Captain Ron's

Sailing and Cruising Pages

Sailboat Fishing Florida and Bahamas

Fishing from your sailboat underway always seemed like a good idea to me although I have to admit not a particularly productive one. But then fishing in general is less productive regardless of the method. A lot of people blame the environmental damage caused by over fishing, industrial pollution or el Nino.

My personal opinion is that we're witnessing natural selection at work. The more fish that get caught, the fewer stupid and nearsighted fish there are to catch. The smart ones with good eyes reproduce, making the fish population as whole smarter and therefore harder to catch. Didn't you ever wonder why fishermen never catch a porpoise while trolling? It's because they're too smart and can "see" the difference between a free lunch and a free lunch with a hook in it.

So anyway what's the secret to catching dinner while cruising? Well, first of all, you have to be sailing in an area, and at a time of year when there are fish around to catch. (brilliant, right?) Recently, Florida Sportsman's web site had reported sailfish and dorado feeding off Bradenton from 20ft of water on out. It pays to check their web pages www.floridasportsman.com. Also it helps to know what they are likely to hit. They will hit what they're feeding on and hardware baits that resemble what they're feeding on. I'll limit this discussion to fishing with hardware because I don't use live baits on a sailboat. It's just too messy unless you're equipped with live wells, water pumps and bait nets.

That brings me to the subject of gear. What do you really need to catch fish? Well, not much. A hand line will do. Some sailors use what's called a meat line. This amounts to some heavy fishing line, usually 200 or 300lb-test mono. Often you will see this line permanently mounted on a large spool attached to the stern rail of serious cruising boats. The spool contains maybe 50 or 100 yards of line and can be operated like a large diameter reel albeit without a drag system. The appropriate lure or bait is dropped back to the desired distance and then cleated off securely. It is checked periodically to see if there's a fish being dragged behind. Personally, I want a little more to play with so I go for a traditional rod and reel. Since there's no drag system on a meat line, you need the extra heavy line and stout hooks.

My gear is a regular boat rod like they sell at K-Mart. It's a simple 4/0 Penn Long Beach fiberglass rod about 6ft long. 4/0 refers to the diameter size of the rod, (4/0 being bigger than 3/0). No, longer is not better, just ask my wife. I prefer fiberglass to the newer graphite or carbon fiber rods because plain old glass is more resilient. I have broken carbon rods but I have yet to break a glass one. On the rod, I have a Penn Senator 4/0 star drag reel with a stainless steel drum. I have the reel wound with 40lb test monofilament. I figure 40lb test line is about the most I can hold onto without getting dragged overboard, even if that's only for 30 seconds or so. One time I caught a 4ft+ long Dorado in the Bahamas that nearly beat me even at that. Man, my arms were tired. At the end of the mono, I have attached a large ball bearing swivel with snap that rates about 150lb test. This enables fairly quick lure and sinker changes.

I prefer using trolling sinkers instead of planers when dragging hardware behind a moving sailboat. This is because your hardware needs to be checked periodically for weeds and reeling in a 16 oz trolling weight at speed is a darn sight easier than trying to haul in a #2 planer. The lure is attached to the end of at least a 20 ft monofilament leader, usually 100 lb. test and connected to the sinker (or planer) with a snap swivel of about the same test. The sinker attaches to the big swivel at the end of the reel's line. I carry weights of 1 to 24 ounces in my box. (You can chain them together if need be) Generally, the heavier the weight the deeper it will run but then the faster you go the shallower the lure will run.

When I rig up, the trolling weight goes on the snap then the lure's leader attaches to the weight with a similar snap-swivel. Again, I almost always have a very long mono leader, at least 20ft and more is better in this case. I think you get more strikes on mono leaders than wire and I think you get more strikes with longer leaders. I think this is because the planer or weight is a distraction that spooks fish. So better the bait isn't anywhere near the sinker or planer. Also I think fish can see the wire leader easier than the mono leader. (That natural selection theory again).

Now depending on the kind of fish we're likely to catch, I set up my rig to drag the hardware and then set the rod in a rod holder firmly attached to stern rail. You need a really solid rod holder somewhere near the stern. Schedule 40 PVC pipe about 2" i.d. works fine if it is lashed securely to a stern rail. I then set the reel's drag to absorb the shock of the hit and set the click ON so that when a fish starts stripping line, I'll hear it go. How tight do I set it? It depends on what you're likely to catch. If the fish is hard mouthed like barracuda or mahi-mahi, I set the drag very hard. If soft or fragile like king mackerel, I set it very lightly, just enough that boat speed doesn't take line. For grouper, I set the drag rock solid. When grouper hit, they hit hard and fast and immediately head for a hole in the bottom. To prevent them reaching a hole, the drag must be set very hard.

Once the rig is set up drop the bait back into the boat's wake. How far back? Well it depends on the lure. For the surface types, I usually fish the 4th to 10th wave back and try to get the lure just skimming the face of a wave bubbling nicely as it surges up and down the waves. For sub surface types, it depends on the boat speed but usually the lure is between 50 and 100 feet back. You can try varying the drop back sometimes farther back gets hits when closer in doesn't. For Bomber types that run near the bottom, the idea is to let out enough line to get near the bottom but not get snagged. Very tricky. If you're fishing more than one rod, use different lures, drop-backs and depths.

Back to what can be caught and when.

In the spring and fall in the near offshore waters of the Tampa Bay area there are king mackerel runs. These usually occur in November and March but it depends on the Gulf water temperature. Kings feed in water that's between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. To catch these tough guys that can range upwards of 60lbs, (the record is over 90lbs) you need large spoons say five to six inches long. These resemble cigar minnows or threadfins to a near-sighted kingfish. Also effective are long rubber lures designed to resemble eels or ribbon fish, a favorite king mackerel meal. They run up to 18 inches long. Kingfish lures are deployed on planers or weights to get the bait down in the 8 to 12 ft depth range. As mentioned before, set the drag very lightly as a hard strike will just rip the hook right out otherwise. Speeds of 5 to 8 knots works best for hardware kings. The best place to catch these guys is near channels. In the Tampa Bay area, the Egmont Ship Channel near the outer half dozen buoys is very productive but most areas of hard bottom also produce fish. How do you find hard bottom? Welllll, during king season just look for a bunch of boats, otherwise you need a good bottom scratching fish finder sonar. You can also fish where you see birds working the surface. Look for the big ugly seagulls. These lazy birds are just picking up fish chunks left by feeding mackerel or jacks. The terns can dive and catch live fish and therefore are not necessarily a sign of feeding fish.

Keep in mind other boats when you're out there fishing. You'll see some boats drifting, some anchored and some slow trolling. These guys are usually fishing with live baits. Around the ship channel the boats generally fall into a traffic pattern of some sort. Try to see their pattern and follow it, staying far enough away from other boats that gear doesn't get tangled.

If a king hits, the best fisherman on the boat is your rod holder. Assuming you have the drag set lightly, the rod will play the fish better than you can because the rod holder won't jerk the rod around. Remember these fish have tender mouths. Any jerking or "setting" the hook usually rips it right out. Slow the boat by furling sails, cutting back the engine or heading into the wind. Then take you time getting the rod out of the holder and playing the fish. You want these guys dead tired when you finally get them to the boat. Remember the legal limits on kings Maximum of 2 fish per day per person and a minimum legal size of 20 inches measured to the fork of the tail.

In the late spring, early fall and summer off the Tampa Bay area, the most common catch du jour will be Spanish Mackerel. These fish travel in schools and generally run from small at 1/2 lb. to large at 5lbs. All of them like to feed on small glass minnows, or anchovies which also travel in schools. Glass minnows are baitfish that seldom exceed 2 inches long and mostly run about an inch long. This means that your favorite 7 inch spoon or 12 inch tube lure won't work. In fact, if that's what you're dragging you probably won't catch anything at all since, at that time of year, there's little else worth catching while trolling in the near offshore zone.

To catch Spanish Mackerel, tiny silver spoons (no more than an inch long) are the order of the day. Clark's spoons in size 0 or 00 work very well. These need to be fished near the surface but not on the surface. 4 to 6 feet deep is usually most productive but some days deeper is better. If you have a fish finder sonar you will be able to see schools of bait and schools of mackerel and determine the correct depth to fish. Otherwise it's a guess. Match the depth of the baitfish schools. Faster speeds are also better, I find 5 to 8 knots or so most productive. Again set the drag lightly. You might consider a lighter leader, maybe down to 20lb test. Again the limits are 15 fish per person per day with a minimum fork length of 12 inches.

You can also catch grouper in the Gulf by trolling. This technique is a little different but it does catch fish. Troll slowly with large Bomber lures fished near the bottom say 2 to 6 ft above the bottom. Bomber lures are a specific brand of floating plug about 6 or 8 inches long with a large diving plane usually of clear plastic fixed to the nose. There are other big deep diving plugs made by Rebel, Rapala and others that will work also. Rig it with a long leader and enough weight to get it near the bottom for the speed you are moving. Remember to crank the drag up to maximum. This usually produces fish during the fall and spring when grouper migrate to near shore waters in search of food. In the summer and winter grouper stay well offshore in Florida and usually are only caught in water deeper than 70ft but when they're inshore, I have caught them while sailing as near as a mile off Honeymoon Island in no more than 16ft of water. The main problem with this fishing method is lost tackle. Getting your lure snagged on a rock is not uncommon and those dang Bombers are expensive little devils. Slower speeds work better on grouper, say 3 to 5 knots. Limits on grouper are confusing because it depends on the species. Mostly, near shore on the West Coast of Florida, you will catch Gags or Reds. The limits on these are 22 inches overall and 5 fish per person per day.

In the Bahamas, fishing is generally better than the Gulf. Mahi-Mahi or Dorado can be caught most of the year there. The best lures for Dorado seem to be green and yellow-skirted bubblers that are dragged very fast right at the surface. 7 or 8 knots is not too fast. Perfect cruising cat speeds. Trolling below 5 knots is generally not productive for these fish. The best lure size is about 5 to 6 inches long. I think these look like skipping ballyhoo to the Dorado. Again long leaders help. These same lures will also pick up an occasional billfish like a sailfish or marlin. Dorado like shade, so it helps if you can troll along a weedline or near floating debris. With Dorado you can set the drag pretty firm. Once you get a fish on you can tighten the drag. Remember too that when a fish jumps, it usually loosens the hook so resetting the hook after a jump usually pays. There is a limit in the US of 10 fish per person per day.

In the Keys, Dorado are caught mostly in the late spring to early fall months but the tackle is the same and summertime fish are not uncommon. Dorado are usually taken in deep clear water (+600ft). They can be had in the Gulf off Clearwater but it will take you a while to get out to water deep enough and clear enough. If you're looking for bird sign, look for frigate birds. Frigate birds track the Dorado schools and feed on the same baits. Deep-water drop offs are best but sometimes fish are taken near deep passes. One favorite area is in Northwest Providence Channel along the deep drop offs near Chub Key in the Berry Islands.

Also in the Bahamas and Keys, barracuda can be caught year round. Yes, they can be eaten and they are some of the best tasting fish you will ever eat. Usually barracuda are taken with bright yellow or orange tube lures called 'cuda tubes that are about 10 to 12 inches long fished with or without weights at or near the surface although silver spoons will also work. On our last trip we caught a nice mutton snapper on a 'cuda tube trolling inside the Sea of Abaco so who knows what will turn up. If you plan to try to eat barracuda, settle for a small one, say less than 4 lbs. To help minimize the ciguaterra risk, clean the fish and set some meat outside on a paper plate. If the flies will land on the fish then it may be safe to eat but if the flies refuse to land on the fish don't touch it. At least this is what the natives say.

Then what happens if you get lucky? First, just make sure the autopilot is set…. That way you and the wife can fool around without having one hand on the tiller. Hmmm, Next … slow down … You can't reel in a 40lb Dorado with the boat moving 7 knots. Slow it down to a nice 1 knot crawl. You may have to furl the genny or even drop the main but usually just turning a bit into the wind will do the trick. Next strap on your fighting harness. Any cheap plastic one with a rod socket will do. Remember that up till now the rod's been in the rod-holder and the fish is probably stripping line like mad. Adjust your drag if required. Then wait for the fish's initial run to slow down. Wrestle the rod out of the rod holder and firmly seat it in the harness, then find a place to sit. Now pump and reel until you need a break. If the fish is running hard and stripping a lot of line, you may need to cool the drag in the reel. You can pour water on the reel to cool it. If you get too tired, get some help to put the rod back into the holder while you snag a beer. Don't bring a big fish near the boat until he is dead tired and just floating along. We had a big barracuda attempt to jump right into the cockpit once … he just missed Carole's head!

Ok, so now you have a tired 5-foot long Barracuda alongside, what next? Well, I generally don't boat fish that I'm not going to kill and eat so I try to remove the hook without damaging the fish. If he really swallowed it then just cut the line. The fish will eventually spit the hook. Sometimes you need to slip a gaff into the lip of a fish just to control it while you use pliers to work out the hook. Then dragging the fish slowly through the water will usually revive it enough to swim off.

Speaking of gaff hooks. Get one with a wooden handle or one that floats or alternatively one that is tied to the boat. I've lost a couple of really nice gaffs when a big fish wiggled violently and ripped it from my hands.

If you plan to eat the fish, then just gaff it and bring it aboard. Keep in mind that a large fish flopping around on deck can be dangerous. I keep a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol handy in the cockpit. A few squirts over the fish's gills will anesthetize it so that you can operate in relative calm. They tell me rum works too but I prefer saving the rum to anesthetize myself.

Also remember that cleaning a fish on deck can splatter blood everywhere. It's generally better to clean fish down on the transom steps or swim platform than on deck. I keep a supply of large zip lock bags handy to stow the fillets after butchering. There is no substitute for sharp filet knives. A cooler full of ice or a fridge/freezer completes the storage options until you can use the meat. Fresh fish will keep 3 to 5 days on ice or refrigerated and up to 4 months frozen. It'll keep even longer if you have one of those vacuum bagging machines handy. Fresher is better for eating so I prefer to only keep what we can eat over the next few days. A good sized Dorado we caught in the Bahamas served up about 12 big meals worth of meat. We were pretty tired of Dorado by the end of that week!

Also it may pay to wait until you are in calm waters to clean your catch. Starring at a pile of blood and guts while rolling around in 12 foot seas can be a wonderful purgative. In that case just ice down the whole thing until you can find cleaning time.

So, generally, stout tackle, long mono leaders, lead sinkers instead of planers, and matching the lure to the bait produces fish. You still need to be there when the fish are and you still need to be at the right depth and right speed but having the right stuff will get you fish. The rest is luck and nearsighted fish.