Louisiana's Midnight Lump "The Midnight Lump is one of the Northern Gulf's most heralded Winter and Spring tuna hot spot." By David Brown Tell a Northern Gulf of Mexico angler you fancy a wrasslin' match with a big tuna and he'll likely send you to the Midnight Lump. Before you fret, though, the advice will not lead you to some cheap, after-hours diner. No, the Midnight Lump is one of the Northern Gulf's most heralded Winter and Spring tuna hot spot. Area Information Often appearing as the Sackett Bank on some charts, the Midnight Lump sits about 16 miles southwest of the Mississippi River Delta's Southwest Pass. Most launch in Venice, LA- the river's last populated port- and run the sheltered, interior waters before jumping out into the Gulf of Mexico. Hmmm. Midnight Lump. Strange name, one might muse, for a spot well-known for daylight productivity. Well, as the lore goes, snapper fishermen of yesteryear discovered the Lump's bounty of American red snapper was rivaled by its hordes of marauding kingfish and bonita. Seems the bottom fishermen could barely sink a bait without a "trash fish" cutting it off or, worse, wasting time in an unwanted tussle. Eventually, anglers figured out that the hours between sunset and sunrise allowed them to sneak baits past the snoozing trash fish and onto the dinner plates of the prized snapper. Of course, time also revealed seasonal abundances of pelagics such as billfish, wahoo and the brutal yellowfin. Navigating the Mississippi Delta When traversing the Mississippi River, consider its significant currents and allow plenty of room for steerage, particularly around large vessels. Also, keep watch for timber and other debris that wash into the river. Often, such hazards drift nearly concealed by "Old Muddy's" turbid flow until struck by an unlucky boater. Also, charts will show numerous arteries, which seemingly offer optional passageways from the river to the East and West Delta. But many are so silted in, you'd have trouble running a john boat through. for example, four years ago, Tante Phine (pronounced "Toffeen") Pass was a commonly used exit to the West Delta. Today, it's impassable. When running downriver from Venice, Louisiana, the Mississippi Delta splits into three major arteries- Pass-A-Loutre, South Pass, and Southwest Pass. Each will take you to the Gulf of Mexico, but consider your destination when picking your pass. Also note that Southwest Pass is the primary big ship lane, so, even on calm days, expect plenty of turbulence from tankers and barges. To avoid navigational confusion, newcomers will want to review a couple of area charts detailing the region. The Standard Mapping Services chart covers the Delta to the eastern edge of Timbalier Bay in a horizontal format. There is good detail of the Delta's waterways and a listing of passes with their Loran coordinates. This chart also shows the region's drilling rig blocks with Loran coordinates for individual rigs listed on the back. For copies, call (888) 286-0920. The vertically-formated Locator chart covers Grand Isle, LA to Dauphin Island, AL. Offering a look at Breton Sound, adjacent to the Delta, this chart provides greater sounding detail for coastal and offshore waters. On the flipside, a grid lists range and heading for offshore hotspots. For copies, write to Simbad Traders, Inc., P.O. Box 12282, Pensacola, FL 32581.etc. Structurally, the Midnight Lump is a natural salt dome rising from 400-foot depths to about 200 feet and covering roughly a square mile. Surging bottom currents produce upwellings that bring voluminous bait schools to its upper levels, offering a ready-made chow line for the likes of tuna. Adding to the attraction, the Mississippi Canyon, drops off to about 700 feet just 2 miles to the south of The Lump. With depths of up to about 3,000 feet, the canyon provides a convenient travel lane for pelagic traffic and offers a stable-temperature respite for those feeding near the towering structure. Seasonal Tactics The yellowfin, along with a smattering of smaller blackfins, generally invade The Lump in late November or early December and remain in the area through may. The action is generally most intense at the front end of the season, but frequently angry seas have made anglers accustomed to living on stand-by. Basically, you keep the tackle and rods by the door and when you catch a break in the weather, you grab it and go. By March, the Northern Gulf's weather attitude stabilizes and anglers enjoy more opportunities for offshore excursions. Trolling a mix of surface lures, plugs or skirted ballyhoo will certainly produce, but the locals prefer anchoring and heavy chumming with bonita or menhaden. The latter are most easily cut when frozen. The soft flesh holds together, rather than mushing and tearing in a big slimy mess, as do fresh baits. Bonita are easier to handle because of their size. The trick here is to cut a criss-crossing pattern into the bonitas side flesh, then, starting at the tail, slide a filet knife down the flank to detach the neatly cubed chum chunks. To maximize their efforts, anglers often dump chum the night before to att ract fish and keep them in the area for a morning bite. Normally, though, same-day chumming does the job. Once a sufficient chum slick has been established, anglers fish whole menhaden or bonita strips on 10/0 or 12/0 circle hooks. Tuna seekers are best armed with 5 1/2-foot standup rods and Penn International reels loaded with 50-pound mono. The heavier tackle comes in handy when a tanker tuna decides to chew. But these fish have strong vision and when the Lump water flows clear, downsizing to 30- or even 20-pound line often is the only way to draw a strike from the suspicious tuna. Often, the shy tuna force anglers to clip off leaders and tie straight to the hook. When schools of menhaden or blue runners (aka "hardtails") swarm The Lump, the tuna need little coaxing. Gluttonous bonita show first, chopping up baits and making a nuisance of themselves. The little tuna impersonators show little boat fear, but the tuna will keep their distance, so watch the pack's perimeter for signs of your quarry. A top indicator of impending hookups are "footballs in the air," - hungry tuna pummelling the bait schools with such intensity, they blast skyward. From a distance, youll learn to differentiate the short hopping bonita from a charging tuna, which has no aversion to showing itself from nose to toes. Sometimes the action sprawls for several hundred yards. Other times, it's just sporadic patches of churning white water. Ever present in either case are various seagoing birds, such as terns, gulls and frigates. The latter fly high above a moving school and swoop down to grab a bite from the scraps. Smaller scavengers will hover tight to the surface and screech wildly as the predators drive the baitfish topside. On the hookup, there's not a lot of advice one can give, because there's not a lot of technique here. Fighting a yellowfin is tantamount to a sleave-rolling, dispute-settling street fight. Strap on the fighting harness and crank for all you're worth and take your lumps on The Midnight Lump. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Millis ini terselengara berkat dukungan PT. 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