[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he month of September is time to run offshore and find some tuna. It is time to look for the shrimp boats that come through our area this time of year. The shrimp boats will be cleaning their nets and tossing back by-catch of small bait fish from the night before. This draws the black fin tuna and skipjack tuna. The shrimpers do this early in the morning so you should be heading offshore before sunup for your best chance at catching some of these tuna. When targeting these fish, I like to troll small feathers or small squid daisy chains way back behind the boat and troll at 6 to 9 knots down current of the shrimp boat.
These tuna will also eat small live bait such as pilchards and small sardines. Once the mullet run starts, some small live finger mullet will work great. I recommend using 20 to 30 pound tackle with a lot of line. Tuna are very fast and will likely go deep into the depths when hooked up. You may also hook-up with some mahi-mahi that can be mixed in with the tuna. An HMS permit is required to keep all tuna except black fin tuna. For more information regarding the HMS permits please visit the National Marine Fisheries Service online at https://hmspermits.noaa.gov/default.asp.
The bait schools will be along the beaches. The big smoker kings, which can weigh up to 40-50 pounds, may be roaming around these same baits. Once you catch some of the bait from a school, rig that bait and slow troll it around the outer edge of the school for a chance to catch a smoker king. When fishing for these smoker kings always use wire leader so the razor sharp teeth of the kingfish don’t cut you off. Tight lines and enjoy the Treasure Coast’s great fishing.