Tuna wishin' in winter time......

[Pete_G]

Originally Posted by keeperreaper

Soon enough boys, soon enough. Once bitten by the tuna bug its is terminal. There is no known cure. And the more you catch the worse you get. Last year was a great year for the near shore BFT fishery. everyone was catching them. A few spots* held them for the better part of the summer and had some real nice fish mixed in.


*- Will not be given to general public.

It'll be amusing when things return to normal out there. Last year was almost certainly a once in a lifetime thing along Rhode Island. We're going to see a dozen boats simultaneously charging schools of bluefish all summer long. It's weird though, I have a feeling this is going to last a while, despite how remarkable it is.

[rhodyflyguy]

It would be cool if what we saw off RI last year was the BFT runs going back to what they used to be. I mean, they fished the snug harbor tourney off Nebraska Shoals, so it would made sense for there to have been school tuna in there too. Also, i and several other people spotted giants finning around the smaller fish when they were mixing with bluefish. also, look at the white marlin that were hooked inside the block, when a historic location for them was the mud hole. who knows, maybe management is working. or maybe it was just a freak thing.

[Pete_G]

Originally Posted by rhodyflyguy

It would be cool if what we saw off RI last year was the BFT runs going back to what they used to be. I mean, they fished the snug harbor tourney off Nebraska Shoals, so it would made sense for there to have been school tuna in there too. Also, i and several other people spotted giants finning around the smaller fish when they were mixing with bluefish. also, look at the white marlin that were hooked inside the block, when a historic location for them was the mud hole. who knows, maybe management is working. or maybe it was just a freak thing.

You wouldn't believe how close white marlin used to get to Sakonnet Point. Even just a decade ago.

Without question last year was the first time in 20 years anything like that happened off RI, inshore anyways. In the past 6 years sBFT have showed in 3 of those years, but 1 time was only a brief 1/2 day visit and another was about a week. Very encouraging overall I'd say.

Lobsterman and trap boat operators are THE ULTIMATE indicator of what's in the area. They're always the first to know. Both will also tell you that these fish come by every year. Whether the quantity of fish is enough so that even someone who's out there every day will see one and then catch one is a whole different story. 150+ pound bluefin are regulars in the fish traps off RI. They're good for a few over 300 too. Then again they catch a tarpon or 2 almost every year also...

[Pete_G]

One more thought on inshore tuna:

The original guys hunting bft and skippies inshore in small boats off RI for the past 20 years or so had tighter lips then surfcasters on the Block in the 80's. Very few people did it but those that did were dedicated to it, guides mostly. VERY tight circle and to say you'd be out on your ass with no info in a heartbeat if you opened your mouth is an understatement. No one really knew when tuna were close because no one said anything. No ProJo, no Internet. The only reason I really mention the past few years is because it's common knowledge now. The old ways of being completely tight lipped about the arrival of fast movers inshore should continue to be honored.

It's one thing to discuss tuna after the fact, a whole different game if you talk about it while it's happening. Talking about it after used to even be off limits.