Blue water fishing has dominated our efforts lately with good catches of dolphin, wahoo and small yellowfin tuna.
Trolling the Steps, 125 miles southwest of John's Pass, we caught a small wahoo and many 20-pound bonitos.
We then moved to the Boca buoy, 199 miles southwest of St. Petersburg. There, we caught eight dolphin larger than 20 pounds, a couple of 30-pound bull dolphin, small yellowfin tuna and a wahoo.
We watched a huge marlin attack a school of skipjacks but could not get it to feed on our offerings. Most of our success was attributed to trolling jet head lures at 8.5 knots. Dolphin are voracious eaters. Once you hook one, keep it in the water close to your boat. The rest of the school will stay near the boat, so you should catch as many as you want.
The USF weather buoy has produced nice wahoo lately, and there have been reports of blackfin tuna west of the Mexican Pride. Weather conditions continue to be excellent. Remember, for any extended trip, file a float plan with someone on shore.
- Larry "Huffy" Hoffman charters out of John's Pass, Treasure Island. Call 727 709-9396 or e-mail him at huffyl@tampabay.rr.com
