Disappearing Tuna?

[tuna-wishin']

Poor showings on Saturday from Ipswich Bay to BF bouy; today nearly the same. Saw some minimal pods of mixed sized fish off Thatchers and ran into Big Red\Murph. Very limited sightings(other than whales) and no good casting opportunities. Is it winding down/over? I'm thinking about shooting down to the south shore groups or get out to the Bank...

[Bigred]

Steve, only saw one other pod of small bluefin come up as the wind came up at the end of the day. Had numerous shots at them with prism colored DD but no takes. Thankyou to guy in the Triton CC, He let me have them all to myself watching from a distance. Rounded off the night in search of bass. Chunked Thatchers, the Salvages, Straitsmouth and entrance to Rockport harbor with neary a tug. Saw seals @ the Salvages, a sure sign the season will be over soon. Was a beautiful night anyway and enjoyed a great day of fishin'.

[Too Fly]

John, we went out for a quick trip yesterday. We saw ONE pod of fish last night. There were probably more out there, but the low light/cloudy conditions, small white caps and lazily feeding(porpoising) fish made it nearly impossible to spot them. The one inconspicuous pod of 40-50 lb'ers surfaced by a small flock of birds hanging out in the water. No aggressive feeds...

We were marking a lot of stuff on the finder, but saw no peanuts on the surface. The birds were everywhere, giving us just enough hope to stick it out. :rolleyes:

This time I was up on the bow with fly in hand and again, the fish wouldn't show. We're convinced that ALL fish get antzy and ski-daddle when I'm up on the bow with a fly rod. :mad: :rolleyes: ;)

Paul

[Glennon]

Oh there still here :D
As a matter of fact they haven't moved very far in the last three weeks.

[ekc]

Nice fish Glennon! Congrats! What day did you catch him? And was it north or south shore? I fished the north shore for a few hours on Sunday and didn't get any shots as the fish were very scarce compared to Friday. Great job!

[Too Fly]

Glennon,

Yer makin' me jealous.

That wasn't from yesterday was it? The sky looks too blue to have been yesterday...;) Are you fishing the South Cape?

Paul

[Glennon]

To give you some size comparison, I'm 6'5" 220. It was from the weekend. We had 7 hookups and landed 3 with two other IGFA style releases (hook pulled boatside with me holding the leader). The biggest was estimated (didn't want to hurt it so we unhooked it while still in the water boatside) at just about 100#s. All the fish were taken northwest of the race.

[Glennon]

Had a rookie out there with me. He said he had never been that tired from fishing before.

By the way before anyone freaks out. We have only kept 2 fish so far out of the many we have landed.

[finatic]

Nice fish Glennon , What were they hitting????

[Glennon]

Diamond jigs will work sometimes as well as Deadly dicks (change split ring and hook). We have even got some on top water plugs. After a lot of money and time we came across one lure that outproduces all the others. It has consistently out fished everything else on the boat about 5 to 1. I hope you understand why I don't want to just give it away.

As for flies think same size and profile but use color and flash to make it stand out in a crowd. I have developed an adaptation to a fly that also outproduces others we have tried.

[dereks]

Try the Yo-Zuri Hydro Metal jigs in 40g and 60g. They have been outstanding. The best colors have been green mackerel 60g and 40g mullet. These are the jigs that have the fish on one side and a squid on the other. Very very solid producers, we landed dozens of fish on them, even leaving the treble hooks on. The megabait and braid jigs have also worked well, however, these hydro metal jigs have definitely outfished the others. Good luck!

[LandlockedinMI]

Glennon:

I hate to get off on a rant, but I have a very hard time with this not giving out the secret recipe bit. Are you worried that there won't be enough fish for you or that everyone will realize the genius of your design and the fish will get wise to your pattern? I thought this board was about helping each other out, which you have done by revealing your secret spot, so thanks for that. As we all know, finding them is 80 percent of it. (You know, "80% of life is just showing up")

But we're not even talking about a fly here....Nice to see Dereks studding up with solid info for the metal chuckers.

[tuna-wishin']

Nice work bagging one on their way out(?). You scored the last day I saw any good activity. With respect to the "secret weapon" or cracking the code as I call it, it's your perogative whether to give it up or not...I've spent a futune on fiel and have an impending divorce as a result of trying so hard to fool 'em.

My humble opinion is we may never see "inshore" tuna action like this again, so let's all win at it. I love the challenge of trying to fool 'em as learned in the bonito and albie campaigns I've waged around the Vineyard. I reported my only hookup lure, but had no consistent success, so I don't have a real winner to report like First Light Anglers...those guys are top shelf; especially when it comes to sharing info and reports. Terrific sprit of cooperation.

I only hope the tuna will swing back and join the whales for more bunker treats so I can try some more; fighting and losing one had ruined me for life.

[finatic]

First light- you guys are first class, THANKS for the info, I will probably only get one maybe two shots at these fish next week if they stick around and I now feel a little more confident that I now have a chance! These other guys cutting lures out of pictures and such is stupid, you would think they were fishing a salmon pool with only 2 salmon in it!! Get over guys....

[Glennon]

"everyone will realize the genius of your design" :D

I wouldn't say it is genius just a lot of trial and error.

I will second the Hydro-metals in the 40 gram size. Any color seemed to work with that particular lure. The only thing I would add is they seemed to hit the diamond jig and deadly dick as readily as the yo-zuri but who knows.

LandlockedinMI,
As for not giving away my secret lure. I spent a lot of time and money working on it till it was just right. You have a legitimate chance with any of the above lures. I personally would rather solve the problem myself then just have someone hand me the answer. Much more satisfying knowing I did it on my own. Another reason is the lure is so good it is an automatic hookup if you put it into a breaking school. If I told everyone what the lure was and the changes we made then we would have to worry about the Bluefin tuna population crashing. :D


"These other guys cutting lures out of pictures and such is stupid"

finatic ,
I don't think it is fair to criticize people that have put a lot of time and money into something and don't want to hand it over to others that want immdiate success. I spent many hours cursing and screaming at these fish to just "HIT IT!"
Put in your time do a little thinking about what your throwing and you will get one.

A perfect example would be the fly I have been throwing at them. I guarantee no one else has been throwing it at them and it is extremely effective. Does that mean I need to post a picture of it for you?

good luck to you and if you are out there Sunday or any of the days next week you can try to reach me on 66

[schwilp]

Tuna-Wishin - maybe we should start a support group for folks who have hooked and lost. I spent 4 1/2 hours hooked up to these beasts (80-100lbs) on flies this fall- only to lose both near (or 50 feet under) the boat... I have forgotten stripers, family, friends.... my wife thinks I've gone 'round the bend..
even thought of following the fish to N. Carolina...
I may need professional help....

I will never forget the site of a 60" fish hitting that fly though...
who wee - this really is the crack equivalent for fly fishing.

See you in rehab...

[Bigred]

Okay, If people are unwilling to give up lure info , how about retrieve rates. I've been using, and been told, that a fast retrieve is the way to go with the metals and such. Anyone had luck with a slow or stop and go?

[saltybugger]

2 ways we found, cast, twitch, let it sit....or cast...then real like a banshee :D

[finatic]

Glennon-
I hear you on your end, I have spent many hours working on crab patterns for bass so I know what your saying. I am from Maine and will be down there on Monday/Tuesday trying for them, I guess my frustration is if I had the TIME to be down there I would figure it out (like all the fishing I do). Anyway, I hope to SEE them and will try you on 66 if we are in the same area (our boat is catch22). Good luck next week, I hope they don't go far after this blow??

[Glennon]

finatic,
They'll still be there. Will you be throwing flies or lures or both?

As for retrieves. We have found it depends on the day. The ones that have worked out the best are.

1) (lure/fly) If you get a cast off right into the honey pot (the exact point at which a good number of fish are hitting at that moment. The absolute best retrieve is a twitch retrieve that keeps the metal/fly at the surface but does not move too quickly out of that spot. We have found that if you make it look like a previous fish has just wounded it another is almost certain to pick off that struggling little baitfish :D

2) (lure/fly) Retrieve number two is if you get a cast off to a good sized breaking school that is scattered. In other words there isn't a main spot for the activity. Then you have to move the lure as if it was running for it's life (which it is). This will help cause a reaction strike and has caused our most knee weakening strikes. This retrieve also works if you screw up your cast and your cast ends up on the edge of the breaking school. Works for two reasons. Looks like the baitfish is trying to get away from the slaughter and it allows you to (possibly) make another cast before they go down.

3) (lure) If you pull up just as they start to go down or if there is the occasional hit where there was just a school breaking then you need to have a completely different retrieve. Cast out and let it start to sink with the occasional twitch. We haven't caught many this way but it seems like they have all been bigger fish. We have had some fish pick it up without us moving the lure on the initial drop. Just watch your line to see if it starts moving off in a different direction or if there is no weight all of a sudden. We haven't had much success with flies or topwater lures in this scenario.

4)Top water lure/fly retrieves are just your normal type retrieves.


I'm not saying these retrieves will work all the time but we have had very very good success with them. Although it could be my secret weapons and not the retrieve. :D

Good luck

[Too Fly]

I can understand the gripe people have with those who have the "secret weapon." It is pretty ridiculous and childish. Then again I can see the point of view of having done your homework. I don't know... I was sworn to secrecy for a certian "secret weapon," and have done so. But it does seem pretty stupid.

I like it when others are successful and having fun too(unless you're a dick), which is why I think I'd make a good guide. We're hopefully out there to have fun, respect eachother and the environmet...not to act like a bunch of babies, jockeying for position and hiding your test answers. :rolleyes: (I would sometimes let the cool chics cheat off my paper ;) )

Paul

[Bassbuster]

Hey Glennon,

Good info. I be sure to scan 66 if I make it out Sunday. I had an accomplice stumble on to technique 3. He made a cast into a pod, had small birds nests, which he quickly straightened out, then the line straightened right out and fish was on.
Experiment, that's the key, especially when you get so many casts at them. Then you need to remember how you had hooked up, work it till you need another technique. Good luck!

[Mark Cahill]

More important than knowing "the secret lure or fly" is understanding how tuna feed and what it is that makes lures/flies successful. The old saw "give a man a fish and he eats tonight, teach him to fish, he eats forever..." comes to mind.

From my experience with tuna, the hot color or lure one week or one day isn't always the hot one the next. That's what makes these fish so utterly addictive. You cannot, ever, completely figure them out. What you can do is learn enough that your hit/miss ratio starts to swing into a more favorable realm.

An angler should never, ever forget that these fish have incredible sight. Little things can turn them off on your lure, fly or bait. Your attention to detail has to be near perfect.

Of course, the next day, they'll come close to hitting anything you throw at them. They can be unpredictable to the point of borderline schizophrenia.

So don't worrry so much about what the secret lure/fly or color is - try to discern what it is that makes certain lures/flies successful. In the long run, you'll be a lot happier.

BTW, thanks for the great reports Glennon - also glad to hear you're doing the C&R thing. These fish take a long time to reach the 600 lb. range.

[Roop02]

Nice summary Mark.

Guys like Saltybugger & Glennon are being more than generous with information and should be thanked instead of attacked.

I too have not hooked up on the fly yet but here is a list of flies that friends of mine have had success with:

1. Angel hair baitfish, olive over white, blue over white
2. Crease fly, olive & blue over silver
3. Sar mul mac
4. Surf candy, olive
5. Clouser, olive over white
6. Deceivers, all white

Sinking lines & floating lines.

Good luck!

Roop

[saltybugger]

naw some people would rather attack :rolleyes:

[finatic]

Glennon-
Thanks for the advice, I agree with all that color is not as important as figuring out their feeding. That's why I feel if we can find them we got a good shot, I'm fishing with 2 others and we are all experienced anglers on all kinds of fish (except bluefin!). We will be throwing flies if conditions and numbers of fish permit and throwing metal as well (whatever works!!).
I'll try and reach you on the radio as well if your out on Mon./Tues/Wed. ...

Tight loops and lines

[LandlockedinMI]

Last boring quip....A previous post hit the nail on my head-> TIME. As my sad handle indicates, I live in Michigan of all places and I'm obsessed w/ FF in NaClH2O. There's no way I can devote anywhere near the time as you lucky studs to the pursuit of BFT's. I fully understand the concept of protecting your secrets and do appreciate the info that has heen freely given as I stated in my previous post ( I also appreciate the fact the Glennon read it as intended and didn't respond like I was attacking him). My point is this: US part timers lurk on these sites to give us the best shot during that 2-5 day trip we spend the whole GD winter dreaming/planning/tying for. We educate ourselves in the classroom because the water is a dream. This is the classroom. We are indebted and yet always wanting more.

Now go out there and cast!