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Bonita are among my favorite fish to
catch. Off Homosassa, we often spot Bonita attacking
bait schools. They are quite easily seen when the
water is calm. They usually are leaping in a
graceful arc out of the water. Light tackle and a
medium to light drag setting is the name of the game.
Once you spot a school, do not run right up on the school
but rather watch for a minute or two to determine if they
are moving in a particular direction. If they are,
position your boat well in front of the school and let
them come to to you. They will surround a drifting
boat but scatter quickly when a fast moving boat
approaches. Try and determine what size the bait is.
If you can get a line on this, match the size of the bait
in your lure. I like using the heavier 1 to 3 oz
silver casting spoons. Throw the lure into the boil
of fish and reel as fast as you can. The lure must
be moving fast for the fish to hit it. Do not try
and be fancy with the retrieve, this is not a finesse game
but purely a power toss.
I have not heard of any good recipes for
Bonita. I usually release all we catch except for 2
or 3 that I keep for bait or chum. Grouper love
Bonita strips. Chunking Bonita is a great way to
bring Amberjacks and barracuda right up to the boat.
Kingfish will often lay under the working school of
Bonita, so every once in a while let your lure drop below
the working fish. You may be surprised at what is
done there feeding off the bait fish scrapes.
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Euthynnus
alletteratus
(Rafinesque, 1810) |
|
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Family: |
Scombridae (Mackerels, tunas, bonitos) |
picture (Euall_u1.jpg) by
Hofinger, E.
|
| Order: |
Perciformes |
| Class: |
Actinopterygii
(ray-finned fishes) |
| FishBase name: |
Little tunny |
| Max. size: |
122 cm TL (male/unsexed;
Ref. 26340); max.weight: 16.5 kg (Ref. 40637); max.
reported age: 10 years |
| Environment: |
pelagic; oceanodromous;
brackish; marine ; depth range 1 - 150 m |
| Climate: |
tropical; 56°N - 30°S |
| Importance: |
fisheries: commercial;
gamefish: yes |
| Resilience: |
Medium, minimum
population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.13-0.22;
tm=2; tmax=8; Fec=71,000) |
Distribution:
Gazetteer |
Atlantic Ocean: in
tropical and subtropical waters, including the
Mediterranean, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of
Mexico. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982
Convention on the Law of the Sea (Ref. 26139). |
| Diagnosis: |
Dorsal
spines (total): 15-16;
Dorsal
soft rays (total): 11-13;
Anal
spines: 0-0;
Anal
soft rays: 11-15;
Vertebrae : 39-39. Anterior spines of first dorsal
fin much higher than the those mid-way, giving the fin
a strongly concave outline. Interpelvic process small
and bifid. Body naked except for corselet and lateral
line. Swimbladder absent. Incipient protuberances on
33rd and 34th vertebrae. Back with broken oblique
stripes (Ref. 168). Caudal peduncle with 7-8 finlets.
Dark stripes on the back and with 3-7 dark spots
between pelvic and pectoral fins (Ref. 35388). |
| Biology: |
Found in neritic waters
close inshore (Ref. 13628). This schooling species is
an opportunistic predator which feeds on virtually
everything within its range, i.e. crustaceans, fishes
(mainly clupeoid), squids, heteropods and tunicates.
Specialized traps (madragues) are used in Tunisia and
Morocco. Diving bird flocks may indicate large schools
(Ref. 9710). Utilized fresh, dried-salted, smoked,
canned and frozen (Ref. 9987). A popular game fish
(Ref. 9710). |
| Threatened: |
Not in IUCN Red List ,
(Ref. 36508) |
| Dangerous: |
reports of ciguatera
poisoning ,
Olsen, D.A., D.W. Nellis and R.S. Wood. 1984 |
| Coordinator: |
Collette, Bruce B. |
| Main Ref: |
Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen. 1983. (Ref. 168) |
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