Sport
Fishing Magazine, August 2000
(Pictured
above is author Jim Chambers (left), Capt. Gary Cannell (right) and mate Dean
Horne of the Tuna Hunter
straining to boat a
901 lb giant fought for an hour and 15 minutes off Rockport, Mass)
"HUNTING
GIANTS"
Ten Tactics Top Skippers Use to Catch Once-in-a-Lifetime Giant Bluefin
By Jim Chambers
"I caught my own world-record, 927-pound giant bluefin right 'out front'
here in 1940 - on a hickory rod that was later used by Ted Williams for his
400-pounder. It took me more than three hours because the drag - and my line -
weren't strong enough back then. And our fighting chair was a barber chair! I
was afraid I'd lose some of my inexperienced anglers over the rail as some
others had, so I roped 'em into the boat. One guy fishing from someone else's
boat popped up only after the line broke between him and the giant. They never
found another guy [from another boat] who went over the side." The words of Capt. Malcolm Hudson of
World's Toughest Big-Game Fish
Professionals
who should know will usually tell you that bluefin are in fact the toughest of
all big-game fish. Capt. Jack Cashman of Toms River, New Jersey - who's probably caught more big giant
bluefin than anyone - says, "Big marlin are spectacular, but their
jumps and acrobatics wear them out. Giant bluefin have more power and stamina
than any other species. And once you've caught one, it spoils you for other
big-game fishing."
Another pro in
the know: Capt. Al Ristori of
Ristori caught
his 1,000-pounder while fishing with Capt. Bob Pisano of
In 1976, Pisano
had landed what would have been the world record at 1,275 pounds, but a week
later, Ken Fraser caught the 1,496-pound giant off
By any angler's
standard, catching a massive giant has to be considered an ultimate thrill in
the sport of fishing - the catch of a lifetime. Although bluefin are found in
all the world's warmer
oceans, the largest specimens with warm blood maintained by a unique
heat-exchange system and protected by so much body mass, range into cooler waters
which contain more prey. While bluefin
can exceed 2,000 pounds (they reach maturity at 8 years old and about 620 lbs),
the term "giant" designates those weighing at least 320 pounds.
However, the emphasis here will be on "large giants" - behemoths of
500 to over 1,000 pounds. As you would expect, success for such a trophy means
lots of preparation with the right gear fished in the optimal way in the best
areas. The following offers a 10-step approach to gearing up, finding, fooling
and fighting monstrous bluefin from some of the best giant-tuna skippers in the
Northeast - and the world.
1. Target Top Locations
The coast off
Giant fishing
in
Since the
largest bluefin migrate the farthest north, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia
and the Gulf of Maine all rate as tops for really big giants, especially during
September.
2. Fish the Edge
Primary
Pisano's
records confirm that simple fact: He says that from
"Especially
good spots," Colabella adds, "are the steepest drop-offs, generally
from 140 to over 300 feet deep, often on the 'backsides' of these submerged
banks." Here, currents and upwellings concentrate smaller fish and other
prey, attracting giant tuna. They use the wall to trap prey, which finds its
only escape is up.
By name, some
of the Northeast's best spots for large giants include: the Rockpile, Outer
Flag, Old Scantum, Cove, Gully and Curl in the Jeffrey's Ledge area, according
to
Trolling with daisy
chains of mackerel or artificials such as squid produces best at the beginning
of the season. But Pisano notes that, "A giant, which stays deep, needs
something worthwhile to come up for - like a string of nine mackerel."
"The early
fish don't seem to settle into the chum slicks very well. They may be more
concerned with going somewhere than with feeding actively," says Ristori.
But once the fish have established a daily routine and are feeding heavily,
it's more productive to intercept them by anchoring over steep drop-offs and by
chunking (chumming with chunks of baitfish).
This article
focuses on the technique of chunking. Typically, chunkers use pieces of herring
to draw tuna to "hook-baits" suspended at various depths using
balloons as floats. Ideally, the anchor is positioned so that the boat stays
over the middle of the drop-off as it swings around with changes of tide and
wind. Pisano says, "Being exactly on the middle of the edge is
critical." According to Joey Jancewicz, another top giant fisherman from
3. Fish
Where There's Life
Cashman and
Pisano look for areas where they see evidence of abundant life - bait, whales,
sharks, birds. "If you find a whale feeding, you can be sure there's a
giant there," Pisano says. Even an area with a perfectly flat bottom and
no apparent vertical structure nearby can be an excellent site if it supports
lots of prey - and giants prey on everything they can swallow.
By using a
quality color sounder, a bluefin's "mark"
can be distinguished from blue sharks. Bluefin appear as red
"gumballs" in either a full or partial yellow arch; blue sharks,
which move much more slowly, appear as horizontal blue or green marks. Sounders
also show the density and depth of schools of prey species - typically Atlantic
herring, whiting (actually silver hake) and sand eels (sand lance) - that
appear as reddish clouds at various depths.
4. Use the Right Tackle for the Job
Penn's 2-speed
130ST remains the standard among most would-be giant killers, matched with
either a 130-pound or unlimited-class bent-butt rod.
Cashman says,
"Unlimited-class rods are actually too stiff for most anglers to properly
fight a large giant. The best 130-pound-class rods, 8 feet long with an
80-pound tip, were made by Hardy of England, but these days, Fenwick's 7-foot
130s are almost as good." And for fishing from the bow of smaller boats
like center consoles, Cashman says, "It's fine to use Penn's 80STW with
matching rod, but use 130-pound test."
Most top
captains - such as Gary Cannell
of
"The key
is to get penetration in a very hard mouth," Cashman says. He files down
barbs to reduce overall diameter, dulls hook points to prevent their bending
and uses vicegrips to offset the point beyond the eye of the hook to increase
its chance of penetrating. Hooks are attached using a precision crimping tool
and aluminum sleeves developed by the airline-manufacturing industry for
crimping metal cables. Jinkai makes crimps and crimpers.
5. Chunk 'Em
In
Chunking, a
critical element in determining a boat's success, must attract giants, not feed
them. Done correctly, they can be lured right to the transom and there be fed a
hook-bait. Herring - usually the only bait available in quantity - are each cut
into four chunks and, as with hook-baits, taken off ice to warm before use so a
giant won't feel abnormal cold and spit out a bait.
Chunking begins
as soon as the anchor goes over the side and continues throughout the day until
a fish is hooked. "Dispersing chunks so that they drift down through the
pattern of hook-baits is as important as it may be difficult - especially since
subsurface currents can easily be very different from those at the surface,
says Cannell. "We drop three or four chunks in a circular pattern about 30
feet apart and let 'em sink out of sight before dropping more."
"The boat
should be anchored so that the chunks drift down to deeper water or along the
drop-off, not up on top of the bank," Pisano says. "It's essential to
keep the pattern constant throughout the day with no interruption of the slick."
Cashman points
out, "It's also wise to avoid placing chunks in a line since giants can
take them all in a single pass. You want the fish to do figure eights through
your hook-baits."
Pisano and
Cannell are among skippers who believe in keeping the chunk pattern constant
even if a giant is marked on the sounder. Cashman disagrees, however: "If
we mark giants, I'll throw lots of chunks over to get their attention and keep
the fish there. It takes a large giant 30 seconds to turn around and come back.
Would it do that for only one or two chunks?"
Excessive
chunking draws dogfish up from the bottom to the hook-baits. They appear as
faint blue or green marks on the sounder. Nor is filling the chunk pail with
water to ladle over the side with chunks a good idea, tempting as it may be;
the blood draws blue sharks. Once sharks find the hook-baits, it's time to
move. "When both giants and sharks are present, it's best to rely on live
baits over chunks," says Cannell.
6. Prepare
Baits With Care
As shown,
hook-baits require meticulous preparation (Capt Gary Cannell preparing the hookbaits), typically during the trip out.
You want them to look like the hookless herring chunks that will be drifting
down around them. Bury the hooks and insert a piece of Styrofoam to offset the
hook's weight and produce neutral buoyancy, so the bait floats naturally with
the currents. Some captains such as Cannell bury the hook completely but
others, like Cashman, like the hook point exposed for better penetration.
"Do you think a giant knows what a hook is?" he asks.
Live baits,
especially bluefish, attract giants at least as effectively as any dead bait.
The giants' primary prey can usually be caught on-site using diamond jigs or
sabiki rigs fished just above the bottom.
Bridle them
with standard techniques, securing the hook over the head using 20- to 25-pound
Dacron line or copper wire. Or, like Colabella, just hook them through the
back.
7. Place Baits at Prime Depths
Generally,
hook-baits are fished at about 30, 60, 90 and 120 feet. Cashman, Pisano,
Ideally the
boat is riding over the edge of a steep drop-off in something like 220 feet.
Attach a sinker (8 to 14 ounces, depending on current strength at depth) about
30 feet above the hook-bait and lower very slowly (to avoid tangling) to the
pre-selected depth below each balloon (which is also secured to the line by a
rubber band). It's wise to mark on each reel the depth at which its hook-bait
will always be fished.
Allow the
shallowest bait to drift farthest from the boat (perhaps 200 feet) and fish the
deepest bait (best for livies) just off the stern.
Baits should be
checked frequently and replaced every hour since their scent becomes washed
out. Using swivel-base rod holders in the gunwales, rotate rods as the baits
drift to different positions. Often the combination of wind, tide and
subsurface currents carries baits forward rather than behind the boat.
A secret weapon
of top skippers: fishing a "working line" by hand, allowing the bait
to float down with chunks through the optimum strike zone of 90 to 120 feet,
raising it again and repeating the process. (The working line replaces the deep
line fished straight down off the stern.) The technique is not advisable for
novice anglers, but for those with experience it can be very effective.
"Using a
split-tail bait that 'swims' in the current can sometimes be most effective for
giants," Cashman points out. "Remove the entire backbone and sew the
two flanks together with the hook sewn in near the vent [anus]. It works best
in a strong current coming from the bow or from either side, but not from the
stern. Use a 20-ounce weight placed 30 to 40 feet forward of the bait, and send
it down to 120 feet or wherever the strongest currents are running."
According to
the many consistently successful giant-bluefin skippers I've spoken with, in
addition to the right equipment, patience and persistence are the most
important factors determining success. "Believe in your strategy and stick
with it," Jancewicz says.
8. Be Ready
for the Hookup
Hooking a giant
can produce panic among inexperienced crews. Make sure each crewmember fully
understands pre-assigned roles so he will perform them as calmly as possible
when the time comes. There's no room for error in giant fishing. The sport
demands extreme caution. "While waiting for a hook-up, don't stand near
the rods, and keep your hand off the line and reels," Cannell warns.
During the hookup of a giant with Pisano, an inexperienced angler lost a thumb.
(Saved in a plastic bag, the digit was successfully sewn back on by surgeons.)
Giants usually
take a bait at high speed and the balloon disappears.
If the giant doesn't set the hook on its own, do it for the fish immediately by
reeling hard. Giants initially bolt in a straight line that often takes them
under the boat, toward the anchor line or toward other anchored boats.
Monofilament moving through the water so fast can easily cut right through an
anchor line.
The helmsman
must chase the tuna regardless of which direction it heads, before the rod man
winds up "smoked." Giants are capable of bursts over 60 mph and
sustained runs that can easily strip all the heavy line off a 130 before a
skipper can maneuver his boat through the anchored fleet and catch up. Using a
pelican hook with a line to the helm allows for quick release from the anchor
line and ball.
9. Fight 'Em
Right
Sport fishermen
generally fight giants from a fighting chair with standard bucket harness and
the more adventurous fight them stand-up;
commercial fishermen, on the other hand, usually fight giants with the rod left
in swivel-base rod holders mounted in the gunwales. "It's important to
maintain constant, moderate pressure to whip the fish while preventing the hook
from pulling out," says Cashman. For smaller boats, that makes rough seas
(which seem to excite big tuna) a difficult and dangerous situation when trying
to fight a fish in a rocking boat, according to Jancewicz.
Top rod men,
like Cashman, who's caught over 300 giants, want the fish to "run as far
as it can so that it will exhaust itself." He reasons, "Think how
you'd feel after running back a kick-off a hundred yards for a touchdown."
So while many set drags at 40 or 50 pounds and push them up to 80 or 90 when
the fish runs, Cashman does the opposite.
"I never
use a high drag setting because that causes the hook to pull out. In fact, I
keep the drag at 25 pounds for the strike and throughout most of the fight. I
may even drop it down a little to encourage a big fish to run. If he wants to
make a second run, that's great. I'll encourage him to do just that by backing
off on the drag." Cashman says that, toward the end of the fight, he may
push the drag up or thumb the spool with both thumbs to add increased pressure
on the fish.
"During
the course of the fight, I'll keep steady pressure on all the time because I
want the fish to head my way. I figure that to reduce the pain caused by the
hook, the giant will turn back toward me. I keep the rod tip bent constantly.
If I rest, so does the fish. I don't want that to happen."
Cashman lifts weights
and runs throughout the year to maintain the strength and stamina needed to
battle giants. "I try to have the fish whipped in less than 45
minutes," he says.
Pisano's
approach is different. "Giants run for 300-plus yards whether the drag is
set at 90 or 2 pounds. It doesn't matter; because they close their mouth (for
maximum speed), they run until they're out of oxygen. Then, the trick is to get
on top of them before they can recover."
10. Boat 'Em Safely
"In wiring
a tuna," says Pisano, "never take a wrap around your arm or hand.
Once I got careless and did it with a 500-pounder. Line became tangled in both
hands as I tried to free myself. I ended up pinned against the gunwale.
Luckily, the fish didn't take off. Without hesitation my green mate cut off the
fish. Saved my hands and maybe my life."
Pisano once saw
a commercial hand-liner pulled over and down to his death. He also saw a
blue-marlin "expert" try to wire a giant by taking a wrap around his
arm and then go flying over the rail. "He was getting really deep and, as
we were trying to decide what to do, the swivel broke and the skipper could
pull him up," shaken but alive.
At the end, the
rod man must be ready to back off the drag to prevent any final lunges from
pulling the hook or breaking the strained line. He must also watch to ensure
that the line doesn't become wrapped around the rod tip. The crew also has its
hands full keeping the tuna from getting under the boat where the line could be
cut by the props.
Many of the
best skippers recognize that the biggest mistake made by some helmsmen is to be
overly concerned about a fish getting under the boat. "They try too hard
to prevent this. But gunning the boat forward itself can easily cause the hook
to pull or the severely stressed line to break."
However, it's
hard for helmsmen to see where the giant is positioned and heading, so he must
depend on getting help from the mate and angler.
Giants released
can survive, according to the pros, if not injured severely and if revived
sufficiently at boat-side. However, revival may be impossible after a prolonged
fight of 45 minutes or longer.
When a giant
that will be kept has finally been brought close enough to the boat, it's
harpooned - ideally at a spot right behind the pectoral fin. With the help of
gaffs, the crew tries to get lines on the tail so that it can be towed and
finished quickly. Large giants must be brought over the rail using a block and tackle hung from a bracket on the tower. Under
no circumstances should a large giant be brought into the boat alive.
To Charter a Giant Bluefin Trip
A trip with a
top captain can make a world of difference for anglers - whether novices or
experienced - who intend to pursue the largest giants. Among many experienced
skippers, three who can be contacted for giant-bluefin charter trips:
Capt. Gary
Cannell (
Capt. Pete
Kaiser (
Capt.
Al Anderson (Narragansett, Rhode Island), 401-783-8487 www.netsense.net/~prowler/
PHOTO CAPTIONS:
page 71
Capt. Gary Cannell (far left) and the author (bottom right) put the 10-step
approach to work to hook and land this 900-pounder on the last day of the
season in September 1998 off Massachusetts.
page 72 (top)
The larger the bluefin, the farther north (and deeper) they roam, relying on
body mass and warm blood to cope with cold waters rich in baitfish.
page 72 (bottom)
Large red marks show three giants in the 900-pound range as marked by Capt.
Gary Cannell on his depth sounder. His anglers fought two and landed one.
page 73 (top)
Top skippers go to great lengths to prepare chunk baits that look nearly the
same to keen-eyed tuna as do the other free-drifting chunks they're tossing
out. This system uses a piece of Styrofoam to compensate for the hook's weight,
so the chunk sinks at the same rate as those without hooks. Fins should be
snipped as close to the body as possible. Although shown here in color to make
it more visible, the mono leader will of course be clear.
page 73 (bottom)
Capt. Jack Cashman, one of the Northeast's top giant-bluefin skippers, enjoys
this 950-pound fruit of his labors taken several years ago fishing the Mud Hole
off
page 74
Some of the largest giants occasionally form what scientists call a "soldier formation," according to tuna
biologist Dr. Molly Lutcavage at the New England Aquarium. "We believe
they represent sentry schools," she says, noting that such formations have
never been seen feeding. But, like much about giant bluefin, most of the
answers to this pattern remain a mystery.
page 75 (top)
While Jeffrey's Ledge and Stellwagen Bank account for many giants taken every
year, much of the coast off the Northeast and Maritimes is loaded with popular
spots, many not far from shore.
page 75 (bottom)
Most experienced bluefin skippers in the Northeast look for giants anytime they
see whales feeding.
page 76
Often the only bait available in quantity, large herring are chunked to entice
tuna and used as hookbaits.
Jim Chambers is a marine
ecologist who loves big-game fishing. He's fought six giants to date, from 600
to 900 pounds. His consulting firm, Chambers and Associates, provides
scientific expertise in the conservation of fishery resources. For more
information on the status of bluefin tuna as well as swordfish and billfish,
see Chambers' website:
www.BigMarineFish.com