Bluefin
The New Jersey bluefin bite is still going well, but it has shifted a bit in the past week. The lights-out fishing around the scallop boats is finished, and as Dave Arbeitman put it, anglers are working a little harder for the fish. Chunking with sardines has been bringing some fish to the boat, and jigging continues to be a good bet. Trolling is working as well, with the biggest fish falling to the trusty ballyhoo and Ilander combo fished way, way back.
Bluefin tuna have surrounded Cape Cod, with fish coming from the south (120-fathom line below Martha’s Vineyard), east (Chatham and the backside) and north (Stellwagen Bank). The fish are a mix of sizes from 10-pounds south of the Vineyard to giants on Stellwagen. Trolling and drifting with live baits have been taking the lion’s share of Cape Cod bluefin lately.
Sharks
Montauk continues to have a fair shark bite. Makos are being caught regularly, as of course are blue sharks. New England seems to have the hottest shark action at the moment, just in time for the Martha’s Vineyard Monster Shark Tournament. Several anglers trolling for bluefin reported threshers slashing through their spread this week in the waters south of the Vineyard. Mako sharks were also spotted by anglers trolling. Overnight chunking in the canyons has turned up some good-sized makos as well.
Canyons
A good weather window opened Tuesday into Wednesday this week and many boats took advantage. A swath of warm water between West Atlantis Canyon and the Fish Tails caught the attention of many anglers, and the fish did not disappoint. Plenty of 10- to 30-pound yellowfin kept anglers busy while they waited for bites from better yellowfin in the 50-pound class or even a larger species. A few bigeye tuna were hooked with one estimated to be in the 300-pound class taken. Also, at least one blue marlin was hooked. This one I saw with my own two eyes as it launched itself out of the water 200 yard behind the boat only seconds after eating a hooked 40-pound yellowfin next to the boat. Over the next few days, it looks like anglers can count on stead southwest winds and 3- to 5-foot waves in the canyons.
Some yellowfin are being taken inside the canyons off Cape May by jigging and trolling. Check out Steve Bent’s Inshore Yellowfin article in the current issue of On The Water for more details on this fishery.