SNEADS FERRY – One of the most elusive but hardest-fighting/best-tasting saltwater gamefish is available right now off the N.C. coast.
But bonito (not bonita) are almost like ghosts because anglers can neither predict with much dependability the exact nor proximate locations where they’ll appear in the ocean. And they are a totally ocean-going species. One thing is certain: when they appear, the ocean explodes boils and roils as they savagely attack glass minnows and baby menhaden and just about any lure an angler can cast to them.
The way to find and land bonito contains two elements – persistence and more persistence. But currently, few people have time, inclination or a fat-enough wallet to spend on fuel to burn an entire day cruising, looking for these fish.
“You shoulda been here Monday,” said Capt. Wayne Crisco of Topsail Island (Last Resort Charters, 910-328-1887), Wednesday, April 25 as he and Jacksonville guide Ricky Kellum scanned the choppy waters about 5 miles off Onslow Beach and the booms of Camp Lejeune howitzers came floating across the water. The loud sounds over the water, unfortunately, didn’t work as was once rumored and didn’t bring any bonito to the surface.
“On Monday we had more action than we wanted,” Crisco said. “There were tons of bonito breaking the surface. The two girls in the boat caught fish until their arms were worn out. They’ll definitely put a bend into a 7-foot rod with 15-pound-test line.”
Bonito (Sarda sarda) weigh from 7 to 8 pounds, on average, the captain said. Fish of this size, which are a member of the mackerel family, often are called “Boston mackerel,” and provide arm-straining runs.
“You can use several types of lures to catch them, but the best ones are diamond jigs,” Crisco said.
Diamond jigs are heavy, silvery lures with, of course, diamond patterns on their sides, and about 4 inches in length with a treble hook camouflaged by a white bucktail at the business end. Crisco likes monofilament line while Kellum likes braided line. Either type, thrown with a 7-foot spin-casting rod, will fling a diamond jig 175 feet.
The best retrieve technique is to jerk the jig, then let it fall, then repeat the process. Bonito hit jigs on the fall most of the time, but anglers must be ready to set the hook hard and fast whenever a fish attacks, which could be as soon as a lure hits the water.
“Bonito usually are here during the month of April,” Crisco said. “Then they go somewhere else. And they come back about the same time each year.”
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