Saturday, July 29, 2017

The secrets of successful offshore trolling

 A full day of offshore trolling on a charter boat is expensive.  On the Lady Catherine, it costs almost as much as a ticket for drinking coffee or soda while operating a vehicle in New Jersey.  So a smaller boat offshore trip cost about as much as a liberal's idea of a fair traffic ticket.  On a large sport fisherman, you might be set back two traffic tickets.

To avoid the same emotions you might have after paying an $855 dollar fine for having a sip of coffee on the way to work, you need to think of the overall experience of sport fishing.

Since it is rare to have trophy Marlin bite every hour of a sport fishing trip, refreshments, music and cleaver banter are common on offshore expeditions.  Instead of planning on a meal at some traditional time of day, consider grazing.  Finger foods and salty snacks increase the odds of having an enjoyable day. Munch often,

First, according to Murphy's Law, fish tend to bite at unexpected moments.  Every time you open a drink or grab a handful of chips, the odds of a fish striking increases.  Set out a party platter of cheese, fruit and crackers and it is almost guaranteed the boat will be mugged resulting in fish in the box and food on the deck.  However, if bananas are part of the fruit tray, it is more likely that there will be food on the deck and stories of fish that got away. 

Second, select a productive play list.  Classic rock mixed with some newer country and a splash of "who the hell picked that" is great for a mixed bag catch.  For billfish only you can try classical music and opera, but avoid blue grass and rap.   Fish will bite while blue grass and rap music are playing, but finding a crew help land the fish becomes an issue.

Third, don't get in a hurry.  When a larger fish pulls line off the reel, that is the fun part or the "Sport" in sportfishing, savor the moment and don't wind against the drag.  If a smaller fish happens to strike, casually bringing the smaller fish in might inspire a larger fish to munch.  In the case of Dolphin, aka Mahi, the whole family of fish might visit the boat if you don't rush the first fish into the boat. 

Fourth, for some odd reason, Mozzarella cheese, summer sausage and Ritz crackers tend to produce more Dolphin, while ham and cheese mini sandwiches produce more tuna.  Cold pizza tends to be more of a bottom fishing menu.  Cover all bases and have a good mixture :)

Marathon in the Florida Keys should be your next fishing vacation destination. Join us for charter fishing, fishing guide trips or our fishing 101 so you can fish on your own with better success.

Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas

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