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Fall offers bonus fish

Photo by PETE GREENAN

Angler Ron Whitley shows off one of the nice bonitos that are passing close to area beaches by the hundreds this month.

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By FRANK SARGEANT

Tribune correspondent

Published: November 7, 2009

As the fall run of baitfish pours past our shores, anglers are offered a remarkable variety of targets, most of them so close to shore they can be caught from the smallest of watercraft on calm days.

Kayakers regularly paddle to the action in the passes and near the beaches when winds are calm or out of the east, resulting in no surf.

The passing parade of predatory fish includes jacks, ladyfish, Spanish and king mackerel and bluefish, as well as the sharks that feed on all these species. But the one species that's perhaps targeted the least - but which provides the greatest sport - is the little tunny, which in Florida is generally known as the bonito, though that's actually the name for a species found along the north Atlantic Coast.

They're also called false albacore. But whatever you call them, they have the same insane power as their cousins, the tunas. Unlike these bluewater brawlers, however, little tunny often show up almost within casting distance of shore.

The species displays the sort of speed and staying power usually found only in bluewater fish, which is what makes their passing such a treat for those who never have the opportunity to get far offshore. And because they travel in schools of hundreds and sometimes thousands, the action can be frantic when you find them. It's not uncommon on a calm, flat November day to see little tunny - often mixed with Spanish mackerel - breaking on bait from horizon to horizon.

The only downer on little tunny is that most people do not consider them edible. The dark, red flesh has a powerful, oily fish taste. It's sort of like scooping out the red line of a mackerel, throwing the fish away and eating the red line.

However, it must be noted that some fish connoisseurs consider fresh tunny - heavily seasoned and grilled immediately after being caught to a medium rare - to be one of the true treats among seafood, somewhat like blackfin or yellowfin tuna.

What they lack in edibility, they make up in raw power and speed.

If you've never caught a bluewater fish, connecting with a tunny will make you wonder what you have been missing. A 10-pound tunny could tow a 20-pound snook backward - and I say this as a guy who considers snook to be Florida's premiere inshore gamefish.

Finding tunny is usually not a problem at this time of year. Just get 100 yards off the beach anywhere from Clearwater to Fort Myers and look for diving gulls and terns. False albacore drive the bait to the surface, and this attracts the birds, which act as a beacon letting anglers know where to fish.

When you get into a school, pretty much any moving object that lands on the water will be eaten, but most anglers stick to light-colored jigs, one-quarter to three-eighths ounce if the fish are feeding on threadfins, or smaller if they're feeding on glass minnows. In fact, when they're feeding on glass minnows, a fly-rod streamer worked very fast is one of the best baits. If you're not a fly caster, put one on a medium spinning rig and add a quarter-ounce rubber core sinker ahead of it to give casting weight. (Just the head of a jig or the lead core of a swim bait, scraped shiny, is also a great bait when they're taking the tiny glass minnows.)

Little tunny typically average 6 to 10 pounds, but can get much larger; the record is 36 pounds. This means you need medium saltwater tackle to handle them. The usual 10-pound microfiber that will whip most anything inshore is not up to the job on a big "bonito." Most anglers like 20-pound tackle, which allows you to tire the fish fairly rapidly, at least before it tires you, and also gives the fish a better chance of avoiding sharks. And there will be sharks, very often shadowing a school of tunny, because they love to eat them.

Lemons, bulls, blacktips and spinners follow the feeding schools of tunny, and it's not uncommon to reel in nothing but the head of a tunny.

If you want to tangle with the sharks - recommended because they're often just the right size, 40 to 80 pounds, not so big you'll have to make a day of landing them - take along a 4/0 to 6/0 reel loaded with 50-pound (or stronger) microfiber, and you can whip a mini-version of Jaws as part of your bonito-fest.

Between tunny and shark tangles, you'll usually catch some Spanish, an occasional king and some blues. So if you want fish for the table, they're likely to be in the mix as well.

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