Florida second report - little tunny!

[BenCantrell]

Second Florida report! Most of May was too windy to get out on the open water here, but Memorial Day weekend was perfect with low wind in the mornings. We launched from a different beach from my first report that didn't have stairs to deal with. Using beach wheels saved a lot of time compared to carrying loaded kayaks one at a time.

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As soon as we launched we were surrounded by fish blowing up bait on the surface. My kayak partner hooked up with a Spanish mackerel right away using a Rapala Slashbait 12.

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I was using an almost identical X-Rap 10, and within 10 minutes or so I caught my first little tunny.

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Ended up with five of them all together. I learned that if you want to release them healthy it's best to keep them in the water and shake the hook loose with a pair of pliers. We kept the ones that didn't make it.

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I trolled several miles with an X-Rap Magnum 20 and a similar sized Yo-zuri lure that also dives 20 ft, but neither got hit. We wanted to catch some small reef fish to pad the lifelist, so we headed south to the area we fished from my first report. I dropped a jig tipped with shrimp and pulled up a blue runner.

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Next was a blackear wrasse, a new one for me.

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Followed by a hairy blenny.

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And an Atlantic bumper, also new.

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At noon the wind picked up abruptly, so we paddle back north to our beach. I swung out to deeper water (30-35 ft) so I could troll the 20 ft lures, but they still didn't get touched. When I dropped below 20 ft I switched back to the X-Rap 10 and picked up another guaguanche.

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One of us had a picture perfect landing, and the other surfed a wave in before wiping out in the trough. A rod bit the dust, but other than that nothing was lost.

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We brought home the Spanish mack for dinner and 2 little tunny and a ladyfish for future shark bait. The mackerel was excellent marinated in a mixture of kombucha, soy sauce, honey, and sriracha.

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Once again we didn't make it far from shore. We agreed next time we want to head out further and bottom fish some wrecks or artificial reefs.

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Miles: 7.3
Hours: 5:00
Water Temp: 79 *
Wind Speed: 2 to 12 **

* Water temp from https://seatemperature.info/sebastia...mperature.html
** Max wind speed from https://www.windfinder.com/report/me...res/2021-05-29

[JohnMckroidJr]

Nice pictorial documentary report! I don't fish offshore that far north, so I am always curious to know what it might be like. That Atlantic bumper has a nasty spike on it's underside. One might think they would be a good bait, but I have trolled them for hours for sharks or zilch. That blue runner would have made a good slow troll bait for a smoker King Mackerel. Those Little Tunnies or as the locals call them Bonita, can get pretty thick in about another month. Most of the catch farther Sth is either released or cut up in strips to troll off planners by the charter boats. Most consider it too fishy, but it is popularly prepared as a poke in Hawaii.

[KamWalsh14]

Looks like a lot of fun! I don’t get how those tunny are considered trash fish by a lot of people over there; they seem like super hard pulling, cool looking fish. Nobody seems to have anything good to say about how they taste but I’ve tried the Japanese equivalent at restaurants and it’s pretty good when prepared right. I guess they do look like they’re super common and might be a nuisance if you’re targeting something else, just like the bonies here can be on days when you’re dead set on getting a yellow. Glad you’ve been getting on fish in your new state.

[BenCantrell]

Thanks guys! John, how deep do you think I need to go to find king mackerel? It would be fun to start using live baits like that blue runner.

I'm pretty adventurous when it comes to trying fish, so I'll definitely give the little tunny a try next time as poke or sashimi. I actually ate a decent amount of chub mackerel in San Diego (cooked though), and for that I just did a strong marinade of soy sauce, honey, sriracha, garlic, ginger, etc.

[PapaDave]

You might want to give the River side a try, should be bluefish, tarpon, snook, snapper, jack, Spanish and quite a few more lurking there.

My brother lives in that general area and that's what he gets. I'll be headed out there in a couple of years, but maybe on the west coast, not sure.

[JohnMckroidJr]

I don’t get how those tunny are considered trash fish by a lot of people over there; they seem like super hard pulling, cool looking fish. Nobody seems to have anything good to say about how they taste but I’ve tried the Japanese equivalent at restaurants and it’s pretty good when prepared right. I guess they do look like they’re super common and might be a nuisance if you’re targeting something else, just like the bonies here can be on days when you’re dead set on getting a yellow. Glad you’ve been getting on fish in your new state.

The Little Tunnies are super hard fighters..... a big spoiler when anticipating a more desirable fish. One time I was targeting Wahoo while fishing a live Little Tunny, and my stoke was destroyed by a big cannibal. I have been told that back when 10lb snapper were superabundant, Blackfin Tuna were considered trash. As other species become less abundant, eventually Little Tunny will become more appreciated.


John, how deep do you think I need to go to find king mackerel?

In my area, they can sometimes be right on the beach following baits, but are more commonly targeted in 50-150ft of water. I would put it out as bait right in the same area you caught it, but ask a knowledgable local tackle shop for advice.

You might want to give the River side a try, should be bluefish, tarpon, snook, snapper, jack, Spanish and quite a few more lurking there.


Including Red and Black Drum, Speckled Trout and Flounder. The Intercoastal Waterways are a huge fishery by themselves.

[iethinker]

I think Little Tunny is the SpongeBob SquarePants intro fish:

http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/7500000/Spongebob-Squarepants-Intro-spongebob-squarepants-7539644-720-480.jpg

[Johnn1]

I think that blue runner would have made a good slow troll bait for a smoker King Mackerel. Little Tunnies or as the locals call them Bonita, can get pretty thick in about another month. Most of the catch is either released or cut up in strips to troll off planners by the charter boats.