Are you looking for a rod bending fight? How about a big-eyed freak with razor sharp teeth built for speed to show you how hard a fish can fight. Yeah baby, I’m referring to the ever so ferocious Great Barracuda. The Barracuda may not be considered to be a game fish by some anglers,but these fish have had my reel smoking after it snatched my catch and just about spooled me! These silver bullets are pretty creepy in my opinion, but they are a lot fun to fight, especially when you have a big daddy on the line!
So, where do I find these wicked teeth torpedoes to tango with my tackle? My desired spots for these big papas, which range 50lbs or more, are around offshore wrecks and reefs. I’ve noticed groups of Barracudas stacked up in swarms like tiny tornados, but the monster Barracudas usually stalk alone. Furthermore, foot-long kiddos can be found inshore in the flats where they can instinctively hide behind rock piles, wrecks and sea-fan clusters awaiting their prey for ambush.
These bad boy Barracudas, fortunately can be found all year long almost anywhere and anytime, in various sizes throughout South Florida and the tropical islands. During the winter months, I’ve noticed that colossal sized Barracuda tend to move onto the flats and inshore, driving other species into deeper water.
Lets get back to getting set up for a battle with the Great Barracuda. I would recommend a medium weight saltwater conventional rod and reel rated for 20-30lbs test line, or so. I would also set up my rig up with 12 inches of leader wire, to avoid having those razor sharp teeth cut my ****** (use your imagination) line! When selecting a lure, I keep in mind that Barracudas are attracted to things that are silver in color and have high reflection. My favorite lure for this type of mission would be the Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow Deep Diver; its tight wiggling action paired with a brilliant holographic finish reflects any subsurface light, which will catch the eye of the ravenous Great Barracuda! This same lure is what was used to catch a 50lb plus monster that is featured on the front page. Guess who that is?
When fishing around the edge of reefs and wrecks, my first tactic is to just drop my line in and pray…just kidding. For real, when I’m fishing these areas, I’d just troll slowly with my lure behind the boat, letting it do all the work. I might yank and jerk it a little now and then. It’s going to grab the attention of any Barracuda lurking around. If I want to cast, I make sure it’s a long cast, and then reel, reel, reel!
When fishing the flats, I would take the same approach as I mentioned before. I would quietly use my trolling motor to move around looking for structures such as rock piles, wrecks and sea-fan clusters. Again, I would make long cast along these structures and work my lure fast and erratically. If I spot a Barracuda, I will cast past and beside it, not on top of it (fish don’t usually fall out of the sky). Then reel fast and don’t stop. If I want my lure to mimic a fish, I keep it dancing! No sane fish is going to stop and smell the sea-fan clusters if a predator is nearby. So again, reel fast.
So, to reel this article in, I love fighting Barracuda. They’re basically just like tarpon, great to fight, but that’s about it. There are many other ways to catch these toothy monsters, but it seems to me that the real task at hand is to keep them off my “real” fish! Ultimately, I would use them as shark bait. And, who really goes out to just catch Barracuda?
