Tuna Fishing
 

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:


For tuna.

How far offshore do you have to go to fish for Tuna?

Tuna Fishing
 

"Reginald P. Smithers III" wrote in message
...
Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:


For tuna.

How far offshore do you have to go to fish for Tuna?



I think he's gone fishing.

You go to where the tuna pods are running. It could be 5 miles, 10 miles or
20 miles.
In Cape Cod Bay where we used to go ... we waited until the tuna migrated up
around the tip of the Cape and into the Bay. We would then chase them all
over Cape Cod Bay, watching for working birds.

Eisboch

Tuna Fishing
 

Eisboch wrote:
"Reginald P. Smithers III" wrote in message
...
Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:

For tuna.
How far offshore do you have to go to fish for Tuna?



I think he's gone fishing.

You go to where the tuna pods are running. It could be 5 miles, 10 miles or
20 miles.
In Cape Cod Bay where we used to go ... we waited until the tuna migrated up
around the tip of the Cape and into the Bay. We would then chase them all
over Cape Cod Bay, watching for working birds.

Eisboch


Eisboch,

How is the Tuna population in the NE? Can the sport fisherman notice a
change in the number or size of Tuna being caught?

Tuna Fishing
 

"Reginald P. Smithers III" wrote in message
. ..


Eisboch,

How is the Tuna population in the NE? Can the sport fisherman notice a
change in the number or size of Tuna being caught?

You can notice the amount of activity certainly, but actually hooking up and
landing a tuna can be challenging and requires a bit of luck to boot. It's
not uncommon to spend hours, days or even a whole season dragging squid rigs
right through the middle of a working pod and never get a hit.

You need a license to legally fish for tuna. There are several types
ranging from commercial to recreational and for types of gear used. You are
also supposed to report landed and kept catches which is entered into a
database used to report activity and regulate the duration of tuna season
and catch limits. Once you obtain the license it is easily renewed every
year.

Information on obtaining licenses .... catch limits .. activity is available
he

http://www.nmfspermits.com/

Eisboch

Tuna Fishing
 

"Reginald P. Smithers III" wrote in message
. ..


"Reginald P. Smithers III" wrote in message
...

How is the Tuna population in the NE? Can the sport fisherman notice a
change in the number or size of Tuna being caught?


Forgot to mention. Where Shortwave fishes, he can go after both Bluefin and
Yellofin tuna.
In Cape Cod Bay where I used to fish we rarely, if ever saw Yellowfin, but
many Bluefin.

Most are called "footballs". I've forgotten what the size and weight specs
are, but footballs usually range from under 100 lbs to well over. The goal
is to try for the occasional and rarer "Giant" which can be really huge.
(800lbs or more)

There are regulations regarding what you can keep and what you can't
depending on your license type.
I think my license allowed me to keep one "Giant" per season.

Eisboch

Tuna Fishing
 

Eisboch wrote:
"Reginald P. Smithers III" wrote in message
. ..

Eisboch,

How is the Tuna population in the NE? Can the sport fisherman notice a
change in the number or size of Tuna being caught?

You can notice the amount of activity certainly, but actually hooking up and
landing a tuna can be challenging and requires a bit of luck to boot. It's
not uncommon to spend hours, days or even a whole season dragging squid rigs
right through the middle of a working pod and never get a hit.

You need a license to legally fish for tuna. There are several types
ranging from commercial to recreational and for types of gear used. You are
also supposed to report landed and kept catches which is entered into a
database used to report activity and regulate the duration of tuna season
and catch limits. Once you obtain the license it is easily renewed every
year.

Information on obtaining licenses .... catch limits .. activity is available
he

http://www.nmfspermits.com/

Eisboch


Thanks for the info and the link. I tried to read the "news" info, and
while I saw lots of information, and news of current regulations, I
could not find any news related to the health of the Atlantic fisheries.

It was interesting to note that they now limit longlines to 24 NM. That
is one long longline. I wonder how long the longlines would be if we
didn't limit their size.

Tuna Fishing
 

"Reginald P. Smithers III" wrote in message
. ..

How far offshore do you have to go to fish for Tuna?



Tuna fishing is really the only type of fishing that I actually enjoy. I
can appreciate the interest others have in stripers, blues, cod and even
flounder, which are the predominant fishing activities around here, but I
found I got bored with that.

At the beginning of the 2002 boating season I bought a brandy new 37' Egg
Harbor SportsYacht. It was very nicely equipped inside and out, had a huge
fishwell in the cockpit, live bait well, cockpit sink and freezer plus seven
gunnel mounted rod holders (fixed and swivel), plus outriggers and a center
rig. It cruised at 30+ knots and was ideally set up for offshore fishing.
After the first season of taking friends and work associates out for a day
of cod or striper fishing my brother and I started thinking of doing
charters. I really enjoyed running the boat and the enjoyment people were
getting spending a day on the boat catching fish. Running the boat when
tuna fishing is also an acquired skill that takes practice and most of the
time the boat captain deserves as much credit or more as the angler for
landing a tuna. When the tuna season started I got a recreational license
and we got a tuna the third time out .... which is really unusual for
newbies ... and we earned a reputation as the "lucky" boat at the marina.
(Most of the other boats did commercial charters)

But ... I soon realized the toll that charter fishing would take on the
boat. I was constantly cleaning the interior carpets of fish blood being
tracked all over the place. Plus, the transom and sides of the boat started
getting chips and nicks in the gelcoat from weights smacking into them.
Cleaning the cockpit after returning with 400-600lbs of cod became a chore.
When I looked at some of the other charter boats I realized the abuse they
received doing charters and I decided to forget about it. We did a few more
unsuccessful tuna trips and I ended up selling the Egg after the second
season of ownership.

Eisboch

Tuna Fishing
 

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

On Wed, 27 Sep 2006 09:09:50 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:


Cleaning the cockpit after returning with 400-600lbs of cod became a
chore.

No mate huh? Should have hired a high school kid who was interested
in not only free food, but learning about rigging baits, fishing and
boat handling - not to mention fish cleaning.

Like a certain guy I know who was hired as a teenager to work as "bait
boy" and ended up First Mate making a ton of money along the way.

My brother took on the roll as first mate. He enjoyed it and enjoyed
fishing more than I did. We took turns cleaning cod although he did the
majority of the work. I enjoyed running the boat and concentrated on it's
maintenance, cleaning plus the maintenance of all the rods and gear. He was
the one that really wanted to start the charter business. I enrolled in a
course while in Florida during the off season to get a sixpac and 100 ton
license but never bothered getting the hours signed off since all my boating
"friends" that would lie .... err.... "validate" my hours were in MA.

Eisboch

Tuna Fishing
 

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

On Wed, 27 Sep 2006 08:02:33 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:


Did MA ever ban the use of spotter planes for recreational fishing? I
know back in the day, some private pilots used to make a good deal of
gas money doing spotting. I had heard somewhere that MA banned that
practice.

I don't know. I remember it being a practice, but we were never that
seriously into it to utilize spotters.
I really enjoy tuna hunting. We went out a few times in Florida for game
fish (on the Navigator, believe it or not)
and it was boring to me .... not as enjoyable as chasing tuna pods all over
Cape Cod Bay.

Eisboch

Tuna Fishing
 

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 27 Sep 2006 08:12:39 -0400, "Reginald P. Smithers III"
wrote:

Eisboch wrote:
"Reginald P. Smithers III" wrote in message
...
Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:

For tuna.
How far offshore do you have to go to fish for Tuna?

I think he's gone fishing.

You go to where the tuna pods are running. It could be 5 miles, 10
miles or
20 miles.
In Cape Cod Bay where we used to go ... we waited until the tuna
migrated up
around the tip of the Cape and into the Bay. We would then chase them
all
over Cape Cod Bay, watching for working birds.

How is the Tuna population in the NE? Can the sport fisherman notice a
change in the number or size of Tuna being caught?

It all depends on what. Giants are few and far between during any
period - they are tough to get up to the surface and you have to troll
deep and long.

If you are just into the game for normal sized tuna, the stocks are
good, but the fish it'self is picky. You can be sitting right on top
of a school with them busting bait on the surface and not make a hit.
Sometimes, right out of nowhere.

Tuna fishing isn't as much of an art as it is luck.

Come to San Diego and take a long range trip. Then you will see it as more
than luck.