SPORTFISHINGMAG.COM 45patch better than the other for attracting fish,
anglers rank paddies on a number of factors. The
larger the patch, for example, the more likely it
is to hold fish, many anglers believe. Paddies as
large as a garage door are particularly prized hot
spots, though on some days, a paddy the size of a
trash-can lid might also produce fish.
Paddies with stalks that drape well below
the floating kelp are also more likely to hold
fish, veteran anglers have discovered. It is not
clearly understood if the low-hanging kelp
enhances the paddy’s fish-aggregating qualities,
says Chugey A. Sepulveda, director and senior
scientist for Pfleger Institute of Environmental
Research in Oceanside, California.
“Anything hanging in the water is helpful [in
attracting fish],” says Sepulveda, who qualifies
his comments as conjecture and not based on
any scientific data. Hanging kelp stalks also tend
to slow the paddy’s drift, and that can help it stay
in productive zones longer, he opines.
Age is also a factor because a paddy needs
time to gather a community of offshore resi-
dents. It’s impossible to determine age, and
recruitment times vary, Sepulveda points out,
but schools of bait species, such as anchovies,
chub mackerel and jack mackerel, under the
paddy indicate that it’s mature enough to attract
game fish. “If there’s no bait, you’ll rarely find
predators,” he has observed.
The location of a paddy plays into this as well.
One found in off-color water close to shore isn’t
likely to hold fish, but one that drifts in purple-
blue water well offshore is a prime candidate.
Paddies found along offshore current breaks
possess great potential for attracting game fish.SWEET SARGASSUM
In the waters off Miami Beach, Florida, the
best pieces of offshore sargassum are those
concentrated into relatively large patches,
says Capt. Jimbo Thomas, whose 42-foot Post,
Thomas Flyer, is a top-producing charter boat
in the region. “When the weeds are scattered,
so are the fish,” he points out. “Weeds that are
bunched up are best. I like patches and weed
lines that are 20 feet wide or more.”
Thomas also says the longer the weed has
drifted in the Gulf Stream, the more likely it is
to produce fish. He uses his fish finder to see if
there are telltale bait schools underneath. Like
Sepulveda, Thomas believes that lack of bait is
a bad sign. “If there’s no bait under the weed,
chances are there are no larger fish either,” he
says. Conversely, the presence of bait bodes well.
If he sees a bait school, Thomas likes to drop
a sabiki rig and catch a few to identify the species
and add the prevailing forage to the livewell.
“We often catch small rainbow runners and blue
runners,” Thomas says. “Just about everything
eats a 2-inch blue runner.”Moving in on another boat
that has already found a
productive weed patch is,
to put it mildly, frowned
upon by serious anglers.
So-called poaching not
only creates frustration
among the crew that
worked hard to find its
own patch of weeds, but
it can also result in ugly
confrontations between
the two boats. It also
makes the offending
skipper look like a hack.
Better to hunt up your
own patch than poach one
and lose all respect.Left: Yellowfin tuna often
visit the shadows of kelp
paddies and weed lines
in the pursuit of forage,
but tuna often feed at
greater depths than do
mahi. Above: Terns on a
kelp paddy not only help
you find the weed patch
more easily, but they are
also an indicator that fish
might be present.