Well I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Every trip to the canyons is different. Even trips that happen back to back. The reports were promising when I boarded the Helen-H out of Hyannis for an overnighter earlier this week. The boat returned from their last trip with 46 tuna in the hold, and another 30 evaded capture by pulling the hook. By the time we reached shore after 36 hours of bobbing around in 10- to 15-foot swells, our grand total was two tuna and three mahi. Ouch.
That’s fishing, tuna fishing especially. The Viking Fleet struggled to put together a good tuna bite on their combination tuna and tilefish trip over the weekend. Fortunately great deep-drop fishing and a bonus swordfish made up for it.
The Hudson Canyon is reportedly loaded with longfin tuna, while southern canyons are seeing decent numbers of yellowfin, particularly overnight. Anglers targeting swords seem to be having more action as we enter fall, as broadbills are appearing in more catch reports. Don’t forget the rigged squid on your next trip to the deep.
A few other billfish are still around, and anglers trolling are reporting occasional blue marlin encounters.
Sounds like the bluefin fishing is off the hook. Or on the hook—whichever is better. Dan from the Hook Up in Orleans said Captain Eric Stewart and the UNH bluefin tagging crew, landed and tagged 12 bluefin this week, all inside Crab Ledge in about 100 feet of water. The fish were all slot sized, falling into the 40- to 50-inch range.
There have been some insanely large giant bluefin taken from Cape Cod Bay within the last week, including at least one grander. Bob Pronk told me that pogies from Duxbury Bay are accounting for many of these mammoth fish. Check out Damon Sacco’s article on catching Cape Cod Bay giant tuna in the October Issue of On The Water, on newsstands now.
The George’s Bank bite is on fire, and commercial captains are loading up for the long haul, and many are returning to port with three fish to send to market. More giant tuna reports came from Peaked Hill Bar where a 79-incher was landed this week.
Stellwagen is holding some good tuna fishing for the recreational crowd as well, and as the waters continue to cool, the tuna bite should keep improving into October.