# Question re trolling the Spur



## LRAD

For the past several seasons I have been bluewater fishing as much as possible (live in B'ham so that isn't all that often) on a buddy's boat out of OB. We have had some good days catching fish and some good days not catching fish. Most of our success has been trolling along the edge between the Nipple, Elbow, and Steps area (say 250 -650 feet of water). We have also made a couple of trips to the rigs, though that is getting towards the edge of our range and we really have to pick our days to get there and back. 

The Spur is easily within range, and we have fished it a few times with no luck whatsoever. Which brings me to my question:

What is the right / typical / standard / conventional wisdom way to troll the Spur? Do you try to follow the contours of the canyon? Zig zag around the tip of the Spur? I am sure there isn't any one "right" answer, but any general tips or thoughts would be appreciated. My general approach would normally be to work the relief contours (like we do around the nipple, etc . .. ) but the water is so much deeper at the Spur that I wonder if we are missing something. 

Thanks in advance. That warm, blue water eddy at the Spur has got me thinking pelagics early this year.


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## gator7_5

Good question. I too have little luck at the Spur and prefer areas with better contour like the Squiggles and Elbow. That being said, the spur has a much more reliable tuna bite right at sunup. Be there at 5 am and you'll often see some skying yellowfin. Also, the swordbite goes off there at night. I don't waste much day time fishing in that area unless there's a great push or line formed up. 

Others with more experience can offer better advice that I'd like to hear.


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## LRAD

Yeah, would love to overnight out there and try to pick up a sword or some daybreak tuna. Maybe we will get a good window this summer and try it. 

Glad to hear we aren't the only ones who don't seem to produce much at the Spur with a regular trolling spread. Maybe someone can tell us what we are doing wrong.


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## MSViking

There is no right or wrong answer to that question. Pelagics are attracted to the spur due to change in bottom contour causing upwelling and down drafts of water which tends to concentrate bait and therefore pelagics, same as for the elbow, steps and nipple. unless there are obvious weedlines or rips we just fish the general area. Whether we fish the spur vs another area is usually determined by satellite imagery favoring one area or the other with better temp or current breaks/changes.

In general, if I don't have a particular reason to run to the spur, we stay around the nipple/131 and elbow.

Robert


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## Chris V

The spur, along with the double nipple, Lloyd's Ridge and other deep water structures are generally slow spots unless you have some sort of variance in currents or well formed rips. An upwelling coming up from DeSoto Canyon or hard loop current from the south butting into a westward moving current from the MS River are usually the best 2 scenarios that can play out there. If some sort of special circumstance doesn't exist, its like fishing a desert. There is structure there but its too deep to really play a part in the surface action.


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## LRAD

Thanks for the responses, that is basically what I figured. Looking at the SST / color imagery the past few days got me thinking Spur, and then somebody posted a second-hand report that somebody got spooled by a big blue out there recently. That got me thinking Spur a little harder!


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## Downtime2

I dunno. I love open water. Got way many more bills and good dolphin that way. Not a big tuna fisher so I tend to stay away from the rigs. Seems to be better billfish action out open. I am a big fan of the Spur, Nipple, Elbow, Steps...etc...


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## LRAD

If you count the nipple, elbow, 131 hole, etc . . .as open water then I am right there with you. I tend to think of fishing those areas as fishing structure / underwater relief. Out at the Spur, b/c it is so deep, it really does feel like we are just dragging baits in open water, with nothing to really focus on. I guess maybe we are. I feel like you always at least have a shot at a wahoo or two on the drop off from 250 - 700 or 800 feet, but sometimes at the Spur it seems like you are just picking a place in the open ocean to stop and troll.


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## Kim

You may want to consider checking out some of the free and fee sites online to help you dial in which places may be more fishier than others. My mainstay is realtime-navigator great program, reasonable cost, really helps put you on the fish and you can call Tom Hilton and he will school you on the phone how to fine tune your use of the site. It won't give you precise X/Y axis coordinates but it will put you in the most probably area for Hooking up. If it's more critical to me I'll order a forecast from Roffers and when I do I always compare theirs to my own findings. 

PS: Since I don't order all that many reports from Roffers which sometimes is as far off as it can be fish wise, I have to say percentage wise I have done better using realtime-navigator. 

http://www.florida-offshore.com/index.php

https://realtime-navigator.com/system/login.php

http://www.ripcharts.com/

Terrafin SST-View 

Roffer's Ocean Fishing Forecasting Service, Inc.


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## matttheboatman

Re: Trolling Spur - 

I like to fish overnight so that I will have a good shot at a Swordfish and be able to put enough hours on the scene to raise a Blue Marlin. I depart out of Destin and pick up the edge and work my way southwest. I troll primarily for Wahoo along the edge until I get well south of the Nipple. I'm looking for life - birds, bait, or a log holding a dolphin. Around the Steps I'll pick up and shoot over to the Spur to set up for the night drift. Next day, I'll troll all day.

The most important thing is to keep an eye on the blue water. The chlorophyl reports will show when the good water has pushed in. Don't go if its not looking like either a good rip or really nice water. 

In normal conditions (which we haven't had for 3 years) there will be nice rips just north of the Spur holding lots of gold sargasum (sp?) weed all summer. Thats when there are dolphin, wahoo, tuna, and blue marlin. 

Just so you don't think you're crazy, here is what you can expect:

Swordfish: Average 1 - 3 bites per night, average 1 fish every 2 days.
Blue Marlin: Average 1 shot for every 5 days of trolling. 

Can be lots better but that is the average!!!!


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## Downtime2

Sure, fishing the edge makes for a good shot at a wally. But, if you are gonna fish open water, (past the edge), start thinking currents and convergence. I rely on reading current more than anything else. Combine that with the chloro count and temp breaks. Also, it doesn't hurt to look at the altimetery. Try to get between "rising" and "sinking" areas. Always be on the lookout for debris and bait. Not many objects are too small to hold fish. Don't think that open water is less productive. It's not. You want a shot at the big girl? You oughta go there.


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