We had a mixed bag of fish today.
No one species of fish were really biting. Some days are like that. You may want to target a particular kind of fish, but if it’s not biting, you have to start looking for other species to keep people busy. We had hoped to fish mostely for dolphin, (Mahi-Mahi) today, but there were only a few being caught. we did end up with one small one, but it was too slow to keep looking for more. We wanted to have some good action and today that meant other types of fish.
Although many people consider them “trash” fish,
Bonitos and Barracudas can be a Captain’s best friend some days. Just like my customers, most days, I would rather be catching Dolphin, Wahoo, Tuna, and Sailfish. Unfortunately, some days there are not many of those to be found. I wish it wasn’t the case. I wish every day was like trolling down the aisle in the supermarket. Dolphin over here, Wahoo over there. Tuna in another spot. Just like walking down the aisle picking up your groceries. Fortunately, some days are like that, but not all. When it’s not like that you have to have a couple of fish species to fall back on and give your customers some good action.
That’s where Bonitos and Barracudas come in.
They can be more common and easier to catch, although not always. So if we are not getting bites offshore, moving inshore or on the reef to get a few fish can make the day for most people. Catching something is always more fun.
As I mentioned, we only caught one dolphin today,
but it was enough for a good dinner. in addition to the Dolphin, we caught a Skip Jack Tuna to add to the dinner menu. We also caught a bunch of small bonitos and a couple of “full-sized” ones. There is no real food value to them, they are edible, just not considered “good” to eat. But they do pull very hard and most people are surprised they are not twice as big once they pull them in the boat.
I guess the “fish of the day”
was a nice big Trophy Barracuda. We release all barracudas unless the customer wants to have them mounted. It is one of the most popular fish to mount because the are big with a very impressive set of teeth. They are a voracious reef predator and it’s not hard to see why with those fangs