Big game anglers are thrilled these days. A massive influx of bluefin tuna has moved into Northern California waters, including Monterey Bay. Reports of bluefin sightings and catches range from Big Sur up to Fort Bragg.
We’ve been graced with the presence of bluefin over the past couple years. This year, they are here earlier, and seemingly in greater numbers. Besides being one of the most valued fish in the world for consumption, the bluefin are BIG, ranging from 50 to 200 pounds. Fish this big and this strong require entirely different techniques and equipment. Tuna fishing is not for the faint of heart.
While the bluefin anglers in Southern California rely on nighttime fishing with heavy jigs or live bait fishing during the day, in NorCal trolling seems to be the best option we’ve found so far. The bluefin can be finicky. In years past when the tuna were around, most local anglers trolled live mackerel at slow speeds, around two miles per hour. Last year, with more fish available, many local anglers switched out to a fast troll using big plugs, in particular the Nomad Mad Macs. Whether trolling fast or slow, the baits or lures need to be far behind the boat, at least 200 feet for slow trolling and 500 feet or more for the fast troll. Heavy duty rods and reels are a necessity, with drag settings from 30 to 50 pounds, and leaders up to 100 or even 200 pounds.
Private boaters from Monterey, Moss Landing, and Santa Cruz are gearing up and getting out for the bluefin as weather allows. This past week has been rather windy on the tuna grounds, to the frustration of big game hunters. Half Moon Bay Boats have enjoyed a good measure of success, fishing out towards the Farallons. In Monterey Bay, catches and sightings were reported near the Soquel Hole and other canyon edges, and in particular near the “Fingers” area some ten miles off of Davenport.
Most charter boats are not prepared to provide tuna gear and trips. One exception is Tom Joseph on the Sara Bella. Tom runs Fish On Sportfishing and has loads of tuna experience in our waters. Last week he was joined by Chris Tran. They trolled Mad Macs and boated three bluefin. The final fish was caught only 13 miles from Half Moon Bay Harbor. Joseph recounted, “Made my first trip today and we went looking for bluefin. Got our first one around 11 a.m. Back on the troll, the rod went off, unfortunately this one spit the hook. Thirty minutes later we hook another one, a beast at 185 pounds. Everyone is stoked. Back on the troll about 45 minutes later and 13 miles from the harbor, the rod goes off again and we put number three in. My clients were exhausted and told me they had more than enough BFT for one day. A day everyone will remember!”
Allen Bushnell also operates Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing and Surfcasting Guide Service. Please send your reports, pictures or questions to scruzfishing@yahoo.com
