10/20/09: Bluefin tuna on surface poppers!!!

[JDL]

Headed up to the Cape Cod area to fish for bluefin by casting poppers and other lures to tuna breaking on the surface. Headed out of Green Harbor with Capt Dom Petrarca at 6am in search of fish. We quickly found a pod of fish busting bait. Had a fish blast a popper just feet from the boat. After a brutal hour long fight, got a 66" 175lb bluefin in the boat. It is the largest tuna I have caught to date, and on spinning tackle! The fish was caught on a Van Staal 250 with 80lb braid on an OTI tuna sniper rod 60/80.

Fish were busting the surface the rest of the day, but we only had a few swings and misses. There were many different size classes of fish, and we saw tuna airing out from 50lbs up to a 600+lb monster that jumper 30 feet from the boat!
Truly an amazing experience. Capt Dom is one of the best captains I have ever fished with and worked very hard to keep us on fish all day. Here is his website if anyone is interested in booking a trip:

http://www.coastalcharterssportfishing.com/

Here are the pics from the day:













Provincetown, Cape Cod

[bolo]

Excellent job JDL.

[fishnfool73]

Great catch. What type of popper ?

[REEL CAST]

very nice

[JDL]

Great catch. What type of popper ?

Thanks!!!
Its called a wave dancer made by Ocean Tackle International (OTI). Its built tough with 300lb wire running through the plug.

[bolo]

JDL, how much for the charter? Were you able to keep your fish or they sold it and gave you a percentage?

[JDL]

JDL, how much for the charter? Were you able to keep your fish or they sold it and gave you a percentage?

$900 for the boat for the day...up to 4 ppl. All fish belong to the charter and are not sold.

[SD2]

Thats awesome! The look on your face says it all.

[Frogfish101]

Wave dancers are good lures! You should also try sluggos, shibukis, and runboh's!

[JDL]

Wave dancers are good lures! You should also try sluggos, shibukis, and runboh's!

Have you seen Hogy's? They're like sluggos, but the action is much better IMHO.

[PhishingPhanatic]

Very nice JD when you say all fish belong to the charter does this mean you do not get to keep any meat for yourself?

No, he means that they got to keep all of the fish for themselves. Great report Justin, I showed this to my cousin who used to commercial tuna fish at the Cape (harpooning) and he said that he didn't even know there was a surface popper fishery for them. How deep were you?

[JDL]

Very nice JD when you say all fish belong to the charter does this mean you do not get to keep any meat for yourself?

No, he means that they got to keep all of the fish for themselves. Great report Justin, I showed this to my cousin who used to commercial tuna fish at the Cape (harpooning) and he said that he didn't even know there was a surface popper fishery for them. How deep were you?

75-200 feet. The fish go all the way back into the bay and some guys have even caught them in 30 feet. Right off the cape the water drops off pretty quick as well, so you can be 1/2 mile offshore in 175 feet of water. I was also told that during the spring some striper fishermen hooked them in the surf...and promptly got spooled