68 JANUARY 2018also makes baits easier to see from the boat,
but he doesn’t believe it’s necessary for the fish.
“Just because you can’t see [the bait], doesn’t
mean the fish can’t,” Carter says.
Whether he’s in the Carolinas, Costa Rica
or the Caribbean, private and tournament
captain Ronnie Fields typically uses small scoop-
faced Mold Craft Chuggers ahead of his baits. He
switches to flat-faced Mold Craft Hookers in
rougher water so baits won’t somersault when
they pop out of the water on wave crests, which
tends to foul circle hooks.
“Pick the bigger baits out of the pack,” Fields
says. “They stay in the water better and are more
durable. Go up to the next size lead. If we’re using
a quarter-ounce, we might go to three-eighths.”
Fields’ biggest changes are in his teasers.
“When it’s rough, flat lines blow into the squid
chains, so I’ll take the squids off,” he says.
“Whatever I would have put behind the squid
chain, maybe a mackerel with an Iland Express,
I’ll just run without the squids.”
SPEED AND DIRECTION
“You can’t troll in the trough for your anglers,
but you can’t stay into a head sea for your baits.
They’ll be flying through the air,” says Carter.
The compromise is taking seas broad on the
bow, or quartering the stern, just enough to
minimize roll.
Adjust speed in rough water too, although
this means two different things: slow engine
rpm in following seas and increase rpm in head
seas to maintain the same boat speed, but also
vary boat speed through the water.
Don’t focus on speed over presentation,
Fields says. “Look at the baits and make sure
they’re not skipping and tumbling.” That might
mean increasing engine rpm in head seas yet
actually trolling slower. Decreasing boat speed
in following seas prevents baits and lures from
skipping as boats surf faster down wave faces.
“When it’s rough, you want to turn quickly to
get the boat [headed] up-sea or down-sea faster,”
Carter says, “but you can’t turn that tight. You’ve
got to watch the baits.” His concern is that, with
lines already blown off center in the wake, baits
on the inside of the turn will slow, which is bad
for fishing and leaves baits even more vulnerable
to being blown into tangles by the wind.
ADJUST OUTRIGGER HALYARDS
“Watch the baits,” says Fields. “If you see the
windy side blowing over too far, adjust that
halyard down. Keep the leeward halyards high;
that spreads the baits farther apart.” He says it’s
particularly helpful to play with halyard height
leading into and through each turn.
DeSilva runs his outrigger tag lines through
halyards to choke them down lower. JASON STEMPLE (2), © SCOTT KERRIGAN / WWW.AQUAPAPARAZZI.COM (OPPOSITE, BOTTOM)
DRIFTING LIVE BAIT
When the drift gets too fast while tuna-
fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, live baits can’t
swim fast enough, so they start to spin, says
Capt. Damon McKnight, who owns Super Strike
Charters out of Venice, Louisiana. “Free-line
it. Just keep feeding line until you get a bite,”
McKnight says. “You want zero pressure, with a
coil or two of line in the water.”
McKnight also slows the drift by using his
motors to hold the boat sideways to the wind.
When all else fails, he turns to chunking —
throwing over several large pieces of pogy or
false albacore with a hook buried deep into one.
“In strong wind, I’ll make the entire drift
with an engine or two in reverse,” says
Capt. Scott Leonard, who runs Top Gun
Sportfishing Charters out of Babylon, New York.Above: It’s not
uncommon for
waterspouts to form
near boats trolling calm
seas in tropical climates.
Left: A center console’s
low center of gravity
and the relative ease of
chasing fish bow-first
can help enormously in
heavy seas.