10/10 Offshore: Sticking it Out

A guest post from our friend (nut) JJ:

The past few days have been by most standards automatic for the tuna fishing. There is currently a massive body of fish hanging around Stellwagen Bank. While they have been showing in the mornings on halfbeaks, it has been mostly a jig bite. Friday, I had the opportunity to fish with Captain Rich for a busman's holiday. It was a tough morning, with a quick hook-pull the only strike. We struggled to find feeding fish after this hookup. While there were certainly fish around us, they were just very switched off.

Rich and I began swapping fishing stories, speaking about our personal tuna philosophies. A theme we hit often was the importance of sticking it out on these fish. Sometimes, you have to wade through hours of boredom and remain vigilant in order to earn that fish. There is a reason why these animals are regarded as the most difficult quarry in our fishery. We both talked of our intense passion for these fish, how we fish all day for one strike. It really is a remarkable addiction and a truly fulfilling experience when you do get that strike. The runs are blistering, the violence of their headshakes, and the reminder of their power when they finally dig in on the spiral. I never cease to be reminded that these animals have the highest level of hemoglobin per unit of blood of any creature on earth. Their power and tenacity is truly unparalleled.

Around 1pm we got a call from Captain Derek of First Light Anglers that he was on feeding fish. We made our way over towards his numbers and began marking fish almost instantly. It wasn't long until I got tight. Fishing a highly specialized fighting blank, Rich and I were able to have the fish boatside in 10 minutes. A quick gaffshot and the fish was on the boat. The size of this fish was suprising, in the spiral the tuna looked staggeringly long. We put the tape measure to it and realized this was the first >60" tuna taken aboard the McKee!

While we were both in a timecrunch and had to run back after this fish, had we wanted to we could have hooked quite a few more. The volume of tuna in Massachusetts Bay is the greatest it has been all year. The fish have been showing consistently in the mornings and sporadically through the afternoon. However, the jig bite remains very strong. Even when the tuna are not showing on the surface, they are consistently being marked right around the thermocline at 50'.