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tuna

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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rigdvr

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May 28, 2002
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Well since Ive been so controvertial lately, I decided to add something a little more relative to the board :)

REcently the tuna/wahoo season has started here and I have made four trips so far. We hunt tuna on the midnight lump off Louisiana, also home to some very large hammerheads, bulls, dusky and host to a spawning aggregation of mature mako sharks. This makes it an extremely challanging place to dive. Add to this the fact that the lump is no secret and often there will be 100+ boats chumming on it.

First two trips were with Anderson. The water was simply not diveable. The murk layer on top seemed bottomless and we never did get in any vlean water. The curious hammerheads had to get VERY close to check you out which always makes things interesting.

Trip 3 is a whole different story. I get a phone call from a buddy who tells me stories of bluewater and giant tuna so we make a plan to go the following day. My first day of classes this semester but we're talking about TUNA! The run to the lump was ROUGH...6-8ft seas. Anchoring in the 200 ft depths was challenging that day to say the least....but the water was BLUE. WE begin chumming and shortly thereafter enter the water. Bonita's everywhere as far as you can see. They swim so fast its unbelievable. The big sharks were home but they dont come in near as close when they can see you from 60 feet away. :girlie Shortly after entering the water by buddy shoots and lands a small yf tuna of about 30 lbs. I am getting pumped! After another hour of seeing nothing, I begin to get seasick from a combination of the extremely rough seas and starring into the bottomless blue so I get on the boat and take a nap.

An hour or so later we start catching blackfin tuna on rod and reel. I am busy with the gaff but my buddy slips over the side while the others fish. In quick order he shoots 2 blackfin which makes me forget all about gaffing for the fisherman...its time to get back in the water with the long range gaff!

Almost immediately the anglers on board hook up with a BIG fish and the two of us diving are forced into the boat to keep ourselves and our gear from getting in the way. 2 hours and five people with multiple turns on the rod we land a 172# yellow fin. Needless to say it wasnt long before we slipped back in. I spot several big tunas feeding onour chum about 20-30ft down. My dives prove fruitless as I have never shot at fish like this. They are moving very fast but dont appear to be moving at all. The shot you think is a head shot fall behind the tail. That good size tuna 20 ft away is really a huge on 30 ft away. All in all we try to get some for the next 45 min before we are forced to leave for the long ride home, which includes the fog of the Mississippi River. I did hit one I would estimate at 180-190 :head but it didnt last long. My buddy did get a great shot on one about 130-150 only to have a 15 ft hammerhead take the fish as we tried to drag it in the boat :hmm

All in all trip 3 was a great learning experience. Now as you can bet, I am amped for the next opportunity to hunt them. Well a week later I get my chance...the only problem is I have a cold. No big deal, I'll deal with it. This might be our last chance for a while as the river level is approaching the highest its been in 10 years which will push the dirty water out making diving impossible. Well it rough again but not quite as bad. When we get to the lump the water is NASTY green. I mean you cant see the chum drift 2 feet down. After fishing an hour or so and watching a couple of boats around us hook nice fish I decide to jump in and see how deep the murk is...well to my surprise it is only a 3ft layer on the surface! Below that it is gorgeous blue. Laying on the top, I cant see the end of my arms but I can feel them dangling into the warm bluewater below. Kinda makes you feel uneasy...like a big floating "mako magnet" :girlie On dive 2 I see a fat tuna swimming deep...probably 70 ft or so down. Instead of chasing him I try to regroup on the surface...dive 3 I get a reverse squeeze and my sinuses feel like they are going to blow the front of my forehead off! Thats it for the day. Unbelievable.

Right now the spawning wahoo are moving in. The water seems to be ok from the reports but I am still sick. The fisherman are catching 5-12 wahoo in a half day trolling before they go anchor for tuna...several have been over 100 and the average is 60. Just thought I'd share my misery.....
'Mike
 
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Sounds like interesting diving Mike , not quite so sure about the green water layer over the blue with bities in.
sounds a bit too funky for my tastes. but you never know until you get there I suppose.
That lump sounds like a mad ol' spot alright.
 
nice story, I hope you will land a nice one soon
 
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