Southwest Florida is an incredible place to fish, but we’re not known for our blue-water angling. Although many tourists assume we catch billfish, wahoo and tuna off Englewood, the truth is that the Gulf is much too shallow to find those fish within reach of most boats … most of the time, anyway.
This is the time of year for pelagic fish to come closest to shore. We’ve had some rain, which means land-based nutrients have been flushed out to feed algae, which creates a sudden bloom of life in the waters along the coast. The baitfish are thick in these areas, so there’s plenty for predators to eat. Occasionally the Gulf Stream will spin off eddies, and those eddies will carry fish from far offshore in close.
One of our most frequent visitors from deeper offshore waters is the blackfin tuna. Finding blackfins can be hit or miss. The easiest way to hunt them is to search for one of their close relatives: Little tunny. These small tunas, often mistakenly called bonito, are highly visible when they’re feeding on small baitfish.
Tunny will form schools of up to several thousand when the bait pods are large. As they chase bait to the surface, birds are able to pick off some of them. If you want to find tunny, look for flocks of frantically diving gulls and terns on the open Gulf.
Blackfins are not as aggressive as their cousins, so they let the tunny have first whack at the bait. They hunt smarter, and they collect the scraps and disoriented baitfish that the tunny scatter. To do so, they position themselves under the blitzing schools.
To present a bait to them, you need to get it under hundreds or thousands of feeding fish. The simplest way is tie on a small but heavy spoon or vertical jig, about 1 or 2 ounces. Cast it out beyond the tunny school, let it sink and then work it back down deep. If you fish it too high in the water column, the tunny will get it every time.
If you’ve caught blackfins in the Florida Keys, you may be used to small “footballs.” Most of our tuna are bigger — 15 pounds is about average, and 30-pounders are regularly caught. Despite being fairly large fish, blackfin like smaller baits. Usually a lure in the 3- to 4-inch range is ideal. They’ll sometimes hit bigger baits, but you’ll get a lot more strikes on small lures.
Tuna have teeth, but they’re not as sharp as mackerel. Use wire if you feel more comfortable with it, but heavy fluorocarbon (40- to 60-pound test) will get you more bites.
Because you’re fishing in open water, there’s no place for a tuna to break you off (other than your own boat). In some cases, you can use fairly light drag and just wear the fish out. It’s important to have plenty of line capacity — not less than 200 yards, and 350 is more comfortable. Some anglers use light gear for sport, but I use tarpon gear with 50-pound line.
They’d be more fun on lighter tackle, but there are always sharks around the tunny schools. I’d rather be able to get the fish in a little faster so I can take the meat home, not feed it to a shark. Even on tarpon tackle, it’s not uncommon for a big blackfin to run off 250 yards before you can get it under control.
Although blackfin tuna are amazing game fish and put up pretty epic battles for their size, they’re probably even more prized as table fish. If all you’ve ever had is canned tuna, the difference in flavor and texture will shock you. It’s not uncommon for impatient tuna fishermen to dig in right on the boat, gorging themselves on slices of fresh-from-the-sea sashimi. If you’re not eating them quite that fresh, then bleeding the fish out and keeping them very well-iced will keep them in good shape until you get home.
If you can hold off until you get back to shore, though, tuna steaks seared on the outside and rare on the inside are a special treat. Although the fish can be frozen, the result will probably be disappointing. The velvety texture doesn’t really hold up when thawed, unless you have the equipment to flash-freeze and vacuum seal the steaks. Liquid nitrogen, anyone?
So when you get a big blackfin tuna, treat it like a social event. Dole out steaks to family and friends. Use them to pay back favors, or to get leverage for favors you want. Keep enough for yourself just for tonight and tomorrow — delicious.
Robert Lugiewicz is the manager of Fishin’ Frank’s Bait & Tackle and a co-host of Radio WaterLine every Saturday from 7 to 9 a.m. on KIX 92.9 FM. Call 941-625-3888 for more information about the shop or for local fishing tips, or visit them online at FishinFranks.com.
The Link LonkJuly 02, 2020 at 05:00AM
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