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A detailed look at the Panhandles’ diversified offshore fishery:
Take it from someone who has over the last 15 years competed in close
to 50 big game tournaments in the Panhandles rich offshore waters.
After spending literally hundreds of days offshore, I can personally
attest the northern Gulf of Mexico provides some of the most exciting
and productive big game angling found anywhere on the globe.
Due to the lay of the land, or I should say the lay of the bottom, the sloping walls of the extensive underwater canyons and trenches along the 100 to 1000-fathom lines stretch farther north here than anywhere else in the Gulf. The vast abundance of submerged hills, mountains and crevasses seem to go on forever. A quick peek at a bathymetric chart reveals all this inviting structure culminates about 50 miles south of the Panhandle.
If all that incredible underwater topography isn’t already enough to spark your interest, now add in the countless oil rigs and large drilling platforms that dot the southwestern sky for as far as the eye can see. Under the cover of darkness, the offshore waters southwest of Pensacola look like a floating city of skyscrapers.
Combined, all of the promising territory provides offshore anglers with literally hundreds of square miles to ply their craft.
Putting all the appealing structure aside, I can’t stress enough that when searching for that winning tournament fish, focusing exclusively on a stretch of high profile bottom or one of the many oil rigs just isn’t enough. Successful offshore fishing south of Pensacola Pass, or anywhere south of the Panhandle for that matter, is also about finding the right water. Locate an area of clean water with a two or three degree temperature break and boom, you’ve got a winning hand! Find a weed-line or distinct color change in the same vicinity, and you’ve just been dealt a royal flush. That’s what offshore fishing in the northern Gulf is like. It’s like a game of high stakes poker where each card, or specific area, can make or break you.
To stack the odds in your favor, I can tell you that there isn’t a single captain from Pensacola Pass, Destin or Panama City for that matter, who doesn’t closely study satellite surface temperature charts when planning an offshore excursion. With such a vast area of promising territory to explore, temperature charts pinpoint specific stretches worthy of extra attention.
Breaking off the easterly flowing Gulf Stream more than a hundred miles from shore, these nutrient rich warm eddies transport with them a wide array of forage species including flying fish, squid by the millions, and hordes of juvenile dolphin. All are favored prey by the host of pelagic species hot on their tails, including blue and white marlin, sailfish, swordfish, dolphin, wahoo, and pound for pound the most powerful of them all, enormous yellowfin tuna reaching the 200-pound mark.
An eddy is actually born when the edge of the Gulf Stream jogs inshore and forms a warm, clockwise flow of water. This warm flow drifts toward the coast, eventually dissipating as it collides with the shallower continental shelf. Large warm water eddies exceeding 10 miles in diameter, can move at speeds of 2-3 knots and may occasionally persist in a specific area for weeks and even months on end.
In preparation of a tournament, many of the Pensacola’s top crews not only study temperature charts but actually pay top dollar for private charter planes to fly over the warm eddies and pin-point formed weed-lines, color changes and other visual sources of promising structure. In addition, they spend hours acquiring the latest fishing reports from reliable sources recently on the grounds.
They also turn to the internet where updates from more distant ports are available at their fingertips. All of the resulting information is a highly guarded secret. A secret that winning crews aren’t happy about revealing
It’s really no big surprise hardcore teams go to such extent when you consider they spent thousands of dollars in entry fees and are about to run upwards of a 100-miles in their search for a winning marlin or tuna. Determining which way to steer the bow right out of the gate is critical in walking away from multi-day tournaments a winner. They all know that if they head in the wrong direction, they might as well be sitting at the dock twiddling their thumbs.
To better understand the northern Gulf’s immensely diverse offshore fishery, let’s start from the very beginning:
The most productive offshore fishing outside of Pensacola, really starts when you cross the 100-fathom line around well known areas such as the Nipple and the Elbow. Both are less than a 50 mile sprint from Panhandle ports and easily accessible for even the small boaters.
From there, you can head in a southwesterly direction. You may end up venturing more than a hundred miles from your home port where you will actually be fishing in water thousands of feet deep. As I am sure you already know, fishing a canyon or oil rig in 3000 feet is no place for novices and definitely no place for an unprepared crew, regardless how big the boat.
Preparation should start by keeping close tabs on marine weather forecasts for days in advance of your trip. If weather patterns look questionable, don’t go. There are just too many nice days to jeopardize having to run a hundred miles back home in sloppy, unsafe sea conditions. On more than one occasion, boaters have been caught in unpredictable weather and forced to tie their vessels off to the oil rigs while they join the drilling crew to wait out the passing storm.
Vessels should be equipped with all mandatory safety equipment with an EPIRB and inflatable life raft adding a level of security. An ample fuel supply is a requirement, especially when fishing a multi-day event or planning an overnighter.
It also goes without saying that whenever venturing this far from shore a float plan should be filled with explicit instructions to be followed by an appropriate party.
Now that all of that is behind us, let’s gear up for a typical Panhandle offshore adventure;
Since most of the time you’ll be trolling, with the possibility of tuna chunking at night, 50- to 80-pound stand-up gear will suit your needs perfectly. My personal preference for monofilament line is Sufix, but name brand is a matter of preference. Whatever your choice, I can tell you stick with quality, regardless of cost. It would be an absolute shame to lose a possible tournament winning fish due to tackle failure.
When big dollars are on the line, it’s not uncommon to spot a spread of 130s in the cockpit as well. The usual armament of trolling lures, rigged baits, terminal gear, gaffs, tail ropes, and a ton of ice should also come along for the ride. And just to play it safe, a few slabs of bait for chunking purposes wouldn’t hurt.
As previously mentioned, the northern Gulf is home to an endless array of near abyssal canyons, deep water trenches, ridges and crevasses. Couple all that attractive sub-surface structure with the countless oil rigs and platforms, and its no wonder Pensacola is the gateway to one of the world’s greatest offshore destinations.
It’s kind of funny, but believe it or not, one of the biggest challenges we encounter here is deciding exactly where to fish. With so many promising options, it’s hard to pick just one area. Again, that’s why it is so important to pay such close attention to temperate breaks and recent fishing reports. The Gulf is just too big of an area to fish anywhere.
By late winter/early spring, big yellowfin tuna will dominate the offshore scene. These fish can be targeted during daylight hours by trolling clearly marked areas from the De Soto Canyon out west to the Steps. Though a bit further offshore, rig hopping is another option and allows you to troll the best water possible. Though most of the yellowfin will be caught in the shadows of the mammoth structures drilling for oil thousands of feet below, the short hops between rigs will often produce the largest, tournament winning fish.
Bob Schneider and Moldcraft lures are excellent choices to pull, with rigged ballyhoo coming in at a close second. As far as color is concerned, over the years I have had excellent success by dragging bright lures during low light conditions and dark purple and black lures during the brightest hours of the day. I’ll tell you something else I’ve learned. Regardless where out here you are, the yellowfin tuna inhabiting the northern Gulf prefer lures pulled at 6- to 8-knots and no faster.
Under the light of the moon, your best bet for putting together a solid catch of hard fighting yellowfins is drifting along one of the many oil rigs out to the west. The fish stack up in the lights picking off flying fish and squid on the edge of the shadows.
The Petronius, situated approx. 70 miles south of Pensacola, is a favorite, but can get a bit crowded on calm weekends. From there you could continue on a southwest heading to the Marlin rig, or one of the many other platforms easily with-in reach.
It seems the key to catching these tuna is current. The more of it, the better they bite. If conditions aren’t favorable for drifting, tying off to the rig is an available option. Either way, loading up on a supply of hardtails is a sure fire recipe for success, but don’t overlook dropping a heavy jig down into the depths. Yellowfins won’t hesitate slamming a hammered jig 100 feet below the surface.
By late May, respectable blue marlin in the 200- to 400-pound range along with a handful of wahoo are usually eager to bite. These fish can pop up anywhere from the oil rigs, east to the De Soto, north to the Elbow, and everywhere in between. The key is focusing on distinct temperature breaks that coincide with the varying bottom contours below. Again, trolling is the only game in town. I would recommend an 8-knot troll with a full spread of artificials. When you locate life, pull back the throttles a bit and add a pair of rigged baits to the spread. What’s really nice about this vast offshore fishery is that in your search for billfish and wahoo you can always expect a few yellowfin or dolphin to crash the party at any time.
As the season progresses and offshore water temperatures continue to climb, the biggest bull dolphin and eventually white marlin will show up to fill in the gaps. Both these species can be trolled in open water by dragging Ilander/ballyhoo combos. Again, look for those temperature breaks. Many local pros will also tell you some of the biggest bulls have been pulled from the shadows of the thick weed-lines often encountered to and from the grounds.
Since most of the offshore fishing here is done on the troll, with the exception of night time rig chunking, anglers serious about putting a solid catch together should implement the same strategies as anywhere else. It is absolutely crucial to your success that you focus your efforts not only on structure, but stretches of water coupled with temperature breaks, color changes and/or floating debris.
However exciting and potentially productive, fishing the Panhandles offshore waters is still a gamble. There are just so many appealing areas anglers need to implement strategies that permit them to cover as much promising ground as possible. By paying close attention to your surrounding and doing bit of homework prior to your trip, you will undoubtedly greatly increase your odds of a winning hand! The northern Gulf of Mexico is just too good a destination to come home a loser.
The Nipple
29 50.050/ 87 05.515
The Elbow
29 41.852/87 17.507
The Spur
29 27.275/86 56.296
Tip of De Soto Canyon
29 23.750/86 59.250
The Steps
29 17.766/87 38.583
29 13.499/87 36.950
Petronius Rig
29 13.742/87 46.859
Marlin Rig
29 06.458/87 56.618
Bio:
Randy Parrish has been actively fishing Pensacola’s offshore waters for more than 15 years. An active tournament competitor, Randy spends most of his time along with his son Dustin on his 41’ Viking, Second Chance, chasing billfish, tuna and wahoo. No longer chartering, Randy is still happy to share his wealth of knowledge. Anyone interested in learning more about the Pensacola area, shouldn’t hesitate dropping him a line.
Randy can be reached by email at DParris3@Bellsouth.net
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