4 Yellowfins over 200 pounds in 40 days

**Morning Wood Sportfishing** · 05-07-2010 12:49 AM

Freak: a person or animal on exhibition as an example of a strange deviation from nature; monster. a person who has withdrawn from normal, rational behavior and activities to pursue one interest or obsession: a drug freak

I have often described Hunter Caballero as a freak. His ability to look at a seemingly lifeless ocean (at least from the surface) and find tuna (monsters, at that) never ceases to amaze me, and I have been loitering the decks of the Tail Whipped for close to a year and a half now. A customer asks “This water looks good. Can we try for a blue marlin?” back in January, and within fifteen minutes of deploying a live blackfin, we have 350 pounds of angry pointy-nosed fish raising hell behind the boat. On the way out one day, I loosely joke about how cool it would be get three 200 pound yellowfin in a season. Later that day, the solid slap that only a big, fat yellowfin hitting the deck can make, rang through everyone’s ears as we captured our third 200 pound tuna in less than three weeks.
Sunday, March 21st was another one of those days where I requested off for the weekend and ultimately ended up regretting it (my girlfriend will kill me upon reading this), as my Captain Hunter Caballero ended up netting his 4th yellowfin tuna over 200 pounds in less than 40 days. This job is awfully demanding of our time, and I am lucky enough to work for a guy that pretty much lets me off whenever I want, as long as it means handling business aka visiting the girlfriend some 400 miles away. So on that fateful weekend in March, I went chasing one kind of tail, while Captain Hunter went chasing the other. I am going to tell this tale to the best of my abilities as the information was given to me, so sit right back and enjoy this story of absolute cockpit chaos, mishaps, and near disaster as only pissed off behemoths of the deep can create when they suddenly find themselves hooked in the mouth.
The day started out like any other as we pulled out of the marina and began our cold trek down the Mississippi River and ultimately into the Gulf of Mexico. The only thing that takes the sting out of the winter air is the fact that our runs are much shorter due to the tuna coming in closer to feed on pogies, and the fact that on any given day, one might encounter monster yellowfin which shatter the current 240 pound state record for Louisiana. As soon as we arrive on the magic spot, Hunter calls the customers into a group huddle and gives a basic demonstration on the art of chunking, at least the methods which work for us. Normally, that is where I begin cutting bait for the next 8 hours or so, but pitch hitting for me that day was Captain Britton Eustis, of inshore guiding fame here in Venice. Hunter throws a chunk of bonito into the water to illustrate to the customers how to let it sink naturally with the rest of the chunks falling with the current which aren’t armed with Mustad hooks. Meanwhile, while Hunter is describing how the bite will take place, he is made an honest man as sure enough, his line takes off towards parts unknown but far away from the deck of the Tail Whipped. Normally, this would be a bonito, as they are the first to show up in our slick, but unless this was a bonito that had been on a steady diet of “the juice” for the last few months, the crew knew that the tuna decided to show up to the party a bit earlier than expected.
On the rod was Jeff, who came all the way down from Texas to get his shot at a yellowfin tuna. He got a little more than he bargained for, and over the next hour, put a serious hurting on this fish. Generally, a tuna over 200 pounds will take up roughly two hours of fishing time, as these brutes do not come to the boat without putting up a formidable fight. Adding insult to injury at this point was the crowd of boats that were fishing within a rock’s throw from the boat. Jeff persisted however, and within sixty minutes, the hell-spawn leviathan arose from the depths, and came to the surface just outside of gaff’s reach. Hunter and Britton rose to action and sank the cold steel into the tuna, and everyone’s favorite tell-tale SMACK could be heard all around as the tuna found its second home on the deck of the Tail Whipped. This tuna also found its way into the record books as the number five state record yellowfin for Louisiana. And that’s just another day at the office.
-Captain/Mate Woody Woods

For more information on fishing with Captain Hunter “The Freak” Caballero of Paradise Outfitters, visit www.paradise-outfitters.com or call 504-610-1686