Sport Fishing USA — January 2018

42 JANUARY 2018

This kind of scene plays out many times over

in tropical, subtropical and even temperate

oceans around the world. It’s no secret.

Anywhere such patches float offshore, you’ll

often find schools of mahimahi and sometimes

blue marlin, striped marlin, sailfish, sharks,

tuna, wahoo and other pelagic species.

Anglers might call them weeds, but these are

actually species of marine algae, with different

types producing different game fish, depending

on where you’re fishing. In the Atlantic Ocean,

Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, the main species

are Sargassum  natans and Sargassum fluitans,

both of which are holopelagic, which means they

grow free-floating in the ocean and never attach

to the seafloor during their life cycles.

In the Pacific, off Southern California and

Baja California, Mexico, anglers target patches of

giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) called paddies

that have broken free from relatively shallow

kelp beds and drifted offshore. In the Sea of

Cortez, floating weeds are often sargassum,

but not the holopelagic type found on the East

Coast. At least six species grow on tidal rocks in

this region. The weeds break free during storms

and seasonally slough away to drift offshore,

where they form weed patches and lines.

That’s not to say that weeds are the only form

of structure under which offshore life collects.

Debris such as logs, palm fronds, wooden pallets,

ladders and even the floating carcasses of  ceta-

ceans and pinnipeds can attract a chain  of

marine life. Yet the most abundant flotsam are

the mats of golden-brown weeds, and that makes

Previous pages: In
summer, schools of
California yellowtail often
take up residence under
floating patches of giant
kelp known among West
Coast anglers as paddies.
Right: Like sargassum,
offshore kelp paddies
attract a chain of life that
includes baitfish and the
fry of larger species.

them the most consistent producers for offshore

anglers. Let’s look at the science behind this.

WHAT’S THE ATTRACTION?

Avid offshore anglers know almost instinctively

that weeds can hold fish, but they might not

know exactly what actually attracts fish to these

spots. Like a McDonald’s in the middle of the

Sahara Desert, patches of floating algae offer

pelagic fish two basic elements of survival:

shelter and food.

“Many things grow on and around

sargassum,” says Hazel Oxenford, professor of

marine ecology and fisheries at the University

n a summer morning when the blue, glassy waters 10 miles off Port

St. Lucie, Florida, appeared devoid of life, a distant patch of golden-

brown sargassum loomed enticingly on the horizon. “Get ready,” said

David Glenn, director of marketing for S2 Yachts, as he spied the target

and put the Pursuit DC 325 on a course to troll by the mattress-size

patch of weed. No sooner had the boat swept by than a pack of mahi

raced out from below to attack the trolling lures. Two trolling rods bent

over hard as the clickers announced a double hookup.