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#1
09-22-2009, 12:14 PM
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Tuna?
Gasoline and deisel are what fuels fishing boats. Anticipation and adrenaline are what fuels the New England tuna fisherman.
Fishing for giant bluefin tuna is somewhat of a new sport to me, so like any other game it's a lot of fun to figure out, but at the same time can be very unproductive at the beginning. It takes a lot of time on the water, planning and thought to make it happen. I gather this from what I've been told anyway, because I have yet to hook up with a big tuna. Patterning is key. And there are patterns, although not obvious to the naked eye. I'm still working this out. From what I can tell it is like any other migratory fish pattern (stripers for instance). At certain points in the season there will be various bait movements and influxes. Time this with the seasonal movements of predators and the results can be epic. Time this incorrectly and the water will be empty. The water is not empty right now. It all seems to be connected. A banner year for this or that can equal a banner year for something else, then a banner year for that, etc.... Sand eels, atlantic herring, whiting, hake, etc... There are clues. Lot's of baitfish equals lots of smaller predators. Lots of smaller predators equals lots of bigger predators and so on. It's most definitely fractal in nature. Fractal in the sense that if you look at the big picture, then zoom in on a section, it looks very similar to the larger picture. Zoom in further on that smaller segment and it will appear similar to the previous level, still appearing the same as the overall view. Keep zooming in and so on... It's a wonderful way to look at sea life and it's absolutely true. If you're looking for bait while out bass fishing, after a while you begin to understand where you should look. Say you're looking for silversides. You know the general areas you can find them at different points of the season. Look closer and you see the similarities between the areas (structure, current, etc.) at different points of the year. Springtime look for them way up inside estuaries. You'll find them in small pockets along the shore, tucked in along channel edges, maybe holding in large groups fed by backeddies. In the summer you'll find these large schools further down the bay closer to the ocean behaving in the same manner, hanging in the same kinds of places. Later in the fall they move into oceanfront esstuaries and to the beach still behaving in the same manner. And so on... Pick another group of baitfish and you'll find a pattern. Look at the species that feed on them and they will appear to be behaving in a similar manner. The bass or bluefish move in schools to this or that type of area to follow these bait movements at different points of the year. When they do, they look for the same type of feeding opportunities they did in the other place. Looking at the bigger picture their behaviors looks very similar to that of their prey. I've used this premise as a starting point for my tuna hunting, an even larger predator. It seems like a logical place to start. A fractal view of nature is so consistent and true it's amazing. There is nothing random about the pattern. Even idividual fish exhibit the same behavior of the whole. Their choices are not random either. Amazing. So why can't I catch a big fish? That's not random I'm sure. I'm just not there yet. I'm getting closer though. Time and money are my only roadblocks. The tuna can feed and travel over a much larger area than my usual quarry but still the pattern appears similar. Seasonal bait movements in an area. Larger areas of deepwater structure that look very similar to the smaller areas I work for bass. It just takes more time to cover the area in search of the pattern. Commercial offshore fisherman are great resources of knowledge. They look for fish in different places at different tiimes of the year. The best captains do anyway. In this offshore world their quarry is the tuna's food. Find the bait find the fish. Find the fish then it's up to you to figure out how to catch them. I think it all boils down to presentation, specific location, and believe it or not, angles in the end. You need to find the fish to see what kinds of choices they will make. I have found fish, but not yet determined the nature of these choices. Speaking of commercial draggers, there is one type of pattern off southern New England of which these boats are a primary ingredient. Not only are they in the area of the tuna's quarry, but they are hauling it up from the depths and spilling wounded victims all along the surface. Once a school of tuna catches wind of what they are doing, these fish will hang with the dragger all day. I've seen it happen with smaller tuna plenty of times in the past. I've heard of the larger fish doing it, but have yet to see it myself. The fish remain with the dragger the same way seagulls hang with the boat from air. Birds work it from the top, the fish work it from the bottom. Didn't I mention something about fractals before? Hmmmm. There seems to be a pattern emerging here. Amazing. So how do you catch these fish when they are feeding behind a dragger? What's worked in the past is getting there attention with your own bait slick. If you keep feeding them, they will stay with you all day as well. It's a method that works and is the method most guys use out there to try and hook up, but is it the only method? I think not, and I hope I'm right, because sitting and bait fishing is not my favorite method of fishing. Besides, it only seems to work when the fish are either travelling through or actively feeding under a boat. It doesn't require you to gather insight into any other behaviors. It requires you to sit and wait or chase a dragger. I prefer to find and catch fish on there own terms. Figure out their patterns and you will be slave to nothing more than their prescence in one area and thier numbers. Rely on only one method that requires several unatural ingredients and you will spend a lot of time fishing in empty water pounding your head on the deck cursing luck for hating you. It is not luck though. It is choices we make based on a given set of variables. But sometimes catching tuna under draggers is the only way you can get them. That's because the draggers are creating the feeding environment. The fish will react because that feeding method requires them to do little work. But what do you do when there are no draggers? Now you have to think or you go home empty. This is where the best fisherman emerge from the group. These leaders setting the tone and steering the trends. Watch the leaders. When you get several guys together on a boat, they may all percieve these variables as telling them something different. The captain should know the most. But there are a few people involved in these trips, so we try to find a happy medium between the desires and preferences of each individual. A perpetual series of comprimises. This can be a handicap at times. Personally, I prefer a dictatorship aboard boats. As long as the captain is on his game that is. If he's not, then another crew member needs to make the calls and insure everyone follows through. Not everyone is fit to lead. On a boat with a crew we need to behave like a school of pelagic fish. The most competant dominant leader fish steers the school. The leader brings the school to the hunting grounds. The leader chooses the timing and angle of approach. The school reacts and begins the attack together in a way that allows all to feed successfully. When they are through, the group regathers and the leader brings them to the next location to do it again. But lone predators are some of the most sucessful hunters in the world too. That is something else to think about. It's all connected and I'm still working it out. I'll get my big tuna.
__________________
Tom 
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#5
09-22-2009, 03:56 PM
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Quote:
There were no tuna caught. There was a little thresher though, but he doesn't count.
__________________
Tom
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#7
09-23-2009, 12:08 PM
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Quote:
But the boat next to us landed a bigger one and got it in fast. The fish was green at the boat and you could hear its 7-8ft tail bashing the hull from several hundred yards away while they tried to harpoon it. They got it. Probably not without some bruises though.
__________________
Tom
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