The 3 Types Of Fish You Will Encounter When Deep Sea Fishing

If you've never been deep-sea fishing before, you might not know what types of fish are going to be out there. Unlike fish in river and lake environments, deep sea fishing is vastly different. Depending on the type of fish you are interested in going after, you will need different equipment. The same rods, line and boat that you use to look for tuna is not suitable for shark. Additionally, you will need to know where to go. You don't fish for marlin in the same location as snapper.

Here is a list of the most popular deep-sea fish and some information about them.

Marlin

Marlin is one of the favorite fish of deep-sea fishermen. This fish is found in the Atlantic. While it is most often found in the warm waters, you can still find it as far north as Georges Bank in the Cape Cod vicinity.

Marlin are one of the most distinctive looking fish species. It is a member of the Billfish group. These fish have "spear" like protrusions at the front of their nose. They are dominant in the ocean, having only two predators: sharks and humans.

The females can weigh up to 1000 pounds. The male marlin are smaller, normally around 300-400 pounds. The preferred bait for marlin is artificial lures.

Bluefin Tuna

Tuna are large. If you've never seen one in the wild, it might surprise you. Bluefin tuna can weigh close to 1000 pounds, though the average is closer to 600. Bluefin tuna are located all over the Atlantic Ocean. You will find them from Canada down to Mexico.

It should be noted that tuna tend to swim near dolphins. This is because sharks hunt tuna. The tuna use the schools of dolphin as protection because sharks are less likely to attack a group of dolphins.

In the past, fishermen used this info to find tuna. Dolphins are easily located on sonar. However, this was dangerous because dolphin would often be caught instead of tuna. Most reputable people have abandoned the practice, but there are still some who use sonar and try and chase dolphin schools. This should be avoided because it is illegal to fish dolphins.

Sharks

Sharks are infamous due to their depiction in movies. Everyone who has seen Jaws will appreciate the power of these fish. However, most people who go deep-sea fishing won't encounter the gigantic Great White sharks. More common are Tiger sharks, Hammerhead sharks and Mako.

Great Whites are found in both Atlantic and Pacific waters. They are found in the Baja area of California, as well as up and down the Eastern seaboard. Mako sharks and Tigerhead sharks, the preferred choice for fishermen, are centered more around warmer waters in the Gulf.

When fishing for sharks, it is important to have a large boat. Even if you don't intend on encountering a large shark, you might come across one and a small boat is not suitable for handling one.

The bait used for sharks should be bloody. Artificial baits are not a good choice because the sharks are more attracted to blood than they are movement.