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Nothing beats kicking the offshore season off early, especially when you're returning back to port from the faraway frontier with a tasty fish tale....while other guys are rinsing off their bass gear. Who needs to wait until mid July anymore to catch tuna? The answer is nobody. Just like in the late 90's, vast bodies of schooling bluefin tuna were in town early, invading the waters east of Chatham and south of Marthas Vinyard in June. I found it hard to believe when I first heard the rumors flying around that there were big fish spotted by lobstermen in Cape Cod Bay in late May of this year. Then I heard more rumors, from friends of mine, that guys were catching fish. I received most of the calls while I was fastened to the helm...conducting bass charters. That was 2007. In 2008, we were right there to cash in on some fantastic early season fishing! It doesn't take long for us to start the scramble, for the cab of my truck to be full of bass rods, and my cockpit smothered in squid rigs. I planned ahead this year as I had bluefin on the brain as soon as the boat made it back to New England waters. For starters, I loaded up the freezer with fresh caught and hydro-gutted mackeral. I always start the season by getting some fresh macks. My mate Scotty and I spent a day preparing these tasty critters. It was well worth it! I also loaded up on a fresh load of ballyhoo with the boys from Badfish Outfitter Tackle. For those interested, the stuff they carry is the same stuff I use, and its all quality bait. We also caught a bunch of fresh squid in Nantucket sound, and vacum sealed those things in a little red food coloring and kosher salt brine. When we ran out, we used PanaPesca squid and those baits worked out great! If you're interested in learning more about how to catch, prepare, store, and rig your own bait, all of those tactics will be featured in the upcoming Castafari online seminar series in 2010.

The bluefin tuna fishery is a lot of fun for two reasons. You usually return home with enough tuna to feed your neighborhood. The second is that the fishing begins in June! When things kick off out there, the early fish are hungry and not very skittish. After all, they've been on the move, working their way north, on their annual migration, and when they finally take up residence for the summer in the great south channel, they get right down to business eating almost everything that swims and fits between their jaws. The waters north of the canyons, and even outside of the shelf are usually littered with bluefin tuna as well in the early season. Squid rigs always seem to work best this time of year, simply because squid is the primary course on the bluefin's menu during their northerly trek through offshore waters. We step things up a notch on the Castafari though, using a variety of natural swimming baits as stingers. All of our tricks will be featured in the Castafari online seminar! Once the fish arrive east of Chatham and south of the Vineyard, they begin to prey on herring, sandeels, and mackeral along with the local whale population, but squid are still on the bluefin's mind...believe me. We like to mix it up a bit and troll natural swimming baits as well as bars, depending on the light and sea conditions, but regardless of what mother nature has in store, we always have a couple of squid rigs in the water. This passed season, there were fish of all sizes showing up early on at the canyons and east of Chatham. Their migration seems to be along the continental shelf until they hit Hydrographer Canyon where they then turn north into the Great South Channel. The early season body of fish, from June through July, is usually comprised of 50 to 60 inch tuna with fish much bigger mixed in. The fish remain there throughout the season, but the most productive times to fish are in June, July, October, and November.

We experienced some fantastic action in 2008. We hooked 4 giants and caught 2. We caught fish on all but four outings. Some of our most productive trips were canyon trips converted into bluefin trips as a result of rough weather in the middle of summer. On our first early trip out we caught a bunch of fish, including a fat 74 inch butterball with Castafari celebrity guest, Allan Mullaney onboard. What a way to start the season! Al always catches fish with us whether its 536 pound thresher sharks, 600 pound blue marlin, water spouts...long story;) The Ackerman crew who have been fishing with me for several years enjoyed some great action with 50 to 60 inch fish, as did the Paul Shea and Rob Jacobs crew who boated a 70 inch fish after a heated battle. The early morning action was incredible. We had a few slow trips too where we found the fish, but they wouldn't cooperate. The Bob DeBonis, Newman Flannagan, and Kevin Considine crews experienced such action, but thats fishing. Things did slow down in early July for about a week or so. Every season is different. I personally would opt for a combo tuna/bass trip in the early season. This type of adventure would include an early departure at 3am, several hours of tuna fishing followed by several hours of bass fishing to end the day. Thats the beauty of early season tuna outings is the opportunity to fish for tuna and bass on the same day. The great thing about bass fishing is the bass bite is contingent on tide not time of day. So winding up chasing bass in the afternoon can be very productive!

We also experienced some tremendous tuna fishing late in the season out there too. We start these fall tuna trips when our canyon fishing outings end which is usally around the latter part of September. The Hyannis Anglers Club Bluefin Tuna tournament kicks things in gear for us each year. In 2008 we placed 2nd in this event with 5 time returning Castafari guests, the Buddah crew. These guys have won money with us on every event they have fished. We continued our bluefin tuna success out there averaging 7 to 8 shots a day at fish, and usually catching 4 or 5 fish from 50 to 86 inches. On almost all days in the fall, we saw surface action. The air is a bit cooler this time of year, but the fishing is excellent. The Dan McGillicuddy, Dana Cooper, Seth Henry, Joseph Eddy, Tim Riordan, John Kemp, Greg Adamovich, Jason Zataut, Tom Ward, and Jason Zataut parties all grappled with bluefin tuna in the fall, and some of the fish were no slouches. The Bill Leahy crew boated an 86 inch giant with us, caught on the troll...great fish! The Jason Zataut crew experienced an entire day with bent rods with 60 inch fish. We literally had tuna fish on the end of our lines for the entire day. We also hooked and lost a giant in the process.

On our bluefin trips produced fishing on the troll with fish from 50 to 150 pounds clobbering just about everything we towed behind the transom. On many days, the ocean's surface was teaming with schools of pushing and jumping tuna. Make sure to bring a video camera. You'll be amazed at what you see.

The early season from late June right through mid July and the late season from late September through October is prime time for catching good size bluefin tuna. We are planning to fish offshore the last two weeks of June and into July for bluefin. If the weather keeps us from reaching the canyons, bluefin tuna outings can save the day as they are usually a mere 15 to 25 miles from shore all season long. So keep that in mind if you have a canyon trip booked with us. Looking forward to getting back at it sooner than later! Tight lines.