Sushi Anyone?
by Capt. John Ford
Here I sit pushing the deadline for this column once again, I can just see the editor shaking her head and rolling her eyes wondering if I will ever get an article in on time. This time at least my excuse is legitimate (in my head anyway). I just returned from Panama with a group of clients, where we spent a week chasing many species of fish off Coiba Island. Out of the 15 or so species we caught the one that always stands out in my mind and makes my blood boil over is the tuna.
Pound for pound the hardest fighting fish on earth. I know some may disagree, but after being hooked to a 150lb yellowfin for 1 hour you will agree with me. Although some love to engage in a standoff with the bigger tunas; as we did last week landing a few in the 120-150lb range on stand-up gear; I love to chase them with light tackle and fly rods in hand. I count my blessing’s everyday to have thrown flies to yellowfin tuna, I promise not to babble about far away places that we all dream about fishing. What I want to talk about is the tuna fishery we have right here in our backyards of Maine.
Over the past several seasons a section of recreational fishermen have become obsessed with chasing Thunnus thynnus or bluefin tuna with fly rods and light tackle. These “baby” bluefins typically begin to show up off of the south side of Martha’s Vineyard around July. Once the fish begin to show off New England they should remain for the remainder of the season. As the season progresses the fish usually move into the Stellwagon Bank area, Jeffries Ledge and many other locations in the Gulf of Maine. What has really attracted this light tackle crowd is the numbers of small tuna and the inshore accessibility in recent years. In July of 2007 I witnessed one of the biggest bluefin tuna feeds of my life within sight of Portland, Maine. Hundreds if not thousands of baby blufin from 30lbs to 100lbs fed on the masses of small herring and halfbeaks congregated together in their migration.
If you decide to try your luck chasing these beautiful fish there are a handful of things you should know, like adequate tackle and some successful techniques. Although I recommend hiring a guide for your first time it can be done on your own once the fish have moved into near shore locations. The first thing I would do is get on the phone to any of the local tackle shops from Cape Cod Bay to Southern Maine and find out if reports have been concentrated in any areas.
Tackle must be able handle fish typically from 30-80lbs and have the backbone to lift fish once they have sounded under the boat. Fast action stiff rods are the ticket like Cape Fear EXT series spinning rods or a good quality 12-14wt fly rod. Fly rods should have reels to match and capable of holding a bare minimum of 300yds of (30-45lb) backing. Most fishermen chose to use sinking head lines in the 450-600 grain range, but I have been in eye-popping situations where we have hooked 50lb tuna on floating lines and poppers. Spinning rods should be rated for 20-40lb test line and matched with quality reels spooled with 30-60lb braided spectra line. One thing you need to remember is tuna have excellent eyesight and all of your tackle should be tipped with fluorocarbon sections. On fly tackle I like to have at least the last 2 feet of my leader be fluorocarbon with a shock or bite tippet of 50-60lbs. Spinning gear can be rigged with fluorocarbon leaders by attaching a straight 2-3ft piece of fluorocarbon to the braided line via an albright knot, double uni or even better the slim beauty knot.
When asking advice on flies and lure selection most fishermen seem to get lockjaw withholding as much information as possible. Maybe it makes them feel like they have found some kind of secret medicine that will allow them to be successful and carry bragging rights around on their left shoulder. That may hold water in the inshore fishing scene where the same guys may be pounding educated fish over an over on the same flat in search of a successful pattern. But as far as the offshore scene goes it is difficult enough to locate, hook and land these fish. I believe these small secrets are trivial in the whole scheme of things. I enjoy watching another hooked up to a small freight train as much as I like being hooked to one. So here are my selections that have produced yellowfin to bluefin tuna in the Atlantic to the Pacific, I’m sure there are many more as well. As far as flies go the single most important factor is to match the size of the bait they are feeding on. I have used white deceivers in different sizes successfully when tuna were feeding on everything from small bluefish to squid. A favorite fly of mine is the Mushmouth which everyone should have in different sizes, also make sure to have a selection of foam poppers and even oversized crease flies. For spinning/casting rods have a selection of metal like the Yozuri Hydrometals in all colors, other good choices are Braid jigs and Shimano butterfly jigs. Don’t be caught without a selection of plastics as well, storm lures such as Live mackerel, live sardine and herring all work well. Also don’t be afraid to throw over sized surface poppers such as Yozuri hydro poppers, Creek Chub knucklehead and any durable 5-7 inch popper. Remember to change out split rings and hooks on all out of the box lures as most are inadequate for the job.
All right I need to slow down and check my blood pressure, my heart races when I get talking tuna and memories flash in my head. I do love striped bass and other inshore species but the “tuna rodeo”, although difficult and frustrating sometime, is mind bending heart pounding 100% adrenaline that I can’t get enough of – spend some time doing it and you will know what I’m talking about.
Capt. John Ford runs Portland Guide Service in southern Maine and can put you in touch with many other reputable guides.