07/31/20

by Dan Stauffer / On August 1, 2020

Very early leave for today's yellowfin trip. Joeys sets the first floater bait and as he is putting out the second floater the first rod takes off....fish on!  The next two hours are absolutely crazy and when the dust settles we've gone six for eight. Similar to the previous day sometime around 8:30 am these crazy tuna go into lockjaw mode. We continue to fish through the torrential downpours...

07/29/20

by Dan Stauffer / On July 30, 2020

Pushed east in some very sporty seas with Hans and his crew in hopes of wrangling some tuna for the freezer. First bite happens just minutes into the day and after a 25 minute struggle on 30 lb. leader we put our first tuna in the box. The rest of the day sees five more bites. Two end in success after crazy long battles, one ends quickly as the fish finds another gear and smokes the reel giving...

07/28/20

by Dan Stauffer / On July 30, 2020

Out with a crew of Foodies from DE that included Matt Kern Chef at Heirloom Restaurant as well as Nate Leonard who is in the process of authoring a cookbook for Schell Brother Homes for a day of tuna chunking. The bite was slow but we did manage to capitalize on three out of four bites resulting in three nice fat yellowfin tuna.

07/22/20 to 07/27/20

by Dan Stauffer / On July 27, 2020

Our chunking bite has definitely slowed down prompting many to look toward tilefish or a combo of tilefish and tuna. Those sticking to their guns and spending the day chunking were seeing between 2 and 4 bites per day yielding one or two fish. The crews that decided to do a combo or straight tilefish trip saw outstanding action and size on the blueline tilefish and a yellowfin or two to tug on....

07/21/20

by Dan Stauffer / On July 23, 2020

On the heels of the epic chunking day I'm out with a trio from NJ in hopes the fish are still interested in eating after gorging themselves yesterday. The morning is slow with only two pulls and one in the box. Pull the anchor and decide to try some drifting for the afternoon. Our second drift hits pay dirt and we put three more nice yellowfin in the box. Final drift has two run-offs that don't...

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...