Over the course of a season, Northeast captains catch bluefin from the sting of the continental shelf 70-plus miles offshore to only off the seaside, in clear view of surfcasters. They catch them by trolling, jigging, casting topwaters, and drifting reside bait. By the point the final captain washes down the boat after his remaining journey of the yr, 9 months can have handed for the reason that first captain broke the inlet on an preliminary exploratory journey of the season.
The tuna season is a protracted one between Maine and New Jersey, with the very best approaches always evolving because the yr progresses. To assist break it down, I spoke to a few of the most tuna-obsessed captains within the sport to see how they keep on the fish from starting to finish.
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April and Could: Discovering the First One
For Captain Billy Hayes, self-proclaimed “tuna junkie” from New Jersey, April is much less about striped bass and extra concerning the race to be the primary angler within the state to wrangle a bluefin.
“Throughout late April and early Could, most of our fish are feeding fairly near the seaside and so they’re all giants, so a giant bait is necessary,” mentioned Hayes.
In accordance with Hayes, bluefin eat absolutely anything they will discover this time of yr, whether or not it’s grownup bunker, bluefish, and even giant striped bass within the early levels of their very own spring migration.
“Final yr, we acquired our first fish on April 22 whereas fishing across the bunker pods,” mentioned Hayes. “It’s the earliest I’ve ever caught one.”
If reside bunker isn’t accessible, trolling ballyhoo is a productive strategy to hooking the primary bluefin of the season off New Jersey and western Lengthy Island.
Like bunker, mackerel may also be part of the early season forage base off New Jersey, however they gained’t be pressed up alongside the seashores like bunker. “If you could find sufficient mackerel to make use of for bait, that’s like gold round right here,” Hayes added. “We catch them on the wrecks and refill the livewell.” That tends to occur round mid-Could however, by then, he has his sights set on the soon-to-be creating jig chunk.
As Hayes is dropping his first jigs to tuna off New Jersey, Captain Kevin Albohn of Blue Line Charters is chomping on the bit to catch his first bluefin of the yr. Albohn retains his finger on the heartbeat of the bluefin scene between Rhode Island and New York Metropolis as the tip of April approaches. His season often kicks off across the second week of Could, when bluefin tuna make their first appearances on the inshore and midshore grounds off Lengthy Island and Block Island.
“It’s ‘ghost searching,’ primarily,” mentioned Albohn, “however we’re on the market wanting as a result of all of us need to catch the primary fish of the yr in our respective areas.”
Ghost searching south of Block Island consists of way more than simply scanning the open ocean for a rogue bluefin. Albohn notes {that a} ghost hunt requires a tight-knit and reliable community of anglers, a fishing log, and a complete understanding of fish motion regarding wind course and water temperatures.
Tagging efforts by scientists like Dr. Jeff Kneebone of the Anderson Cabot Heart for Marine Life point out that enormous bluefin present up off Block Island as early as mid- to late April. Albohn nonetheless goals for Could 15 to begin his tuna season, however he has come throughout bluefin even earlier.
“Final yr, we hooked a large on Could 7 whereas we had been fluke fishing close to Block,” he mentioned. “It’s enjoyable to search out tuna on the market so early however, usually, I favor to allow them to arrange and set up themselves earlier than we begin to actively goal them.”
Each spring is completely different, so Albohn recommends referencing fishing logs from years previous as a result of they’ll assist develop patterns and supply perception into areas the place bluefin could present. For instance, one in all his log entries from Could 17, 2019, referenced a scorching jig chunk; so, on Could 20, 2024, he ran south of Montauk towards the 35-fathom line and was greeted by practically 100 whales—at all times a optimistic signal of bait and tuna within the space. Whereas he didn’t catch a fish that day, he marked lots. When Albohn returned to the grounds south of Montauk three days later, after letting the fish “arrange,” his crew landed 14 bluefin tuna in a variety of sizes.
“By Could 26, we had constant fish on the troll off Montauk and Rhode Island,” he mentioned, “however there weren’t a ton of them. We had been usually trolling over 150- to 180-foot depths, hoping to discover a wolfpack of two to 5 70-inch-class tuna, so it was laborious to trace them. That’s why we maintain a log and keep in fixed communication with our community.”
Albohn insists that water temperatures are additionally a main issue through the first few weeks of the bluefin season in southern New England. “If we see heat water between 60 and 62 levels off New Jersey or popping out of the Hudson Canyon, we’ll give it a shot,” he mentioned. Nevertheless, the skipper maintains {that a} wholesome forage base is of utmost significance.
In Could, when water temperatures attain the low 60s, these big bluefin are inclined to cruise round on prime pursuing mackerel, squid, sand eels, bunker, bluefish, and even striped bass. Very like the large bluefin of late fall, these fish feed on absolutely anything they will inhale.
As water temperatures proceed to climb all through Could, Albohn recommends paying shut consideration to the actions of the business fishing fleet. That is the place having an excellent community of captains and fellow leisure anglers comes into play. “We’ll arrange a trolling plan with a couple of different boats to cowl giant swaths of water and head out towards the temperature breaks, making big loops whereas keeping track of the business boats,” he famous. Large bluefin are intelligent sufficient to comply with the draggers for simple meals, and by protecting an unlimited space with a system of buddy boats, Albohn can higher pinpoint the place these bluefin are prone to feed.
Round this time in Massachusetts, Captain Alex Ridgway of Cape Cod Offshore is beginning to get the tuna itch. By the tip of Could, Ridgway’s tuna season is underway. Like Albohn, he begins by exploring south of the islands and, relying on the yr, east of Cape Cod, searching for bait. “Often, the bait we discover out east is sand eels, and when there are whales with them, we spend a while wanting round,” mentioned Ridgway. “We would mark one large fish or see a couple of giants break the floor within the distance, which, together with the presence of marine mammals, signifies {that a} chunk might be forming.”
In New Jersey, smaller fish start to move to the midshore grounds from the sting in Could; based on Hayes, they’re often feeding on piles of sand eels. Final yr, he started to enterprise farther from shore round Could 10 and, certain sufficient, whales and bait had been there, with the tuna lagging not far behind. By early June, he and fellow New Jersey “tuna junkies” Jim and James Kuhl had been catching midsize tuna on the midshore grounds on jigs, and sometimes on poppers.
June: Unfold Out however Settling In
In early June, Albohn begins making runs to the canyons searching for a smaller class of fish. From Rhode Island to Montauk, squid make a robust displaying every spring, so he makes it a degree to cease and jig some up for the livewell earlier than heading offshore. By the third week of June, bluefin beneath 50 inches transfer inside a extra cheap vary. “These smaller bluefin are the final ones to return inshore, and after they do, we begin to see a blended vary of sizes settle in near residence.”
It’s an identical story off Cape Cod. Come mid-June, with hotter water and a longtime forage base, Ridgway mentioned bluefin of all sizes begin piling in to feed, however the problem is finding these feeding grounds.
“Yearly we see completely different lessons of bluefin early on,” he mentioned. “A number of years again, it was all 40-inch-class fish off the Cape and now it’s all 60s.”
It’s attainable that these are the identical fish which have since matured and grown, however based on Ridgway, 40-inchers east of Cape has been a rarer prevalence in current seasons. “South of the islands, we see a few of these smaller, sub-40-inch fish, however we nearly by no means run into them east or northeast of the Cape.”
When the sand eels settle in east of Cape Cod in June, they don’t transfer round a lot. The feeds could be unbelievable as a result of the fish keep on the floor. When that occurs, Ridgway cruises towards the melee at simply over 5 knots. Conserving a low RPM permits his crew to get off a couple of good casts with out spooking the fish.
He has a minimum of six spinning rods rigged and prepared with quite a lot of choices to decipher what these eel-gorging tuna are most definitely to reply to. A few of his most efficient lures are olive-colored, tuna-grade epoxy-style jigs, natural-colored Hogy Professional Tails, slider-style stickbaits, and the Siren Antidote 130 within the sand-eel sample. If the fish are staying up, as they have a tendency to do when feeding on sand eels, Ridgway says they’ll solid poppers, too, however provided that they’ve already caught a minimum of one fish. When floor feeds subside, he arms his crews with jigging rods rigged with RonZs.
Round late June, Ridgway’s seek for Cape Cod bluefin expands. The fish, that are nonetheless migrating by way of the tip of the month, unfold out as extra forage, like giant faculties of Atlantic mackerel, change into accessible.
Off Rhode Island, Albohn focuses extra on the troll than on jigging and popping within the early a part of June. “As soon as the little fish settle in and floor temperatures heat up, they sit on the thermocline and we will get them extra reliably,” he mentioned. “We’ll be marking them excessive sufficient which you can elevate them by trolling, and generally with poppers as a result of they’re inside 50 to 100 toes of the floor.” Nevertheless, Albohn likes to let the June full moon cross earlier than whipping out the jigs and poppers. “There’s a whole lot of fish motion across the June full moon; after that, bluefin have a tendency to return in nearer to Block and that’s when the jig chunk will start,” he mentioned.
Down in Jersey, as soon as the June full moon passes, Billy Hayes begins to search out yellowfin tuna mixing in with bluefin and porpoises. By then, he can reliably jig and pop from the inshore to midshore grounds by way of July and August, and even into September. There are exceptions to the jig-and-pop chunk, although. In recent times, bluefin have been coming inshore to locations like Monster Ledge to gas up on squid earlier than they start migrating again towards the canyons searching for favorable water situations and, after all, extra meals.
July: Watching the Wind for Summer season Patterns
With summer season comes hotter climate, settled seas, and an unlimited enlargement of the areas and depths the place bluefin could also be feeding. To pinpoint essentially the most possible productive areas, Ridgway recommends doing every day analysis. “We’re always temperature and chlorophyll charts in an effort to guage the place the fish may be,” he mentioned. “Perhaps they’ll line up on the temperature breaks or they may be the place there’s clear water and an abundance of bait.”
Final yr, Ridgway discovered bluefin feeding on faculties of mackerel northeast of Cape Cod in the summertime, whereas throughout the identical week in 2023, the fish had been on sand eels south and east of Nantucket. The tuna are always transferring, however by July and August, he’s often capable of develop week-to-week patterns—so long as sea and climate situations stay comparatively secure. A number of days of sustained onshore winds out of the east or southeast can choke up the water with seaweed, sending smaller, recreational-class tuna packing.
By early July, the jig-and-pop chunk is on in Rhode Island, and bigger, extra concentrated faculties change into simpler to find. “At that time, we’re seeing fish within the mid-30- to 65-inch class,” Albohn mentioned. “We strategy the larger fish by ‘fluke jigging,’ slowly working one thing like a RonZ close to the underside.” On the identical time, he famous that smaller fish within the mid-30- to 40-inch class could be caught pace jigging.
August: Adjusting to Fishing Stress
In August, clear water and a wealthy forage base are of utmost significance if the bluefin are to stay round. “We don’t actually see bluefin depart the realm from Montauk to Block Island; as a substitute, they change into blended in with the yellowfin,” mentioned Albohn. In contrast to yellowfin tuna, bluefin have a better tolerance for soiled or cool water. If there’s a meals supply, they’ll stick with it, and that holds true for the late season chunk off New York Metropolis as nicely. “Come late August, when there are a whole lot of yellows in heat water, the bluefin skinny out and head towards Cape Cod, as far east as Chatham, then they make their method again towards the Dump. One sturdy northeast blow is all it takes to carry them again.”
Throughout late August and early September, fishing stress is at its peak, so persevering with to supply outcomes requires some creativity. Albohn recommends utilizing a transparent popper or stickbait to provide the phantasm of a college of small baitfish. He says it really works wonders when even the yellowfin develop finicky. “You may pull a 60-inch-plus bluefin from beneath these yellows,” he mentioned. “Getting the chunk requires utilizing a 20-foot size of 60- to 80-pound-test chief. In my view, it’s higher to go lengthy and heavy than gentle and quick.” Albohn suggests utilizing electronics to see what the fish are doing, what they’re or usually are not responding to, then making an informed guess as to what they’re going to eat.
September and October: Baitfish Buffet
Albohn insists that September is the very best month to be a bluefin tuna fisherman and a information. Bluefin could be caught on chunks, jigs, poppers and, better of all, September often brings good sea and climate situations to Rhode Island. “September is nice. Giants begin displaying up once more in respectable numbers so we don’t must troll anymore. I’d fairly be jigging, particularly with purchasers, as a result of anybody can do it. I can mark a couple of tuna, inform a brand new tuna fisherman to drop a jig to 90 toes and, increase, he’s on. For me, as a captain, there’s nothing higher.”
Early fall on Cape Cod tends to be an extension of the summer season bluefin patterns. There are nearly at all times sand eels, however in late September, as extra and completely different baitfish arrive, the chunk will change.
Ridgway referred to fall 2024 because the yr of the halfbeak (Atlantic saury), whereas two years earlier, it was a butterfish bonanza. “This previous season, we had halfbeaks all over the place. From late September into early October, we discovered them south of the islands by the windmills. They had been unfold up and down the again aspect of the Cape to the south finish of Stellwagen Financial institution and into decrease Cape Cod Bay, and as far west because the Cape Cod Canal, the place tuna had been feeding in as little as 50 to 60 toes of water,” he mentioned. “There have been nearly too many halfbeaks to maintain the tuna in a single space, so it was troublesome to develop a sample from everyday.”
Halfbeaks are fast-moving fish, however they’re tuna sweet. “We will mark clouds of sand eels and the tuna will nonetheless be up on prime chasing a smaller college of ‘beaks,” Ridgway mentioned. Whereas halfbeak floor feeds are a spectacle to behold, correctly presenting a lure to saury-slaying tunas could be a problem. “It’s worthwhile to gauge which course they’re being chased and get forward of the college, which is troublesome to do at a low RPM. Crucial a part of fishing round halfbeaks is to have your lure getting in the identical course they’re transferring and to fish the sides of the college.” Ideally, your lure will stand out as a straggler—a susceptible fish that misplaced its method within the mayhem of the chase, and that’s when the strike will come.
Within the fall, Ridgway retains an array of lures on board that carefully resemble the colour and profile of sauries. The Siren Sorry Charlie or Deep Seductress 155 and 4-ounce, 6-inch tuna-grade epoxy jigs in blue, silver, and purple are mainstays on halfbeak years, however that modifications when butterfish are the predominant baitfish.
A gentle northeast wind in September often pushes butterfish in from offshore. “They arrive in with the weeds, so it’s a blessing and a curse,” Ridgway chuckled. When butterfish present up in Albohn’s residence waters through the fall, it could ignite the chunk chunk, however Ridgway maintains a synthetic strategy on the Cape. “When the butters are in, we attain for small stickbaits, 5½-inch Hogy Professional Tails, bigger JoeBaggs Peanut Resin jigs, and the Hogy Slider.” In contrast to sauries, butterfish are deep-bodied and slow-moving, so it’s simpler to remain on the chunk for a couple of days, assuming situations stay secure and shifting winds don’t push them out.
November: Butterballs within the New York Bight
The Cape Cod tuna season begins to wind down by late October/early November, though giants dangle round nicely into December. Usually, the smaller, recreational-class fish have primarily moved on when the calendar hits November.
“In 2023, there was an excellent pogy/bunker chunk with mixed-size lessons of tuna south of Martha’s Winery in late October, and after that, we had been carried out,” Ridgway famous. “But, the yr earlier than, we had bluefin feeding on butterfish by way of Thanksgiving. You by no means actually know when it’s going to finish, so we simply use the data we collect by way of analysis and our community of 5 or 6 buddy boats.”
As bluefin depart New England waters, anglers in Lengthy Island and New Jersey nonetheless have what’s change into the very best chunk of the yr to sit up for.
“The tail finish of our tuna season begins in November when the bunker are transferring by way of, so the fishing is simply insane,” mentioned Hayes. It’s his favourite time to be a bluefin tuna fisherman.
“Fish are all over the place you look, and in a number of sizes,” Hayes continued. “We’ll be casting into feeds filled with 60-inch-class fish, solely to have giants pop up a second later.” Hayes, who relishes the chance to tangle with a large bluefin on spinning gear, enjoys the sport of bluefin roulette.
Trolling ballyhoo continues to be an choice, as is fishing with reside bunker, however Hayes’ most well-liked strategy doesn’t waver from the spring. “We strictly solid lures, like 8-inch straight tails from No Dwell Bait Wanted, into lively feeds.” The bigger profile is an efficient match for the mature bunker the bluefin are feeding on, and it’s not far off from the slender profile of grownup sand eels, which have a tendency to look across the identical time because the menhaden. Hayes focuses on making well-timed, correct casts with a lure giant sufficient that it gained’t go unnoticed when introduced correctly.
December: Remaining Crew Calls
By mid-November, the fish are feeding in shallow water nearby of sand and can proceed to take action into December. Leisure-sized fish will proceed their journey, following the bunker pods down the New Jersey coast, and Hayes will comply with them as far south because the Atlantic Metropolis Reef till mid-December. “If the fish are sticking round, we’ll keep within the water till simply earlier than Christmas to catch the tail finish of the biomass,” Hayes mentioned.
Albohn, who shifts his residence port to western Lengthy Island within the late fall, does the identical—so long as he has a prepared crew. “Even when the fish are there, the toughest half about tuna fishing in December is getting sufficient guys to go,” he mentioned. A number of years again, he caught tuna the day earlier than Christmas Eve simply outdoors New York Metropolis. “It was chilly as hell and snowed three inches, however we had tuna feeds all day.”
And so ends the Could-December relationship with bluefin tuna within the Northeast. After that, captains have 4 months to service deal with, respool reels, restock lures, and prep for an additional yr of bluefin tuna fishing.
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