THE TRUTH

Tell the truth! When is the best time to fish?

We fish year round, and we catch tuna year round, though we certainly experience a few different seasons during which we’re fishing different areas with different techniques, and with different results. Tuna season is all year long. Here are a few guidelines that will help you decide when to book your trip:

From the beginning of the year through the end of March we are usually fishing the infamous Midnight Lump. This spot has produced more 200+# yellowfin tunas than anywhere else in the Gulf, and on a great day, catching tunas (well, at least hooking) seems effortless. Watching huge tuna feed on chum ten feet away from the boat is awesome. This is also the best time of the year to get a shot at a big mako. However, understand that the Lump is no longer a secret. When I started to charter, we’d get upset if we saw five other boats. Now seeing over a hundred boats is not unheard of. As the local expert, I reserve the right to fish other places as well if I feel we would be more successful elsewhere, and knowing when to stay and when to bail is the reason you should fish with a local guide.

After the Lump Season ends in March, there’s a gap before when we start to see our consistent summer fishing pattern. One thing you know for sure is that if someone tells you April is the best month to catch yellowfin, they are a LIAR. During this time frame, we’ll catch a lot of wahoos and blackfins. We will catch yellowfins, though they are usually small school fish. This might cause excitement in other parts of the country, but I hate killing them because that’s that many fewer 150lbers I’ll get to gaff later.

The bottom fishing can be great during this time period, with the groupers untouched due to the snapper closure.

In Late April, typically the 21^st, we look forward to the opening of the snapper season. Expect the first marlins of the year to show up during this time, too, as we start to spread out and fish deeper water.

Between mid-May until the end of August, tuna, wahoo, mahi, and marlin are the order of the day. We are typically live baiting at the deepwater rigs. The weather and fish are consistently good this time of year.

September is peak hurricane month and elk season, so I’d rather not be around here. Nevertheless, I’ve had some of my best trips in September. During September and October we get some awesome top water action around feeding whale sharks, or we may continue live baiting. The blue water often comes in very close during September and I’ve caught several big tunas within five miles of the pass during this month. Also, alligator season is in September, so check out our package deals in the “Other Trips” section.

Early October is a wild card. Some times we’re fishing whale sharks, sometimes shrimp boats, or we may still be live -baiting. But by the end of the month the mullet run is usually starting up and can last until early December, though the first half of November tends to be the best. This is Inga’s favorite time of the year. A big tuna raging a mullet on the surface makes a splash you can see on your radar from three miles away and can deliver an offshore version of buck fever that gives even an expert shaking hands.

And then, depending on the year, we might be back on the Lump by late December.

I WANT BIG FISH!

Yes, yes, I know. I’ve caught yellowfin tuna over 150 lbs at some point during every month of the year, so there’s always a chance that a bruiser will show up. However, if you want just big ones, you can hedge your bets by coming when we’re more likely to get a shot at one: mid-Jan to mid-March and again from late Oct to late Nov. Here’s the catch: these are also the times of the year when the weather can be most variable. You’re looking at a 50/50 shot for most days during this period. Consequently, booking multiple days makes plenty sense. The most consistent tuna fishing occurs during the summer. The weather tends to be calmer, so if you book a day we’ll probably fish it, and the tuna fishing is consistently good, even though the average sized fish may be a little smaller. A 60-80# yellowfin tuna is no small-fry in most people’s book.

MULTI-DAY TRIPS

Depending on how far you’re traveling to get to Venice and your desired trip, you may want to consider a multi-day trip. Fishing multiple days gives you a chance to experience both the great offshore and great bottom fishing Venice has to offer, i.e. fish for the fryer and for the grill. Also, during certain parts of the year, booking multiple days is a good way to ensure that we’ll actually get you out on the water.

NIGHT TRIPS

Plenty customers ask about night trips. I believe there is a time and a place for them, but I hesitate to book them outright. Fishing one night costs the same as fishing two days, so the only thing you save on is the gas charge. I think most customers are happier fishing two days than fishing one night because you have the chance to fish two different areas, you get to sleep in a comfortable bed and eat a real meal, and you’re entitled to two limits of fish. However, during late summer when the surface water gets real hot, night trips are the way to go. I’ll tell you so if I think that’s the case. But don’t fall for the night trip scam which means you’re either fishing with a guy who can’t catch them during the day, or a guide who’s trying to pad his marlin numbers by talking you into trolling all day and fishing for tuna, which was the whole reason you came down, at night. Night trips can be great, but I think many people go into them with the wrong predisposition.

If you’re interested in a night trip, call and tell me so. I’ll book you for two days, and we’ll decide if we’re going at night or during the day the week before you come in regard to both the weather forecast and current fishing conditions.