Man I got to go on a bluefin trip yesturday we went about 40 miles east of Chatham the sea's were 7-9' in the early AM so we held out for a bit.
We left port around 0630 and forced our way out the waves were higher than expected but we had the wind at our backs,we got fishing around 0900.
We had the whole place to our selfs there was only a few whales,which isn't a good sign so we kept going.
We had 2 bars out one long line ballyhoo on top & one Ballyhoo on a plaining board.
After an hr of that the bally on the board hooked up first.........We were on!
I jumped into the fulll gimbal & the rod was handed to me!
Whoo Hooooo!!!!
The fish fought pretty hard the first few minutes every now & then it would burst with energy & the line would melt off the spool.
After pulling & whinching as fast as I could I got this awesome looking Tuna to the boat,it rolled on it's side looked @ us & darted for the bottom!!
Ohhh %$%$%$%$!I thought my forearms are spent & my hands was crampin on me!!!Well I leaned back on her & started to crank as fast and hard as I could!
Well after a few more minutes I got her closer to the boat were the first mate was able to get a gaff on & pull her aboard......
Well here are some pics..

My first Blufin a awesome looking fish @ 45#

I'll post some more but I really have to goto class but I was so pumped I couldn't wait to post it & wanted to share some of my story.


5/0

nice..

sweet....looks like fun...I'd like to try that someday

awesome Bob! :btu: Go Pats! :cheers: :gu: :buds:

Bob, Great fish. Nice talkin to ya.

Thank's it was an awesome trip I'll never forget it,like Redlite told me don't do it cause you'll get hooked:kewl:
Well needless to say once I got home from the trip I cooked (lightly seared) a 2" thick stake in the pan with lime garlic & soy sauce.Flat out the best.
Well Monday I cooked some more on the grill w/ the same marinade very good but I like the lightly pan seared better.:musc:
here's the grill version a bloody mess fish & one of ther hooks size that we used,man a lil bigger than a 5/0 :bl2:

5/0

one more of the hook

THAT IS ONE TUNA BLOODIED BOAT!

CONGRATS NICE FISH!

LOOKS YUMMY

I SOOO WISH I COULD DO THAT!:musc:

That's cool Bob, good for you. Almost turkey time?

Congrats on your first tuna! You'll never be the same.

Reaper is right, you'll be begging John to change the name of this site to bluefin-tuna.com in no time!

Nice fish, how long was it?

-- Tom

nice fish 5/0... I gotta try that someday

Thank's Guy's
You all are right I'll never be the same:jump1: Man what an awesome time IM all ready thinking of ways on how to get back out there:grins:

IM not quite sure how long it was,but I'll bet it weight more than 45# that was just a guess by the first mate.

Mike,you are also correct,it's almost turkey time:drool: Get ready get your drink on as well:buds:


5/0

congrats, awsome fish. but arms burning from that little tuna, it sounds like time for someone to hit the gym.........................JK

I wish I could have the feeling, congrats again

on a side note, where did you get the 'hoo?

now you did it ! you wont want to fish for anything else . nice first fish

salmon season soon !

Not for anything, but that fish really dosen't look like it should have been gaffed and taken home. Over 47" curved fork length is what is supposed to be, and that looks like the cookie cutter mid/low 40" fish. About what the weight was est. 45-60lbs. It supposed to be measured. I know that they can take the boat/gear and give you a heavy fine for a undersize fish.-

Not for anything, but that fish really dosen't look like it should have been gaffed and taken home. Over 47" curved fork length is what is supposed to be, and that looks like the cookie cutter mid/low 40" fish. About what the weight was est. 45-60lbs. It supposed to be measured. I know that they can take the boat/gear and give you a heavy fine for a undersize fish.-


That fish is short for sure !!!:smash: :smash: :smash:
Not the 1st person to post pics of a short fish they gaffed !!!
I'm glad you guys have fun catching one, but
READ THE REGULATIONS BEFORE YOU GO OUT !!!

i was waiting for that.
sounds like it was a charter ?

i was waiting for that.
sounds like it was a charter ?

Not a very smart charter boat capt. !!

it looked kinda short for 47in ... but not my boat ... heat of the battel thing

Gentlemen, The evidence of this catch and this entire thread should be taken down as there is enough info here alone to cause the boat owner to loose his/her vessel and receive a hefty fine.

On a side note, I find in "interesting" that a lot of members here are quick to pounce on questionable ethical behaviors in most cases but as was stated earlier in this thread, pics of short tuna and reports of over harvest with regards to the bag limit go by without much comment. Very interesting.

That fish is short for sure !!!:smash: :smash: :smash:
Not the 1st person to post pics of a short fish they gaffed !!!
I'm glad you guys have fun catching one, but
READ THE REGULATIONS BEFORE YOU GO OUT !!!

'Nuff said there. If in doubt, throw it out.

Gentlemen, The evidence of this catch and this entire thread should be taken down as there is enough info here alone to cause the boat owner to loose his/her vessel and receive a hefty fine.

On a side note, I find in "interesting" that a lot of members here are quick to pounce on questionable ethical behaviors in most cases but as was stated earlier in this thread, pics of short tuna and reports of over harvest with regards to the bag limit go by without much comment. Very interesting.


These negative comments are just wrong........It is too bad that alot of members here are quick to pounce, and that's just sad, that some of us don't have enough going on in our lives that we "feel the need to critcize" the fact of the matter is my hand is just under 4" in width if you scale it to the photo & measure it to the pic you will see that its a "tender creel" :happy:

So RR how are the the raiders doing this year,are you matching there record to?

stiff tip,the vessel I was on was wider that your dingy,so ease up.


This Capt'n who owns the vessel I was on is a very seasoned one, and knows better than to let anyone poach from his boat.....nor would it ever be anything I would do! If you watch ESPN you might see him and learn a thing or too............

I too have learned a thing or two in my life.....One of them is,"If you have nothing positive to say don't say anything at all".

Look IM not going to chase this thread into the ground. I have fished & been around long enogh to know & always do the right thing.NONE of you where there so you can guess,speculate & cluck like Hen's all you want I gave you the facts to measure with & if that's not good enough than thats just too bad...Go chew some fat else where.

God love ya:wavey:



5/0

http://www.daybreakfishing.com/fishweight.html#local%20bluefin%20weights

Take a look at the tuna length/weight chart. Your fish would have had to be 60 pounds or over to be legal. Given the picture, and the mates estimate on the fish's weight, your fish was short and should not have been kept.

On a positive note, congratulations on catching a tuna! That's something to be proud of! I just started fishing for them this year and it is an addiction. It's just unfortunate that your captain gaffed and kept a sublegal fish. Bluefin tuna are endangered and breaking the regs is simply unacceptable.

These negative comments are just wrong........It is too bad that alot of members here are quick to pounce, and that's just sad, that some of us don't have enough going on in our lives that we "feel the need to critcize" the fact of the matter is my hand is just under 4" in width if you scale it to the photo & measure it to the pic you will see that its a "tender creel" :happy:

So RR how are the the raiders doing this year,are you matching there record to?

stiff tip,the vessel I was on was wider that your dingy,so ease up.


This Capt'n who owns the vessel I was on is a very seasoned one, and knows better than to let anyone poach from his boat.....nor would it ever be anything I would do! If you watch ESPN you might see him and learn a thing or too............

I too have learned a thing or two in my life.....One of them is,"If you have nothing positive to say don't say anything at all".

Look IM not going to chase this thread into the ground. I have fished & been around long enogh to know & always do the right thing.NONE of you where there so you can guess,speculate & cluck like Hen's all you want I gave you the facts to measure with & if that's not good enough than thats just too bad...Go chew some fat else where.

God love ya:wavey:



5/0



What the hell does the fact that the Raiders suck have any thing to do with the fact that you gaffed a short fish !!!
Those coments about the Raiders & the size of the vessel you were on, are as dumb as you posting the pics on the internet for every one to see!!! (any chance you think some of the people who seize the boats and hand out the fines may lurk on the internet !!!
You said the mate thought the fish was about 45 lbs, that makes it about 40 - 42 inches,
A keeper (47 inch) tuna will weigh over 60lbs !!!
I've caught enought of them to know the size of them by looking!!!
The fish should have been hauled in by the leader of the rig you were using or netted , we do it all the time!
But just a fact, you DON"T use a gaff unless you know it is legal and you plan to keep it !!!

Never mind !

Ron, that was a little uncalled for don't ya think. Bob, turkey fry soon?

tuna are very size/year specific, class fish.

there all about the same size. give or take an inch. some a little fatter. some still hungry.. but there all "about" the same size{curved fork length} depending on year born.

i'll agree that fish is short.
+ 47" ---< nope.

and your not doing that charter capt. any favors posting those pics on one of the top ten fishing websites on the www.

least you ate it, and didn't release after gaff:poke:

:eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :hidin: I see nothing...........I know nothing............

Let's not be too hard on 5/0. When I saw the post I had mixed feelings about it. I was happy for 5/0 catching a nice tuna and wanting to show it off. I was also pi$$ed at the charter for poaching a small fish and irritated because I've dutifully thrown back a bunch of 40-50# shorts this year.

Giving 5/0 the benefit of the doubt, I assume he simply took the crew's word that the fish was a keeper.

As far as the criticism of "not doing the charter captain any favors by posting the pics" I say screw him. He's expected to know better, which makes him the poacher. Whatever he gets he deserves, and he doesn't deserve favors.