Bluefin Tuna
The bite is on, and a mix of bluefin from 40 to 71 inches invaded the waters east of Chatham, Cape Cod this week. Trolling spreader bars has been the most productive method, though jigging is an option as well. Eric Stewart of the Hook Up in Orleans landed 30 tuna in two days this week, doubling up and having the bites come so quickly, he couldn’t even deploy his entire four-rod spread. Heavy winds kept him and other anglers at the dock the past two days, but he hopes when the conditions allow another trip east, that the fish will still be there.
Cape Cod Bay has some giant bluefin, but as is often the case with the commercial fleet, there is not much information being put forth. If you don’t mind spending a day trying, this is the time of year to chunk up a giant tuna well within sight of land.
No word yet of bluefin showing off Long Island or New Jersey, but it shouldn’t be long. This bite really heated up in November of last year, so for now, the false albacore will have to do.
Canyons
Offshore reports are still good from Dave at The Reel Seat in Brielle. There is a strong yellowfin bite on the chunk and the longfin bite is smoking in the Northern canyons. There seems to be two classes of longfin out there, the 25- to 30-pounders, and the 60-plus-pounders. Hot lures are small 6- to 8-inch jets and the smaller Black Barts like the Tuna XXX and the ProJets. Black Barts are not inexpensive so when charter guys come in and buy them, and then come back to get a few more after fishing them you know it’s the right go-to for right now. You can get them from Dave either rigged or un-rigged while they last.
Conditions look beautiful for a last crack at the blue water this weekend. The fishing has been pretty good with bigeye, longfin and big yellowfin being taken last week. The Viking fleet did well over the weekend putting 5 keeper swordfish in the boat, along with a decent catch of yellowfin and longfin. The nighttime bite is hotter than the troll it seems, though one boat did manage two bigeye on the daytime troll.
The wind will have moved around the water a bit, and it looks like some decent water is setting up in the Fish Tails. If leaving from a Cape Cod or eastern Long Island port, this would be my bet. To the south, I’d look to Hudson and Lindenkohl canyons.
Make the most of the trip if you go as this could be it for the canyon season if the weather takes a turn over the next couple weeks.