byby Nate Skinner
SUMMER TALES
TRIPLETAIL
of
“ T
here ’ s one . Right there at about three o ’ clock .” I looked to the right and caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a plastic bag or piece of debris floating about 100 yards away . Easing towards the object with the trolling motor , I stared down the end of the rod that my counterpart had pointed in the direction of our quarry .
Closing the distance it was obvious the piece of “ debris ” we had spotted was in fact a large fish floating at the water ’ s surface on its side . At about fifteen yards , a precise flick of the wrist dropped a shrimp imitation lure right off the end of the brute ’ s nose . “ Chomp !”
The reaction strike was immediate , yet it seemed to happen in slow motion . The scene couldn ’ t have been scripted any better as the fight between fins and tackle commenced . With a doubled rod and peeling drag , an ear-to-ear grin from Captain Tim Young told the tale of the secret treasure we had found that hot , summer day in the Gulf .
“ Now that ’ s sightcasting to tripletail at its finest !” he said .
It ’ s easy to get wrapped up in the same summer patterns , catching trout and redfish in the same hot spots year after year . This type of consistency can speak to an angler ’ s skill set , especially when temperatures get cranked up during the dog days of summer . Routine can be a good thing , but every now and then it ’ s nice to try something different , especially when that “ something different ” is action packed and exciting .
That ’ s exactly what ’ s on the menu for the Summer of 2016 , and it ’ s served up to anglers in the form of tripletail . This wild looking fish puts up a sporting fight , is excellent table fare , and provides another target for anglers to pursue outside of the “ big three ,” - trout , redfish , and flounder .
By far , the most exciting means of targeting tripletail is to hunt for them along the beachfront and then sightcast to them . Up and down the entire Gulf Coast , tripletail can be found this summer exhibiting one particular behavior or trait that sets them apart from other species — they float at the water ’ s surface on their side .
Senior Research Scientist , Jim Franks , of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory at the University of Southern Mississippi is well known amongst Gulf Coast fishery biologists as an authority
on tripletail . Franks has been studying tripletail over fifteen years and says that this “ sideways floating ” behavior is a feeding strategy .
“ When a tripletail is floating sideways in the water it is mimicking a piece of trash or floating debris , trying to draw in minnows , baitfish , and other prey for an easy meal ,” explains Franks .
This behavior is also what helps anglers looking for tripletail pinpoint areas to find them , as the fish love structure . They will float on their side right next to a rig , platform , buoy , or floating debris , appearing to just be an inanimate object to baitfish swimming by in the current . Structure is key to finding tripletail along the beachfront and nearshore waters of the Gulf .
Texas Parks and Wildlife Fisheries Biologist , Josh Harper , confirms that tripletail have an affinity for structure and floating debris . Harper was part of some research in which tripletail caught in a gill net were studied within the captivity of a tank for several days .
“ During the study , different sized samples of floating debris were placed inside the tank . It didn ’ t matter how big
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Capt . Tim Young ( L ) fooled this tripletail by making a perfect cast with a shrimp imitation bait . Bryan Maley ( R ) with a hefty tripletail caught along an Upper Texas Coast beachfront .
6 G U L F C O A S T F I S H E R M A N W W W . G U L F F I S H I N G . C O M