Next season can't come fast enough! Just picked up my new custom Fly Rod. 20-40lb 8ft Calstar blank. Rips 100ft of line out like nothing! Tied it off to my deck post and couldn't believe the power in this rod!

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Last weekend my lovely wife, incredibly happy with our well behaved baby, said: "Are there still tuna around? You haven't had too many trips this year. You should go if they are still around."

I had to pick my jaw up off the floor.

The whole week was spent checking the models. Every day gave me a better picture of the weekend. Of course, it wasn't until the last minute that I made the call for today. Crew was my buddy Easy mutha f-ing E, a seasoned tuna fisherman...whthout a boat. He was ready to go out into a hurricane for one last chance.

The forecast called for a dieing west wind with seas going from 2-3 to 1 foot or less by nightfall. It looked good.

We launched out of Green Harbor at 0700 with a 10-15 knot wind at our backs and dropped the hammer on flat seas to the bait spot. There was only pollack.

The call was made to run for the Bank and hope that the reports of macks on the SWC were true. Hammer back down. 3 miles out I pulled back to 40 mph. 4 miles out I found a comfortable trim at 30 mph that took us to the corner in a following sea that was building with the fetch.

We quickly loaded up the live well with 10" mackerel in the shallow water near the SWC. Baits went out and we drifted in a steep 3 foot sea. The boat covered 2 miles in an hour coutsey of the wind. In spite of massive ammounts of bait and all manner of birds working (terns to gannets) there was nothing to show for it.

This scene was repeated all along the southern edge of the bank. In the shallow water there was tons of life. The deep water was blank. the wind was dieing so we kept pushing east looking for Charlie.

Out on the eastern corner we finally found tuna. There were 50-70 pounders in plain sight and biger fish on the sounder. It was looking good. Save for one hit that took the mack but not the hook, bait, jigs and poppers were ignored.

The wind slid a little north and, because prospects were looking good, we toughed it out...a little too long. The combination of wind and current pushed the seas up to about 6 feet and we were faced witht he very real problem of getting 24 miles west.

The first 10 miles was hell on a stick but the closer to home we got the better it was.

If you have a window to get out, take it. There are still plenty of tuna fish out there. The bait is THICK and as long as that holds there will be fun to have.

Thursday looks like the nicest day of the entire Fall Season. I could try to break my latest season fish record of Nov. 12th but (#$119) Still up in the air. Looks like a great day OTW but it was such a great season, no equipment problems and NO BOAT PROBLEMS!!! Everything is ready to go....we'll see. :rolleyes:

I know its a bit early but was hoping to drop a hint to my girl regarding a tuna Spinning reel, here is a bit of a twist on that subject what reels should I stay away from????

Here is this morning's final report on the just-concluded ICCAT meeting in Brazil. Looks like the US will back "listing" of BFTuna.

Monday, 16 November 2009

Tuna body shies from fishing ban
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website

The body responsible for managing Atlantic bluefin tuna has decided not to suspend the fishery in response to concerns over dwindling stocks. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (Iccat) instead decided to lower the annual catch quota by about one third.

Conservation groups said the decision would encourage illegal fishing.

Iccat scientists said recently that bluefin numbers were at about 15% of pre-industrial-fishing levels. They also said that drastic limits on fishing now would facilitate the growth of a more profitable industry in years to come, as stocks became more plentiful.

A number of conservation groups attending the Iccat meeting in Recife, Brazil said that delegations - led by the EU - had put short-term commercial concerns before the longer-term interests of both tuna and fishermen. "Since its inception, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas has been driven by short-term commercial fishing interests, not the conservation ethic implied by its name," said Sue Lieberman, director of international policy for the Pew Environment Group. "Only a zero catch limit could have maximised the chances that Atlantic bluefin tuna could recover to the point where the fishery could exist in the future."

However, the European Commission - which represents the EU - described the outcome as "strong". "It is a clear sign that the international community acknowledges the scale and magnitude of the problem and is ready and willing to work constructively with scientists, environmentalists and the industry to find the best possible compromise that will ensure the sustainable exploitation of this fragile stock and the viability of the industry concerned," it said in a statement. The Commission also noted that the option of a moratorium remains on the table "in case new assessments show... there is a serious threat of fishery collapse".

Illegal stimulant. The new quota allows 13,500 tonnes of bluefin to be caught next year in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, down from 19,950 tonnes. The fishing season will also be shortened by one month for purse seine ships, which use nets to encircle and trap shoals of the lucrative fish, often when they are spawning.

However, the size of the quota is only one of the issues that has seen bluefin tuna numbers tumble over the last few decades.
Some countries, notably in southern Europe, have simply exceeded their annual quotas, while illegal and unreported catches are estimated to add a further 30% to official numbers. As stocks and quotas decline, vessel owners face the choice between keeping their expensive ships in port, or fishing ilegally.

"This... will lead to individual vessel quotas that are too low to economically sustain fishing activities," said Xavier Pastoor, executive director of the Madrid-based conservation group Oceana. "This will definitely encourage under-reporting of catches and illegal fishing."

Most European governments back a recent proposal from Monaco to restrict trade in bluefin under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The proposal will be tabled at the CITES meeting in March.

Last month, Iccat's scientific advisors concluded that the notable decline from the "natural" level - before the era of industrialised fishing - would justify a ban. But some countries are keen to keep management of commercial fish species within fisheries management organisations such as Iccat. According to the Singapore-based Straits Times, an un-named Japanese fisheries official welcomed the meeting's outcome, arguing that it would help "control the fish population under Iccat, not anything else".

The US said it would consider whether to back the CITES bid after reviewing the outcome of this Iccat meeting, which it viewed as the organisation's "last chance" to implement effective management for bluefin.

Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

with the winter 1 month away I was thinking about building a sluggo bar or something along those lines. Have any of you guys ever made one and how do ya do it? do you use a hook in each sluggo and is there any tricks I should know about???

I'd like to call this a progress report and post it on the Conservation Forum but there has been no progress and less conservation of Bluefin Tuna after the first week of the ICCAT meeting in Recife, Brazil. Anyway, here's today's report from the UKs "Sunday Times"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From The Sunday Times November 15, 2009

Tuna vanish as their protectors samba on

Charles Clover, Porto da Galinhas, Brazil


It must be nice to be one of those whose task is conserving the wild resources of the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic fishery managers meet once a year in attractive places remote enough to deter most of the world’s media, such as Dubrovnik, Antalya and Marrakesh. This year’s meeting is taking place amid the coconut palms and water features of the Summerville resort near Recife, in Brazil. It is hot and humid but some of the officials present have Tahiti to look forward to next month, where they will meet under the guise of a different organisation to discuss the decline of fish stocks in yet another ocean.

It would be wonderful to report that the progress made by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and Billfishes (Iccat) matches the five-star standard of the Summerville resort, but of course it doesn’t. The people who meet every year to set catch limits for the tunas, swordfish, sailfish, marlin and sharks of the Atlantic belong to arguably the most dysfunctional environmental organisation on earth. Its members have entirely failed to achieve their founding aims.

In 1969, when Iccat held its first meeting, the decline of the bluefin tuna on the western side of the Atlantic was already giving cause for concern. The North Sea population was commercially extinct and the Brazilian population — just off the coast here — was being wiped out. Now it looks as though the stocks in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean are going the same way. The bluefin, which once roamed the Atlantic in vast shoals like buffalo on the American prairies, is nearing its last round-up. By the end of the 1960s, the numbers of bluefin in the Atlantic were thought to have declined by half. Since then they have declined by another 80%. As with the blue whale in the 1970s, it is on conservation’s front line.

The bluefin is not alone. Less well known is the plight of the Atlantic’s sharks. The most endangered, such as the bigeye thresher, are in worse shape than the bluefin because they reproduce at a rate of two pups every 14 years instead of laying millions of eggs every year. Even if we stop catching them, they may not recover. Shockingly, Iccat has yet to set any limits on catching sharks.

If your in a pessimistic mood anyway, you can read the entire report here:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/com...enComment=true

I've been going through a bunch of stuff and selling what
I'm not using, to put together enough to try one of those rediculously expensive japanese jigging rods. i sold a bunch of reels already but I'd like to sell this local ,as shipping rods is $$$. This is a beast of a spinning rod that I built on an ugly stick blank. it's seen plenty of battle. has caught a ton of tuna, so it's not in great condition. but it will definately catch many more fish, and the price reflects the condition. I have a fin nor 95 on it that has also caught a ton of tuna. filled with stren 100 lb braid (this season) this rig is still in plenty good shape to catch years of tuna. As I said, this rod is a beast. it's big ,heavy, and will more than likely handle anything next year can throw at it. If your lookin to get into tuna spinning cheap.or would just like to have a workhorse on board for backup or guests ,this rig may be for you. I'd like to get 100 bucks for the rod and reel. and I'd like to sell it to someone ,somewhat local.

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was hoping to get out one last time but the weather has different plans today, what have you learned about tuna fishing this year????????? for me its

1. use heavy florcarbon leader 80-100lbs test.
2. use spinning reels that carry lots and lots of line.
3. with monster schools of 8-10 inch sand eels this year "match the hatch"

I am looking for a spinning reel to match up with a 7' 20-40 rod. Target will be the smaller tunies, sbft and yft, and also for casting at dorado. My options so far are:
Penn 950 SSm
Shimano Saragosa 18000F
Daiwa Saltist 6500H
Which would you choose and why?
Gracias

Push for Tuna Protection Worries Cape Fishermen
By Doug Fraser
Cape Cod Times
dfraser@capecodonline.com

November 12, 2009This week, at a meeting in Brazil, U.S. negotiators hope to use the threat of an endangered species listing for Atlantic bluefin tuna to help rein in a rogue Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery in the Mediterranean that European scientists believe is driving the stock toward collapse.

It's a gamble that could have a big impact on the Cape's fishermen because the listing under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species would result in a ban on international trade for bluefin tuna. Since most bluefin is exported to Japan, where it is prized as high-quality sushi, the thousands of tons caught in New England each year would flood the much smaller U.S. market and result in low prices paid to fishermen.

ATLANTIC BLUEFIN TUNA
Western Atlantic (Gulf of Mexico to Newfoundland)


2008 estimate of 170,000 fish one year and olderStrong possibility that population is less than 15 percent of what scientists believe it should beWith strong U.S. management, population has been stable for two decades and shows signs of rebounding1,900 metric ton total allowable catch


Eastern Atlantic (including the Mediterranean Sea)


Greater than 3 million fish one year and olderHigh probability that population is less than 15 percent of what scientists believe it should beLandings have been around 50,000 metric tons each year even though scientists are recommending less than 12,000 metric tons be caught

Andy Baler, owner of Nantucket Fish Co., another bluefin exporter, located in South Dennis and Chatham, believes the U.S. strategy has a good chance to succeed because the European and African nations responsible for much of the overfishing in the Mediterranean also export nearly all their fish.

"There is real optimism there. If you're a company in the Mediterranean ... and you know you wouldn't be able to export anything to Japan, which is 70 percent of your market, you'd do something," said Baler, who also serves as an adviser to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, which is meeting in Recife, Brazil, this week.

"I think it can work," Baler said of the endangered species threat. "I think they would have no choice but to abide (by the U.S. wishes)."

"I think it's certainly gotten their attention. It will have an effect on the negotiations," predicted Rachel O'Malley, a foreign affairs specialist at the fisheries service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

But others are afraid the international trade ban could become a reality and unfairly punish the U.S. bluefin tuna industry, which has been fishing sustainably under low quotas for nearly two decades. Environmental groups like World Wildlife Fund and Pew Charitable Trusts are both advocating for bans on bluefin, insisting the species is headed for extinction.

"This is a big game of chicken. Everybody knows we don't really have an endangered species here. We have a mismanaged species in the Mediterranean, and, to an extent, on the high seas," said Robert Fitzpatrick, owner of Maguro American Inc. in Harwich, a major buyer and shipper of bluefin tuna.

Fitzpatrick said he believes the environmentalist community has had bluefin in its sights for years and will push for the endangered species listing even if the U.S. strategy succeeds.

Bluefin tuna are present in most oceans. The Western Atlantic bluefin population, which is found from the Gulf of Mexico to Newfoundland, is much smaller than the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock. U.S. fishermen are allowed to catch around 2,000 metric tons of fish annually. By contrast, European and African fishermen, working Atlantic and Mediterranean waters reported catching nearly 35,000 metric tons in 2007, and nearly 24,000 last year. The problem is that, for many years, large numbers of additional fish were caught illegally in the Mediterranean and not reported. In 2008, scientists estimated that more than 10,000 metric tons went unreported. In 2007, that number was over 37,000.

European scientists want landings to drop 8,500 to 15,000 tons to help rebuild bluefin tuna populations. In the international tuna commission's report for 2008-2009, fisheries scientists warned members that the Eastern Atlantic bluefin population had plummeted to just 18 percent of what it was in the 1970s, and to continue fishing at such high levels "results in a high risk of fisheries and stock collapse."

But NOAA fisheries officials, while saying they'll back an endangered species listing, won't say the species is headed toward extinction.

"I don't see any evidence of biological extinction anywhere," said Molly Lutcavage, a fisheries scientist and University of New Hampshire professor who specializes in bluefin tuna and other large highly migratory species.

NOAA sent its largest contingent ever, more than 40 people, to the Recife meeting. To avert an endangered species listing, O'Malley said U.S. officials want measures that improve monitoring and control over the numbers of fish caught, as well as cuts in quotas and longer closures

Bluefin Facts

Can live to 20 years or much longer in wildAdults eat fish, squid and crustaceansWestern Atlantic tuna spawn at 8 years of age, Eastern at 12.Females produce up to 10 million eggsCan grow to nearly 10 feet in length and reach more than 1,400 pounds Fast swimmers that reach speeds of over 60 mph, with fins retracting into slots in body for streamlining

Sources: International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, World Wildlife Fund
Massachusetts has the highest number of commercial tuna permits, by far, in the country with more than 1,600. Approximately a quarter of those boats are registered to Cape ports. Bluefin tuna is the most valuable fish per pound in the country with an average annual price of between $6 and $9 per pound as compared with a $1.25 average price paid for cod. With bluefin weighing in at hundreds, sometimes over 1,000 pounds, the payoff can run into the thousands of dollars per fish.

Hi folks,
I'm new to tuna fishing and I am interested in your opinions.

I have penn 4/0 reels with 50# powerpro braid on them. I understand that these reels will generate 25# of drag; however, anything over 20# is courting disaster in the form of stripped gears etc....

Is Setting my drag at 16# (1/3 of 50#) for the initial strike, and then estimating an increase to 20#, going to be enough to beat a 5 - 6' bluefin? I would like to go up to 50 wide Tyrnos reels, but I may not be able to swing that right away. Therefore, I am toying with the idea of using my 4/0 senators for the next season.

I successfully fished for YellowFins this summer in NC -- they were 45 - 50 pound fish and the big Penn internationals that we were using really seemed like too much reel. We were landing the fish in about 10 minutes or less.

Just what does it take to land a 100# tuna?

Thanks for your help and constructive feedback.

Ed

WORLD FISHING NEWS
11 Nov 2009 - Web Exclusive

Canada calls on ICCAT to protect bluefin tuna from IUU fishing

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is holding its annual meeting from 6-15 November in Brazil. The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada recently issued the following statement:

"Our Government is committed to sustainable fishing practices that contribute to healthy fish stocks and economic opportunities for fishers. We believe that conservation and management of fish stocks is best achieved through a combination of effective domestic, regional, and international fisheries management. However, that means regional fisheries management organisations, or RFMOs, such as ICCAT must manage their fisheries sustainably.

"In Canada, our fishery for the Western Atlantic bluefin tuna stock respects the principles of the precautionary approach and follows the scientific advice from ICCAT to ensure the long term sustainability of the fishery. The number of Canadian bluefin tuna fishing licenses has been limited for years and every fish caught in the Canadian fishery is individually tagged and tracked to market.

"That is not the case in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, where the bluefin tuna stock is under significant threat from overfishing and other illegal fishing activities. Canada is disappointed that the science advice is not being followed and calls on all ICCAT members to take concrete decisions on conservation and management at the next annual meeting.

"Failure by ICCAT to take immediate action could have serious and long-term consequences for all bluefin tuna fisheries. While ICCAT has in place a program to effectively track and control the trade of bluefin, some parties have indicated that they are prepared to take steps to further restrict commercial trade of bluefin tuna, particularly if ICCAT members fail to take decisions that reduce overfishing and illegal fishing.

"Our Government will continue to support bluefin tuna management decisions based on science and the precautionary approach, as well as work with our international partners to press ICCAT for tough actions to end overfishing of bluefin in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean."

More at: http://www.worldfishing.net/news/

Today I was thrown a very tasty bone. The director of our Chinese office was in town. He is a buddy of mine and wanted to go tuna fishing. It was a business opportunity and a chance to have fun on the water with a great guy. He grew up in Alaska on boats and was fine with the full disclosure:

We can get out but it is going to be ugly.

It wasn't ugly when we were doing 45 knots out of Gloucester Harbor. The wind wasn't going...that was to come.

The plan was to swim some live ones where tuna live and get out and back. Our first order of business was to make bait. We hit all of the obvious spots on the way out of the harbor but came up empty. The live well was filled in 15 minutes outside of Salem Harbor with mackerel perfectly sized for tuna baits. The boat was buttoned down and we pointed it toward the bank.

The GPS told me it was 18.something miles to the north west corner. At 14 miles to go I came off plane, spit out some salt water, leaned over to my boat mate and said: "If we keep going we are going to be in the news paper" He rubbed the salt out of his eyes and asked: "can we catch something closer to shore?"

When we decided to see if there were keeper cod on the near shore humps out of Gloucester the seas just a bit out of the lee of Cape Ann were an honest 3 feet (with some bigger ones thrown in) and they were tighter than I have ever dealt with. I have to imagine that further out into open water it was full on $#!++y.


A mile or so out of Gloucester we marked fish so I tossed out the sea anchor and we started bouncing bottom. There were TONS of short cod but we managed a few barely legal fish...so I could save some face...



I was really happy with how the boat kept sea in decently heavy conditions. It was the first time I got to mess around with trim and speed in truly nasty stuff since I got the new motor hung. I still want a bigger boat but the new configuration rides bigger than it did.

Getting out is better than not getting out. Getting out on a work day is even better. Getting out on a nasty day, catching fish with a big wig from your company and making him happy is $$$$$.

My friend Nat went out on a tuna charter on Monday and got skunked. I was out east on Saturday in a buddy's boat and got skunked. Not how I wanted to see the season end. I convinced Nat to consider going with me Tuesday and he said he would text me at 3:30 AM to let me know if he was up for it...otherwise i was going solo I told him......Nat met me at 5:15am in Falmouth, loaded up the rig and headed through the Canal to a very dead Peaked Hill. Beautiful conditions that only got better. We quickly headed to the SEC and as soon as we hit the 125' mark we had birds working the area and tuna jumping and swirling in singles and doubles. I was apparent throughout the day that these were nice size fish. I think we saw a hundred tuna clear the water during the day, some leaving Volkswagon size holes in the water. Sometimes we marked fish but most times we did not.

We figured out that this was going to be a jigging game with heavy RonZ jig heads with either Got Stryper plastic or RonZ tails attached. We had two spinning rods on board and on the 2nd fish of the day one of them snapped in two during the end game leaving us with one spinning rod.

Final tally was 7 tuna hooked, some really exciting, funny and tense moments during the tussles, lots of learning about how to fight a big tuna from my boat and my first time using a Poon...which was very cool ! Nat fought the last fish like a man possessed.

Here are some pics...that last pic is Charlie's visit to the sushi bar

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