Outdoors

Daily fishing report

By LARRY HOFFMAN
Published June 7, 2005

June is the start of bluewater fishing on our coast. Summer is void of cold fronts so planning an offshore trip is possible now.

Many wahoo are being caught in 250 feet. Trolling large spoons and "wahoo whackers" in the morning and late afternoon has resulted in wahoo up to 40 pounds. Wahoo are fast and will test your tackle, especially your drag systems. Fifty-pound class tackle and a fighting belt are necessary when trolling for wahoo, tuna and billfish. Last season we had two fish spool 800 yards of line off a 50 wide reel. The fish hit in 600 feet and we could not recover any line. If you're looking for marlin, use 80-pound class tackle.

When trolling, look for weed lines, tide rips and floating debris. Troll at speeds of at least eight knots in order to cover large areas. If you catch a fish, spend extra time trolling in that area. It is not unusual to catch many fish in one area. Bluewater areas that traditionally produce fish are the Elbow, 100-fathom curve, and the Loop Current. The Steps - 125 miles southwest of John's Pass - produces blue, white and striped marlin, as well as tuna and wahoo.

If yellowfin tuna is your goal, head 130 miles offshore and drift live bait. Many yellowfin tuna were caught last year weighing over 150 pounds. Large blue runners are hardy baits that hold up in live wells and work well offshore.

--Larry "Huffy" Hoffman charters out of John's Pass, Treasure Island. Call 727 709-9396 or e-mail him at huffyl@tampabay.rr.com

[Last modified June 7, 2005, 02:15:48]