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John N. Felsher's Offshore Fishing Adventures
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Grappling with tuna at close range
tests nerves and terminal tackle
tests nerves and terminal tackle
Howard Hammonds watches as Will Fowler fights one tuna while
another jumps at a bait in the Gulf of Mexico south of Cocodrie, La.
another jumps at a bait in the Gulf of Mexico south of Cocodrie, La.
From 40 feet deep in the clear, aquamarine water, the black shadow
shot to the surface and inhaled a fish.
Capt. Tommy Pellegrin of Custom Charters out of Cocodrie, La.,
braced for the fight as the blackfin tuna stripped line from the screeching
reel. Speedy scrappers, blackfins can stretch the limits of anglers and
tackle. A tuna might run a hundred yards in seconds, but Pellegrin prefers
to battle these compact titans at close range with what he calls “cane
poling.”
First, he must find them. His secret, locate shrimp boats. When
picking through the shrimp catch, boat crews often toss over the side
“bycatch,” various species they cannot sell. Therefore, blackfins,
yellowfins, cobia, sharks, king mackerel and many other ravenous species
hang near shrimp boats to pick up free meals.
“Fish can recognize the sound of nets dragging, chains scrapping the
boat and diesel engines,” Pellegrin said. “They learned that they can get a
free meal there. We go behind a shrimp boat and start chumming. Bonito
feel secure under the shrimp boat. The farther away from the shrimp boat
we drift, the more blackfin or yellowfin tuna show up.”
Large shrimp boats may stay offshore many days and sometimes run
low on supplies. For a few adult beverages, they gladly trade baskets of
bycatch to visiting recreational anglers. When anglers throw the bycatch
into the water, fish think the shrimpers began culling their catch again. As
pieces of chum hit the water, frenzied bonito, tuna and other fish slash the
surface.
In the Gulf of Mexico about 55 miles south of Cocodrie, we stopped to
barter with a shrimp boat crew anchored in water 200 to 250 feet deep. A
few yards away from the shrimp boat, Pellegrin tossed fish pieces into the
water to alert any fish lurking nearby. Almost instantly, hundreds of bonito,
tuna and other fish battled for morsels, flashing like silver and aquamarine
lightning bolts before gulping baits and disappearing.
In the frothy fury, Pellegrin handpicks his quarry. Using less than 10
feet of line on a stout rod, he drops a succulent morsel next to a feeding
tuna before the bonito or sharks inhale the offering. With exceptional vision
for a fish, a tuna might rise from 30 to 40 feet down in clean water to grab a
handout.
“Tuna are slightly warmer than the water, so they like to stay down in
the depths, pop up to feed and then go down deep to cool off,” the skipper
explained. “In the summer, I like to have at least 200 feet of water before I
start looking for tuna. In the fall, tuna get into shallower water, 115 to 120
feet deep. October, November, February and March are probably the top
months for tuna because the water temperature is in the mid- to upper 60s
where tuna like it. That’s the prime temperature to keep tuna on the
surface longer. They don’t have to have blue water. It’s actually better to
catch tuna in clean green water than in cobalt blue.”
Before Hurricane Katrina smashed through southeastern Louisiana in
August 2005, many anglers searched for tuna near the Midnight Lump, a
submerged mountain about 18 miles off the Mississippi River mouth where
water rises from 700 feet to 200 feet deep. Here in May 2003, the crew of
the Miss Cathy landed a 1,152-pound bluefin tuna, the largest game fish
ever caught in the Gulf of Mexico.
When Katrina demolished port facilities in the Mississippi River Delta,
many charter captains shifted their operations west to Cocodrie or
Fourchon south of Houma, La. These two fishing ports escaped serious
damage from either Hurricanes Katrina or Rita, which hit in September
2005. Even before the hurricanes hit, these areas provided outstanding
fishing action, but nearly a year after Katrina, the fishing seems better than
ever.
“The water in the Gulf of Mexico is better that it has been in a long time
and the fishing is better that ever,” Pellegrin said in April 2006. “In the
middle of the state, between where the storms hit, the fishing was
unbelievable in the spring. “For tuna, most people think of the Midnight
Lump, but we have plenty tuna south of Houma.”
On this trip, we caught 28 blackfins ranging from 20 to 35 pounds and
a few cobia up to 30 pounds, but no yellowfin tuna. However, Pellegrin
often catches yellowfins up to 175 pounds with the same chumming and
caning-poling techniques. After four hours of constant muscle-ripping
action, we headed to port with more than 800 pounds of fish stuffed into the
bulging cooler.
For booking trips with Custom Charters, call (985) 851-3304. On the
Internet, see www.customchartersllc.com.
shot to the surface and inhaled a fish.
Capt. Tommy Pellegrin of Custom Charters out of Cocodrie, La.,
braced for the fight as the blackfin tuna stripped line from the screeching
reel. Speedy scrappers, blackfins can stretch the limits of anglers and
tackle. A tuna might run a hundred yards in seconds, but Pellegrin prefers
to battle these compact titans at close range with what he calls “cane
poling.”
First, he must find them. His secret, locate shrimp boats. When
picking through the shrimp catch, boat crews often toss over the side
“bycatch,” various species they cannot sell. Therefore, blackfins,
yellowfins, cobia, sharks, king mackerel and many other ravenous species
hang near shrimp boats to pick up free meals.
“Fish can recognize the sound of nets dragging, chains scrapping the
boat and diesel engines,” Pellegrin said. “They learned that they can get a
free meal there. We go behind a shrimp boat and start chumming. Bonito
feel secure under the shrimp boat. The farther away from the shrimp boat
we drift, the more blackfin or yellowfin tuna show up.”
Large shrimp boats may stay offshore many days and sometimes run
low on supplies. For a few adult beverages, they gladly trade baskets of
bycatch to visiting recreational anglers. When anglers throw the bycatch
into the water, fish think the shrimpers began culling their catch again. As
pieces of chum hit the water, frenzied bonito, tuna and other fish slash the
surface.
In the Gulf of Mexico about 55 miles south of Cocodrie, we stopped to
barter with a shrimp boat crew anchored in water 200 to 250 feet deep. A
few yards away from the shrimp boat, Pellegrin tossed fish pieces into the
water to alert any fish lurking nearby. Almost instantly, hundreds of bonito,
tuna and other fish battled for morsels, flashing like silver and aquamarine
lightning bolts before gulping baits and disappearing.
In the frothy fury, Pellegrin handpicks his quarry. Using less than 10
feet of line on a stout rod, he drops a succulent morsel next to a feeding
tuna before the bonito or sharks inhale the offering. With exceptional vision
for a fish, a tuna might rise from 30 to 40 feet down in clean water to grab a
handout.
“Tuna are slightly warmer than the water, so they like to stay down in
the depths, pop up to feed and then go down deep to cool off,” the skipper
explained. “In the summer, I like to have at least 200 feet of water before I
start looking for tuna. In the fall, tuna get into shallower water, 115 to 120
feet deep. October, November, February and March are probably the top
months for tuna because the water temperature is in the mid- to upper 60s
where tuna like it. That’s the prime temperature to keep tuna on the
surface longer. They don’t have to have blue water. It’s actually better to
catch tuna in clean green water than in cobalt blue.”
Before Hurricane Katrina smashed through southeastern Louisiana in
August 2005, many anglers searched for tuna near the Midnight Lump, a
submerged mountain about 18 miles off the Mississippi River mouth where
water rises from 700 feet to 200 feet deep. Here in May 2003, the crew of
the Miss Cathy landed a 1,152-pound bluefin tuna, the largest game fish
ever caught in the Gulf of Mexico.
When Katrina demolished port facilities in the Mississippi River Delta,
many charter captains shifted their operations west to Cocodrie or
Fourchon south of Houma, La. These two fishing ports escaped serious
damage from either Hurricanes Katrina or Rita, which hit in September
2005. Even before the hurricanes hit, these areas provided outstanding
fishing action, but nearly a year after Katrina, the fishing seems better than
ever.
“The water in the Gulf of Mexico is better that it has been in a long time
and the fishing is better that ever,” Pellegrin said in April 2006. “In the
middle of the state, between where the storms hit, the fishing was
unbelievable in the spring. “For tuna, most people think of the Midnight
Lump, but we have plenty tuna south of Houma.”
On this trip, we caught 28 blackfins ranging from 20 to 35 pounds and
a few cobia up to 30 pounds, but no yellowfin tuna. However, Pellegrin
often catches yellowfins up to 175 pounds with the same chumming and
caning-poling techniques. After four hours of constant muscle-ripping
action, we headed to port with more than 800 pounds of fish stuffed into the
bulging cooler.
For booking trips with Custom Charters, call (985) 851-3304. On the
Internet, see www.customchartersllc.com.