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 recieved most of the calls while I was fastened to the helm...conducting bass charters! In 2008, we will be right there! 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.

The early bluefin tuna fishery is a lot of fun for two reasons. The first is that the 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. Once they arrive east of Chatham and south of the Vinyard, 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.

We experienced some fantastic action in 2007 literally the entire season. We caught fish on every outing. Some of our most productive trips were canyon trips converted into bluefin trips as a result of rough weather in the middle of summer. The Robert Champaign crew experieneced incredible action in August catching over a dozen big tuna including a 75 inch corker. Mike Nash boated a 70 inch butterball and several other 50 to 60 inch class fish. The Dan Leredo crew broke the record in numbers catching 17 50 to 60 inch fish. The Bill Saunders crew caught over a dozen fish in a matter of a few hours, 4 of them caught by his six year old son! We also experienced some tremendous tuna fishing late in the season out there too. There was one day with the Dan Littleton party where we literally couldn't keep a bait in the water, totaling 16 fish to 60 inches. Most trips averaged at least a half of dozen fish. On almost all days, we saw surface action. We usually commense our bluefin tuna outings in the middle of June, as there is usually plenty of squid around, and the water temps are warm enough to hold fish. (over 50 degrees) If the weather is friendly enough, the early season tuna fishing can be excellent. Early departures are recommended as the bite is usually over by noon.

On most of the trips we experienced some fantastic 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. The fish actually allowed us to creep right up on them, and eventually swing the baits right on top of their noses. That was fun from the tower, especially when the tranquil spread of surface baits metamorphisized into a bombing raid of whitwater, and sickle fins. Later in the season, the tuna seemed to prefer natural swimming baits over the artificial squid.

The early season from late June right through late July and the late season from late September through October is prime time for catching good size bluefin tuna on the troll this year. I think the same will hold for next season. 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 foward to getting back at it sooner than later! Tight lines.