Football Tuna Trip Success
It was a spectacular sunrise as Rick Schwartz and I carefully made our way out of Ryder's Cove and into Pleasant Bay, Chatham on Fri Aug 19, 2005. Smooth going until we hit the surf at the break. Outgoing tide and incoming surf made for a very bumpy crossing in Rick's 18.5' Sea Pro CC. We made it through the break and pounded our way out. This was my third trip offshore off Chatham with Rick in search of the elusive bluefin tuna. Last year we made an epic voyage out to the BC Buoy in the fog and struck out on the tuna.
Earlier this year we made another foggy foray to the BC Buoy again and then on the way back in we found the "fleet" and marked the spot on Rick's GPS. We were late to the party but saw a number of hookups around us before the action subsided. No fish in the boat but a big step up in learning how to fish for tuna. Humpback & Minke Whales and Atlantic White Sided Dolphins among other wildlife made the trip worthwhile. Rick made another trip with Saltie Steve Unsworth and met success on Wed August 17 (see his post on the BB.). My turn was next.
Leaving Ryder's Cove, passing Nauset beach houses:
Approaching the Chatham Break; Look closely for the whalespout in the wake (also pink squid bar):
Rick 'Big Tuna' Schwartz tight to a small bluefin tuna; Dick Nicholson with his first Cape Cod football tuna:
Rick Schwartz with another football tuna; Rick & Dick and the "Mean Tuna Machine":
We used the standard pink squid bar rig and knockoff Green Machine squid daisy chain and guess what was inside the stomach of our fish (you can keep only one on the $22 recreational license) ...two whole 8-9" squid! As in most fishing, being in the right place at the right time is important; technique and gear is next. These fish were approx 32" long with 22" girth and weighed 20 - 25#. Small by bluefin standards. fish up to 60" were reported on the radio but most were schoolies like these. Rick and Steve Unsworth caught one est at 48" and 80# two days earlier.
OK, its a relatively small boat (we were the smallest out of 25-30 boats we saw) to go out 10 - 20 mi in the Atlantic through 5' standing waves at the break ...but heck thats where the fish are and we had 'paid our dues' to learn how to capture this beautiful game fish and we had the tuna fever. The return trip was very smooth.
Jill Schwartz's recipe for Seared Sesame Tuna w/ Orange Sauce has been posted in the recipe section ...it is excellent!
Dick Nicholson, Salties Webmaster and Fisherman