The Value of Ballyhoo
america’s #1 fish finder
www.lowrance.com
written by Evan Anderson
In this episode of Saltwater Experience, Captains Tom Rowland and Rich Tudor take a stab at sail-fishing after hearing about a ton of incredible ballyhoo sprays in the deeper waters of Florida. Though the conditions aren’t quite right at first, keeping them inshore for the morning, they eventually improve enough that Tudor feels comfortable taking his bay boat out into the open sea. “You gotta remember, you’re in a bay boat,” says Rowland, “and that boat is incredible, it’ll do some things that other boats won’t, but it’s a low-sided boat. You take a couple over the bow, you could get yourself in trouble...we wanted to wait for the sea conditions to get a little bit better.” Once they’re out there, though, it’s a pretty incredible sight to see. Here are 2 reasons to appreciate ballyhoo.
GREAT BAIT
Ballyhoo are a bait fish popular in the Florida Keys, their resemblance to flying fish making them a prime bait for going after mahi-mahi and sailfish. But ballyhoo have many other uses as well. According to Tudor, “Everything’s eating them, from the mutton snappers, the groupers, the mangrove snappers, the mackerals, jacks, and the sailfish. Everything’s feeding on these ballyhoo and there’s a very healthy population.”
Lately the reefs have seen a surge in the ballyhoo population, which means that catching them for bait is a very simple task. Tudor mentions that when he was in his 20’s, they’d spend 4 hours and end up with 12 ballyhoo to use as bait. But now, they’re everywhere. A quick look at a Lowrance fish-finder over a reef will show huge schools of them bringing in larger game fish.
“Everything’s feeding on these ballyhoo and there’s a very healthy population.”
NATURAL FISH-FINDER
While Lowrance’s fish-finder is an excellent resource for seeing what’s around you, ballyhoo can be used to spot fish from a great distance. When something like a sailfish goes after a school of ballyhoo, the bait fish will all jump out of the water repeatedly to get away, creating a big splash or “spray” as Rowland refers to them. These sprays will be visible from quite a ways off, making it easy for an angler to spot activity. “It’s a lot of fun,” says Tudor, “You put the hammer down as fast as you can get to them. If you don’t get there quick, it’s over and you’ve missed your opportunity.”
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Want to see these amazing sprays for yourself? Check out the full episode below and chase sailfish with Captains Tom Rowland and Rich Tudor on S14:E7 of Saltwater Experience.
