AS SEEN IN THE SPRING 2004 ISSUE

Florida’s east coast anglers cross the ‘Stream in search of hot yellowfin action.

It’s the night before the trip. You’re restless with anticipation and can’t sleep. It’s that big-game feeling and you’re just as excited as the first time you headed offshore. As you clear Sebastian Inlet it’s still dark and hours before the sun will rise. You’re tired and you think it’s entirely too early to be out of bed, but damn this feels good! You’re making your way offshore through a crisp one to three foot chop with visions of tackling the most powerful fish in the ocean.  It’s amazing to witness the sky come to life as you clear the eastern edge of the Gulf Stream. Watching the sunrise, you realize you’re now 80 miles from the mainland while the rest of the world is still asleep. 

You advance the gain on the radar and the LCD screen indicates the location of bird concentrations only a few miles away. Hopefully the birds are working a school of feeding tuna. Zipping over to the scene you find voracious yellowfins crashing in every direction and churning up the water to froth. Baitfish schools are exploding into the air as they feverishly try to escape. Birds are diving and scooping up the injured. Adrenaline is pumping so hard that you’re stumbling and can barely focus on getting your baits in the water. Circling the feeding frenzy it only takes seconds for the first of many hungry tuna to crash your trolling lure. The rod doubles over and spray shoots in your face as line melts from the spool.

You now find yourself wide awake. Within what seems like the blink of an eye, the short rigger pops and a second reel begins screaming. You’re hooked up with multiple tuna that seem to be headed to opposite ends of the earth. These fish are incredibly fast and everyone aboard is scrambling to get their act together. This is what hot yellowfin tuna action is all about!

Through early spring and late summer, long range sport fishing from Sebastian Inlet and other ports in southeast Florida offers good shots at intercepting large schools of yellowfin, big-eye, and skipjack tuna. The tuna concentrate on the temperature change that defines the eastern edge of the Gulf Stream. This distinct 2 to 3 degree temperature break holds the tuna’s predominant forage of squid and baitfish. While crossing the ‘Stream, keep an eye on your temperature gauge. The break from warmer to cooler water is the tell tale sign marking the eastern side of the Gulf Stream.

The eastern edge of the ‘Stream is located 65-70 miles offshore of east central Florida and flows in a northerly direction. Although that’s your prime fishing area, targeting super fast yellowfins as far as 100 miles out is not unheard of in areas where the edge of the Gulf Stream meanders further east. The majority of the fish caught here are 30 to 50 pounds, but by mid to late summer, fish reaching three digits are a common occurrence. So what happens before the fresh tuna and the Wasabi come together?

The foremost concern is weather. At the dock it might be sunny and calm, but variable winds can present an entirely different weather scenario 80 miles from land. You should study the weather patterns at least a week prior to your offshore excursion. Pay close attention to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) buoy data and listen to daily and weekly forecasts. From Canaveral south to Jupiter, focus on the real-time forecasts from the Canaveral East Buoy (41010), located approximately 117 miles east of Canaveral. This buoy data will provide you with a clear picture of conditions you can expect to encounter when you reach your destination. Wind direction can be critical. Additionally, several internet fishing sites link to weather information. I personally use www.SFSFMAG.com.

A strong wind from the north pushes against the northern progression of the Gulf Stream and typically churns up the ocean into sloshy conditions. If it’s blowing hard from any northerly quandrant, I wouldn’t even think of crossing Gulf Stream. 

Plan for the hardcore tuna bite in the early morning and work your way back to the west side of the Gulf Stream before the afternoon thunderstorms build. On those rare drizzly days, I find the yellowfin tuna fishing can be exceptional. However, the interference from the rain droplets makes it difficult to differentiate the birds from the rain on the radar screen. This brings us to one of the most important tools in tuna fishing: radar.

You can run 80 miles from land, fish some likely areas, spot birds and stumble into tuna or run 80 miles from land, lose a lot of sleep, burn a lot of fuel and spend all day staring into the sky to end up empty handed. That’s how I used to do it before the introduction of radar. Now with high power radar, 6 KW or better, you can spot birds seven to eight miles away. I would invest in a powerful radar unit mounted as high as possible on the boat. Turn the rain and sea clutter adjustments down and increase the gain until the screen completely clutters over. At this point, back off the gain until the clutter pattern slightly disappears. A flock of birds will show up as indiscriminate blips appearing, disappearing and constantly moving. Birds like Frigates, Terns and Petrels will follow schools of tuna as they push up schools of baitfish to the surface like a ceiling barrier. The diving birds found with the help of your handy radar are like a “fish here!” sign post.

An 80 mile venture offshore should definitely be taken seriously as the conditions can be unpredictable with the possibility of high winds from isolated afternoon thunderstorms. First and foremost use your better judgment. A 20’ single outboard powered boat making the extended run to the tuna grounds is far too risky.  I respect the passion, as I have taken the same risks in the past.  However, out there you need the added insurance of a sizeable vessel that can handle the possibility of 6-10 foot swells and rough chop. Twin engines are strongly recommended. A VHF radio is usually out of range, as ship traffic is minimal. For these far runs a Single Side-Band radio (SSB) or Satellite telephone is a must. Along with your Coast Guard required equipment, an Emergency Positioning Indicator Radio Beacon (EPIRB) is suggested. Know your fuel capacity, fuel usage, and prospective range intimately. It is very important to make a check list and ensure everything is in proper working order. Drifting 80 miles offshore is not the time to discover that your electronics or engine components are malfunctioning.

The likelihood of hooking into a 60-100 lb. tuna requires big reels with extra line capacity.  Witnessing smaller 20-30 lb. tuna burn the line off a 30 class wide spool reel is common, and marginal line capacity just won’t cut it. I use Shimano Tiagra 50 wide spool reels filled with Ande hi-vis mono. I deploy up to 6 lines at a time and the hi-visibility line helps differentiate your lines from one another to track your spread more clearly. In the past I used 8 ft of 130lb blue or clear Jinkai or Momoi for leader material. However with experience I found that bigger yellowfin have exceptional eye-sight and are very leader shy.

I now make the investment in 8 ft. of  90 lb. fluorocarbon leaders by Seaguar and noticed a dramatic increase in my catch rate of larger fish. I also exclusively fish the trusted 2x strong southern style tuna hooks by Mustad. Since my yellowfin fishing is primarily a high speed trolling game from 7-11 knots, I am forced to couple my dead bait presentations with high speed skirted lure heads. The added skirts help keep the natural baits intact longer by preventing washout. Matching the hatch is imperative.  Flying fish, small mahi, and small bonito are everywhere. I stick with blue/white, green/yellow and black/purple color combinations. Lures by Tournament Tackle and R+S Lures are hot commodities in my spread. Straight running lures swimming just below the surface with an occasional pop up work very well. Additionally, the ever popular cedar plug catches tuna everywhere in the world, and I continue to struggle with my love/hate relationship with cedar plugs.  At the tackle shop I get dazzled by the flash of modern trolling lures, but I always end up with a couple cedar plugs which seem too simple to catch tuna but are so damn effective.

Yellowfin tuna are attracted to commotion. The illusion of fleeing baitfish in the prop wash often triggers tuna feeding behavior. My strategy is to deploy as many lines and teasers as I can, then add two more to the spread. I have never been chastised for not putting out enough lines. The added commotion of your spread is necessary to detour a pack of yellowfin from a school of natural baitfish.  I faithfully put out six lines along with 2-4 daisy chain teasers. In addition, I keep a lively pitch bait ready for when I’m already hooked up and there are fish holding below the boat. It is awesome to send a live-bait down and feel the strike of a tuna inhaling your offering.

One important and overlooked aspect about your tackle is redundancy. You need multiple backup lures. My tackle is comparable to the inventory on a shelf at your local tackle store. I keep aboard at least six lures of every color combination that I most commonly use . While expensive, it is well worth the reward if the tuna are only responding to a particular color combination on a particular day. Don’t hesitate to change your entire spread to the same lures and color combinations. There have been days when only blue/ white Islander Lure presentations work, so I change out everything to blue/white Islander Lures. And it is not by coincidence that once we change the spread, all the lines begin to produce strikes.

At times the lure position within the spread becomes more important than the color combination. For example, the port side long rod seems to get all the attention while the other rods get zilch.  Oftentimes jokes ensue about the ‘luck’ of a particular rod. It took me several years to realize that it’s not the lucky rod theory, but the positioning of the lure in the spread that makes the difference in catching fish.  I assume the particular action or smoke trail of a lure as it sneaks in and out of the prop wash during a turn or straight troll is what triggers strikes. There are endless reasons why lure presentations makes a difference, but sometimes one line consistently out produces the other lines in the spread. If this is the case, put all your other lures as close as possible to the position of the lure that is producing best. While every fisherman might have a tried and true spread pattern that they use with confidence, make sure you take into consideration the details of the first bite and try to follow whatever produced at that moment.  Observe what color, position, speed, etc. worked for the first fish, and duplicate it. People often quiz me about what lures and what spread I use the most. I consistently reply that it depends on the conditions of the day.

Remember Darwin’s theory of natural selection and the survival of the fittest? Yellowfin tuna feeding frenzy behavior is a perfect model for this theory. The fish that get to eat first will survive. In a feeding frenzy, when tuna are crashing and busting on the surface, it’s every tuna for itself. They are in a hurry to devour their meal before the next tuna gets it or the forage disappears. This allows the fishermen to capitalize on “the bite.”  The bite can last only seconds or as long as 3-4 minutes. The tuna then sound, only to pop up again several miles away.

A productive strategy is to spot a flock of working birds and feeding tuna and identify which direction the birds or fish are traveling. Remember to keep your distance about a quarter mile from the school. Getting too close will alert the fish of possible danger and they will sound, making them harder to follow. Work your spread along the leading edge of the school. You should now be hooked up with a tuna. Usually the fish is well hooked at a 7-11 knot troll, providing you have sharp hooks. Whatever you do, don’t stop trolling!!!! Keep trolling forward and a double, triple, or quadruple hook up may ensue. This is where the added line capacity comes into play. While hooked up with a single I’ll keep going and usually hook another. After two fish, I will slow the boat and then accelerate. This usually triggers additional hook ups upon acceleration. Typically, hooked yellowfin tuna make a scorching initial run. Then it’s an up and down tuna tug-o-war battle for the remainder of the fight. It’s the tell-tale vertical fight of a tuna that allows six anglers to be hooked up at one time with little line crossing.

If Sushi is part of your passion for catching yellowfin tuna, then proper care and dressing of the fish is very important. After you have your tuna gaffed beside the boat, avoid slamming the fish on the deck as you lift it over the gunwale.  Slamming the fish will bruise the flesh. Try to bleed the fish immediately by making an incision on the lateral line, an inch behind the pectoral fin. Let the fish bleed-out on the deck for a few minutes. Then gut the tuna and pack the body cavity full of ice. Position the tuna dorsal side up in the fish box and cover with a brine ice/saltwater slush. Follow these simple procedures and you will be rewarded with a better tasting and firmer textured tuna flesh at the dinner table.

Southeast Florida anglers are lucky to have the tuna fishery associated with the eastern side of the Gulf Stream. It may be tempting to load the fish box with tuna as a return on your investment of a 65 to 100 mile run.  Despite the excitement and glory of multiple hook-ups, please realize that the fishery is not invincible. Keep only what you can consume within a few days of the catch because frozen tuna does not compare to freshly caught tuna. Please release what might go to waste and try not to get caught up in the catch and kill practices that are decimating our sensitive tuna resource. With “tuna-fever” visions of your rod doubled over and the drag screaming, be sure to plan every trip by watching your weather, knowing your boat, preparing your tackle, and only then making the  run to the eastern side of the Gulf Stream. I’ll see you out there!

Bio:
Capt. John Bolen has a true passion for fishing. Born and raised on the east central coast of Florida, Capt John has had the run of the river since he was very young. He owned his first boat at the young age of 15 and quickly learned to navigate Sebastian Inlet. Always desiring to conquer other areas, he quickly discovered his passion for tuna fishing and the exciting opportunities the Bahamas had to offer. Capt John has been USCG licensed since he was 24 and began fishing professionally at that time. Now, the full time owner/ operator of Teaser Fishing Charters, Capt John fishes out of Sebastian Inlet and continues to share his passion with his son and ‘first mate’ John Earnest and with his charter clients who quickly become new fishing friends. “Do what you love and love what you do”. John says this is a lesson we should all be lucky to live each day.
Capt John can be reached at 1-877-286-5162 or by visiting his website at www.TeaserFishingCharters.com

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