In The Spread

06/03/2026

A properly brined and rigged ballyhoo will troll for hours and catch every offshore predator in the Atlantic. A poorly prepared one washes out in minutes. This reference covers selection, brining, eight rig families, spread placement, and species matching for sailfish, marlin, tuna, mahi, and wahoo.

https://inthespread.com/blog/trolling-ballyhoo-as-offshore-bait-412

Why ballyhoo is the standard offshore trolling bait, plus selection, brining, eight rig families, and species matching for every Atlantic pelagic.

05/22/2026

There are some nice redfish on the chew in the Gulf. Homosassa is on fire. Capt. William Toney is wrecking fish.

04/29/2026

Whether you are fishing live bait, lures or jigs, your leader system better be up to the task of handling the savagery of a wahoo strike and subsequent fight. I published a new article articulating the many nuances for whatever your fishing technique, so you can fish smarter.

Build wahoo leaders that hold up against serrated teeth. Wire, cable, fluorocarbon, and titanium specs for trolling, live bait, and jigging.

04/14/2026

The barometer is not what's making muskies feed. It's what the barometer is predicting.

Cloud cover, humidity, and how much light actually reaches the water column, that's the chain that shifts the predator-prey balance in favor of a feeding muskie. Checking a single pressure number before your trip tells you almost nothing on its own.

We put together a detailed breakdown of the full atmospheric sequence: what drives it, how it affects muskellunge sensory biology, and how to adjust your approach from pre-frontal windows to bright bluebird days.

If you want to be more deliberate about when and how you fish, this one is worth your time.

Read it here: https://inthespread.com/blog/reading-the-sky-to-find-feeding-muskellunge-408

Barometric pressure signals weather changes that alter humidity, cloud cover, and light pe*******on. Learn how this chain triggers muskellunge feeding.

03/16/2026

Most anglers troll for wahoo and hope for the best.

The ones putting fish in the box consistently are doing something different. They understand why wahoo are at a specific depth on a given day, not just that they might be somewhere between 90 and 350 feet.

That range is a starting point, not a plan.

Temperature, thermocline position, current activity, season, and baitfish distribution all move these fish up and down the water column constantly. Miss one of those variables and you can run a perfect spread over empty water all day.

Our latest article breaks down how to read those conditions, which techniques get baits into the actual strike zone, and why most productive trolling spreads never need to go much beyond 150 feet on a normal day.

Wahoo depth shifts daily with temperature, thermocline, current, and season. Learn to read those conditions and put baits in the strike zone consistently.

03/05/2026

You found the structure. Now find the bite.

Structure holds fish year-round. But when current hits that structure and pushes cold, nutrient-rich water toward the surface? That's when the whole food chain stacks up in one place and feeding gets aggressive.

It's called upwelling, and knowing how to read it, position for it, and fish it correctly is one of the highest-leverage skills in offshore fishing.

Our latest article covers it all:
✅ Which structures create the strongest upwelling (and which ones don't)
✅ How to layer altimetry, SST, and chlorophyll data before you leave the dock
✅ Where marlin, tuna, wahoo, and reef species position in the water column
✅ Boat positioning and presentation adjustments for light, moderate, and heavy current
✅ The mistakes that kill the bite even when you're on the right water

Whether you're targeting blue marlin in the canyons, yellowfin on a seamount, or grouper on a ledge, this one is for you.

Read it now 👇
https://inthespread.com/blog/how-to-fish-upwelling-around-offshore-structure-406

Upwelling around seamounts, canyons, and ledges concentrates bait and predators. Learn to read the water, position the boat, and fish the productive zone.

02/24/2026

Winter is seatrout time, as the bigger fish turn voracious. My good friend Capt. William Toney and I hammered out our limit in about 20 minutes. Good times and good eats.

02/20/2026

Most blue marlin strikes happen not because the fish was in the area, but because the spread was dialed in and the lures were rigged right.

Get one of those things wrong and you can troll through the best blue water on the planet without a bite.

We put together a comprehensive breakdown of everything that goes into a productive blue marlin setup:

🎣 How to rig stiff hook rigs vs. soft rigs and when each makes sense
🎣 Single hook vs. double hook rigs — the tradeoffs for hookup rate and fish survival
🎣 Hook sizing (9/0 to 12/0), leader selection, and why mono and fluorocarbon are not interchangeable at heavy diameters
🎣 How to build a five-lure spread with the right head shape in the right position
🎣 Trolling speed, clean water alleys, and wave position
🎣 Boat handling and safety during the fight
🎣 Conservation and release best practices

This is the stuff that makes the difference between raising fish and landing them.

Instruction from Kevin Hibbard, David Brackmann,Roddy Hays and other world-class blue marlin captains backs up every section.

Read it here 👇
https://inthespread.com/blog/blue-marlin-offshore-fishing-and-lure-rigging-283

ishing

Learn how to rig blue marlin trolling lures, build a five-lure spread, set trolling speed, and release fish properly. Instruction from world-class captains.

02/19/2026

The winter reds were on the chew. Find the warm spot, wink wink, and it's on. William Toney was dialed and ready to share his know how. Get some!

02/06/2026

Spring is a transition time. Know where muskie hold based on the water temperature and you will have a better chance of landing a fish.

Learn how water temperature controls spring muskie location and behavior. Understand pre-spawn staging areas, post-spawn recovery zones, and presentation tactics that trigger trophy fish in cold water.