We have a case of Yellowfin fever here in the U.S. Virgin Islands! Offshore trips in January and February did not disappoint, with the highly anticipated arrival of Yellowfin Tunas after last year’s failed showing. The schools were a consistent 20-50lb class, with an occasional 60-80 pounder in the mix. Live-bait was crucial to enticing multiple hook-ups, and our 135 gal livewell made sure there was plenty of bait to keep the feeding frenzy boatside. An added bonus was the arrival of fresh schools of Mahi-Mahi rounding the east of St. Croix, which is a promising sign for the upcoming height of their season from March to early June. Multi-species hookups are a real treat offshore, and we were fortunate that many of our offshore trips featured line-peeling battles with Yellowfin Tuna in the morning followed by the acrobatic display of Mahi-Mahi in the afternoon. Even the occasional Wahoo hit the deck the past two months, but that bite has been rather inconsistent and a noticeably smaller class of fish than we saw in November and December.
Not much to report for the recent inshore bite, as many of our clients wanted a piece of the Yellowfin action. The inshore trips we did have were very hit or miss. Blackfin Tunas made their way inshore along the southern coastline in mid-January and provided some great action on our lighter spinning set-ups, but within a week they had moved back into deeper water. Barracudas, Bonitos and Yellowtail Snapper were holding at a couple of reefs on the western end of the island, but it was difficult getting these fish to bite on a consistent basis. We’re hoping the inshore bite improves with the arrival of juvenile Mahi and hopefully a second push of Blackfin Tunas.
We hope everyone is having a great winter and if you’re planning a late-winter/spring getaway to St. Thomas or St. John make sure to get in touch and we’ll help you plan a memorable day of Caribbean fishing!
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-Capt. Alvin Turbe
