Huge tuna

[cheferson]

Saw some massive tuna this morning couple hundred yards from shore. It was sick , huge splash , under some cormaranets and gulls. All the birds hauled outta there with the quickness. They thrashed around for a good couple minutes. Some oldtimers said they had been in close a couple days now. Is this a regular occurance? Also lots of gannets bombing all over. I managed a bunch of dinks and 1 31" bass. I wanna get hooked into a tuna and watch my reel smoke.

[Bronko]

Thats cool Chef! How far from shore? Could you come close with your casts? Bring a Braid Slammer with you just in case you can reach them next time....if you can get it into the mix, your reel will really smoke!

[cheferson]

About 4 casts out with a silver roberts ranger, which i did quite well on this morning.

[likwid]

Those will either

a: destroy your drag
or
b: destroy your drag and spool you

[Nebe]

I would happily destroy the drag on my VS to battle a toooooona

[denis]

Yes they were there last year too around this time,fun to watch.

[Bronko]

Guy here in Ma. had a football from shore last year... unufortunately when word got out they tried to prosecute him because he didn't have a permit. I'm with you Eben, the political red-tape and equipment damage might be worth it.

[ThrowingTimber]

kayak

[Pete_G]

Several guys hooked up from shore last year and the year before only to be spooled.

Although the tuna that are there now are maybe step too large, I have no question an experienced angler could drag in a 50 to 100lb tuna from shore.

And Eben that VS drag, at least the updated non-Penn drag, can handle it easily.

I think it will happen one these years, just a matter of time. The right place, right time and the right angler packing an obscene amount of Power-Pro will do it.

[bassmaster]

you Gents are Killing Me.....................

[rhodyflyguy]

me thinks i saw some last sunday. mind you, all i saw were explosions, not porposing like albies or bft normally do, but then no birds were diving where the explosions were.
time to borrow my buddies VS 300

[Duke41]

I have the gear to catch one of these puppies, but Surfrunner is down for the winter. If anyone has a boat I will provide all the gear and gas money....lets get some. Pm me if your up for it!!!

[cheferson]

There was a decent amount of larger boats out there waiting for one, but didnt see any hook up.

[bart]

they were down in westerly the other day as well....

[Springtides]

Figures, all you gents looking for the tuna taco

[RIROCKHOUND]

Saw em two winters ago in Dec... we were anchored toggin' it was blowing an honest 25 NW and we said F'it and kept bailing togs... a lobsterman friend saw em a bit that year, trolled all over looking for em for nada.. I think they get more selective this time of year, but saw birds working WAY out today off the wall, may have been them... I didnt stop and loook...
B

[SeaWolf]

just a reminder, you need a federal permit just to cast to these fish, nevermind catch them. the feds, dem, coast guard, and noaa find these fish quickly. they have no problem boarding your vessel and making you pay a big fine. they did it this late summer and fall in rhody when the school bf were in close.

[jfisher]

Originally posted by SeaWolf
just a reminder, you need a federal permit just to cast to these fish, nevermind catch them. the feds, dem, coast guard, and noaa find these fish quickly. they have no problem boarding your vessel and making you pay a big fine. they did it this late summer and fall in rhody when the school bf were in close.

so what would happen in the rare case that you landed one of these off shore?

[SeaWolf]

while you think the guy 4 boats away from you is just fishing too, they come over to your boat and board it as they are the coast guard. you get a massive fine and possible loss of tackle. they do not screw around when it comes to tuna. you can play the, "i thought they were bluefish" line, but it won't help. if you do not know what you are fishing for, maybe you should do some homework first. you need a permit from nmfs just to cast to these fish. then, you better be able to identify what you have as different tunas have different regulations.

[Water Treater]

In my home port of Green Harbor, Marshfield, MA, (perhaps number one in giant bluefin landings on the entire U.S. East Coast) it's considered a sign of low intelligence to cast spinning gear at "footballs" (Bluefin tuna weighing 75 pounds or so) and get spooled. In Green Harbor no one with a three digit IQ brags about being spooled by a tuna.

Legal issues aside (your boat as well as your fishing gear, can be seized by the authorities) don't cast to a "football" unless you're prepared to lose your rig (mechanically your reel will never be the same again, not even VS reels which I use) and your dignity.

It may sound like fun to get spooled by a bluefin tuna but here in Massachusetts it's the mark of an amateur.

[cheferson]

Its ok iam an amateaur , bairly even fished 2 years

[chipwood]

Two years ago I was walking my dog on Cliff Walk with no rod. I see the gannets and then I see these good sized fish porpoising. I thought they were porpoise and kept walking. I come back and a huge tuna comes flying out of the water. I mean well over 100#. I sat there and just watched them feed about 50-100yds from shore for a 1/2 hr. Two days later I saw them at Monaghans in Narry. They were smaller than the ones I saw in Newport though.

[TunaCell]

I recently read an article about a guy down in Hatteras catching a 350 lb bluefin from boat on a spinning reel. It was a Penn 9500 SS, spooled with 300yds of braid with 50 yds of mono backing. So I assume the same set up could be used from shore for footballs.