Fishing Stories with French- Bluefin Tuna off of the Outer Banks

It is no secret that I love fishing, especially saltwater fishing. I don't begrudge the avid bass angler because I grew up with dreams of that big bucket mouth, but it still amazes me that people who love fishing will invest so much into boats, tackle, and time needed to catch a once in a lifetime ten pound bass instead of heading to the salt that truly leaves you in awe of the power of nature. I am a surf and pier rat, but despite a tendency to get seasick, I wanted to take a shot at getting offshore and tackling something that would test my patience and muscle unlike anything inshore. I found my match with bluefin tuna.

Blue and white marlin are the celebrities of the fishing world, but for pure speed and bulldog power, very little compares to the bluefin tuna. The TV show Wicked Tuna has brought more focus on the fishery in the last couple of years by filming a season from Oregon Inlet. The Outer Banks starts to see bluefin around this time of year, and the bite slows down in mid to late April as focus shifts south to yellowfin and mahi-mahi. Bluefin tuna are heavily regulated. You can only keep one PER BOAT per day between 60 and 73 inches long, and from the moment your gaff hits that fish the rest of your day is catch and release. For those looking for sushi, this may be disappointing, however I have yet to find a day where there wasn't plenty of muscle straining, heart pounding action. While a keeper fish will range from around 100-250 pounds, each boat gets one trophy tag per year. Oregon Inlet boats have kept fish up to 800 pounds in the past couple of years.

I got hooked on bluefin tuna fishing by accident. I got a promotion in 2009 and had some extra money. I found out that I could book a "make up" charter out of Oregon Inlet. Make up charters are a bit of a crap shoot. Basically, you pick a day, and you are charged $280 on your credit card. The marina staff will then look to put you together with other folks to make a full party of 6. You call at 4:00PM the day before your trip to see if you will go. If you do, you have to be at the marina the next morning. If they don't have a group for you, you get your money back. They assign the boat, but every Oregon Inlet boat I have been on is top notch. I got a wild hair and booked a make up trip in April. I found out that I had a group, so I left DC at 9:00PM and drove to Oregon Inlet, where I slept in my car until it was time to report to the boat.

I had been assigned to The Rigged Up. The other folks in the group included another one off from DC, a gentleman who had never caught a fish in the ocean, and a dad and his two sons from Morehead City, NC. We pushed off and headed south. The six of us drew cards for who would get the rod on the first bite. I got lucky and drew the top spot. We then settled in for the hour ride to the gulf stream to the southeast.

After lines in, we had almost an immediate hit. I cranked in a beautiful 37 pound wahoo.

As the day wore on, each of the other anglers landed a very nice yellowfin tuna.

We chatted about the bluefin tuna, but being late in the year I figured that we were going to keep on the yellowfin. The captain had a surprise in mind. Around lunchtime, we started to troll back to the north. Then all hell broke loose.

Around 1:00PM, the captain yelled that we were about to get smacked. Giant bluefin tuna started boiling all around us. Six rods went off at the same time and chaos ensued in the cockpit of the boat. Two of the lines touched and the pressure and friction snapped the lines, but four of us remained hooked up. As you can see by the film of the incident, nothing compares to the power of these fish. I am a big, relatively strong guy, and it completely whipped me.

Watch Bluefin Tuna on the Rigged Up in Sports|View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
*note the video is marked as mature content because the mate cracks the tuna's head with a bat

I ended up landed a 132 pound bluefin tuna.

The other fellows each released similarly sized fish after brutal battles (one guy had to stand up against his fish for the first half of the fight.) After about an hour and a half, we were all finished and heading back to dock.

I have had the opportunity to chase bluefin twice since that trip. Our second trip, I managed an 80 incher (275-325 pounds) that I had to release, but I had the benefit of a harness. In 2011, I got to take my parents, and the three of us worked together to land a 230 pounder, and I released two other fish that were two big to keep, again with the help of a harness. Here is the best photo I took that shows the backbreaking power of these fish.

But, nothing captured the amazement of that first time offshore.

We have a great community here, and I know some of you enjoy fishing. Please let me know if you enjoyed this story, and I will try to share more and perhaps get a group of folks together for some adventure quests. Until next time, tight lines!