07/20/20

by Dan Stauffer / On July 23, 2020

Out with a crew from Hegins PA who bucked the current trend and chose tilefish over tuna. Ran over over trying to fine any that would bite. Finally, after three stops and 9 miles we find a nest that is hungry. Not starving, but at least willing to bite although the size is on the smallish side. Sometime around 1:00 pm we hit our limit and head home. Later that evening I find out that today was...

07/19/20

by Dan Stauffer / On July 20, 2020

A super slow day of tuna chunking for the fleet off of OC. Many excellent tuna boats came home with only one or two fish because of very finicky tuna that would swim right past the chunks and baits ignoring everything. Back in the slip feeling very fortunate to have five in the box. Some on bait some on the jig.

07/18/20

by Dan Stauffer / On July 19, 2020

Back in the saddle after a day off due to wind. After a two hour run we put out the greenstick and pull around all the boats throwing chunks for tuna. An hour later and no bites we turn to the dark side and send out the butterfish. The rest of the day is spent trying to get our baits out and dealing with some very screwy drifts/currents. At days end we have 4 in the box out of 8 bites total.

07/16/20

by Dan Stauffer / On July 17, 2020

Pushed east today on some very sporty conditions. Decide to throw out the trolling spread in a big hill about six miles west of our action yesterday. I don't mark any fish or bait so I point the boat east toward yesterday's action. We're greeted with a fleet of about thirty boats mostly chunking. Immediately we put the stick out and within twenty minutes we have out first explosion and put a nice...

07/15/20

by Dan Stauffer / On July 16, 2020

Out for a day of tuna fishing with the boys from J & J Bulkheading. First few hours are slow so we put the stick out. Almost immediately we get a big blow-up on one of the squids that doesn't come tight. A couple minutes later another big explosion, this one finds the hook and we put a nice 45# yellowfin in the box. The rest of the day is a steady stream of bites, many just don't find the...

07/14/20

by Dan Stauffer / On July 15, 2020

Out for another day of tuna fishing with a crew from the greater Philly area. First bite happens about thirty minutes into the day when my long rigger goes off but doesn't come tight. About an hour later a yellowfin crushes my bridge chain and we put our first fish of the day in the box. A little later both long riggers go off and after dealing with some very angry tuna both make it in the box....

07/13/20

by Dan Stauffer / On July 14, 2020

Out with a family from PA for a day of tuna fishing. Decided to stay away from the fleet and look over a couple small hills by myself which turned out to be fruitless. Arrived back at the fleet only to find out the bite seems to had started about a hour a ago. We immediately put up the stick and within thirty minutes "pow" goes the breaker. The rest of the day is a fairly steady stream of big...

07/12/20

by Dan Stauffer / On July 13, 2020

First trip after a couple days off due to wind. Headed east in way nicer conditions than the forecast was calling for. First bite happens five minutes into the day but pulls off after a couple seconds. The next 45 minutes is crazy stream of hit and misses and when things calm down we have three yellowfin in the box. The next few hour sees a couple big blow-ups but all miss the hook. Shortly...

07/07/20

by Dan Stauffer / On July 10, 2020

Another day of searching the hills for our yellowfin. First couple hours go by without a big bite except for two short bites that miss the hook. Around 11 I make a 5 mile run to another hill and immediately start marking good bait. A little later  we get hit by the dreaded blue alligators (chopper bluefish).  After re-rigging all the chewed up leaders we're back on the prowl. Thirty minutes...