[613084]

I hope to try my luck at schooling tuna. I'm not equipped for giants.. I have a 6-0 senator reel & an 80 lb class rod... I bought some tuna lures on e-bay to try next yeat & wonder if these are weighted or just skim over the surface. Have seen tuna busting bait last summer & fall & would just love to catch one. Thank you, roger

 

[MakoMatt]

Roger, they are fun to catch, a few questions if you don't mind, what type of lures did you buy, where did you see these Tuna, what kind of boat do you have, and do you have more then one of those rod/reel combos?

MakoMatt

 

[613084]

Matt, I have a 19 ft cente console...Saw the tuna about 14 miles out of Hampton NH... I bought a 3 pack of what looks like a white & pink rubber ocotopus thing..Altho, I have 6-8 " lures that I use for stripers & blues & have 2 6-0 setups. Am I going in the right direction...I don't care if I catch shark instead of tuna. Just want to have an exciting trip whenever I go out... thanks, roger... Saftey considered....

 

[MakoMatt]

roger, I'm way South and West of you in Long Island, but, it sounds to me like they were probably Bluefin Tuna which can be a LOT of fun to catch. I'm not sure about the lures you have, I would suggest going into a local tackle shop and see what's working in your area when the fish are around. As far as your 2 outfits, I think they are fine for trolling, you can catch some good fish with those. Make sure your all your equipment is in good working order and you have fresh line, these fish don't play games, they can test you and your equipment. The more lines you troll, the better chance you will have for catching, not only because of sheer numbers of hooks in the water, but because more will present what looks like a school of baitfish that may trigger the tuna to attack, but, if all you have are 2 setups, you can troll and catch good with that too.

Trolling speeds will vary, probably between 6-8 kts., but again, check with what lures work in your area, and they will let you know about best speeds.

Tight lines,
MakoMatt

 

[wader]

Just guessing - but - don't you need a permit to catch Bluefin? Thought I recall seeing that on here somewhere.

 

[MakoMatt]

wader, yes, you do need a permit to fish for tunas, you can apply and get one on line at www.nmfspermits.com or by calling 1-888-USA-TUNA

MakoMatt

 

[leakyrivot]

school bluefin

I'm unsure if I've ever seen that myself (might have called them bluefish), and have never fished tuna, but that's the area I fish. This season I heard quite a bit about bluefin being around about 10 miles out. Supposidly the shiny metal lures were doing well w/ school sized fish. If you go poking around on www.nesportsman.com, in the old posts from last summer and fall, you will find a post w/ pics of fishing school bluefin ("footballs"). They were around cape cod somewhere, and are only on spinning and light baitcasting tackle - from the looks of things they actually boated a couple too.

There's also a good article in their articles section about fishing giants and a couple on shark fishing (this site has a bunch on shark fishing too).

Jon

 

[613084]

got on the site & have had my permit for the last 2 years....just never used it.