Wrightsville Beach’s Lee Parsons has seen the emergence of bonito as pests to preferred anglers’ targets.
Capt. Lee Parsons caught his first fish with a fly rod at Wrightsville Beach when he was 12. In the years since, Parsons, now 55, has become one of the most accomplished light-tackle and fly anglers at the North Carolina coast.
“The first fish I caught with a fly rod was a bluefish,” Parsons said. “I caught it at the end if the Wrightsville Beach jetty, and it hooked me on fly fishing.
“Fly fishing is the next step up from fishing with a bait-casting or spinning rig. It’s a lot more physical when you get down and dirty with a powerful fish using a fly rod.”
Fly- and light-tackle anglers such as Parsons, who operates Gottafly Guide Service, look forward to catching schooling fish when the water temperature warms. As it reaches the 60s, everyone watches for the big schools of Atlantic bonito that invade the nearshore waters off Masonboro Inlet in spring.
“Statistically, you can look for them to be at Wrightsville Beach by April 15,” he said. “But they could may show up as early as the third week in March and stick around until the last week in April.”
Parsons has seen Atlantic bonito go from trash fish to treasure during his guiding career.
“I named my guide service ‘Gottafly’ partly because I fly fish,” he said. “But I probably take more fishermen out who use light tackle rather than fly tackle. Gottafly represents the word ‘fly’ as in ‘fast.’
“I want to catch fast fish, and you know the old expression when you’re in a hurry, you’ve got to fly. I want to get out there fast so I can be the first one to get on the fish.”
Second only to a false albacore among smaller tunas in size and speed, the Atlantic bonito is an incredibly strong fish when hooked and played with light tackle. An Atlantic bonito may weigh as much as 18 pounds, but most of the fish swimming off Wrightsville Beach weigh 4 to 10 pounds. A false albacore can top 30 pounds and 10- to 15-pound false albacore are not unusual. The false albacore has swirls on its back, while the Atlantic bonito has wavy, horizontal stripes on its back. Another important difference is the Atlantic bonito has sharp teeth while the false albacore doesn’t. Sometimes the two fish may be caught from the same school. They also mix with Spanish mackerel and bluefish.
“Once the Spanish mackerel arrive, bonito won’t be around long,” Parsons said. “At times, you don’t know which fish is going to eat your lure or fly.”
Parsons said the biggest change he’s seen during the years is in the way people fish for bonito. Where only a few fishermen once targeted them, now a virtual armada of anglers wants bonito action.
“It used to be ‘Hey, he’s hooked up with a fly rod so we’ll get out of his way,’ ” Parson’s said. “Now it’s ‘Hey, he’s got one on a fly rod, so let’s run all over him and cut his line.’
“It’s more of a run-and-gun mentality out there now. But there’s no reason for it. Everyone seems to want instant gratification. If they see a fish, they don’t stop to think over the situation; it doesn’t have to be a competition. If anglers would have some manners about the way they fish, everyone could catch all the bonito they want.”
Parsons docks his 23-foot Boston Whaler at the Bridge Tender Marina at Wrightsville Beach. The boat has no T-top because he said a top gets in his way.
“You want to get out there before first light,” he said. “I go out Masonboro Inlet and as the sun comes up, I’m looking for fish. If I don’t see birds or fish moving at the surface, I head to Meares Harris Reef (AR 370). I’m also looking at the depth-finder screen trying to spot fish and baitfish schools down at 15 to 30 feet.”
If the fish aren’t between the inlet and AR 370, Parsons heads farther offshore. His other bonito destinations include Five-Mile Boxcars (AR 372), Ten-Mile Boxcars (AR 376) and the Dredge Wreck (AR 382). He also fishes hard-bottom areas between the 5-Mile Boxcars and 10-Mile Boxcars.
“Some people watch for other boats to find bonito,” he said. “But if I see boats, I run the other way. They could be fishing for something else. But even if they’re catching bonito, I would rather stay away from other anglers and find my own schools to fish.”
Parsons prefers using spinning outfits when he has clients onboard who want to catch fish with light tackle. For most fishermen, spinning tackle is easier to cast than bait-casting tackle.
“I use a Penn Slammer 320 spinning reel and a 6-foot, 6-inch St. Croix fast-action rod,” he said. “I use a 20- to 30-pound braid; I like the yellow Power Pro braid (line) more than the green. The yellow line is slicker and holds up better than the green line.
“I tie a 6-foot, 20-pound fluorocarbon leader to the braid using a three-turn surgeon’s knot. I have the anglers close the bail of the reel manually instead of flipping it closed with the reel handle. It keeps the line from forming a loop over the spool, which can lead to tangles with braided line.”
When casting to bonito schools, Parsons uses soft-plastic lures. Most anglers use hard-plastic lures or metal spoons.
“I’ve gotten away from casting hard lures,” he said. “I buy cheap half-ounce jigs, 100 to the bag, and add a Jimmy Price Trout Killer trailer. I like the Ice Pink color. But chartreuse or clear green colors also works.”
Parsons said if a bonito only cuts off a couple of hard lures during a day of fishing, he’s lucky. With the jig/trailer combo, if the fish cuts off a lure, it’s not as costly.
“I also prefer the jig best because it outcasts and outcatches anything else you throw at them,” he said. “It’s usually windy and you have to cast into the wind part of the time. With jigs, you can reach out and get them.
“You cast the lure into the middle of the school, point the rod right where the lure is in the water and crank like heck. The fish sets the hook when it strikes because there’s no line stretch. All the angler has to do is lift the rod. Keeping the rod pointed at the fish keeps any slack out of the line.”
When Parsons locates a school of bonito, he doesn’t charge in and shut the motor down. He studies the school so he can make a proper approach and presentation.
“First thing to do is look the school over to see what direction the fish are moving,” he said. “Then you move closer to get a side-shot (cast) at the middle of the school. Don’t speed or slow the motor because that’s what spooks fish.
“Like other pelagic fish, bonito are highly sensitive to pressure changes. They feel any push of water from baitfish and predators with their lateral line. A boat feels like a big bluefin or other predator coming to eat them.”
If the school is stationary, Parsons approaches at the lowest RPM possible. He said it’s agonizing to his anglers how slow he approaches to avoid spooking the fish.
“If everyone did that, everyone would catch fish,” he said. “I approach a school from upwind rather than downwind, and I never take the boat out of gear. Approaching from the side of the school allows you to pull the boat away without spooking them.
“I once caught 22 double hook-ups from one school by approaching them cautiously. To have a trip like that, it helps if you fish for bonito on a weekday. When there are lots of boats on the weekend, other fishermen can see you hooking up, come over and run over your fish.”
Nevertheless, the run-and-gun mentality of other anglers sometimes helps patient fishermen like Parsons. Sometimes they actually herd fish to him.
“If you stay where the fish were a few minutes ago, and they pop up somewhere else, stay right where you are,” he said. “Other fishermen will harass the fish and chase them back to you. The fish may also have just gone deeper, so once the other boats leave, you’ll be able to get a few hookups before they come back at you again when the fish re-surface.”
Some days, especially slick-calm days with no wind, the fish don’t appear at the surface. When they aren’t on top, Parsons switches tactics to bring them from the depths.
“I look for bonito with my depth-finder while trolling Yo-zuri deep divers,” he said. “They run best at slow-trolling speeds, so you can watch for fish and try to catch one at the same time. If you I catch one, I stop the boat and begin fishing with a Zara Spook.”
Parsons said he uses a big Zara Spook with no rattle. He likes the clear blue color for bonito.
“It’s probably the way the sunshine reflects off the lure, so it imitates a hurt baitfish,” he said. “Bonito come up 15 to 20 feet and eat the lure explosively.
“You fish it with the same walk-the-dog action as you use for any other fish. When the lure is way out there, you keep the rod tip high. When it’s two-thirds of the way back to the boat, you lower the rod and keep it parallel to the water. It’s important to change the rod angle to keep the right lure action.”
The topwater strike of a bonito is one of the most adrenaline-pumping sights in all of light-tackle fishing. But sometimes the fish will miss the hooks.
“If a fish misses, keep the working the lure,” Parsons said. “Once he’s on it, the fish will be back for another shot.
“If you don’t feel the line come tight, don’t lift the rod or change anything. He can suck the lure under without having the hooks in his mouth. You have to feel the fish before you set the hook or you’ll pull the lure away and break the rhythm, so the fish loses interest.”
For fly-fishing, Parsons uses 8- and 9-weight rods with clear or smoke intermediate sinking lines. He ties a 4- to 6-foot leader of 17-to 20-pound test fluorocarbon, although if bluefish or Spanish mackerel show up, he reduces the leader to 12 pounds.
“A 12-pound leader slips between the teeth of bluefish or Spanish mackerel like dental floss,” Parsons said. “But you have to constantly check it for nicks.
“I orient the boat the same way, and when I get hooked up, I use the boat to pull the fish out of the school and leave the school on top.”
Parsons said any angler who can cast 60 feet is able to catch a bonito. After a cast and the angler allows the fly line to sink, one or two strips will usually elicit a strike.
“The rod is pointed where the line enters the water, so all the angler has to do is strip-strike and raise the rod,” he said. “You let any excess line slip through a loop in your fingers until it comes tight at the reel.”
An anti-reverse reel is a good piece of equipment for fighting bonito, but most anglers use a single-action reel. They keep their fingers away from the handle, moving their hand to palm the bottom of the reel as the fish runs. Then they use the reel handle to crank in line as the fish moves toward the boat.
Once a bonito tires, Parsons moves to the gunwale and has the angler put the rod above his head, parallel to the water. Then Parsons grabs the angler’s line to land the fish.
“I hold the line so the angler won’t lift the rod,” he said. “The closer the tip gets to the butt, the more likely the rod will snap. If the fish wants to run, I let the line go.”
Parsons ties his own Clouser flies for bonito and favors a long-shank No. 2 hook.
“What we used to call the ‘Tootie Fruitie’ (color), everyone calls Electric Chicken these days,” he said. “The pink and pink-and-green fly is a classic pattern for bonito.”
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