Tuna on the Fly?

[filmfly]

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the morning with Frank Crescitelli as he searched for a finned prey rarely found in these waters. Bluefin Tuna. That's right, the ones you read about being caught in late summer offshore in the Canyons.

We headed for Ambrose where earlier reports had marked them and Frank set out a troll line. For about an hour we traversed a three mile grid burning fuel, when a call came across Frank's radio "Fin Chaser I think what you are looking for is off your stern.." There in the distance were white caps on a calm sea. BIG white caps. A few more minutes and another call.. "I am in forty feet of water off the round house in Jones, and Tuna are breaking all around me. I am the only boat here.. I am fishing for bass"

Troll lines in, twin 250s at full, and in ten minutes we're there. As we approach we quickly start to set the lines when Frank says something like "Oh my God! Look!". I glanced over the bow to see large swirls not twenty feet from our boat. Three 250 pound class bluefin tuna were sipping rain bait on the surface like they were stripers on a worm hatch.

By now several boats had show up and all of us were trolling over, under and literally directly through several pods. This traditional method proved futile however. Earlier in the week we heard someone had thrown a spoon jig into one of the bait balls that these monsters had corralled and was spooled immediately. In fact at one point Frank grabbed a spinning rod and threw a popper. Nothing.

We noticed the bait was small, two to three inch silverside or sand eel pattern fish. So I thought for a moment about grabbing the nine weight with a clouser! It sounds like a really stupid idea right? In fact if there was a take it would just mean a trip to Urban Angler for another line and backing.

But after this amazing day of just seeing these beautiful creatures up close, I thought with the right reel, backing and rod you probably could at least hook one, and with a good captain and crew there is probably a better than 50/50 chance you could land it.

Something to think about anyway.... or should I say "dream" about!


Wayne

[MarkZ]

I was out that day hoping to find either bass or those BFT's that have been around the area for weeks. What time did it go down in the AM? I was in the Jones area @ around 1-1:30 PM and didn't see another soul from FI to JI...there were a few boats off Long Beach but didn't see birds so headed back to FI. Glad you had the opportunity to see those fish...must have been very exciting.

[Lov2Fish]

Wow, cool report filmfly, would have been something landing one of those babies on a fly!!!

[jrzfly]

Man, thats amazing! This time of year, I guess the baits brining them in? You should have thrown the 9 wt, Frank could have spiraled the boat for you or if you were about to get dumped palm the reel for a break off.

[filmfly]

We trolled up until 1:00 PM and then left because the action had stopped.

We will try again tomorrow morning (Friday). I will report back with some video if we see anything.

Wayne

[FirstCast]

Wayne, I'll be there early - clearing the ice & snow off the decks. It's gonna be cold - lots & lots of layers

[venture]

I know that BFTs can be very frustrating. It is not because they are so selective. It is because they are so fast and they pop up and are gone in a flash.

I have caught both BFTs and YFTs on fly. Although I have read that some of you get lucky just casting to breaking fish and getting a hook-up, I have never been so lucky. My success has come from chumming them up with handfuls of chunks or frozen spearing.....and getting them concentrated close to the boat...and casting into the mayhem created at the transom. When these fish are concentrated and competitive within a heavy chum slick, they are most apt to take. And matching the hatch is not so important. Getting them concentrated and getting them to compete for the handfuls of spearing make it much easier for the caster. My best pattern has been a good sized deceiver approx 7 - 9 inches. The bait size that they are feeding on makes little difference for charged up fish in a slick. That is my two cents...... And remember....these fish are powerful, and a nine weight fly rod will be stripped. Also, you need lifting power. Even a schoolie of 40 - 50#s will be impossible to lift when he goes deep by the boat. A 12 - 13 weight usually is best.....and still is tough when he goes deep into his death spirals.

Hope you guys get lucky. Quite cold out there.

Howie

[MarkZ]

On the contrary they can be very selective at times like all tunoids. Chasing finicky schools can be frustrating, though ultimately way more satisfying when you hook up than having to resort to chumming them up.

[venture]

Hi Mark,

You are right. Free casting for Tuna without chum is quite challenging. I never hooked up that way.....as I mentioned. But I have hooked up a few times on fly within a slick.....never free casting and chasing them. No contest here.....just telling you my experience with BFTs.

And they can be selective.....but not too much in the slick. They also love trolled cedar plugs trolled close to the boat, and skirted green machine bars and singles behind a splashing bird teaser. We've hooked up on almost everything out there. I've even hooked up on swimming plugs......the big atom swimmer (within a slick). But when they are free swimming and feeding on small bait, sometimes a big fly will get their attention.....especially when in a competitive mood.

It seems that no one has hooked up with these particular fish of late. My post was to try something different than just chasing them and putting them down. Also for them to find one fly in the middle of nowhere......your odds are quite low....as the success rate shows. If I went out there again, I would have a flat of spearing....and try to get them going by the boat. Nothing wrong with that.....especially if you hook up.

Its like flyfishing for sailfish. No one just free casts to these babies. They get them going by trolling an unhooked bait teaser.....and then get them close and hot, right at the transom. Most successful offshore fly fisherman do the same thing..... You got to get the fish hot and at the boat. Mako, Sails, Marlin, and Tuna fishing with fly is much different than fishing concentrated pods of albies or stripers. That is my two cents again.

Howie

[mikemontauk]

Best of luck. Casting to a 200# class tuna with a 9 weight sounds like more than I would like to try. It reminds me of a story that Jeff Cardenas wrote about in one of his books.
I had some luck casting storm shads with a very stout spinning outfit. Hope you get some great footage.
Mike

[MarkZ]

Firstcast and filmfly, almost joined you guys this morning...layered up caught the "what the F" look from the Mrs. and then began scraping the boat and trailer off. Stopped shortly thereafter and decided to winterize instead. I am anxious to here how you did...hope you had some luck.

[venture]

Hi MarkZ,

The first rule of tuna fishing..... "Never have eye contact with wife prior to going fishing". It's not as bad as taking bananas on the boat because at least when the wife squashes your trip, you don't waste fuel. But the same results are bound to occur......no fish.

Best results come with no eye contact......just a leave a little love note and your credit card along with the Bloomingdale's flier. I've caught more tuna that way.

Howie

[DougBaz]

If you really want to hook up with SBT on the fly get in touch with Capt. Jeff Smith who runs the Flyfishsaltwaters.com site out in the Cape(Great site). He is a Master at it.!

[filmfly]

OK, so we were definitely ready. Two flats of chum, 400 foot backing on spinners, 12 weight fly with albie whores, spreaders with bird cage, ballyhoo you name it.

They were gone... Maybe because the temp had dropped to 42 from 47, maybe the wind chop, maybe the tide.

The only video I got was Santa catching ten inch stripers on the way back to the marina. (to be continued}

Wayne

[venture]

The Tuna season is just getting underway........and doing quite well. That is, in North Carolina off Morehead City. My friends are down there right now catching their limit daily. The fish are sometimes within 2 to 5 miles of the beach. You may want to use something bigger than a 12 weight. The fish are averaging 250 - 500 pounds with some larger ones mixed in. Two rods rigged with skirted ballyhoos slow trolled on the surface, with one rod as on a deep plainer does the trick. When the water is calm you can troll these babies with a 21 ft center console and three rods. It's been red hot down there for the last week and a half.