Today was no walk in the park by any means, the weather was sporty and news of a Sportfisher wrecking Saturday morning in the inlet had everyone holding on to something as the Hooked UP parted the heavy seas for the warm gulf waters and the hunt was on.
Our outriggers never came down and a trolled bait, bar or stick was never deployed as per our requests to fish only poppers and jigs. The weather did not allow us to get to the bow for casting but with outriggers stowed up, two guys could manage casting from the cockpit.
We found that we could cover more ground 'searching' for the fish at a few knots better than trolling so we opted for that. Capt Kobie was all to happy to oblige us.
A slick was quickly located and it just smelled like tuna, we did not see any thing up top but the sliders and poppers starting flying, as a wide variety of jigs where deployed.
Casting up current, and observing a casting order similar to working the end of jetty was the KEY to getting your jigs to drop somewhat straight and that was difficult at times, as the gulf current was moving down at 120/150 but up top the boat did not drift the same direction. It was alot of work, as we marked fish very deep 200 / 250/300 and with the line scope - you had to pay out maybe 400 feet of line to get 200/250 down.
Our sweat was finally rewarded - Bam! Game on Silky connected with what proved to be a very tough fighter and for good reason, proved to be just under 73" on the tape and we stuck em for sushi! The tuna was no match for his custom JPR/Synit and you can see from the bendo pics it was an epic battle but over in less than 30 minutes. Hook was in lower jaw, leader had some abrasion but now where near breaking. Jig was Silver Labo 230 ? 270 ?, Stella 20K, Synit 450 Custom by JPR.
I have great video of Silky's fight (insert link) but not too many stills, sorry
Rod was eventually passed back and forth btw Silky and Daryl
Some heat being applied
Half spool
Daryl had the drag max'd out on the 20K and still had to palm the spool during the entire battle to gain line, gloves are a needed!
Here you can see him cranking down the drag - a great reason spinners are so popular you have the ability to fine tune the drag as it changes with spool ratio changing
Both Silky and Daryl handled the rod like pros - no angler errors here
The Synit has a very parabolic action, here drag is maxed out on the Stella
Capt Kobie backing us down just a bit
These fish love to sound and they have all the water they need to do it, couple that with the 4 knot deep current of the gulf stream and you have yourself a fight
With some coaching from Silky and Daryl, Nick is battling his first Bluefin on Spinning gear to have the experience
Faced with possibility of only peanut butter sandwiches for dinner, Daryl gets back to the plate
and now he means business
Fish is tired and goes into death circles quickly now
We have to get a tape on him boat side, legal fish just under the line, Charles sicks the 6' and I follow up with the 4'
We eat good again, Sushi Party tonight!
Silky23
Daryl
Tuna are amazing - the heart was still beating a good 45 seconds after being removed for snack - bluefin tuna heart
Later in day with winds and waves really increasing to the point of us sliding around a bit in the pit - but we where not ready to call it a day yet. Nick connected on a Hooker 270 and it was on again. For his first jigged BFT he did very well and settled into the fight. He was able put about 30 lbs of drag to the fish and it was still give and take until we called it a draw. I was passed the rod and with the Black Magic harness on, I was able to push the Gorilla 12 past strike, red button in, full drag about 35 lbs - and still only able to gain a very short pump on the fish, but we started gaining line. Nick was worried something would give but it was not his line or the crimp and we where able to bring the fish boat side for some nice release shots and then the fish was release swimming away.
Congrats on your first NC Bluefin on a Jig!
Here is the cut of the assist cord, fish was released in very good condition - not brought aboard
At this point Silky had a swirl or two on this 7Seas Popper and I joined in with a Slider. We had some sub surface swirls but no takers today on the top water.
With waves getting taller and taller - wind increasing to the point of it getting really nasty we pulled lines, satisfied with our catch and headed for the barn. It was a rough ride in but the Hooked Up II is a beast, she ate it up and we got in well before the rain.
Capt Kobie and First Mate Charles worked their butts off today - it was not an easy day fishing but we had a great time and remember.
