“Wahoo definitely bite better when the breeze kicks up,” says Bermuda charter and tournament captain Allen DeSilva. In DeSilva’s waters, that’s 15 knots and 6-foot seas. “Marlin are the opposite. The days we get five, six, seven fish are not rough,” he says. 

One reason average or calm seas favor marlin fishing is that it’s easier to see trolled lures and fish in the spread. “When it gets rough, bring everything in closer,” DeSilva says, to overcome the decreased visibility.

He also simplifies his overall presentation on bumpy days so that when a bite happens, he can avoid tangles.

This decreases snarls between the teasers and the short-rigger lures, he says, plus the mates have less to clear when you hook into a fish.

Change Up Lures to Match Conditions

“You want lures deeper when it’s rough, so the fish can see them through the whitecaps,” compared with a normal day, when lure surface action attracts fish’s attention, DeSilva says.

We Continue Sharing Great Tips for Fishing in Rough Waters

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Amaral places heavier lures on the upwind side when he can, and also closer to the boat so the wind separates his spread. Heavier, ballasted lures also track better when speed fluctuates as boats surf down following seas. 

Whether he’s fishing infamously rough Venezuela or placid Costa Rica, charter captain Bubba Carter runs two dredges with teasers atop, plus swimming ballyhoo on two flat lines clipped to the transom, and two long rigger baits.

Weight helps hold baits more squarely behind the boat and also keeps them swimming in the water, not skipping on top. Just a quarter-ounce more makes a big difference. He also trolls outrigger baits farther aft. That extra bit of line in the water helps hold the bait down.

Capt. Ronnie Fields typically uses small scoop-faced Mold Craft Chuggers ahead of his baits whether he’s in the Carolinas, Costa Rica or the Caribbean, fishing private or tournament boats. He switches to flat-faced Mold Craft Hookers in rougher water so baits won’t somersault when they pop out of the water on wave crests, which tends to foul circle hooks.

Fields’ biggest changes are in his teasers. “When it’s rough, flat lines blow into the squid chains, so I’ll take the squids off,” he says. “Whatever I would have put behind the squid chain, maybe a mackerel with an Iland Express, I’ll just run without the squids.”