Had the wife and kids out Sunday fluke fishing in the deep water south of Quicks Hole when we were attacked by Bonito or Albies. They were jumping completely out of the water all around us and no matter what I threw at them they wouldn't touch it. Kastmaster, Deadly #^&#^&#^&#^&, Yozuri Crystal minnow and even a small atoms popper. We followed them around for about an hour and finally quit and went back to fluke fishing. I have seen these schools out there over the years but have never been successful. Anyone have any ideas so I can be prepared for the next attack?

my fav - small (< 1 oz.) Atom Shag n Shad

or

small crippled herring

or

a harpoon.

_Z_

Hand Grenades work well. :rocketem:

I've been there on days like that. What I have noticed is they have the bait balled up and charge right thru the middle of the school with their mouths open to see what falls in. They are not selecting a single baitfish to run down...more of a stuff their mouth kind of thing. When it is like that you really stand little chance to catch them chasing them around the sound and casting into a school. I found that moving away from the school and looking for the "lone soldier" is a better approach. At least that has worked for me.

BTW, how was the fluking?

Yeah Sandman,a grenade would have been the thing,If I had a longer handle on my net I could easily have netted one. I think you must be right about them not picking a specific target and just charging around like a vaccuums. The fluke fishing on saturday and sunday was great. My 2 oldest sons, ages 5 and 8, had a ball and I was cleaning fish into the evening hours both nights. The fish in the deeper water 70'+ seemed to be 90% in the 18" - 22" range.

A 1 ounce Nail
or a 1-1/2 ounce hammer will work they look just like deadly #^&#^&#^&#^&s kinda.....
but they work!!

huh?
:huh:

ditto

Are you sure they were albies or bones? :hidin:

The jumping "completely out of the water" description sounds like sBFT. There's far more of them around then albies or bones at this point.

Either way, fire a Jumpin Minnow or a Hydro Pencil in there, I bet you'll get a response. Work it as fast as you can.

General rules for picky inshore tunas that I've noticed:

On sunny days if you throw metal, bias it towards chrome colored stuff.
On cloudy days, try brighter metal; orange and pink in particular.
If neither of the above works throw topwaters, especially walk the dog stuff.

YOu might want to try a teaser rig when they get picky, I tied a fly a few years back when we were over there and It still kicks butt today. I named it the terminator for a reason. Ask Sandman he'll tell ya. Also if you look at what i throw most of the time with the dropper is a metal made by Hawg River called the Sting Silver, 1 1/8 oz, is a deadly combo with the fly.

:jump:

I am thinking of take a scouting trip down that way this morning as I hear rumors (no hard facts yet) that those RI footballs were heading east and have been seen at the mouth of the BB and VH sound. If they go in the sound that would be really kewl but my bet is they go around the outside of MV and park themselves at the hooter for a while which is still ok. Either way...I'll be there. :devil:

Thanks for the info everyone, I hope whatever they were sbt, albies or bones that they are still there this weekend. If nothing else works I will sharpen the point of my Menemsha Fly Rod and will skewer one of the suckers.
Sandman, if you happen to run across them today and get one let me know what they are.

I've found that albies and bones bite more readily in the morning hours.

As the day progresses into the afternoon, they seem to get more cautious.

I don't know why this is the case, but I guess it has to do with their very sharp vision. They also tend to bite more frequently if the water is turbid.

In any case, using good quality fluorocarbon leader really helps. Seguar or Orvis Mirage 15 lb. (or thereabouts, Orvis comes in weird sizes) is the ticket.

I was there on Sunday and they weren't Albies or Bonita. We cought 4 of them and just couldn't believe they were actually there. They have moved out now, I have gone back a few times this week checking.

Congrats on hooking up, I threw what I had at them and didn't get a sniff. The ones I saw were looked pretty small, certainly under 27", did you get into anything large enough to keep?

Throw topwaters, almost a guaranteed hook up.

I just got back...didn't see any surface action in the sound today but I didn't get out till 11 or so. Nice day though. :cool:

Out at 11 and back already? Wow, must be nice to go fishing "for lunch"!

What Fisherwoman said..I can vouch for that... :uhuh:

Jul's you were never going to give up the secret weapon. I'm agast. Truly.

FW,

That jig/fly teaser combo is nicely done with floro and slick hypersnaps and is very effective. I have caught my largest shore albie on it...(11#) This reminds me I need to procure a handful of those flies!! I like the jig but I want to try it with my small tin jigs I poured this winter. Which are similar but I think more rugged. I think they will be sweet.

BTW fish you saw were sbt.

They were sbt 20-40 pounds. We thought they were albies at first too. My friend cought one with a 12 pound test spinning rod.

found them this AM! :hee: What a show! But they were ***very*** picky I threw the box that them but We got a couple (around 25#). I would like to know what you guys got them on. They were jumpping 3-5' clear of the water, some doing acrobatic flips.

Well my " snubbed by " list goes on, I guess I can add sbft to that that list. I was happier when I thought they were albies as they are arleady on the list and it wouldn't be as frustrating! I'll have to wait and see if they stay around till Saturday and we'll have at-em again.
I have got to figure out a way around this workin for a livin thing!

Who says August is a slow month for fishing?

(gotta get that spooge off the lense)

BTW, the DMF has guys out checking for permits... He has already nabbed a few guys. He confiscates everything....all your gear. I don't know if he can take your boat but he takes the fish and all your tackle and you get a stiff fine . He is not giving you much wiggle room to claim you "didn't know" about the permit. No warnings I heard.

NICE FISH... What did you finally get them to hit on?

Swimmer, and DOSK, Was never gonna tell, but sometimes you gotta help a guy out.

Sandman, If you need any flies or rigs, PM me and I can mail them to you

Jules

FW, will do! Let me get my act together and I will PM you. I want to have them for the derby when the albies get here.


Re tuna...Well, the word is out now and it is somewhat busy out there this AM. I left other the boats and went further off to find some quiet water and some fish without the inshore run-and-gunners burning up the ocean and charging right up next to you and driving the fish down. You are much better off slowly approaching schools of fish like this.

The wife was asking yesterday...I would love to see these things jumping, you guys come home really excited about them. OK I said, you are welcome to come...the boat leaves at 5 am. OK she said.

(photos taken by a 9 yo)

a couple more .

1) go light. These are small fish. You don't need heavy gear you will get more hookups with 15# mono and a tiny lure then a big plug (in my experience anyway) This is a pretty cheap set up (tsunami-penn slammer) but the reel has new drag washers and fresh line (installed yesterday). (she was nearly spooled I had to start the motor and chase the fish to get some line back)

2) these are beautiful fish when you first take them out of the water, color fades fast so release them quickly...torpedo style.

gogetm...this will not last that long

NICE FISH... What did you finally get them to hit on?

Bring Jumpin Minnows or Yozuri Hydro Pencils for sure. If they're really horned up it won't matter what you throw; they can be less picky then bluefish at times but really tough other times.

For an example of how critical having topwaters is, me and a friend of mine were fishing metal one evening and caught 2 fish despite the fish being up constantly.

2 other friends were in a different boat throwing topwaters and they took 20 fish over the same 4 hours.

If you get legit shots with whatever you're throwing and don't hook up several times in a row don't hesitate to change what you're throwing.

you guys are killlllling me.
those pictures are INSANE.

. . . thanks for those photos! I for one LOVE to see those kinds of pictures, any pictures of fish and fishing, it is like porn to me. Especially seeing SBFT as I've never seen them jump before. Thanks again for sharing, it must have been even more wondrous to see it in real-life.

Awesome action pics