Another Nice Bluefin Tuna on the Black Rose
Capt. Rich Antonino
August 15, 2009
Stellwagen Bank - Saltwater Fishing Report
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Today was a 6-hour tuna trip. We delivered and then some. It was a great day on the water, to start. Amazing weather and great guys. Upon setting up our drift, we marked some awesome fish. With very little wind and a "rush" on my part to get the kite up, I took a good header while trying to climb up to the roof to fly the kite. I'm sore, but not broken. We got the kite up and got slammed by a monster within minutes. It was awesome, other than seeing the hook rising to the kite! Next bait....Slam. Miss. Then a striper comes by and slams it. Damn.
So we're jigging while waiting and hammering huge stripers and big blues. That was fun. Another hour passes and we reset our drift with a new bait. It went frantic right away. What a rush. Bluefish nails it and eats it in half. Next bait. Same fate. I'm pissed, but we're marking great fish down deep. More jigging; more blues and stripers. I'm on the roof watching the bait....It just starts screaming to the bow. That's no blue! TUNA! Matt, back from EMC for the weekend with me, sets the hook as the fish parallels the boat and rushes forward. I get the kite out of the water and the customers clear the deck and pull the bluefish out of the water (on the 130).
The Titus Gold is tight, but no line is going out. It's really tight; Matt can't move it. We can't figure out what is going on. I mean, he can't pull the fish and it isn't taking line at all. It's straight down. I'm afraid that the fish is wrapped in a line or net. Nothing. Matt is on the rod because of the strangeness of the battle. After "dragging this fish" for a 1/4 mile, I figure it isn't on a rope, so Carl (40th birthday) is on and the battle is on! Tug of war. Pure tug of war. Carl wins, but gets wiped out. Matt takes it for the last 5 minutes and circles the fish to the boat. It was the strangest battle ever. It never ran. Ever. It sounded and then circled. That's it. 20 minute battle. When it was over, a fat 60" tuna was laying on the deck with a harpoon dart in one pectoral fine and out the other (I crushed it, if I do say so myself).
What a surprise 40th birthday event for a group of guys. Nice time out there! See you on the water in cyberspace, Capt. Rich Antonino, Black Rose Fishing Charters, 508-269-1882
Target Species:
bluefin tuna
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