Bluefin Tuna

[Flyfoto]

Was out on Wed. with matt miller at butterfish hole. Saw fair amount of bluefins busting but hard to get close to for fly shots. One 40lb hit a green machine and hauled in by Mark sedotti. Fish was full of 4"-5" anchovies Fish seemed to range from 25-100lb. I did not see any skippys or bonito out there. Interestingly no bluefish hit our trolling plugs as they did ten days ago.

[peter mac]

Welcome Jim!
Nice job on the BFT, was anyone else hooking up?......bonito are reported/caught up off Nantucket and MV, hopefully they will be here soon. Lets go get some of the shoolie BFTs on the fly.
Peter Mac

[Albiemanmike]

Mark Sedotti was using something other than fly tackle??? Very interesting. I thought this was a flyfishing only website:D :D

[Jim Miller]

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[mctrout]

come on guys, don't be babies. Mike your fish was an outstanding catch in any arena. you could go to any of the other big time striper sites and weigh in with the big boys. be an equal fish in an equal pond. the other bait caght fish that get posted here are hardly anything special. if you want to be a giant fish in a very small pond, come to reel-time and post mid 20 fish caught on bait and watch everyone go , wooowww.
post those on a REAL all tackle striper website and they will hardly get noticed. this is the point I think most of the fly-fishing guys are trying to make here. apples and oranges and vague misinformation. just think if all of "us" posted all the photos of the non-fly caught fish to this board or to the reports. there wouldn't be room on the server. fair is fair and honesty is honesty. if there is some kinda competion here that i didn't realize, then unleash the hard-drives cause mine is chock full of photos and rarin to go.
respectfully
Brendan

[dollarshort]

I'll take em anyway I can get em. Prefer the fly but there are times when the fly wont work or its not a practical tool for the depth you need to fish.

[riptide]

Pictures of 40 pounders on bait get you burned at the stake.--123-3

[saltyric]

It's all about the "CHUM"!!!!!

Come on "fly guys", don't be afraid to get your hands dirty.......

[sage fly guy]

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!

Welcome Mark to the wonderful world of full contact fishing.

Boy, other types of fighting/landing fish sure are fun aren't they??

Not every fish needs to fought on a 9 weight with 20# class tippet and 140' casts. Not when bruisers like that are riight in you're wake!!!!!!!!!


Next step full harness, gimbal belt & 130# class gear.

[saltyric]

Well said Sage fly guy.
I truely believe every type of fishing has it's time and place.

[Mark Cahill]

Bluefin Tuna are a target of opportunity for the fly rod. It's not like other types of fishing, where you might pull up to a rip or to a rock pile on a falling tide and expect to find fish. These fish are highly migratory and move about quite fast. In fact they've been clocked at up to 70 mph.

If I were to fish for them on the fly I would certainly:

1. Troll standup gear while I cruised around hoping to find them tearing up on the surface - I have on many occassions found acres of footballs going nuts offshore. I have also had many days where I saw nothing, until we hooked up on a trolled green machine, smoker, or maybe a hex head. Simply cruising around with a fly rod looking for them is a method no one in their right mind would use, unless they were sure the fish would show in one particular area...and bluefin are never for certain.

2. Establish a strong line of chunks over a bottom feature, be it a mound or a dip in an area where the fish have been frequenting. Keep the chunkline going, then fish the fly in the chunkline, like it's a chunk...

With all the talk about bluefin, there's still a lot of misunderstanding about how the fish feed and how you'd go about fishing for them. So yeah, I wouldn't consider going out for bluefin without a decenta assortment of conventional gear to accompany my fly gear.

Now, let's be civil and get on with some real discussion...

[sage fly guy]

Mark is quite correct on this one. Spent 5-6 hours on the water off Chatham friday. We trolled 2 squid rigs either side of center.



And there I stood the whole time with that 19 weight Cape Fear at the ready. After 1/2 hour the novelty wears off and it becomes workman-like. Trying to get a large tuna to stir behind the boat. Needless to say we didn't, or else you would see the pictures everywhere.

[Albiemanmike]

Brendan,
I would agree with all of your comments and was not really trying to be confrontational just pointing out something I felt was a bit hypocritical. I don't care what anyone posts or how they catch them for that matter. I am not the owner of the site nor would I like to be. I have rarely posted pics of bass, as a matter of fact I can't remember ever posting pics of bass, but if someone knows of a pic I posted of a bass I am sure I will hear about it. I posted the big fish pic because it was a very rare catch and due to it's untimely demise I thought it was prudent to pay homage to that great bass. I am in no contest with anyone and have nothing to prove but to myself and it will stay that way, I rather just enjoy sharing experiences with others like myself and would hope that my sharing is enjoyed and appreciated if not I can easily stop and not post at all. I don't think that is the case but one never knows.

I'll take em anyway I can get em. Prefer the fly but there are times when the fly wont work or its not a practical tool for the depth you need to fish.

Dollarshort hit the nail on the head with this quote. Fishing tomorrow will report back with results.

Tightlines,
Mike M.