any tuna ?

[Van]

ohh he wasn't out there.
he was sitting in the cave with the tv on. he just responded when he heard me callin you.
says to me,,, "your not actually out in this crap are you"




Now, that makes sense.....

[Flaptail]

out east ( way out east) Monday, 9/19/05. Desperate One and crew. "Captain" (?) Dave "Buzz Lightyear" LaPorte, Eric "Bewildered" Lafleur and me "Flaptail Bilgerat". 6 to 8's dodging a frieghter than a cruise ship coming north in the shipping lanes. Had six crash and miss in as many minutes and hung two later on. Seas died with the tide and went from tempest to flat as a pancake in a matter of hours. Caught some bass off of Chatham on the way in too. Bass were in the low teens to mid twenty pound and some bluefish as well. All colors of squids were looked at and the GM was king.

The little dot on the horizon behind Eric is a cruise ship.

[thefishingfreak]

nice pics!
we're comin your way this weekend with the trailer bote. we could pair up?


thats 80# mono to four foot bimini, the bimini is the first bump on the line about 2' down. and 15' of wire.
he's big!

40 minutes on him @25# drag.

[RIROCKHOUND]

Nice blue dog; definetly upper 2's low 3 range... they start gettin mean when the water drops in temp....

[taJon]

Was that the one I caught with ya or was that from monday?

[thefishingfreak]

thats the one from monday.didn't get any good pics of yours.

[Flaptail]

Fished CC Bay yesterday. Was oput of the canal before the sun even lightened the eastern sky and was on the spot with stars still visible to the west. Saw the space station zip by, that was cool. As the sun started to lighten the sky we set out the rigs and started to see SBFT'S popping all over the zone. Took out the trusty Loomis Spiining rod with 20lb fireline and whipped out a 2100 series creek chub popper on a bunch that was breakin' a hundred feet from the hull. Bam I am on. Fifteen minutes later the Gorram' fish finds a buoy and see ya later. Well ten minutes after that I spy another bunch and whip out the ol spinning rod again and second cast a fish in the 45 to 50 pound class engulfs my second Creek Chub ( the first still attached to a tuna's lips) Oh My Gawd!!!! Want to see line disappear from a reel? That's one way to see it go. We had lines out with rigs and the critter crossed the one deep rig we always run with a CD-18 Rapala on it and tied knots in the line around my Fireline. In the ensuing choas trying to get the cd-18 off of my line I lost tension and the barbless hook pulled. Oh well. I did get what I really wanted and that was to see a few of them attack my plug. Boy oh Boy was that the balls!!!!!! Weather we crappy as the southeast breeze came up and the fish got lockjaw. End of story. ( That is the second time this weekend that the wind killed a bite for me, I was on the beach somewhere on the lower Cape and had fish all over my Beachmaster Dannys. Several landed to 40 inches or so, not big but fun fish and poof the wind goes east hard and in an hour the mung is back in with weed and the fish are gone es't Vous!!!! It was pretty funny watching the other buggies go by while I would flip it into free spool and let the fish run until the trucks were way down and reel them in. I only saw one little bait fish pop out of the water as I was cruising the edge in my truck. Stopped and there was a herd there, unbelievable)

[capecodder]

Good stuff Flap. Has your experience been that you must be there at first light to find them? Headed out of the Pamet this coming Sat, but it will be after a night on the beach so not sure we'll make first light....

[Flaptail]

Originally Posted by capecodder

Good stuff Flap. Has your experience been that you must be there at first light to find them? Headed out of the Pamet this coming Sat, but it will be after a night on the beach so not sure we'll make first light....

Absolutely. The fish in the bay are "retarded" as my good friend Dave LaPorte would say. We can't get them to hit anything that we troll out east of Chatham. The Chatham fish will devour a Daisy chain of squid, a spreader bar or GM with birds out front if they are in the area. But these CCB fish, and there are a lot of them, will hit a popper at first light then get lock jaw. We have trolled all day there and only once we got crashed and that was by a giant who thankfully did not get the hook stuck on a 30lb class outfit. Looked like someone dropped a kingsize bed on the rig when he hit. I rather would fish East of Chatham. We were out there last week east of the shipping lanes and got crashed six times in as many minutes. Got to go southeast of there now but pick your day and you can lnad ten or more. CC Bay is my home waters but the runand gun gets old fast and I was lucky yesterday to have even hooked up. It is exciting I will give you that but give me the fish east of Chatham anyday.

[thefishingfreak]

3 for three today on the PEGASUS in cc bay

two on black bars.
and one on a sm. bird-gm. combination.




thats what 2,500 horsepower on a 58' ocean does to 4-6 footers

[Vectorfisher]

Thats some serious wake there

[capecodder]

So let me ask for a little advice for my weekend trip. I have a single 30lb spinning setup with 30lb power pro. Also, some trolling setups in the 30lb class. I have 2 friends with me, newbies to stripers/tuna, and we have allocated Saturday to the tuna hunt as Friday and Sat nights will be eels on the backbeach. I have a permit but have never seen nor caught a SBFT.

If we're out of the Pamet by 5:00 am (18' Grady CC), would you recommend heading towards the SW corner and working to the H? Or would you shoot for the fishing ledge? Once there, do you guys troll while looking for the schools or cruise around? Do you look for bait on the finder? Any tips are appreciated. Last time at the ledge it was nothing but dogs finning everywhere...

I'm a considerate captain that is not going to crash anyones action, just looking to maximize the chance that we get a cast or two. Unfortunately the waters east of Chatham are not an option.

[thefishingfreak]

can't help you with location but trolling seems to be the way to go.
troll whear you think they are, or look for the birds. five or six white turns offshore is a good indication of tuna under them. if there's shearwaters there too? even better. cast at them if you can, but don't run too close to them, they spook very easy. troll arround the school and cast in the middle with small stuff. but if you overrun them don't blast up another 100' just mosey over there if you keep the same rpm's they will stay up.the ones we saw yesterday under the birds were 20#, so super-light approach would be the way to go.
for trolling i would put your two 30# outfits with green machines back about 40 feet and put your spinning rod and a small jet head about eight feet behind the boat rubber banded to a cleat so it's in the wash.

i'd save a few of those eels to toss into the blitz too

[Flaptail]

CapeCodder, trolling is not the way to go in CC Bay unless your targeting giants. Catching two after trolling all day with rigs is not very productive in my book especially from a fifty footer trolling God knows how many rigs. Might as well watch paint dry. If you want to troll them with a higher degree of success then go east of Chatham but your boat is a wee bit too small for that water. That being said if you want to catch fish in CC Bay get a chart and find Fishing Ledge. That's all you need to know. Get there right at or better yet just before sunrise. You will see them believe me. Cruise up on a pod and let go with any popping plug you have. Cut face traditional styles work better than pencils. Chrome with green, chartreuse or Mackerel patterns are best. If the popper floats even better. A three foot 30 pound Flouro leader to a good ball bearing swivel to the braid and a Breakaway 80lb speed clip completes the rig. Forget blind casting you need to put the plug right into the middle of the breaking fish and pop it good but not real fast. Nice and steady. You will know when you hook up and hold on. Watch for the lobster pot buoys and try to keep the fish away from them, which ain't easy. If you can't be there at dawn try ther evening. It doesn't mean they will not break in between those periods but it does seriously increase your chances of hooking up. The rest is up to you.

[capecodder]

Flap and Freak,
Thanks to both of you. I think Flaps method will be the way to go for me. May hit the SW corner as well. Then Ptown for bass afterwards.

I'll report back Monday...

[capecodder]

Now that I have my intinerary down, how does one properly bleed and clean a bluefin? Got to be prepared... From what part does the best sashimi come?

[thefishingfreak]

Originally Posted by Flaptail

trolling is not the way to go in CC Bay unless your targeting giants. Catching two after trolling all day with rigs is not very productive in my book especially from a fifty footer trolling God knows how many rigs. Might as well watch paint dry.

hmmm,
in my book, trolling up three tuna on a 58 footer in 4-6 footers, with a 6hr charter, is very productive....
especially when the rest of the fleet is home... and there's no fish showing on the surface.

[Raider Ronnie]

Originally Posted by thefishingfreak

hmmm,
in my book, trolling up three tuna on a 58 footer in 4-6 footers, with a 6hr charter, is very productive....
especially when the rest of the fleet is home... and there's no fish showing on the surface.

Mike,
I need a ride on that boat!!!

[thefishingfreak]

Originally Posted by Raider Ronnie

Mike,
I need a ride on that boat!!!

you busy this weekend?

[Raider Ronnie]

Originally Posted by thefishingfreak

you busy this weekend?

Where we going?

[thefishingfreak]

Originally Posted by Raider Ronnie

Where we going?

not far..... 10 miles from graves..in the bay

[Flaptail]

Originally Posted by thefishingfreak

hmmm,
in my book, trolling up three tuna on a 58 footer in 4-6 footers, with a 6hr charter, is very productive....
especially when the rest of the fleet is home... and there's no fish showing on the surface.

Mike, you know I luv ya but you gotta go east. A bad day is ten fish.

[Flaptail]

Originally Posted by capecodder

Now that I have my intinerary down, how does one properly bleed and clean a bluefin? Got to be prepared... From what part does the best sashimi come?

First off, the tuna regs change October 1st. one fish between 47 and 73 inches I beleive, one per boat. I do not have the bulletin in front of me. That's a substantially larger fish. They are out there but the smaller ones outnumber them by a long shot. A tuna found to be legal should be chin gaffed. Gaffing in the belly or across the back ruins good tuna flesh. Use two in the chin or cheek if needed for weight. Just where the gills meet the lower part of the throat mkae a slice and free the gill where they attach at the bottom. Tie a tail rope and hang the fish over the side unless you like blood on everything. Give him five to ten minutes and bring him back aboard and finish the gutting process then pack him on ice even the belly cavity. Tunas don't "fillet" like normal fish. Two from the shoulders back to the tail and two from the cheeks and belly back. You will find an area around the latereal line that is dark red and full of minute veins and hundreds of small white threadlike nerve endings. Cut that off. It's tuff and it just sucks anyway. Skin and cut the piece into medallions 3/4 of an inch thick. I don't do shashimi. I rub with a mix 1/2 cajun spince and 1/2 brown sugar both sides and each side three minutes on the grill. Yummy.

[capecodder]

Thanks Flap, got to be prepared and optimistic!

[Steve K]

I caught my first sbft last Friday on a popper. Now I have tuna fever. Bleed out the fish by making two vertical slices just behind the pectoral fins. The slices do not have to be deep. You should also plunge a knife through the soft part of its head into its brain to kill it immediately. These fish will continue to produce lactic acid which degrades the flesh if they are not killed immediately. It needs to be gutted immediately and have its cavity packed with ice especially if you are going to eat the tuna as sashimi.

[sportsman]

thats 2,500 horsepower on a 58' ocean

And you can almost see the gas guage moving!!!!

[thefishingfreak]

Originally Posted by Steve K

I caught my first sbft last Friday on a popper. Now I have tuna fever. Bleed out the fish by making two vertical slices just behind the pectoral fins. The slices do not have to be deep. You should also plunge a knife through the soft part of its head into its brain to kill it immediately. These fish will continue to produce lactic acid which degrades the flesh if they are not killed immediately. It needs to be gutted immediately and have its cavity packed with ice especially if you are going to eat the tuna as sashimi.

dont plunge a knife anywhere. especially in the good head meat.

do like flap said and cut there throat while the hearts still pumpin' and hang them bye the tails to bleed.

don't kill them right away. bleed them out til the heart stops beating.
then gut them, remove head/gills/guts. then ice them down good.

[capecodder]

If one does not have shaved ice is regular ice ok? Will it bruise or ruin the meat? Do you mix with some salt water?

[Steve K]

Originally Posted by thefishingfreak

dont plunge a knife anywhere. especially in the good head meat.

do like flap said and cut there throat while the hearts still pumpin' and hang them bye the tails to bleed.

don't kill them right away. bleed them out til the heart stops beating.
then gut them, remove head/gills/guts. then ice them down good.

I have to disagree with the above. Here is a link to proper tuna handling.

http://www.fishep.com/fep/documents/Sashimi.pdf

[Flaptail]

Originally Posted by capecodder

If one does not have shaved ice is regular ice ok? Will it bruise or ruin the meat? Do you mix with some salt water?

Got Ice Rink?