Cold weather can lead to some of the hottest offshore fishing all year for tuna and wahoo.
So close to the continental shelf, the waters off the Mississippi River Delta rank among the best in the world for offshore fishing. People used to chum for tuna on the Midnight Lump, but now, tuna chase after schools of baitfish.
“With the amount of bait in the water, especially pogies, also called menhaden, the fish are spread out,” said Hunter Caballero with Paradise Outfitters (504-384-8118, www.venicefishing.com), which runs out of Cypress Cove Marina (www.cypresscovevenice.com) in Venice. “We see pogie balls and schools of mullet pretty thick on the east side of the river in the winter.”
Bait balls
To find tuna, first find the bait. Small fish congregate in immense swirling schools called “bait balls” to protect themselves from predators. In January, Caballero typically starts catching fish 15 to 30 miles south of South Pass in water 200 to 400 feet deep, but sometimes out to about 1,000 feet deep.
“Tuna are moving around looking for bait balls in the winter,” Caballero said. “Some days, we start catching fish 3 miles out of South Pass if tuna are chasing bait. Bait balls are usually from south of the river to just north of the Cognac platform all the way to the East Lump. Some days, we’ve caught tuna due east of the Chandeleur Islands in 60 feet of water.”
When Caballero finds tuna, he gives his clients explosive topwater action. Almost like bass fishing on massive steroids, they use heavy-duty spinning rods to toss large spinnerbaits and topwaters.
“We’re targeting 175- to 220-pound fish on topwater baits,” he said. “The No Live Bait Needed Lures paddle-tails have been very good for us. Berkley Frenzy Poppers are also productive. When tuna go after topwater baits, it’s like throwing a case of dynamite into the water.”
Wahoo too
When looking for bait balls, Caballero trolls. For trolling, he likes Ilander lures sweetened with ballyhoo. In the winter, trolling not only entices tuna, but also wahoo.
“A blue and white Ilander is always a great go-to bait,” he said. “Chasing big yellowfin in January is a lot like hunting trophy deer. When we can’t find the tuna or we’re looking for bait, we troll around the rigs catching wahoo. For winter wahoo, fish around platforms in 175 to 500 feet of water.”
Off the Mississippi Delta, the massive river discharge spreads brown water everywhere. Fresh river water “floats” on the heavier, denser saltier water.
“Our customers look at us like we’re crazy pulling for wahoo in brown river water, but some of the best wahoo fishing has been in brown water,” Caballero said. “The top might be river brown, but it could be cobalt blue 10 feet down.”
For wahoo, Caballero rigs a four-bait spread. He uses Nomad Lures or Rapala XRM-40s trolled at seven to nine knots. In addition, people can catch swordfish all year long, but in January, people come to Venice to catch yellowfins and wahoo.
