I got an invitation from my good friend Paul to join him for a day of Tuna chasing aboard his boat on Friday.  There is nothing I enjoy more than hunting for these guys so I immediately said yes and we made plans to leave the harbor at 0530 Friday morning.

The seas were flat except for a persistent swell from the east that has seemed to have been around all summer.  Paul's big Boston Whaler ate them up as we cruised around 27knots to the bank. 

As soon as we arrived the radio crackled with reports of other boats hooking up so we got busy setting out our 7 line spread and began to troll away from the main fleet hoping to gain a little more fighting room.   During the first hour we marked some fish and heard other boats reporting landings.  Tuna fishing can be extremely frustrating at times but you just have to be patient. I had deployed some custom rigs I had made and I knew that sooner or later we would get bit.

Around 0745 Paul saw some jumpers so he steered in their direction.  As soon as we  came over the mark the port side flat line got taken, and the 50 screamed to life...FISH ON!  As Paul got into his harness I tried to clear the other six lines.  Within a few seconds the fish had managed to hang all six lines with his blazing runs across the stern.  Line was melting off the 50 at an amazing rate so I need to maneuver the boat at the same time. About 10 minutes into the fight  I had freed 4 of the lines when Paul said the fish was gone.  Having seen this in the past I told him to reel the $%$^ing reel as fast as he could as I knew that fish was heading right for us.  I knocked the motors in gear and pushed ahead of the charging fish.  The line came tight as the fish swung to port and the battle continued to be waged.  I cleared the remaining 2 lines and started to position the boat for a gaff shot.  Paul handled the fish perfectly and on its first pass I sank the gaff home. After a hard lift we landed a great 56" -130lb fish on the deck and celebrated our win. 

I dressed the fish  and ice him down and we set out a 3 rod spread to do a little catch and release fishing as we had taken our limit for the day.  The bite slowed throughout the fleet and around 1100 we decided to call it a day and headed for the barn.  As we steamed for the harbor we both enjoyed the satisfaction that our game plan had come together and a great fish was on board.  The fall tuna run looks to be starting and this bite will only get better.  I plan on fishing these fish as much as possible in the coming weeks with both clients on board my boat and friends like Paul on my off days.  Tuna Wishin & Catching....it just doesn't get any better than that!

Capt. George