By: Capt. Bruce Andersen

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There are so many different ways to catch blackfin tuna. Trolling, small feathers, and squid skirts on light tackle is a fun and effective way to catch football tuna especially for less experienced anglers and families with kids. Vertical jigging can be very effective and is especially good for more experienced anglers and jigging enthusiasts. Fishing with live baits, such as pilchards, cigar minnows, or ballyhoo can often be the most effective way to catch larger, blackfin tuna in the Florida Keys.

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USE www.theknottydawg.com e’ve got so many different types of fishing available to us this time of year in the Florida Keys, that sometimes choosing what to fish for can be the most challenging part of the day. One fish that makes up a big part of our offshore fishing is the black fin tuna. Fishing for black fin tuna can be good any time of year, and the most consistent fishing probably takes place in late summer and early fall, but often the month of April can produce some of the biggest blackfin caught all year long. Blackfin tuna may not get as big as the yellowfin and bluefin tuna that they catch in other places but catching them on light tackle here in the keys is probably as fun as any type of tuna fishing there is and one of the most fun activities to do on the water anywhere.In order to have a great day tuna fishing, you will need a couple of things to come together. Clear, blue water, and a strong current are two conditions that will usually really help turn on the tuna bite. The tuna in the spring will often come and go and you can have periods with a very hot bite that can go on for weeks with lulls of slower fishing between them, so you also need to get lucky and time it right to get in on a hot bite. The availability of bait also plays a big part. Most days in order to get the tuna fired up you’ll want to have plenty of live baits to chum with in addition to your hook baits. So, catching a livewell full of fresh cigar minnows, ballyhoo, or pilchards (my favorite tuna bait) is a very important part of the day.

On the Captain Easy, we use several different techniques to catch the tuna, but my favorite by far is live bait fishing for them. Live bait chumming while drifting baits back into the current on 20-pound spinning tackle has got to be one of the most fun ways to catch a fish that there is. Watching a 25-pound blackfin tuna explode on the baits sometimes just 20 or 30 feet behind the boat is a sight to see. When it all comes together, there’s nothing that could be more exciting.

— www.captaineasycharters.com

You can reach Captain Bruce Andersen at Capt. Easy Charters, MM 85, call 305.360.2120 or email at: captbrucekey@comcast.net

By: Caitlyn Gatrell

While this is not of the typical species I often write about in my fishing articles, it is too cool to not include! During our times out in the Ten Thousand Islands, we often see rays, whether they are swimming by in big schools, rushing off after we spook them when trolling on the surface, or even free jumping out of the water. They always seem to be nearby, and we have had quite the experience with a couple rays on some islands out there.

If you fish with me, you know I will always have a line in the water while we are stopped at an island, usually for a bait stop or to just relax and eat some lunch. I tend to just loosen my drag, let my rod sit in the rod holder, keep an eye out, and wait for that drag to start screaming. I always throw on a live bait, usually a pilchard or finger mullet.

After a while my bait will kind of start to slow down and not swim much anymore, and that’s when it tends to sink to the bottom. This becomes the perfect chance for these rays to scoop the bait up as they stroll along the bottom. Typically, I will notice my line seems to get tight but doesn’t seem to really “take off”. It almost gives the impression that it is stuck on something. At least that’s what it seemed like the first time I hooked into one of these rays. Once I start to reel a bit, that’s when I can tell there is definitely something on the line, when it gives a little bit of resistance as it tries to slowly swim away. Not too long after, the stingray will just take off down the beach or out into deeper water. I will say, compared to other species I catch, even tarpon, this species has got to be the biggest arm workout for me. My arms will be hurting after reeling in these rays! The fight takes a bit of time, as usually when I get them up close, they take off again and I have to just let them run. Getting them in and up close is a struggle enough, but watching out for that barb is another challenge!

I usually keep a safe distance, snap a photo, and then will try to get the hook out or cut the line as short as possible. I typically don’t even need to help them back in the water as they are already fired up, flapping their fins quickly to take off deeper into the water. While it is a fun fight, stingrays are not my favorite species to catch as they have me needing to take a break afterwards, lol, although I admire their beauty and strength!