Maneuvering Boats On Pelagics

Shots of the throttle, not full-bore firewalls, are in order when a fish is on the line.

Maneuvering boats on hot billfish, potent tuna, and lightning-fast wahoo (pelagics) is a task that some professional captains are very good at. But most recreational anglers – and plenty of pros – don’t do it very well. The problem? Usually, people get overzealous with the throttles and the wheel. Maybe they want to look like a hero or maybe they really believe they need to flood the cockpit to get a leader up to the rod tip, but in truth, as a general rule of thumb less is more. Let the angler and mate do their work, and as the captain, keep your role minimal and you’ll find your boat loses far fewer fish.

Shots of the throttle, not full-bore firewalls, are in order when a fish is on the line.

Here’s the thing: if you back on a fish too aggressively, there’s a good chance one of several mishaps will take place. You may soak down everyone in the cockpit, or worse, flood it and cause serious havoc. Yes, boats have sunk as the result. Assuming you don’t flood the pit, an abrupt and hefty application of power may well throw someone off-balance, including the angler. And if that angler isn’t completely on his or her game, they may not reel fast enough to keep the line taunt – and slack in the line is the number-one reason fish spit the hook.

The captain’s goal should be simple: keep the transom facing the fish, and the fish off the props. This can almost always be accomplished by spinning the boat and/or with short shots of power, though an energetic billfish streaking towards the bow may require cranking the wheel and hitting the throttles hard.

What about backing down to gain line? Unless you’re about to dump a spool, slow and steady wins this race. That way your angler can keep pace, and you can keep the situation calm.

Some top captains will argue some of these points, and rightfully so. But they’re working with years of experience under their belts, and often have to modify their tactics to match up with the different skill levels of the different anglers they take out. That’s all well and good. But for the average recreational captain, less is in fact more – and being a bit less aggressive with the throttles will lead to more flags flying at the end of the day.

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