Ah, June, the beginning of the tuna season for us down here. It has already started with the skipjacks, blackfin and small yellowfin tunas showing up in abundance. The many birds offshore are signs that the tuna are around; there are quite a number of flocks out there feeding on the bait balls that the tuna are pushing up to the surface.
A few mahi-mahi are still around the weed lines and in some of the tuna schools. We have caught a couple of nice wahoo in the 50-pound plus range around the tuna schools; big wahoo also feed on the smaller tuna, and so do marlin, which can be found feeding on the small tuna, so don’t be surprised if you get one going after your baits. Cedar plugs and squid looking lures are the type of rigs we use to catch the smaller tuna, and ballyhoo for the bigger ones, but we also keep a skip bait out just in case a billfish or mahi shows up in the spread. On one of our recent farther offshore trips, we caught a few tuna ranging from 60 to 90 pounds, with a few lost to sharks, so keeping the pressure on and reeling fast is the only way to save them from being eaten by the guys in the brown suits (sharks). Fishing right out front of Nassau/Paradise Island, anywhere from two to ten miles out, you can find these fish. With a good pair of binoculars you can locate the birds and you will be on them; sometimes you have to go through a few schools to find the ones that are biting well.
So, we are looking forward to a good season of tuna fishing that runs from June to August and a bit of September. If you are ready for a good fight from a tuna (even the small ones put up one hell of a battle for their size), come over to Nassau and let’s go fishing!
Tight lines everybody!
FORECAST BY: Capt. Teddy Pratt
Nassau Yacht Haven
Phone: (242) 393-8173
Cell: (242) 449-9855
Email: fishwithteddy@yahoo.com
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