By: Heather Born
Summer is still among us here across the Florida Keys and what comes along with it? Some fabulous offshore fishing! The summertime bite is still on fire here and with that brings an abundance of Mahi Mahi and Tuna! Fishing the deeper waters in the summertime is key, as we often see water temperatures rise as high as 87 degrees F. turning on the offshore bite. Often the summertime brings calmer seas along with it which makes for a great day of mahi and tuna fishing offshore. The sound of screaming drag and the dance show you get when you are tight with a mahi is nothing short of a good adrenaline rush.
Sure, we always hear about the famous Mahi Mahi, with their vibrant green color and yellow/blue highlights, and the amazing fish tacos they make, but what about these black fin tuna? We know about and might have even caught the prized gamefish…those massive bluefins that easily reach up to 500 pounds, or the yellowfin tuna’s, with their higher population being in the Pacific Ocean. Blackfin, however, are abundant here in the Florida Keys and is what I like to call our “go to sushi” when it comes to tuna here in the Keys! Blackfin are one of the smallest of the tuna species, and typically range anywhere from 7-30 pounds here in the Florida Keys. They make great table fare when cooked correctly!
Just don’t forget to bleed them out immediately after catching them! The goal here is to only cut deep enough to sever the main artery located just under the skin in the mid-line. The meat will be much higher in quality when it comes to preparing them whether you eat the meat raw or if you prefer to lightly sear them like I do.
Blackfin are often the by-catch and a most welcome one at that! I use the “run & gun” technique when targeting mahi. I head offshore and begin looking for birds that are diving. I also keep my eye out for any prominent weed lines or types of floaters – wood pallets, buckets, literally any type of debris. I run the boat until I can get under the birds or around the debris. I slow to about 7-9 knots and troll around the area. I use anywhere from 30–50 pound tackle, and troll both pink and green rattle jet lures, as well as skirted rigged ballyhoo. Tuna and mahi will both surface and stay deep so I always make sure to run a #6 planer in addition to my surface lines to get my baits down deeper. After a few minutes, and sometimes just a few seconds I am usually on the mahi! When I hook up with the first mahi, I always keep it in the water for a bit just in case a school of them are around. If and when you see the following school throw a few chunks of live bait out to get them all frenzied up! Talk about excitement! Nothing like catching a large school of dolphin in just minutes time.
When catching tuna and mahi I’m usually anywhere from 500-1,000 feet. The perfect depths for some deep dropping if you have the extra time and are into changing things up that is. On our deep drop trips, I use a 10-foot chicken rig made from 100 lb. monofilament. I prefer 3 hook rigs using 8/0 circle hooks with squid spaced about 2-3 feet apart. Depending on the current that day I use 3-5 pounds of lead. Drift over any good structure you see, making sure your weight is heavy enough to hold bottom. You just might get your chance to land some amazing tasting tile fish, as well as a good variety of snapper and grouper. FWC has recently closed blue line tile as of July 26, 2022 – May 1, 2023.
@heatherborn_2fish