 30-fathom range. And then, in what seems like the span of a few hours, the bluefin can disappear, presumably shooting up to New England and farther north.

“I’m not sure if it’s a ­temperature change, or it’s just that so many yellowfin show up that they push the bluefin out,” Quigley says, noting that the water warms to 74 or 75 degrees in midsummer.

The bait doesn’t change, however; the sand eels continue to swarm. Fishing yellowfin on sand eel aggregations remains similar to targeting bluefin, with a few nuances. Yellowfin seem to swim with the dolphins to a greater extent than the bluefin. A popper placed in front of a school of feeding dolphins often results in an explosive strike from an 80-pound tuna. Cow-nosed rays also dependably indicate nearby yellowfin; the fish often swim directly underneath the rays.

Unique to yellowfin, however, are the skipjack schools. “We have a lot of success throwing big poppers in those skipjack schools,” Quigley says. “The big yellowfin come up from underneath all those skippies and hammer them.”

I don’t think the yellowfin eat the skipjack. Both species seem to feed on the sand eels. Almost every time we clean a yellowfin, we find a stomach packed full of eels, but no skipjack.

Sand eel fishing for tuna winds down in September mainly because the weather worsens and the water cools. Yellowfin, in particular, begin to migrate to deeper water. The eels do remain, and anglers can fish another brief run of bluefin in December as the tuna head back south. During that time, fishing occurs in much shallower water closer to shore.

For summer tuna, remember that farther might not always be better. Think twice about running long, or at least keep your eyes open on the way to the deep. Find the life, and you might score big without burning all that fuel.

The post Catch Tuna Near Sand Eels appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Growing up in Virginia Beach, I spent many summer days trolling small spoons a few miles off the beach for fast action on speedy Spanish mackerel. But this summer, it hit me: After 30 years targeting these silver conquistadors, my Spanish tactics hadn’t changed. To gather new intel, I asked four regional experts—from the mid-Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico—to share their strategies.

Spanish Mackerel Troll Patrol

Fortunately, Virginia Beach hosts a dedicated fleet of charter captains who spend every day fishing just offshore of this tourist town’s oceanfront high rises. I dropped a line to old friend Capt. Nolan Agner and he hooked me up to fish with Capt. Luke Jennings and mate Fisher Terry on the 40-foot deadrise workboat Smack Down.

We left the dock at a leisurely 7 a.m. As soon as the big boat chugged out Rudee Inlet, Jennings turned north and pushed the throttles to 6 knots. Terry grabbed a half-dozen 20-pound-class boat rods spooled with 50-pound braided line. At the end of the mainline, he tied a 250-pound snap swivel.

To vary the depth of his lures, Terry attached 3- and 4-ounce trolling sinkers to two rods and No. 1 planers to another two. To the other end of the sinker or planer, Terry clipped another 250-pound snap swivel with 10-feet of 40-pound leader, a 150-pound-test swivel and 10 more feet of 40-pound leader. The long leader ended with a size 00 to size 1 Clark Spoon Squid. “Green is my favorite color,” Terry added, showing me a green-glitter metal lure the size of a minnow.

From the fifth rod, Terry pulled a small bird teaser with a 20-foot leader terminated by another small, green spoon. Terry had rigged the bird on a 16-inch piece of 100-pound mono with a couple large beads on either side and a 250-pound snap swivel at each end of the short leader.

The bird allows Terry to add another rod to the spread without tangling his deeper lures. While the bird doesn’t result in many bites, the teaser slapping and splashing on the surface attracts fish to other lures in the spread.

Capt. Jennings motored along the beach while I watched the early joggers and dog walkers strolling the boardwalk. We often catch Spanish within a quarter-mile of the surf line, especially in the early morning and late evening. We made a circle past the mouth of the inlet, where several other boats had started their day. Temperature breaks and current lines also hold Spanish as do live bottom and bait schools.

Within just a few minutes, one of the planer rods bounced heavily with the weight of a mackerel. Terry coached the angler to reel faster or slower, depending on how the fish surfaced or dived. Jennings slowed the boat while the rest of the crew held their breath, hoping the first fish of the day would not escape to freedom.

Once the planer reached the rod tip, Terry handlined the fish the last few feet before swinging it over the transom and into the box. Jennings bumped the boat back to trolling speed. Before long, the crew was heckling and shouting encouragement as the anglers reeled in one Spanish after another.

Spanish on Lures and Flies

While trolling spoons can be a quick and easy way to have fun, the most exciting tactic for catching Spanish involves casting lures. When the fish fire up and actively feed on schools of bait, I grab a light-action spinning rod and small spoon or jerkbait.

But catching Spanish with light tackle can be tough: The speedy fish have sharp eyesight and finicky tastes. I often encounter feeding Spanish that I can’t convince to eat a lure.

Capt. Jim Klopfer, who charters near Sarasota, Florida, considers Spanish mackerel an unsung hero of nearshore fishing. He targets them with light spinning or fly fishing tackle. “They’re aggressive, fight hard and are one of the fastest fish in the sea,” he says. The green, silver and gold speedsters also taste great when prepared fresh.

To find mackerel, Klopfer heads a mile or two into the Gulf of Mexico and looks for working birds or slicks, indicating mackerel feeding on small minnows. When he finds the fish, he grabs 7-foot, fast-action spinning rods and 3000-size reels, spooled with 10-pound-test monofilament. “I like monofilament because it stretches when a speeding Spanish strikes,” he explains.

Again, the right leader helps ensure success. Sharp-sighted Spanish can spot heavy leader or terminal tackle, but their sharp teeth slice through light line. “I go with 30-pound fluorocarbon and only lose a lure once in a while,” he says.

Lure choice comes down to availability. “I like a 3 ½-inch Bass Assassin soft plastic on a 1/4-ounce jighead,” he says. The soft-plastic bait can be easily replaced after a Spanish attack. To target the fish on fly, Klopfer uses a 7-weight rod, intermediate or floating line, and a white D.T. Special fly.”

Chum Up the Mackerel

On the east coast of Florida, social-media celebrity Darcie, known by her nickname Darcizzle, fishes for a variety of species. When she’s targeting Spanish, Darcie starts the day with a stop by the tackle shop.

“First thing, I pick up the Spanish mackerel starter pack,” she says, laughing. This includes two blocks of glass-minnow chum and a 12-pack of Gulfstream Lures Flash Minnows.

With their razor teeth, mackerel bite off a fair share of lures, “so it is a constant battle to use a heavy enough leader,” she says. Darcie starts with No. 4 single-strand wire. If the fish seem fickle, she bites the bullet and switches to fluorocarbon.

Darcie looks for Spanish at the inlet mouths and along the shore, and on a reef in winter. “You can find the fish because there’ll be a lot of boats in the area,” she says. To target Spanish, Darcie uses a medium-action spinning rod with a 3000-size reel.

Once on the Spanish grounds, she starts chumming with the glass minnows. “I throw out a handful of glass minnows before every cast,” she says. Before long, the fish find the chum and the melee starts. “The only thing you can do wrong is not use enough chum,” she says.

More Mackerel Bites

Spanish mackerel range from the Gulf Coast to the mid-Atlantic. On the North Carolina coast, a few miles from the South Carolina state line, Capt. Jot Owens says the fish are a big part of his business and his clients like the challenge of hooking a speeding mackerel on light tackle.

After a lifetime fishing for macks, Owens has seen anglers make serious mistakes with light tackle. “You can’t work the lure too fast,” he says. To increase hookups, Owens recommends cranking hard on the reel and holding the rod tip low to the water.

“I’m looking for a reaction bite, so the fastest lure gets the bite.” Recently, he started using a high-speed spinning reel with a 7-to-1 gear ratio to work the lure even faster.

Owens tries to stay as far as possible from feeding fish. That necessitates longer casts, which allow the lure to spend more time in the water. “The biggest mistake I see is anglers driving their boat through the school,” he says. Once the fish spook, the school might not reform.

Finicky and fast, Spanish mackerel deliver heart-thumping action, line-sizzling runs, and enough of a challenge to make any angler respetar el pescado (respect the fish) whether trolling, chumming, or sightcasting.

The post How to Catch More Spanish Mackerel appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Tarpon: No word uttered on the Texas Gulf Coast stirs as much excitement for anglers. Yet, while virtually all of the region’s fishermen know about the presence of the silver king, relatively few pursue them.

“There’s a real mystique about tarpon,” says South Padre Island guide Capt. Brian Barrera. “Some people think the possibility of catching them is out of reach. But the reality is, especially down here, there are lots of tarpon, and anyone who studies up on them, puts some time in and has a little bit of luck can score on these awesome sport fish.”

Tarpon Time

The Gulf shoreline of the Lower Laguna Madre from Port Mansfield down to Port Isabel and into the Brownsville Ship Channel ranks as prime tarpon country. When waters calm from late summer into early fall, Barrera directs his focus to tarpon.

“We often start off at the Port Isabel jetties throwing lures like a D.O.A. Bait Buster. We’re optimally looking for rolling fish and sight casting to them,” he says.

Bait Busters are a jigging-type lure that also work as swimbaits. The shallow version comes with a single upright hook and operates at a medium sink rate so you can fish it near the surface, mid-range, or on the bottom. The deep runner weighs ¾ ounces and comes with a 5/0 hook with line-entry on top of the head, which keeps the lure sub-surface for bottom bouncing.

“I’ve caught a lot of tarpon on the Bait Buster. Throwing it is a great way to start the day,” Barrera says.

Look for tarpon facing the current outside and inside jetty walls; they also hang around large eddies and deep-water current breaks caused by displaced jetty rocks. A big fish behind the rocks just off the main wall — probably a tarpon.

Tarpon take everything from Coon Pops to Rat-L-Traps and certainly well-placed flies. But sometimes only live bait lights up the bite.

“I bring a cast net and let the water tell me what to fish. Sometimes when the pinfish are thick we’ll put one on. Other times, it’s mullet. But I’ve also seen tarpon sitting in the current sucking up blue crabs funneling out of the jetties. The angler that pays close attention to what’s going on bait-wise and doesn’t have an agenda will, more often than not, do better than those with a rigid fishing plan,” Barrera says.

Jetty Fish

Other areas that hold tarpon this time of year include the jetties near Port Aransas and Port O’Connor along the central coast. My first encounter with a big school of tarpon occurred at the Port Aransas jetties, where 25 to 30 fish in the 4- to 6-foot class fed just a few feet off the jetty wall.

I’d like to tell you I caught one of the 6-footers but they didn’t take anything we threw at them. We tried everything in our tackle box. That’s simply the nature of tarpon: aloof one day and super aggressive the next.

Surprising numbers of tarpon can also be found from High Island, just north of Galveston, down to Surfside, near Freeport. Anglers affectionately call this “Tarpon Alley.’’ Fishing a mile to 5 miles from the beach can prove productive, if you can get past the sharks and rough seas. Anglers often drift live or dead bait — usually mullet, pinfish or sand trout — through schools of menhaden that dominate the area during summer.

Tarpon Studies

Aaron Adams with Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) says that while many mysteries still cloud tarpon migration and life history, studies such as one conducted several years ago by Lucas Griffin and Andy Danylchuk provide some fascinating answers.

The researchers attached acoustic receivers to the ocean bottom throughout the tarpon’s range. These receivers detect signals from acoustic tags surgically implanted into tarpon. In Texas, listening devices were positioned from the Louisiana border to the Mexico border on the outer edge of every major bay system.

“The transmitters are the size of a AA battery and have a lifespan of five years, meaning not only can we implant them in a wide size range of tarpon, including those around 15 pounds, we can also track them over multiple years,” Griffin and Danylchuk wrote. “As the tarpon swims past the network of receivers, a unique ID code and date and time are saved on the receiver.

“With thousands of these receivers deployed across the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern United States, we can now track tarpon across the Gulf and adjacent waters and build a more detailed understanding of what really makes a tarpon move or, in some cases, stay,” the researchers say.

Results show a southern migration of Texas tarpon toward Mexico each fall. The Mississippi River Delta appears to divide east and west populations.

Massive Monsters

Barrera says he sees bigger fish arrive off South Padre a little later than smaller ones. True monsters show in August and September. He sight-fishes for these behemoths, spending as much time on the water as possible to decipher their patterns.

Read Next: More Tarpon Fishing Tips

The current state record, caught by Michael Shane LaRue II in 2017, measured 90 inches long and weighed 229 pounds.

“The biggest fish I’ve had in my boat was easily over 200 pounds,” Barrera says. “It was an absolute monster. Its scales were as big as my hand. In Texas, we can keep one tarpon 85 inches or larger, which lines up with a potential record fish.

“I didn’t know if it was a record or not. It was on the bubble. It was a true monster but to me it was better to see that fish go back to maybe even get bigger and thrill another angler.”

That kind of conservation ethic as well as support from groups like BTT appear to be generating a tarpon renaissance of sorts in Texas. As more anglers learn that they too can enjoy the tarpon action, fishing dreams will come true and appreciation for this already legendary species will grow. And that’s good for Texas anglers and the silver king.

The post Tracking Texas Tarpon appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Jack Crevalle

This fast and robust fighter will make you work for it from hook-up to finish—a beautiful fish that can grow over 3 feet in length.

Atlantic Bonito

The mighty mini tuna packs plenty of drag-pulling action into the game. Plus, they are pretty good in the pan, too.

Red Drum

You can find this one inshore or offshore, in the surf, or off a pier. But in the wash might just be my favorite place to tangle with these great fighters.

Spanish Mackerel

This underrated fish puts up a good fight the whole time, and you just might get some jumping acrobatics, too. Bring a cooler, as they are pretty good eating.

Florida Pompano

There’s a reason the majority of us Florida surf anglers target them! They put up a decent fight, but they really excel in the kitchen, with plenty of meat per fish.

The post Top Gamefish Species in the Surf appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Is permit on a self-tied fly on your list? Dream higher, man. Max out the credit card and head for the Seychelles. That’s where you’ve got the best shot at the ugliest, most challenging quarry in the shallows: a bumpie (bumphead parrotfish).

With a set of chompers that put sheepies to shame, these coral-eating behemoths can live 40 years and weigh triple digits. But boy, are they finicky. Wade quietly ahead of a school, lead ’em 50 yards, and drop an orange or tan crab fly in their path. Don’t even think about moving it; let the monster muncher do the work. At the slightest movement, strip-set and hang on. Want a goal to shoot for? Try Mark Weeks’ IGFA world record, set on the Providence Atoll in November 2019. Guide Brendan Becker put him on a 102-pound, 3-ounce butt-ugly bumpie, with a face only a crazed fly-rodder would love.

The post Fish Facts: All Hail the Bumpie appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.