Many tuna gain a second wind at boatside. Don't give them any slack.

The crew and anglers both had worked really hard for a trip-making fish and there’s nothing more gratifying than the look on an angler’s face when he catches a personal best. But when this fish rolled up beside the boat it was more than expected. A fat wahoo lit up the clear blue water with her brilliant stripes as she came alongside the sportfisherman’s cockpit. Zane calmly swung the gaff and grinned widely as he raised her over the gunnel. This fish would weigh 77.5 pounds back at the marina. We had our trip-maker!

Winter months along the Florida Panhandle often cause folks to do crazy things; heading offshore to find bluewater fish used to be considered nuts, but not anymore. Due to the relative proximity of structure like the rigs, I’m convinced that there are marlin, tuna, wahoo and dolphin to be caught year-round off the Panhandle, and you don’t have to travel to the lumps to find them. Anglers routinely catch tuna in the dead of winter at rigs like the Petronious and Ram Powell, just 70 to 80 miles from Pensacola Pass.

Winter is productive (we fished in February), but summer can be off the charts.

While you can find action at rigs just 40 miles from Pensacola, you’ll want to concentrate on the deeper-water rigs for your best shot at a bluewater “trip-maker.”

Some rigs are close to traditionally productive billfish grounds like the Steps and the Double Nipple, giving you the best of both bluewater worlds. If the bite isn’t happening at the rigs, you can pick up and run just 20 miles from the Petronious to the Double Nipple and try the open-water action. A well-equipped center console can make this run in 30 minutes or less and a sportfisherman cruising 20 knots in one hour.

Fishermen who plan to venture farther west will obviously need to do a little more planning. On a calm day, many center consoles have the range to make it to the lumps off Louisiana in three or four hours from Pensacola, but you need to give serious consideration to the weather. When Capt. Colley motored the Dataman to Venice, Louisiana for a week, he cruised the Intracoastal from Pensacola to Biloxi, jumped out at Horn Island Pass and slipped in behind the Chandeleur Islands to stay out of the rough water and then entered the Mississippi River through Baptiste Collette. Not being in a hurry, they made the trip in six hours. Some folks will opt for the direct shot across the Gulf, but in either case, safety must be a top priority. Some anglers will even pair up and buddy-boat when making the long haul.

It pays to experiment. Trolling a lipped lure over a submerged well head landed July Jablonski a 77-pound "trip-maker" wahoo.

Filing a float plan is encouraged and can be as simple as letting folks know your fishing plans, timeframe and where you’ll be staying if making landfall. If you don’t have a satellite phone, you should get one. Rental phones are available for just such occasions. Weather can change quickly so be prepared, monitor your radar and make adjustments accordingly. The 2- to 3-foot swells you’re riding in can turn into 4- to 6-footers in a hurry if one of our summer thunderstorms pops up. It should be understood that an EPIRB, life raft and all your required safety equipment be checked prior to leaving port. Make sure you have plenty of food and water on board and particularly pay attention to the amount of water. Enough for your crew for three days is a good rule of thumb to play it safe.

Fishing structure in 2,500 feet of water is unfamiliar to many Floridians. Just seeing these beasts for the first time will put you in awe. But you can treat it just like fishing a weedline or floating debris in open water. As you approach a structure, start out by making a wide circle on the rig and work your way in closer on subsequent passes. You’ll know you’ve worked a little too close to the rigs when you hook up with barracuda. Pay careful attention to the “stems” off of these rigs, too. They look just like skinny pipes sticking up out of the water, usually a half-mile to a mile from a rig. These are often overlooked for their bigger cousins, but do hold fish and don’t get as much pressure.

Many times you’ll find that the bite is coming from one side or even a corner of a rig. If this is the case, don’t waste your time making laps. Concentrate your efforts where the fish are.