PACIFIC BARRACUDA{sphyraena argentea}

The pacific barracuda ranges from the tip of Baja California to Alaska though rare above Point Conception California. A surface feeder the barracuda is rarely caught deeper than 100 feet. The main diet is anchovies and other small fishes. The rod and reel record for Pacific Barracuda is 26# 8 ounces. But large barracuda are very rare with 5 to 10 pounds most common. Most barracuda are caught with either iron jigs or bait. When using bait be prepared to loose a lot of rigs to the barracudas razor sharp teeth. When using bait either flyline or use a sliding sinker. A lot of bait fisherman use a wire leader with the only drawback being less bites. Iron jigs are typically cast out and retrieved slowly with a change of speed often getting a strike by the barracuda. When fishing iron for barracuda the most often used colors are blue and white or have chrome in them .Please use single hook jigs as treble hooks do damage to the barracudas mouth. The barracuda is a great conservation story and releasing short fish with damaged mouths will not help their future. A good rig for fishing barracuda would be from 6.5 feet to 8 feet with a reel able to handle 200 yards of 20 to 30# test. I use a Calstar Gf800L matched with a Penn 975 for both bait and jigs.