The School Tuna Bite
Cape Cod's school tuna bite has been phenomenal over the past few years. Fish of all sizes and shapes have infiltrated Cape Cod's waters each season. I've been fortunate to have witnessed these fish each of the past few season's while Fishing Cape Cod.
Most of the action on school sized fish will be centered on Stellwagen Bank. However there are many tuna haunts other than Stellwagen that produce plenty of school tuna. Fortunately for small boat tuna anglers, the trek to Stellwagen is not always necessary.
The waters east of Plymouth have held large numbers of tuna the past couple of autumns. If the half beaks return, there will probably be tuna again this fall within just a few miles of the Plymouth coast. When tuna are targeting half beaks, the bluefins will often propel themselves straight clear of the water. A 300 plus pound giant tuna coming clear of the water is an impressive sight to say the least.
Keeping your eyes peeled for signs of tuna during the ride to and from the Bank can pay big dividends.
Some of the more popular methods for catching school tuna when Fishing Cape Cod include jigging and popping using “beefed” up spinning gear. Popping for tuna is best when the fish show on the surface. It is difficult to beat the excitment created by a large tuna smashing a topwater offering.
When the fish stay deep, jigging will present anglers with a reasonable chance at hooking up. Beefing up your tackle is a necessity when spin fishing. Substandard hooks and split rings will quickly be exploited by a hard fighting bluefin.
The key is to successfully taking tuna on spinning gear lies in developing a game plan that works for your boat, crew and budget.
Cape Cod's school tuna bite has been phenomenal over the past few years. Fish of all sizes and shapes have infiltrated Cape Cod's waters each season. I've been fortunate to have witnessed these fish each of the past few season's while Fishing Cape Cod.
Most of the action on school sized fish will be centered on Stellwagen Bank. However there are many tuna haunts other than Stellwagen that produce plenty of school tuna. Fortunately for small boat tuna anglers, the trek to Stellwagen is not always necessary.
The waters east of Plymouth have held large numbers of tuna the past couple of autumns. If the half beaks return, there will probably be tuna again this fall within just a few miles of the Plymouth coast. When tuna are targeting half beaks, the bluefins will often propel themselves straight clear of the water. A 300 plus pound giant tuna coming clear of the water is an impressive sight to say the least.
Keeping your eyes peeled for signs of tuna during the ride to and from the Bank can pay big dividends.
Some of the more popular methods for catching school tuna when Fishing Cape Cod include jigging and popping using “beefed” up spinning gear. Popping for tuna is best when the fish show on the surface. It is difficult to beat the excitment created by a large tuna smashing a topwater offering.
When the fish stay deep, jigging will present anglers with a reasonable chance at hooking up. Beefing up your tackle is a necessity when spin fishing. Substandard hooks and split rings will quickly be exploited by a hard fighting bluefin.
The key is to successfully taking tuna on spinning gear lies in developing a game plan that works for your boat, crew and budget.
Catching Giants at Cape Cod
For many fishermen, their ultimate dream is successfully landing a giant bluefin tuna. Giants around Cape Cod have been known to exceed the 1,000 pound mark. Many of these fish are taken on live bait. Mackerel, pogies and bluefish are all prime baits for Cape Cod's giant bluefins.
Readily available outside many of the Cape harbors are Atlantic mackerel. Macks can be easily found early in the tuna fishing season, however they will prove more difficult to locate once July rolls around. Balloon and kite fishing are popular Cape Cod methods for presenting mackerel to oversize tuna. Fishing with a kite is the live bait equivalent to topwater plug fishing. Impressive strikes ensue when a tuna decides to crash a kite bait.
Live pogies are another viable option for live lining a tuna. Menhaden can be cast and gill netted in many of the Cape's back bays and estuaries. Expect to put some serious time in if you hope to procure a live well full of menhaden on your own. An easier option is paying for live bait. A few very talented Cape Cod locals sell live pogies throughout the tuna season. These guys will fill your live well with fresh pogies at a reasonable price. However there are those days when even the pogie expert fails to catch enough pogies for the fleet.
Many Cape Cod fishing veterans claim that live bluefish is the best bait to use when targeting giants. Bluefish are referred to as "tuna candy" in this neck of the woods. The problem is that it always seems easy to catch bluefish when you do not want them, and extremely hard to catch them when you do need them for tuna bait. Transporting live bluefish from Cape Cod's bays to the tuna grounds is another challenge.
My crew and I have had success catching bluefish before a trip at Race Point in Provincetown and in Buzzards Bay. However the extra mileage and time spent making the run to Provincetown or Buzzards Bay for bait really puts a dent in the gas tank, as well as eating up valuable tuna fishing time.
Catching bluefish before a tuna trip and holding them in bait cages is a smart way to guarantee fresh bait the morning of a tuna trip. Getting the bluefish alive to the tuna grounds is another challenge entirely. Yet putting in the effort can pay off big time, and can be the difference in catching a giant or going home empty handed.
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