Barracuda Fishing Tips
By Dave Braun
I love to take kids fishing. It provides more satisfaction watching
them learn how to fish than you can ever imagine. Spend some quality
family time and teach them to share the passion of the outdoors. Kids
are quick learners, they don't have any bad habits yet and they listen
to advice of the deck hands and experienced teachers. This trip we are
fishing aboard the "Freelance" out of Davey's Locker in Newport
Beach,
California. A 3/4 day trip is a great length for a beginner to
start with. Take a day off of work during your kids summer break
and go on a fishing safari.
Barracuda provide an exciting battle for the beginner. They will bite
a fresh lively sardine or anchovy if fly lined with little or no
weight. 15 Lb. test line is a good place to start if you only have 1
rod. Use premium hooks like Gamakatsu, Owner, Hayubusa that are
extremely sharp. It's OK to start beginners with spinning tackle, but
try to teach them to use a conventional rod as soon as they are able to
handle the backlash problems that we all have. They should learn to tie
a "Palomar" knot as soon as possible. It's an easy knot to master and
when the bite goes off the deck hands are busy gaffing fish and you
will
want to be fishing too. Most of the other anglers on the boat give kids
a bit of extra space. The "Freelance" has many discounts for
kids. It's probably the best deal you will ever find. They know that
once a kid gets the fishing addiction they will be customers for life.
Most kids will be fishing live bait most of the time. A single fly
lined
hook with no weight is least likely to get tangled if the angler
is fishing the stern and keeps the line
with some tension on it. Make sure they can feel the bait at the end of
the line. If the boat is full the capt. will likely rotate rail
anglers, usually clockwise around the boat. The colored numbers make it
easy to know where you will be fishing on the next rotation. We like
fishing on Smokey's memorial corner.
More jackpot barracuda are caught on slowly retrieved jigs and scampi's
than most people realize. I have done very well with blue and white
Tady 45 jigs fished on 25 lb. line when the bite goes wide open on the
surface. If the barracuda are down deeper the heavier 2 oz lime
green scampi 's tipped with squid is awesome. I won two back to back
jackpots on this combo. The key to landing big barracuda on a
crowded boat is to make sure you have fresh line and catch them with a
jig or plastic swim bait. This keeps the line away from those sharp
teeth. Some people like to fish barracuda with a single hook jig
when they are mostly undersized to make the release easy. I use
a bigger bait to reduce the chance of catching the small skinny
ones. If the fishing is slow overall I try different techniques to see
what else is around. I try smaller Tady AA jigs fished on 15 lb. line
if the sand bass are around. This jig should also be reeled in slowly
enough to make the jig "kick" widely.
You probably will not get a yellowtail to bite a slowly retrieved
jig. Yellowtail love to bite fast retrieved blue and white Salas
6X Jr. jigs.
Use 7 foot or 8 foot rods with conventional reels. I like Shimano reels
the best. The drag systems and gears are very smooth and durable.
IMPORTANT: Keep the barracuda's head in the water and let the deck hand
gaff the fish. Make it easy for the deck hand to gaff. If you are
fishing with buddies work together and give the angler plenty of room
to fight the fish.
If you are in the stern section while the boat is anchored, I would
stick with fly lined live bait if possible. This will keep you out of
tangles. We use jigs and plastics
when we are on the bow and sides to keep out of tangles.
Keep your eyes open and look for fish swimming by, ask the deck
hand for help if you need it. Always treat your deck hands well. Share
your candy , gum , tips with them. I have often gotten to look at
better bait in the hand wells by making friends with the crew. Don't
just pick any bait that swims. You should carefully pick only the best
baits available. A few extra seconds selecting a lively bait will keep
you out of tangles and hooked up on fish. Bring an aquarium net and
keep it with you. It will let you cherry pick the anchovy and sardines.
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