Tuna in the Caribbean

[cayman al]

Hi guys

I've been lurking for a while and a really enjoyed the posts, fantastic practical stuff that can be used day in day out. I can't be sure but it appears that a fair percentage of the posters on here are NE based and their styles match this. As you can probably tell i'm based down in the Cayman Islands and there is lots of good read across from your techniques, for down here.

However, here is my question. Down this way we have the normal pelagics dominated by Yellowfin Tuna, Wahoo, Mahi (for 3 months of the year) and Marlin but the Yellowfin are very rarely caught while trolling. Almost all the yellowfin are taken on the drift, chunking in deep water which seems a little odd to me. We pull the normal collection of Ballys, Cedars, B/W Islands etc but hardly ever catch yellowfin even though we know they are there, cause we catch them drifting.

The water is very deep around us - 5000ft and super clear. I guess one of the main pray items would be flying fish (which you see a lot of). We do catch the smaller Blackfin and skipjacks trolling small tuna lures but these tend to be used for drifting bait.

Any ideas / change in tactics / bait / spread to start catching the yellowfin would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Al

[POON MAN]

If there are any squid present for bait maybe try spreader bars

how about some butterfly jigging ??

Good Luck and let us know how you make out with any new techniques

welcome to SFC


Chris

[gradywhite273]

I wonder if a planer rod would work to catch them on the troll, since they don't want to come to the surface

[Glenn W]

Just some thoughts I'msure you've already considered:
It obvious the tuners are very picky so a couple things come to mind:
Although I have not Bluewater fished in the Caymens I did notice the fleet left at a liesurly 7 ish--- hell, the bite's likely over by then--- perhaps pre dawn and first light they are more active?

I would first try super stealth--- only a few lines out with very skinny leaders-- even try flouro. Hey, if you get some hits on 40lb leaders and break them of at least you know where to start--- important thing is it does little good to have one stealth bait and a garbage can of crap all around it. This may be hard to do as you also likely don't want to pass up opportunities on Billfish or other bites, but if you want to find out what is required to catch the tuners on the trollyou may have to have a few el zippo days.

Perhaps, they just don't surface feed much at all in that neck of the woods. Try the opposite of pure stealth.-- A big #16 planer rig with a good 200' of leader to see if you get hit. ( I would stay away from the wall to prevent the Wahoo's from eating your mess).


For picky fish in that gin clear water, there is no doubt that a small to medium ballyhoo naked may be a good place to start.

If you do see the tuners busting the surface but they won't bite a trolled bait, perhaps try using a kite--- Are there any Greenstickers down your way?

One thing is for sure, if they are in the area, they got to eat, and their natural prey is fleeing baitfish, not a chunk of dead meat, so it can be done.---- somehow.
Good luck

[flatbottom]

Maybe the water is to warm where the lures are presented in a normal troll.
Try as stated above. Early or Get the line down where the tuna are showing on the fishfinder later in the day. Go small on the lure or lure bait combo to see what works. Work up in size of lure or lure bait combo. Knowing what bait they are eating at certain times of your season would help in lure bait combo or lure size..

[cayman al]

Hey some great advice there.

Firstly i don't think squid are a major food item down this way, rarely see any in stomach contents, mostly little baitfish of varying species eg little trigger fish, puffer fish baby mahi etc.

Butterfly jigging is a great idea and will have to try next time we are on the drift.

You're definitely right about early starts, makes all the difference here. You do however see the tuna busting on the surface during the day (when there is a good amount of current running) however as soon as you get anywhere near to them they sound. Super stealth could be the key, super light leaders sounds great but i have a nasty feeling the Wahoo and Cuda will have a field day with this, cutting us of at every turn. As you say, staying away from the wall could be the key but a lot of the tuna action appears to be near the wall??

[TheBigI]

Cayman Al,

Search threads about Wahoo proofing.

[Glenn W]

Hey some great advice there.

Firstly i don't think squid are a major food item down this way, rarely see any in stomach contents, mostly little baitfish of varying species eg little trigger fish, puffer fish baby mahi etc.

Butterfly jigging is a great idea and will have to try next time we are on the drift.

You're definitely right about early starts, makes all the difference here. You do however see the tuna busting on the surface during the day (when there is a good amount of current running) however as soon as you get anywhere near to them they sound. Super stealth could be the key, super light leaders sounds great but i have a nasty feeling the Wahoo and Cuda will have a field day with this, cutting us of at every turn. As you say, staying away from the wall could be the key but a lot of the tuna action appears to be near the wall??

One thing is for sure, you're not going to catch em if they aren't in the neighborhood, so if they are hanging near the wall and busting the surface, the answer is obvious to me---- we have the same problem every year late in the spring---- A kite with one, or at most two, lines connected and no other mess in the water.
I've never caught a Wahoo on a kite, but I just had a vison----- man o man would that be a sight seeing a stud wahoo air out 6'.--- Never mind, we're talking tuners here. It is worth ther trip just to see that Yellowfin air out.

[DOGKILLR]

What about the Greenstick?

[shoefish]

cayman al-
First, welcome to SFC! I don't think that we have had any members from that area of the world, and I look forward to hearing more about it!

Next, I think that the green stick question is a good one, as well as the suggestions for flying some baits on kites and the butterfly jig.

The only other thing that I can think of is live bait- is it available, have you tried it, etc? I would think that if the yellowfin that you are catching all have small baitfish in their bellies, that you could bump-troll the edge with some live ballys, mullet, runners, etc and find some joy.

If you try some of these things, let us know what the results are. Again, welcome to SFC!