Blackfin Advice

docfishbones

Does anyone have any general advice on blackfin tuna fishing? When do they run? What areas do they run in and besides lucking into them, how to specifically target them? Love catching and grilling these footballs! Thanks for any help you might lend.

Klinger

My experience is that they can be targeted in the Keys around the offshore humps, and off the Louisiana and Mississippi coast around the floating oil rigs. Just luck into them here. I've caught a couple about 50 miles out of PC while bottom fishing, but nothing consistent.

matchdahatch

The BFT got here to PC around June last year, not in huge schools but we caught quite a few trolling for kings/mahi. The weather buoy seemed to hold a lot of them but we found them out to 40 miles snapper/grouper fishing. They loved the green stretch 25's.

LilOrange

matchdahatch wrote: »

The BFT got here to PC around June last year, not in huge schools but we caught quite a few trolling for kings/mahi. The weather buoy seemed to hold a lot of them but we found them out to 40 miles snapper/grouper fishing. They loved the green stretch 25's.

We troll around the weather buoy every now & then for kings during the summer but have never caught a BFT. Will they hit with a wire leader on? How fast do you troll with the stretch 25's? We've never had much luck trolling plugs.....I know we're not doing something right because everyone we talk to has success with them????

mahiwahi

I've caught them 8 miles out and seen them caught off the pier. They school fast covering large areas and it's just luck crossing paths. Unfortunately they don't, at least that I've ever witnessed, blow up the surface like the Bonita do which would help easily find them under bait balls.

docfishbones

Thanks for the info. Love the way these footballs taste on the grill!

mahiwahi

Pan seared for about a few seconds on both sides is the way to go