T-t-t-t-t-tunaaaaaaahhhh
 

Had a blast today on 17-20+ schoolie bluefin tuna with Capt Eric Thomas (also a fellow co-worker in his real job :hihi: ). Not a charter, just we kept talking about going after them and finally went...

I got 4 or 5 and same for Eric, all 17-20+ pounds and all on topwater :humpty: ...

Now I started off with a plastic pencil and nailed a nice one and more then started trying some bass lures for grins and giggles. So I wanted to see if some sponsors wooden bass lures would catch. Pics will go up later.

I got 2 on an Afterhours Squid (had 1 come unglued on a AH Spookster and then caught tow bluefish at the same time on the one plug :rocketem: )

1 on a #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& Big Bart

Had a few whacks on a Bernzy needle - but really wish I had not left my
Surf Howdys at home - they would have cleaned up :D .

It was a blast today.... If anyone is thinking charter for these footballs real soon, check out Eric at http://fishteezer.com/ and give him a look. He is also a member here and has been for over a year...

Awesome time, sushi tonight :hihi:

I have a full belly of New England Bluefin right now. SOOOOO GOOOOD.

Best eating fish in the world.

Period.

Fresh , never been frozen tuna , on the grill , is the best eating fish in the world.

Sounds like a great trip John. Is it true that when you hook a tuna it justs rolls on its side and floats to the top so you can reel it in??? :)

Zacs man, I love BFT, especially when it is super fresh but nothing IMHO compares to Bigeye tuna fresh, seared on the grill....

:drool: must.....try......fresh.....bigeye....... :drool:

You fish? Thats great John, good to hear you got away from the screen and had good action on the water.

J
O
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Y
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S
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:crying:

I assume these fight like heck, true? I always thought tuna was trolling and that did not interest me, if this si plugging I am in. How long does the season last?
I would love to go on a charter for these, I need a break on the open water. If anyone is interested, please pm me......
JOhn has sold me...

Jimmy, even trolling they are fun... the first run the make RUINS me from bass fishing for a few days, takes my head right out of bassin....

:kewl: Excellent :kewl:

Surf Howdies.......don't leave home without them :bl:

Bernzy

Im just not big on the sitting and waiting while trolling, I like to plug.

I'm serious about the charter, there are a few 6hr slots open and it would be a good deal to split with someone else...
My wife is a tuna nut, loves to eat them so that will be the bargaining point for me

Kevin .the new owner of Edwards Bait and Tackle in Newport , told me today that a guy came in and grabbed a bunch of pencil poppers and said he was getting the BFT on Point Jude tins and pencil poppers . Joe at Riverside Marine in Tiverton also showed me a 19 lb tuna pic caught with the small 1.5 oz. Point Jude Butterfish, which I was very happy to hear! :happy:

Close, what they typically did was burn off 80 yards or so of 60 pound braid on a VS250 twice, make a few laps around the boat, rip another 60 yards sounding down to the bottom where they would lie on their side taking their own damn time coming back to the surface and to the boat. Then they would be docile until they saw the hull and peeled off another 40 or so in the final run...

RIJimmy - I'm not one for trolling though I would for tuna, this was PLUGGING for tuna and it was awesome. These schooled tuna would come clear out of the water and you'd get one or two cracks at them before they went down. But when you hit one :drool:

I would highly recommend talking to Eric if you wanted to do it and get someone to go with you. These fish probably won't be here for long and sometime next week (even tomorrow, who knows) they could easily be up in Falmouth or Middleground... He has openings for Sunday and Monday that I am aware of...

Bernzy - I think I would have smoked 'em on a Howdy :humpty:

Eric, thanks again! I promise I will fix your work PC soon :rotf2:

How far out do you have to go for these?

tuna on wood!! :jump: sounds like a blast!

Today? We could make out land but that's all I'm sayin' :hee:


They liked the squid - I was able to get clear across the schools and rip it thru... :drool:

This is not right! those fish dont have lines on them :yak4: :yak4:

Glad you had fun :kewl:

Sure they do, the go from top to bottom :hihi:

A few guys have got them from shore at green hill beach and the east wall! Be carefull you dont get spooled! From what I hear, hopkins and castmasters are getting hits

I hope everybody goes tuna chasin and leaves all the bass to me :rotf3: :rotf3:

Dont forget me when you cut up your steaks! If I am forced, I will eat it :rotf2:

Juts remeber, not matter how much ou pay for the charter you can only keep one of them.

Everything is working at the moment if you present it right; we got pictures the past few days of tuna with Point Jude tins as well as Beachmaster Atom Jr's in their mouths. They're definitely into topwaters right now though, to the point of ignoring metal at times. They'd demolish a Howdy almost the moment it touched the water.

The right guide definitely matters for these things though, it'll make the difference between getting lucky and catching one, or catching so many your arms hurt.

For reference, a lot of them have had larger bait in their bellies; half-beaks, squid, and other larger tough to identify stuff. Not sure if they're finding that bait inshore or what. Only a few have been full of peanut bunker. Think big with your offerings...

I'll bring you over some tomorrow - after Liam goes to sleep, I am too :tooth: . Leslie just picked some up for mom...



Yep, just changed 5 days ago...

Sounds like you had an awesome day John!!! THats Awesome man! Cant wait to see the pics John! :jump:

They are a blast. I haven't seen any major surface action like that here. Blind trolling with small deep diver plugs have been taking them mixed with bones. I hope that body of fish off RI is moving east....fast.


I hope I see surface action like that.. sounds like you had a great day...weather wise it sure does not get much better!

Halfbeaks are in the harbor!!!!

Are you guys casting to schools of breaking fish?

uhhh, no :rollem:

uhhh, yes :humpty:

:exp: ya killin me

A pox on you Sandman, A POX!!

Zac, too late, this fish has already infected me. I feel like a drug addict that needs a thunnus fix bad.

Good for you JohnR, why do you think I have been sending you pics, been wanting to hear when you want to get out on the water buddy. :hidin:

We went again yesterday, no hookups but many ft balls, small, med, and large, they were everywhere yesterday but were very picky. Some times those nice days are for fisherman, but not for fish.

If anyone wants to take a shot at them with us, let me know, maybe we can work out a price a little cheaper for guys on the site. :faga:

The bass bit has been slow lately here in Boston Haba so I would rather chase tunaaaaaaaaaaaas!!!!!

Federal Tuna License.
 

Don't know if anyone mentioned this but, according to Tom Meade in the Projo today, this is strickly a catch and release fishery unless you have a Federal Tuna License.
I don't imagine the Feds have the time or personnel to prosecute a few guys taking school fish but thought I'd mention this.

Piemma, that is correct, you do need a federal permit, there are 3 different catagories, commercial to sell, Charter-Head boat, & recreational. The Permit can be purchsed online for $22. There are also size catagories depending on which permits you posses and limits on catch and retain. All football tuna kept must measure at least 27 inches- 72 inches from the tip of the mouth, over the peck fin to the fork in the tail to keep. the quota's on the number of fish you can keep, change thruout the season and right now it is one fish per vessel for recreation, 1 for charter head boat and 2 over 72 inches for commercial I believe.

But I gotta tell ya when you see these fish out there it is an awesome site and a total adrenaline rush!!!! Yesterday we probably saw around 300 + tuna from 6 am to 3 pm. We had alot of shots at them but they can be finnicky at times but thats just the way fishing for these tunoids go. But you can't catch them if your not out there.

If that's what Tom said, then he is dead wrong. You need the federal license to even attempt to catch these fish. If you get caught casting into a school of them without a license you will get a hefty fine,

One other thing to metion is that you are not even supposed to target and catch these fish with out a permit.

I tried to get the piece out of today's paper online but the stinking PROJO only has last weeks report. I will quote what Meade states.

"The fishing is strictly catch-and-release unless you have a federal permit, available from the National Marine Fisheries Service for $22....."

OK - here are a few pics:

First one:

http://striped-bass.com/images/jrtuna1.jpg


AH Squid:

http://striped-bass.com/images/jrtuna_ah.jpg

Booger's Bart :hihi:

http://striped-bass.com/images/jrtuna_booger.jpg

awesome! :cheers:

Tommorow :D

Unless you are fishing exclusively in state waters (within 3 miles). This from the NMFS FAQs page:


Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need a recreational permit to fish for or land tunas, sharks, swordfish, and/or bilfish?
A: Yes, vessel owners/operators who recreationally fish for or retain regulated Atlantic tunas (bluefin, yellowfin, bigeye, albacore, and skipjack), sharks, swordfish, and billfish in Atlantic Federal waters, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, must obtain an HMS Angling category permit or a HMS Charter/Headboat permit. However, General category vessels may fish recreationally for HMS so long as they are participating in a registered recreational HMS tournament and fishing under tournament rules. Vessels fishing exclusively in state waters are required to obtain the HMS Angling permit if they wish to keep their regulated tunas (bluefin, yellowfin, bigeye, skipjack, and albacore). Vessel owners/operators should check their state regulations regarding the retention of sharks, swordfish, and/or billfish in state waters.

Ooooh - good pickup Roger :btu: ...

Of course the tuna all left this morning and headed to Jersey so no reason to try :tooth: ...