Chasing Late Season “Ghost” Tuna in New Jersey

Up to date 11/20/2024: This text was initially printed in 2018. This 12 months, the bluefin tuna off New Jersey are something however ghosts, as giants are smashing by means of bait alongside striped bass not far off the seashores. Try the newest experiences within the Northern New Jersey Fishing Report.  

Popping tuna turned the late-season craze in New Jersey round 2012 when a big focus of bluefin tuna settled into the waters 3 to fifteen miles offshore. They confirmed up considerably unexpectedly on the finish of November, when many offshore fishermen had been wrapping it up for the season, leaving captains scrambling to get out to forged lures at them.

Fishermen armed themselves with specialised rods, high-end spinning reels, and life like stickbaits, bringing West Coast and Cape Cod techniques to our native waters. Nonetheless, it was a irritating fishery, to say the least. Many anglers reported recognizing the fish briefly, solely to have them completely disappear when their boats approached casting vary—earlier than lengthy, disillusioned captains started calling the pursuit, “chasing ghosts.”

Most years, by late November, sand eels transfer in from offshore and take up residence on the 3- to 6-mile inshore lumps and ridges. Sea herring and squid can attract tuna, and the Atlantic saury can actually mild this fishery on fireplace.

The productiveness of the late-season tuna fishery varies from 12 months to 12 months. For 4 weeks in 2016, the tuna sat 9 to 11 miles outdoors Manasquan Inlet within the transport channel. Working round notoriously fickle late-season climate, I bought out 5 instances, and every time noticed tuna and had a number of photographs at them. However, it was my fifth and ultimate journey that was considered one of my most memorable fishing journeys ever.

It was December 28, and it was too tough for my 28-foot Parker Sport Cabin as a result of the arduous northwest wind was creating whitecaps. As a substitute, I took my gear on Captain Ken Hager’s Taylor Jean, a 50-foot Viking out of Hoffman’s Marina in Brielle. Ken was joyful to oblige and provides it a attempt. Additionally on board was my son Tommy, my good good friend Captain Jay Monteverdi, who additionally runs the Taylor Jean, his sons JP and Massive Al, Ken’s son Ryan, and his good friend Brendan. I defined the sport plan to everybody – what the strategy wanted to be and the way we had been going to forged on the fish. I even had Tommy present the fellows how you can forged the specialised spinning rods and had them make some apply casts so they might get a really feel for the sort out earlier than it was recreation time. I instructed them one forged is likely to be all they’d get, so it wanted to be good.

And, the hunt was on. The tough circumstances made recognizing fish troublesome, and time handed with out a lot exercise. I used to be about to take a nap when Brendan noticed birds simply forward, so Ken maneuvered the boat into an excellent place, and we had our shot.

In Tommy’s phrases, “After we noticed the pod of fish up prime, the three of us, JP, Brendan, and I, lined up on the starboard facet of the boat and all three of us forged on the similar time. I had on a black/silver Tailwalk Gunz, JP had on a Dorado Slider, and Brendan had on a Souls Hibiki. I forged, took two cranks, and felt weight, so I set the hook arduous twice, and I used to be in.

“The fish instantly ran at us towards the strict, and the road went slack. I believed I’d misplaced it. I shortly reeled within the slack and got here tight once more. The tuna took off for an enormous run that simply stored going and going. At this level, I used to be shaking as a result of I knew it was the largest fish I had ever hooked on a spinning rod in my life, and I used to be ecstatic as a result of I’d lastly hooked a winter bluefin.”

Tommy put in an excellent quarter-hour on the fish after which handed the rod to me. When he gave me the rod, I instantly knew that the tuna was bigger than 100 kilos. I believed I used to be going to get the fish, however I handed the rod off to JP after 20 minutes. He then handed it to Brendan, who then handed it to Jay. In colder water, bluefin don’t fatigue as shortly as they do within the hotter water, resulting in extended fights that may put on out anglers.

Every time the beast got here up and we had deep colour, it might sound once more, taking again all the road we had gained. This state of affairs repeated itself time and again.  We went round 4 instances, passing the rod as Ken maneuvered the boat, backing down on the fish to maintain us within the recreation. Lastly, on the fourth cycle, Jay bought it shut sufficient for JP and Brendan to stay it with two gaffs and haul it onto the deck. Cheers and excessive fives went throughout the boat. We hit the scales at Hoffman’s Marina on our method in and the tuna measured 57.5 inches and weighed 120 kilos.

To chase the late-season ghosts off New Jersey, it’s essential to know and observe any hen motion. Gulls, shearwaters, and Wilson’s storm petrels spot tuna from above and hover over them as they transfer alongside. It’s not the Hitchcock-esque hen motion that we see above end-of-the-season bass blitzes, however moderately one or two birds. When you look carefully, you will notice the tuna surfacing, boiling, or glimmering slightly below the floor. At instances, they’ll burst filter of the water, making them simple to identify. Generally, nonetheless, boaters confuse a breaking pod of dolphin as tuna when viewing them from a distance.

As soon as the tuna are noticed, it’s the throttle man, almost definitely the captain, who’s vastly liable for the success of the journey. The captain should watch the tuna to see which method it’s transferring after which place the boat forward of it inside casting vary.

The anglers should be capable to make lengthy casts with the specialised spinning rods and reels used for tuna. The lures have to be forged in entrance of the transferring tuna after which pulled away to imitate a fleeing baitfish. Pulling the factitious towards the fish or throughout its path doesn’t look pure—no baitfish goes to cost proper at a bluefin tuna.

Finish-of-the-season tuna fishing is severe enterprise—chilly climate and hardcore fish. My finest catch up to now was on December 4, 2011, after I had Bob Marsiglia and Captain Jimmy Gahm on board. We discovered the tuna solely 3.5 miles out on the Alex Carlson Reef off Level Nice and we had been chasing the colleges. I bought us into place and the college headed proper at us. All three of us forged and Bob got here tight with a sardine-colored Smith Child Runboh. An hour and a half later, in spite of everything three of us took turns combating the fish, we had a 74-inch big within the boat that we estimated to be 225 kilos. It was a battle and a day every of us will always remember.