Shark Fishing Excellent, Bluefin Bite Revving Up
With the numbers of big bluefish on the midshore waters off New Jersey, it shouldn’t be too surprising that the makos are around in force right now. Mike at Sea Isle Bait and Tackle said shark fishing is as good as it gets. The Tackle Direct crew reported that makos to 330 pounds have been caught. The blue sharks are a nuisance on some of the inshore structure, but fishermen can ditch the blues by motoring farther offshore. Some of the best shark fishing is taking place as far out as 60 miles. Threshers are in the mix too, and several whiptails heavier than 300 pounds hit the scales this week. The Cigar has been one of the hotspots, and the large trolling squid, believe it or not, have been one of the better baits. Mackerel and bunker has been working as well. Ron at Fishermen’s Supply Co. added the Fingers and the Star to the list of productive sharkin’ spots.
Jay Campi weighed the first thresher shark of the season at Pride Bait and Tackle in New Jersey. Tom Rutemiller has been sharking at Monster Ledge and was rewarded with several nice makos as well as a number of blue sharks.
The New Jersey canyon bite has been good. Mike at Sea Isle Bait and Tackle reported yellowfin in big numbers in the 40- to 50-pound range in Spencer Canyon. Jersey Hooker also reported big numbers of tuna in the canyons, and Tackle Direct described the yellowfin bite as “excellent.”
The Mudhole off New Jersey has bluefin in the 50-pound range while the 20-fathom line off South Jersey has 20-pound bluefin. The Virginia wreck and the Princess have bluefin feeding around them as well. If the sand eels stay, so will the tuna.
The bluefin season is still in its very early stages around Cape Cod. Giants are being caught fairly regularly east of Chatham, some as large as 90 inches. Eric Stewart at the Hook Up had a much more recreational-fishing friendly 68-incher.Trolling has been on the tough side, so most anglers are connecting with their tuna by fishing live mackerel, which, along with herring, have been in abundance on the tuna grounds. South of Martha’s Vineyard, there are a wide range of bluefin sizes from tiny 20-pound footballs to commercial-size giants.
Stellwagen Bank and Cape Cod Bay have had some 40- to 50-inch bluefin, and some suspect those school tuna may move closer inshore, lured in by the abundant bait.
While the bluefin bite has not been blistering yet, the ribbon of bait that extends from Thacher’s Island seaward has been attracting some tuna attention. Within view of Thacher’s, pelagics have been seen taking flight. It’s this area’s proximity to the 180-foot contour line which makes it one of the nearest-to-shore locations to catch tuna north of the Cape.
The first tuna of the season have been taken in Maine and most fish have been caught off Jeffrey’s Ledge on mackerel.