Lump season in Venice, Louisiana is a special time of year. Some days you fight through the sharks and kingfish just to get a yellowfin tuna to eat your bait. Other days, it’s some of the best fishing an angler could experience anywhere in the world. If you don’t know what I mean by lump fishing, here’s the breakdown. Along the Continental shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico are various salt domes. Depending upon sea current and the moon, apex predators move in from offshore to feed on the fry around these underwater mountains. Common catches include large yellowfin tuna, wahoo, blackfin tuna, bonita and mako sharks. The tuna in this photo were all caught in one day of lump fishing.
I had the day off from my normal charters and received an invite from my buddies to hop on their boat with them. 11 of us headed out on a Freeman Boatworks 37vh. Some may say, that’s a lot of people to go offshore fishing on one boat. But believe me, there was more than enough room, even when we were doubled and tripled up on big yellowfin tuna. Days like this are why I do what I do. As our group fought each fish, I looked around at everyone’s face and saw nothing but smiles. All those worrisome world cares simply didn’t matter today. The seas were 1 foot or less with a 5 knot southwest wind and 75 degree air temperature. Days like this one are truly what fishing dreams are made of. Great friends, beautiful weather, and phenomenal fishing. That’s what keeps me coming back for more!
Brett Ryan is an offshore charter captain out of Venice, Louisiana. See his website at www.captainbrettryan.com.