Overnight Tuna Fishing out of Port Aransas, Texas

On the morning of December 27, the F/V Happy Hour tossed lines and eased out of the slip in Aransas Pass.  The forecast was for the wind to lay by evening and stay light the next couple of days, the destination…truss spar Perdido.  Once through the Port Aransas jetties, the sportfishing boat made a right turn and was met with a light west wind which made for a comfortable run to some inshore spots for grouper and ling.  We were not disappointed with a 25 pound ling and a 50 pound grouper.     After casting a few glances at the horizon, we decided to head south to the deep water.

After a 4.5 hour run at 30 knots, the wind was a bit stronger down south and we had the help of 5-6 foot seas to push us along.  Thankfully, the winds pulled back all afternoon and by midnight, the seas had subsided to 1-2 feet and continued that way for the rest of the trip.

Upon reaching Perdido, we were also greeted by the Noble Danny Adkins about 2 miles from the spar rig.  After an hour of picking up some nice dorado at Perdido, we pointed to the other rig, not a 1/4 mile from Danny Adkins did we hook into a blue marlin, approximately 250 – 300, maybe larger but we never got up close.  After 45 minutes she took us into the rig and she then parted with us and went her own way.    By now it was dark and the yellowfin tuna were busting the surface everywhere.  We caught the yellowfin tuna trolling, chunking, jigging and on topwaters.  As  you will see in the video, the tuna ranged from about 60 pounds up to approximately 125 pounds.  We fished all night long keeping about 16 yellowfin better than 60 pounds.  (We even gave away a handful of tuna to some of the crew boats in the area.  Believe it or not, they can not fish while they are out there, so hopefully this goodwill may continue, I know they would help any of us if we needed it 180 miles offshore.)  We lost countless fish by either breaking lines, pulled hooks, terminal tackle failure, angler failure, unfortunate gaffing or fish determination.  One thing for sure, these fish will test your tackle and your will and it will leave you with some of the best fishing you may ever encounter, I know I will be extremely fortunate to ever have a trip like this again.  Until next time, tight lines and enjoy the fishing videos.