Going Hard for Tuna

(Originally published May/June 2024)

By Capt. Darren Dorris

The scene is similar in all cockpits, no matter whether it’s a 61-foot sportfisherman, or a 26-foot center console. The throttles come down and settle on 7-ish knots. Light is just breaking to the east and the crew is full of the anticipation of a great day of trolling.

The target: Tuna. The crew fastidiously deploys the spread, typically consisting of spreader and tracker bars, lead head-ballyhoo combos, daisy chains and bird rigs.

Once set, the crew settles in waiting for the first bite of the day. eyes locked on the surface commotion created by most of the baits working behind the boat. That’s all it is … the surface  commotion.

For as long as cedar plugs and green machines have been pulled behind would-be tuna anglers’ boats, we have been fishing only that, the SURFACE! The top 3 feet of the hundreds of feet we