66 JANUARY 2018“Wahoo definitely bite better when the
breeze kicks up,” says Bermuda charter and
tournament captain Allen DeSilva. In DeSilva’s
waters, that’s 15 knots and 6-foot seas. “Marlin
are the opposite. The days we get five, six, seven
fish are not rough,” he says.ADJUST THE TROLLING SPREAD
One reason average or calm seas favor marlin
fishing is that it’s easier to see trolled lures and
fish in the spread. “When it gets rough, bring
everything in closer,” DeSilva says, to overcome
the decreased visibility.
He also simplifies his overall presentation on
bumpy days so that when a bite happens, he can
avoid tangles.For instance, on most days, he runs two
dredges and two teasers, followed by lures on
his short-rigger and long-rigger positions, plus
a center shotgun farther back. “When it gets
rough, I’ll eliminate the shotgun and the teaser
on one side, but keep that dredge,” DeSilva says.
“I’ll [remove] the dredge on the other side and
pull that teaser [closer], to where the dredge
should be.”
This decreases snarls between the teasers and
the short-rigger lures, he says, plus the mates
have less to clear when you hook into a fish.USE DIFFERENT LURES
“You want lures deeper when it’s rough, so
the fish can see them through the whitecaps,”
compared with a normal day, when lure surface
action attracts fish’s attention, DeSilva says.
“In Brazil, the seas are almost always hectic,”
says Antonio “Tuba” Amaral, a Brazilian charter
captain and maker of Amaral Lures. “When the
sea surface is confused, lures stay hidden in
this turmoil. Lures that dive deeper and longer
become more visible to the fish.”
Face angle is his key. “My Ta’aroa plunger,
with a 12-degree face, works better in rough
seas than the 20-degree face angle on my
Diamondback,” Amaral says.
Amaral places heavier lures on the upwind
side when he can, and also closer to the boat so
the wind separates his spread. Heavier, ballasted
lures also track better when speed fluctuates as
boats surf down following seas.TROLLING BAITS
Whether he’s fishing infamously rough
Venezuela or placid Costa Rica, charter captain
Bubba Carter runs two dredges with teasers
atop, plus swimming ballyhoo on two flat lines
clipped to the transom, and two long rigger baits.
“When you’re baitfishing, that’s pretty much
the spread, rough or calm,” Carter says. “As it
gets rougher, you might want more lead.”
Weight helps hold baits more squarely
behind the boat and also keeps them swimming
in the water, not skipping on top. Just a quarter-
ounce more makes a big difference. He also trolls
outrigger baits farther aft. That extra bit of line
in the water helps hold the bait down.
Carter occasionally adds chuggers in front of
baits to increase resistance on their lines. ThisFish often bite as the sea stirs.Steep waves and a stiff breeze also
whet anticipation for some anglers and enliven action aboard. The downsides are baits and
lures that fly more than they swim, drifts approaching trolling speed, and trolling spreads
wind-swept into six-line tangles. When the weather downright blows, try advice offered
for this article by seven pro skippers on how they continue to entice bites as seas build (as
well as when they turn flat-calm).
“YOU WANT LURES DEEPER WHEN IT’S
ROUGH, SO THE FISH CAN SEE THEM
THROUGH THE WHITECAPS.”