Me and my crew got an early start this morning and headed up the line in search of a bluefin or two.

There have been some of the big boys around, but as luck (or lack of) would have it, there wasn't a giant bluefin caught in the Hatteras or Oregon Inlet fleet today. We weren't set up to catch yellowfins, but they were very abundant. We did manage to land a dozen in the 20-30 pound range, and if we would have had our yellowfin spread out, it could have been ugly! We also caught a small mako shark and one out of a couple dolphin bites. For a charter, it would have been super fishing.
Check out the picture of the two yellowfins. Notice anything missing on the one in the front? It has no pectoral fin. I've never seen one like that!

We gave the blackfins a try today, in spite of the windy northwest conditions.

There was no shortage of action on the vertical jigs, but it seemed that sharks had inhabited the same area that the tuna have been. We got plenty of tuna bites, but almost every time we hooked a fish of any size, it got eaten by a shark. We had close to 20 fish eaten, most of which we assume were blackfins. We managed to land three. There were plenty of false albacore as well, but the guys usually get those to the boat fast enough that the sharks don't get too many of them. Hopefully the sharks will clear out! Thanks for a fun trip Al.

.....for 2012!

Justin and I have spent a blustery few days in the boatyard doing our annual haul out. Back overboard tomorrow morning and ready for another great season! Can't wait for you to join us! Oh, if you are itching to go fishing now, there are several options including yellowfin and blackfin tuna. Fishing has been really good.