I DO NOT FEEL THE NEED FOR SPEED (SOMETIMES)
Tim Barefoot
T
his is a play off the famous line from the movie Top Gun, but it has a clear meaning when it comes to fishing for palegics. Are there times when I want to highspeed troll to locate areas with fish? YES. Are there times when I want to troll 6-7 knots to catch numbers of good fish when they are on or near the surface feeding? YES. With all that said, are there times to slow down and get baits down to where the fish are in the water column? YES, Definitely! These times are typically after 10 or 10:30 a.m., when the sun is high in the sky, and on, or around a full moon. The first reason is obvious. Fish don’t have Maui Jims, so they adjust the amount of light they need/want with water depth. This is especially true with wahoo and tuna. And the full moon thing… they stay up all night eating with the “big light” on. Have you ever noticed how the bite dies down after 10 or 11 in the morning? Have you ever noticed the days around a full moon are typically slow? These are not just coincidences. Granted, the planer rod (aka “the meat stick”) is the one that produces in the middle of the
day, and at daylight for that matter, and around the full moon, but I much prefer to catch these fish (any fish) on as light tackle as possible. I like to slow it down, and use the correct tackle for the job, while getting baits down in the strike zone. While drifting or
WATCH
Tipped with cigar minnow or sardine, the jig looks like a squid that has caught supper, and everything eats squid. This is a wahoo bait that can be fished with fluorocarbon instead of wire or cable, simply because almost all wahoo strikes on squid are intended to cut the back half the squid off before consumption. Predatory fish know they can easily eliminate a squid’s only defenses… tentacles and a biting beak. A stinger hook in the head of a live or frozen cigar minnow or sardine will do the work. There is only one VIDEO major problem with this setup. Don’t let it get too close to the
bottom, or you’ll have a grouper or big snapper bite. I think we just got ’em on a technicality. If you are “trolling for wahoo” and let the bait get too close trolling, I like to use a jig when I need to get to the bottom and catch a grouper, oh well, I baits down deeper where the mid-day fish wasn’t using circle hooks. Just sayin’. are hanging out. A 4-ounce Squid Decoy Jig is a good option because it drifts and trolls See more from Tim Barefoot at barefootcatsandtackle.com. well and can be fished with or without bait.
TUNA!
4 OZ. SQUID DECOY JIG
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FEBRUARY 2022
THE ANGLER VIDEO MAGAZINE