Barracuda are intimidating ambush attackers that can easily exceed 5ft and 100lbs. Although rarely harvested, Barracuda are considered game fish and are a blast to fight because of their fierce nature. We are going to dive into this species and disclose all the best secrets to catching them.
How To Catch Barracuda
Barracuda are caught fishing nearshore reefs in 3 to 100 feet of water using medium to medium-heavy fishing tackle. Barracuda are predominantly caught using live bait and artificial lures, including spoons, twitch baits, jigs, and Cuda plugs.
Expert Tips On Catching Barracuda
- Live bait is key: When it comes to fishing for Barracuda, having healthy live bait is key to a productive day on the water. Barracuda seem like ferocious fish that will pounce on a baitfish the moment it hits the water; however, they are highly suspicious and will investigate their prey before striking. Because of this, you will want to throw your healthiest live baits their way. If you send out a wounded baitfish on a hook, this can send up red flags to the surrounding Barracuda and turn off the bite altogether.
- Fish the surface: When fishing for Barracuda, make sure your bait stays on top of the water. Barracuda are unique reef-dwelling fish; they spend most of their time on the upper third of the water column scanning the water for their next meal. If a bait seems to be swimming naturally on the top of the water, Barracuda will strike at high speeds, often becoming airborne in the process. It is best to fish your bait freelined, but if your bait keeps trying to swim lower in the water column, you may want to send your bait out on a bobber.
- Resist the urge to fish wire leader: Many anglers will tell you that it is essential to use wire leader when fishing for Barracuda; however, this is certainly not the case. Though wire leader will dramatically increase the ratio of fish you hook and catch it would substantially lower your overall strikes by roughly 50%
We conducted this exact experiment and discovered that Barracuda were 57% more likely to strike live bait when rigged on a fluorocarbon leader than when hooked on a wire leader.
INdependent research fishinvestigator.com
- Take advantage of their curiosity: Barracuda are like Cobia in that they are extremely curious fish, often approaching your boat the moment you arrive at a new spot. I have made it a habit to throw out a live bait the moment we get out to a fishing spot to hopefully entice the Barracuda to strike as he is investigating what is happening in the area. I strongly recommend employing this tip when we are about to fish for another fish species in the area. Barracuda often spoke other reef fish like Yellowtail Snapper from rising to the top of the water column, so if you can hook them before you start chumming the waters, you’ll be free and clear to fish without a lurking Barracuda ready to scare off the fish.
- Troll a Cuda tube rig: Barracuda can be caught on various artificial lures, but no artificial lure has outfished a Cuda tube rig. Tube rigs are essentially a long piece of surgical tube outfitted with a treble hook on its tail. Barracuda go crazy over this rig, often striking with extreme force. The tub rig comes in many colors, but I have always had the best success with the Nyon pink and green.
- Chum the waters: Barracuda, like many reef-dwelling fish, can not resist investigating when there is a chum slick in the water. Barracuda are often the first fish to the surface when you start chumming the water. Be ready to pitch live bait to them as soon as they surface.
- Unhook them in the water: To minimize injury to both angler and fish, it is best to unhook Barracuda while they are still in the water. The best way to do so is to pull the leader tight and use long-nose pliers to remove the hook from the fish’s mouth. If you decide to bring the fish onboard, it is essential to grab the fish from both the gill and tail and allow another angler to remove the hook.
- Bring Your Polarized Glasses: Many anglers have great success sight fishing Barracuda. To do so, make sure you have a high-quality pair of polarized glasses that will assist in minimizing the glare of the sun on the water. Barracuda are fairly easy to locate in the water because their backs are dark in color.
Here Are The Best Baits For Barracuda:
- Blue Runner
- Pinfish
- Sardines
- Heering
- Ballyhoo
In some cases, live bait is hard to come by, in which case you can use artificial lures instead.
Here Are My Top Five Artificial Lures For Barracuda
- Sea Striker Cuda Tube Rig (pink, green or yellow)
- Savage Gear Needle Jig
- Deadly Dick Long Casting Jig
- Zara Spook
- Rapala Husky Magnum Salt Water Trolling
When Can You Catch Barracuda?
Barracuda can be caught year-round, with summer being the most productive time to catch them. Barracuda feed most actively in the early morning and about an hour before sunset. Barracuda are also most active when tidal currents are at their strongest.
Where Can You Catch Barracuda?
Barracuda are caught in tropical and subtropical waters, typically in depths ranging from 3′ to 100′ of water. Barracuda are structure-oriented fish often swimming in the top third of the water column to scan the water for their next meal.
Best Fishing Spots for Barracuda
- Reefs
- Wrecks
- Deepwater grass beds
- Jetties
Best Fishing Tackle For Catching Barracuda
When it comes to catching Barracuda having the correct tackle will dramatically increase your chances of hooking and landing more fish.
Best Fishing Rod For Barracuda
When fishing for Barracuda, the best fishing rod is typically a 7′ to 7’6 heavy spinning rod with fast action. The St.Croixs Triumph Inshore Spinning Rod TRIS70HF (the 7′ heavy option) is great. It’s extremely lightweight for its size and backbone and can comfortably handle a 2oz lure, making it a great rod to fish large artificial jigs and live bait.
Best Fishing Reel For Barracuda
When fishing for Barracuda, you will want a reel with a heavy drag system that can quickly turn these fish before they break you off. I recommend using at least a 6500 sized reel when fishing for Barracuda. Diawas BG 6500 is a phenomenal reel for this fishing application. This reel has 33lbs of smooth drag and is somehow less than $150.
Best Line To Use For Barracuda
The Best line for catching Barracuda is a 60lb braid. Since Barracuda have incredibly sharp teeth, you will want an abrasion-resistant line such as Seaguars Threadlock line, a 16 strand hollow core line.
What size Leader To Use For Barracuda?
The best leader size for Barracuda is at least 6′ of 60lb fluorocarbon leader. Many anglers think it is essential to use wire leader when targeting Barracuda, but this is certainly not the case. Though Fluorocarbon leader may result in additional cutoffs compared to wire, you will end up landing significantly less fish because many won’t strike wire.
What Size Hooks For Barracuda?
The best hook size for Barracuda is a 9/0 circle hook. The larger the hook size will increase the chances of the Barracuda being hooked in the side of the mouth rather than swallowing the hook, which typically leads to them biting through the leader line.
Let’s take a deeper look at how to catch Barracuda by learning more about the species as a whole.
What are Barracuda?
Sphyraena Barracuda, commonly referred to as Barracuda or Cuda, is a reef-dwelling fish found in tropical and subtropical waters. Barracuda are large predators who spend most of their time hunting fish on the upper third of the water column.
Barracuda are long and slender fish that have prominent dagger-like teeth that litter their top and bottom jaws. Barracuda vary slightly in color depending on where they are located and the age of the fish. Juvenile Barracuda tend to be greener in color, whereas mature fish are typically darker.
Natural Barracuda diet
- Grunts
- Snapper
- Juvenile Grouper
- Mullet
- Sardines
- Anchovies
Are Barracuda Good to Eat?
Barracuda are excellent tasting fish that have firm, flaky meat comparable to chicken. It is important to mention that most anglers decide to release them because of the risk of developing ciguatera poisoning from a toxin found in large Barracuda.
Is Barracuda High In Mercury?
Barracuda are extremely high in mercury content, coming in at .497, which is more than ten times higher than the mercury levels found in Salmon.
Is It Safe To Eat Barracuda?
It is not safe to consume Barracuda. Not only is Barracuda widely known to carry the Ciguatera toxin, which is a toxin in reef fish that can lead to extreme side effects including diarrhea, sweats, and dizziness you also put yourself at the risk of mercury poisoning.
Are Barracuda In The Same Family As Shark?
Barracuda are not in the same family as sharks. Barracuda is in the Sphyraenidae family whereas Shark is in the Selachimorpha family.
Are Barracuda Related to Northern Pike?
Barracuda is not related to Northern Pike though they share some of the same physical features. Barracuda is in the Sphyraenidae family, whereas Northern pike is in the Esociformes family.
Are Barracudas Dangerous To Humans?
Barracudas seem a lot more threatening than they are. They are known to follow snorkelers and divers, however, will rarely mess with them. Two things to keep in mind are if you are spearfishing, they might want your fish and if you have anything shiny that could look like a fish such as a diving knife or silver necklace, they might mistake those as a fish and try to strike.
Do Barracuda Have Scales?
Barracuda have small shiny scales that start from the base of the tail and end at the fish’s Gill plate.
Do Barracuda Have Teeth?
Barracuda have two different types of teeth inside of their mouths. The first row of teeth are canonical teeth which are extremely small and razor-sharp used for shredding. Barracudas’ second row of teeth are fang-like, used for getting a hold of the fish they strike.
Barracuda Size And Bag Limit
As with many species of fish, regulations vary by state and local authority’s so always check with your local jurisdictions for the most up-to-date regulations for Barracuda. For example, as of 2021, Florida’s bag limit is 2 fish and a 100lb harvest limit.