Delaware Paddlesports Kayak Mothership Tuna Trip

On July 21st, I had the opportunity to join Delaware Paddlesports on a kayak mothership tuna trip aboard the Wreakaholic from Fish Whisper Charters out of Indian River Inlet Marina. So glad I joined in on the fun! This trip has been in the planning stages for over a year. We tried getting out during the summer of 2014, but every day we had planned a trip the weather wouldn't cooperate. The first trip we planned this year didn't look good either until the night before. At first, NOAA was calling for 3-5' seas which the captain felt were unsafe conditions for a kayak. Then our prayers were answered and the weather forecast switched up to 2-3' which the captain felt was very doable. We were stoked to say the least. The morning of the trip started with a 1:45am wake up. My buddy, Chris Erby, and I packed all the gear and kayaks on the truck the night before so all we had to do was stop for coffee and snacks. We arrived at the marina and met up with the other kayakers that were joining us on the trip out. We found the boat and proceeded to come up with a plan on how we would load the kayaks on the boat. 

Remember, this has never been done in the area before so it was a learning experience for everyone. With the kayaks and gear all loaded we were finally on our way out to the deep blue sea to hook into some tuna from our kayaks. With a two hour trip out most decided to get some sleep before we got to the fishing grounds but I was too excited to sleep. I've been waiting for this trip for too long to not take in every moment. We finally arrived and the spot where we were going to be fishing for the day. There were lots of boats and the captain put us just north of the boats so that we wouldn't drift into the fleet of boats. My Hobie Outback was the first kayak to get dropped in. I climbed overboard into my outback and they handed me all my gear, a couple bottles of water, bucket of bait and off I went. We were chunking butterfish. The mate had small buckets full of cut butterfish to chunk and chum with.The tuna have large eyes and see very well so its very important that when you bait up your hook that no part of the hook can be seen. With my hook baited, I set out to look for skipjack jumping, which was a good indicator of tuna being around. Fishing was slow for the first hour or so. One angler hooked up but whatever he hooked into spit the hook. The captain decided to move a bit and try a new spot. We all followed since it was a short pedal away. Started chumming the water and got my bait out at the new location. Was slow at the new spot too, so I decided to let alot of line out to get the bait deeper. Trying anything to get a bite! Then my rod started to thump! Thump thump thump...then bam! I was hooked up! (We were using circle hooks so no need to set the hook) The fight was on! Line went screaming from my Penn Slammer reel! . It was a back a forth battle between me and the fish and I wasn't going to lose.This is where my Hobie Outback really shined! Being able to fight the fish and move to bring up more line at the same time made it so much easier to gain ground on the fish then just being drug around. After a 15 minute fight I finally was able to see some color in the water. Still couldn't tell if it was a yellowfin or skipjack. After the fish put in a few more valiant runs I had the fish yak side. It was a nice skipjack. Not what I was hoping for but I'll take it. After a few pictures I released him to swim another day. Baited back up and got my line back deep in the water column along with a few pieces of butterfish to get my chum slick happening again. Within 30 minutes, I was hooked up again. Line peeling from the reel! Could this be a yellowfin? Another 20 minute fight and I could see it was a skipjack. Still a awesome fight on a medium heavy spinning setup.                 

Fishing slowed up again so the captain decided to move. This time we would load the kayaks back on the boat. While we were loading, a school of bluefish came by so we threw down some bait. I got bit off on my first drop. But another angler, Pat McGovern, hooked up and to our surprise it was a nice mahi! I quickly made my way over to gaff the fish for him. It truly was a beautiful fish!! 

The school moved out and we loaded the rest of the kayaks up and moved just south of the fleet. A quick boat ride to the next spot and we were fishing again. It was slow fishing for the first hour then, like a light switch, the bite was on! Pat hooked up again this time with a nice 30lb yellowfin. Took about 45 minutes and some gaff help from the mothership but the big fish was landed. While Pat was hooked up another angler, Pete Sullivan, hooked up to a skipjack. After a good fight it was landed yakside. Soon after angler, Ryan Romanski, hooked up to a yellowfin. All hell was breaking loose! At one point we had 3 anglers hooked up at once! This bite lasted till we got forced off the water by an approaching storm. We loaded the boat up with the kayaks and started heading in. Hit the storm about halfway in. Thank God we left when we did because it got nasty really quick. What a trip and a great ending! This is definitely a trip that everyone who has experience in saltwater kayak fishing needs to try. If you want to experience the thrill of a lifetime, call Chris at Delaware Paddlesports (302) 645-7300. They run trips every Tuesday during the summer months (weather permitting). 

Joe Hosler - Hobie Fishing Team Member and Delaware Paddlesports Prostaff

Watch the full video of the trip here!!!  https://vimeo.com/134691172