Cape Cod's School Tuna Fishery
Cape Cod's school tuna bite has been phenomenal over the past few years. Fish of all sizes and shapes have infiltrated Cape Cod's waters each season. Locations around the globe have sighted decreased landings of bluefin tuna, however the numbers of bluefins off the coast of Plymouth has increased annually.
Most of the action on school sized fish will be centered on Stellwagen Bank. Yet the trek to the Bank is not always necessary for a chance to tie into a decent fish.
The waters east of Plymouth have held large numbers of tuna the past couple of autumns. If the half beaks return, there will probably be tuna again this fall within just a few miles of the Plymouth coast. When tuna are targeting half beaks, the bluefins will often propel themselves straight clear of the water. A 300 plus pound tuna coming clear of the water is an impressive sight to say the least. Keeping your eyes peeled for signs of tuna during the ride to and from the Bank can pay big dividends.
Some of the more popular methods for catching school tuna in our neck of the woods include jigging and popping using "beefed" up spinning gear. When the fish show on the surface, nothing beats the excitement generated from a slob tuna destroying a top water plug. On some trips the bluefins remain deep. Jigging metals will often prove to be the ticket to connecting when the fish are not showing on the surface. Beefing up your tackle is a necessity when spin fishing. Substandard hooks and split rings will quickly be exploited by a hard fighting bluefin.
Most important is developing a gameplan that works well with your budget, crew, and boat. Keep in mind that taking a tuna on spinning gear is very taxing on an angler's body..
The Giant Tuna Bite at Cape Cod
The ultimate dream for many fishermen is catching a giant bluefin tuna. For most anglers, one of the best ways to target these bigger fish is by using live bait.
Readily available throughout June on Cape Cod are Atlantic mackerel. Unfortunately it may take a bit more searching to find them as the month wanes into July. Live lining mackerel under balloons, as well as fishing the colorful speedsters under a kite is always popular amongst the fleet.
Live pogies are another viable option for live lining a tuna. Menhaden can be cast and gill netted in many of the Cape's back bays and estuaries. Expect to put some serious time in if you hope to procure a live well full of menhaden on your own. Another option is to befriend one of the region's talented live pogie suppliers. These guys will fill your live well with fresh pogies at a reasonable price. However there are those days when even the pogie expert fails to catch enough pogies for the fleet.
Another option is to fish with live bluefish. The problem is that it always seems easy to catch bluefish when you do not want them, and extremely hard to catch them when you do need them for tuna bait. Transporting live bluefish from Cape Cod's back bays to the tuna grounds is another challenge .
My crew and I have had success catching bluefish before a trip at Race Point in Provincetown and in Buzzards Bay. The problem with catching live blues on the morning of a tuna trip is that one always runs the risk of not being able to find bluefish. Fishing for bait when you should be targeting tuna is never a fun predicament.
Spending time filling a bait cage with blues prior to a tuna trip is a smart decision. This way you have guaranteed bait the morning of a trip. Transporting snapper and juvenile bluefish from Buzzards Bay to Stellwagen is an entirely different matter; however it can be done and has paid off big for us in the past.
Cape Cod's school tuna bite has been phenomenal over the past few years. Fish of all sizes and shapes have infiltrated Cape Cod's waters each season. Locations around the globe have sighted decreased landings of bluefin tuna, however the numbers of bluefins off the coast of Plymouth has increased annually.
Most of the action on school sized fish will be centered on Stellwagen Bank. Yet the trek to the Bank is not always necessary for a chance to tie into a decent fish.
The waters east of Plymouth have held large numbers of tuna the past couple of autumns. If the half beaks return, there will probably be tuna again this fall within just a few miles of the Plymouth coast. When tuna are targeting half beaks, the bluefins will often propel themselves straight clear of the water. A 300 plus pound tuna coming clear of the water is an impressive sight to say the least. Keeping your eyes peeled for signs of tuna during the ride to and from the Bank can pay big dividends.
Some of the more popular methods for catching school tuna in our neck of the woods include jigging and popping using "beefed" up spinning gear. When the fish show on the surface, nothing beats the excitement generated from a slob tuna destroying a top water plug. On some trips the bluefins remain deep. Jigging metals will often prove to be the ticket to connecting when the fish are not showing on the surface. Beefing up your tackle is a necessity when spin fishing. Substandard hooks and split rings will quickly be exploited by a hard fighting bluefin.
Most important is developing a gameplan that works well with your budget, crew, and boat. Keep in mind that taking a tuna on spinning gear is very taxing on an angler's body..
The Giant Tuna Bite at Cape Cod
The ultimate dream for many fishermen is catching a giant bluefin tuna. For most anglers, one of the best ways to target these bigger fish is by using live bait.
Readily available throughout June on Cape Cod are Atlantic mackerel. Unfortunately it may take a bit more searching to find them as the month wanes into July. Live lining mackerel under balloons, as well as fishing the colorful speedsters under a kite is always popular amongst the fleet.
Live pogies are another viable option for live lining a tuna. Menhaden can be cast and gill netted in many of the Cape's back bays and estuaries. Expect to put some serious time in if you hope to procure a live well full of menhaden on your own. Another option is to befriend one of the region's talented live pogie suppliers. These guys will fill your live well with fresh pogies at a reasonable price. However there are those days when even the pogie expert fails to catch enough pogies for the fleet.
Another option is to fish with live bluefish. The problem is that it always seems easy to catch bluefish when you do not want them, and extremely hard to catch them when you do need them for tuna bait. Transporting live bluefish from Cape Cod's back bays to the tuna grounds is another challenge .
My crew and I have had success catching bluefish before a trip at Race Point in Provincetown and in Buzzards Bay. The problem with catching live blues on the morning of a tuna trip is that one always runs the risk of not being able to find bluefish. Fishing for bait when you should be targeting tuna is never a fun predicament.
Spending time filling a bait cage with blues prior to a tuna trip is a smart decision. This way you have guaranteed bait the morning of a trip. Transporting snapper and juvenile bluefish from Buzzards Bay to Stellwagen is an entirely different matter; however it can be done and has paid off big for us in the past.
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