Venice Offshore- Whale Sharks and Jellyfish Tuna

[customcat]

First and foremost before I write this report I would like to extend my thoughts and prayers to the families of the missing crew members of the Deepwater Horizon. This is truly a tragic situation. If not found, may they rest in peace. With that being said, the fishing offshore in Venice for the past week has been nothing short of spectacular. A strong push of nutrient rich water has laid out quite a show. On 4/17 Michael B. and friends joined me for their monthly tuna fix. Our first stop shortly after leaving the pass gave up a small yellow in the 30lb class on the first pass. After that they seemed to go deeper and two other boats started pulling all over the top of me and it was time to go. My next stop was Deepwater Horizon. Little did I know this would be the last time I would fish her. As soon as I pulled the reigns back tuna were busting hard off the southwest corner. I quickly set up a three bait spread and we proceeded to fill a three man limit of yellows in the 30-45lb class in two hours. After that we made sure our catch was iced properly and sat back and watched as tuna’s were attacking the hoards of small bait that were taking sanctuary in the shadows of every and I mean every man-o-war that was being pushed in by the current. We set off in hopes of grouper but with 20-30lb red snapper coming up on just about every drop, we opted for the marina early and the guys left with enough fresh yellowfin for quite awhile. After taking Sunday off and playing with tackle most off the day I hit the rack early feeling satisfied with my preparations. 4:30 am came way too quick but with a little help from Community coffee and Marlborough I sprang to life. My plan was to leave the dock at 5:30. I was joined by Robert Shaw and his son Eric and Gregg Cook. Little did Eric know that this would be his day. We started fishing shortly before 8:00am after a long run in mirror like conditions. We hooked up with in minutes to a 40lb class fish. After that the fish sounded and we set off to a different lat and long. Things looked good and fish were busting once again the small little baits off the jellies. We set up and picked up two fish that looked like brothers. My next pass the Torsa screams and a short while later I sink the gaff and laid the fish in the boat and everyone looks down and say’s “that’s not a yellowfin.” It seems we had caught a big eye tuna. A cuda had attacked his tail on the way in but for the most part he was in good shape. This was my first one and even though only a 35-40lb fish, I was proud off him and took the time to admire the characteristics of this little dude. I was on a time line since Gregg’s son was playing his first baseball game of the season later that evening and decided to press on to find bigger fish. I was about ten miles away from my next stop when I spotted some large open water busts. I did a 360 and stumbled upon a Discovery channel moment in the making. A large whale shark was feeding heavy on plankton and he was covered with yellowfin. The boat hadn’t stopped moving when I slung a Frenzy pooper into the froth and was immediately engulfed. We landed the fish and by this time I could see tuna with sickles to their tales rolling across his back. I threw once again and in an awesome display of power and aggression a stud yellow detonated on the poor little popper. I handed the rod to young Eric and started to take pictures of the shark that had now taking position next to the motors. The fight was only about thirty minutes and we had color. I peered down in the purple blue water and soon realized this was a stud. After a lot of up and down I stuck a heavy gaff into the head and Robert followed up with another and we hauled the fish over the gunnels. I was in shock that we had actually caught this fish on a spinning rod. I retied another blue Frenzy pooper because the other one was bent at a 90 degree angle. I threw into the white water again and a fish larger than the other beating the hell out of the cockpit of my boat nailed it. This fish decided to head south and despite carbon fiber drags and a lot of pressure, he melted the drags and locked the reel up. The Jerry Brown parted and all I could do was laugh. We boxed the big boy on the deck and I raced to the marina to ensure Gregg’s seat at the ball game. The fish went 152lbs on the marina’s certified scales. Way cool indeed. Tuesday was another off day and was spent once again doing what I like to do. Play with tackle. Wednesday I ran a trip for Paradise Outfitters. My crew consisted of four doctors and two of them had brought along their 8 yr old sons will and Andrew. I was awakened at an early hour by a friend and he told me of the accident the night before on the Horizon. I literally stood up in bed in disbelief. After revamping my game plan over coffee, I loaded up the crew and we headed out in slick calm conditions. I arrived at my first spot and tuna were busting everywhere. I didn’t seem real excited because off in the distance thirty miles away a giant black smoke plume was pressing high into the sky and the magnitude of the event and the sobering thought of people hurt took the fun away. I turned my attention to the fish all around my boat. Again, massive amounts of man-o-wars were coming in the up current side and being attacked by hungry schools of yellowfin gorging themselves on the small baits underneath them. We picked one up on the popper and they would not touch anything after that. Naked ballyhoo, 5/16th sockets, small swimbaits, yada, yada, yada. Not wanting to hang around watching tuna doing P-90X early in the morning we pressed south. I was 12 miles from Horizon and pulled the reigns back and watched in awe as flames 300-400ft in the air and the thick black smoke rising. Coast Guard choppers were running weather patterns searching for survivors and firefighting crews had surrounded the rig in an effort to tort the fire. I took a few pics for my memory and said a prayer and pressed on. Our next stop looked promising as tuna were busting hard before I had even stopped the boat. We went 3 for 5 in about thirty minutes on the poppers before they caught on to the gig. I stayed there for another twenty minutes before we decided to leave. I was running in open water in the same area as Monday and was keeping a sharp eye when once again off in the distance, fish where busting in open water. I ran to them and low and behold another whale shark was doing his thing and jellies where everywhere. I got two guys in the front throwing poppers and for the next two hours the air show was impressive. Yellowfin were busting the small baits, large skippies by the thousands and birds by the hundreds, swooping down hoping to steal a meal from the predators. We would end up with 10 yellows in the 30-50lb class all on Frenzy poppers. We cut a piece of yellowfin and enjoyed fresh tar-tar and sashimi while watching the whale sharks and tuna off in the distance. It was truly a pleasure fishing with these guys and the little ones made the day even better. Thursday I was scheduled to go home but got a phone call while having breakfast. Ross had been down in Venice for two days fishing his own boat and had engine problems and wanted to go offshore. I obliged and we left the dock at 10:30am. He had brought along a personal friend, his daughter Laura and his son William. We arrived at our first stop at 12:00 and the tuna were busting hard on you guessed it! Small baits under the jellies! I doubled up on the first pass with mirror lures and both were eaten by large hammerheads. I set up two more and the same thing happened again. Not wanting to contribute to the obesity of sharks. I headed long. Again, I found fish in open water and after thirty minutes of chasing them another whale shark made his self known by coming boat side. I looked down into the water and could see 5-6ft long tuna swimming underneath him. This time was different. The shear amount of small skippies and blacks made it impossible to get thru. At 2:00 pm I made the decision to run 45 miles do or die. I made the run in a little over an hour. With no time to spare, I set up two Islander/ballyhoo combinations off the port and starboard and a squid chain with a bird long down the middle. After positioning myself for a pass on the up-current side I came even with my target and my quest deckhand Chad screams, “look!” A large tuna was gray hounding on the surface hard, fins erect and large sickles sticking straight out. He nailed the chain and the other two were engulfed in boils the size of a truck bed. The third fish pulled off and a little over a hour later and some fancy wiring we boated two nice fish with thick shoulders. I set up for another pass and both islanders popped out of the riggers but didn’t stick. Oh well, two less tuna virgins and a father’s dream of watching them catch them was fulfilled. We raced back to the dock chasing daylight and pulled into the marina at 7:55 pm. The fish weighed 118lbs and 132lbs respectively. Things are shaping up nicely for jam-up summer. I have days open in May and June. Give me a call to book your next trip in Venice. Peace.

Captain William Wall
Pelagic Charters
1.225.454.5365
F/V ALL IN
Venice, La

[customcat]

more? yes, more.

[Sea Draggin]

Thats some unreal action. Looks like things are jamming.

[paul708]

great report.
pics are really nice.

[Thynnus]

Amazing Action Captain William, congrats on some awesome days on the water. I thought that Bigeye might be a blackfin, but you can tell by the length of the pectoral fin that he certainly is an eyeball. I am dying to catch one of those in the NE canyons this summer. What a stud you guys got on spinning gear, congrats again. My only experience in Venice was not a positive one, so maybe I need to charter you next time I come down. Our thoughts and prayers are with the crew of the Deep Horizon and all the hard working men and women who make their living on the ocean. May those not found rest in peace.