After a lot of high 5s and recounts of the epic fights we were off again to find more tuna. We did not have to go very far and the fish were busting on the surface again! There were actually several busts to choose from, it was insane to see so many big fish feeding! There was a serious case of fish fever on the boat! We had a couple more hook ups on both jig and stickbait with some runs almost spooling reels. But unfortunately we lost a few fish in a row and then Mark Tamim came tight on a good fish! It was quite a monumental event for us for Mark to hook and land his fish. On my first Bluefin Tuna trip to the Cape I fished with Sami, Mark, Jason and Capt Eric. Unfortunately Mark had a bad accident on the boat from a freak event and he was badly injured and needed surgery and a lot of hard work and rehabilitation. So it was great that Mark managed to get a trophy bluefin with all of us on the boat except Capt Eric who got the good news and a some of the bluefin from one of the keepers! A really great achievement for Mark to get back on the horse and finish what we started! Marks fish was another donkey and we were on the board big time! 3 fish over 300lbs! By this time I was buying my time and trying to calm the nerves and start fishing properly. I had another couple of hits but did not get the hooks to stick. I think the shear size of the fish and mouth, you have to watch your lure like a hawk and set the hooks properly otherwise you either loose the fish or hook the fish badly, both scenarios are not good! We came up to another shoal of busting fish, I had changed onto the Race Point 250 with the Stella 18K and 130lbs Tufline with a Siren Green Mackerel lure with ST76 4/0 hooks! I was fully prepared. Three of us put in casts right into the middle of tuna Armageddon and all three of us went tight. My fish hit on top of a swell and I could clearly see the fish engulf the lure, I hit it three times with all the power I had and after the third strike the fish took off for the deep! Mike Leonard also hooked into a fish and the third fish came off!
Thumbs up from Capt Dan
Mark into his fish
Busting Tuna
Mark pulling
My fish was not stopping and as much pressure as I could put by palming the reel was not helping at all. My spool was starting to empty at an alarming rate and I started to speak to Capt Dan to see if he could move the boat, but with another fish on this was difficult. With excellent boat skills Capt Dan moved the boat forward rather than back and got me moving towards the fish and I was able to start regaining some line! I must have had about 30m left on my spool. Now the problem was how to work a fish back after it had taken so much line. I pulled on the fish like it was a GT and had the fishes number plate in about 15 minutes! I thought I had the fight won! Boy was I badly mistaken!! Really badly mistaken! The fish caught sight of the boat and disappeared into the depths like it had never been hooked! The fight now became brutal and it was shear agony! This was a true battle the shear power and size of the fish was awe-inspiring! But this did not help my cause of landing this fish! Unfortunately mine and Mikes lines crossed each other and with the sheer pressure on the lines Mikes fish burnt off.
Double Trouble
Very happy with my first bluefin!
Line disappearing
Another monster
On the way home
My tag card with my tuna release
God Speed early morning
Chris with the Hots BT73XXXH prototype rod
Michael bending on Tuna Duck
Tuna Duck
Jason bending on one of his Siren lures
Keeper with the lure
Chris bending into a big fish with the new Hots BT73XXXH
Fish at the boat
Gods Speed with our keeper
Flats in the Marina
Sportsfishers in the marina
Team pic with the two keepers
It was a trip of a lifetime! Not only because of the great fishing, it was great organization and a bunch of amazing guys that made this trip one of the best I have ever been on. I also got to spend a few days in New York doing the tourist thing which was great. So as a trips go, the Bluefin trip ticks a lot of boxes!
Sylvias Restaurant in Harlem, best fried chicken ever!
Times Square
Now the question that everyone is asking me, how does the bluefin compare to the GTs? To be honest you cannot really compare the two, they are both in their own rights amazing fish and animals! They are the apex predators in their own environments and totally different. The best way for me to describe the difference is to say that catching a GT is like doing a 100m sprint, it is fast paced and exciting but is a quick and hectic fight, you are fighting a fish in shallow tropical water. The setting for GTs is usually sunny warm weather so you get all the benefits of the tropics. For Bluefin it is like running a marathon, it is extreme and you need to be very fit, it is a long hard fight and puts your body through excruciating pain! The weather is cold and the water deep so in the end you have two extreme fish on opposite ends of the scale that are truly worthy of both being the kings of the popping and jigging World!
Before leaving New York I booked several combined Saltwater Tackle and Ocean Active trips to North Carolina to fish for Bluefin. It is with great pleasure that I can offer these trips as a welcome addition to our GT trips. Now we can offer the best of both worlds!!
I would just like to say a very big thank you to Sami and Paul along with the rest of the guys on the trip that made this trip memorable and I look forward to next season!
Cheers,
Nick
