Catching blackfin tuna

catching blackfin tuna

catching blackfin tuna 
Blackfin tuna are the smallest member of the genus Thunnus (the true tunas: bluefin, yellowfin, bigeye, and others); the world record stands at 49 pounds, 6 ounces, taken off  Marathon, Florida, in 2006. The North Carolina state-record blackfin, taken in 2011, weighed 40 pounds, 11 ounces.
But they’re prolific; the tasty critters are the only tuna species not listed on Greenpeace’s Red List of endangered marine species.
Each winter, blackfin gather in the warm Gulf Stream water as it swirls over the rocky edge of the Continental Shelf, gorging on huge clouds of baitfish caught in the considerable current.
Also during winter, the cold Labrador current pushes down the Atlantic coast from the north, colliding with warm,  clear Gulf  Stream water from the south. Where the two currents meet, the water temperature can differ up to 20 degrees.
On the cold side of the break, the water is dark, dirty green; the warm side appears clear blue. The current and waves are calmer on the cold side. In the stream, the current can run to 4 knots, whipping the sea into a frenzy.
Where the Gulf  Stream pushes over offshore rocks and ledges, bait and predators line up to play out the food chain.  Amberjack, false albacore (little tunny) and huge sharks mix in the melee, in addition to blackfin tuna.  Amberjack and albacore put up a good fight, but they aren’t locally favored for eating. Most are released.
To avoid sharks, tuna anglers need to work fish to the boat quickly. That can be tough to do with a blackfin as they pull and run without mercy.  Dally on the retrieve and a man-eater will eat the tuna.

TUNA ON THE MOVE
As  Hatteras boats explored the winter blackfin bite, they discovered more than one way to skin that cat. Over the past 10 years, the blackfin jigging has waxed and waned.  Some years, the bite is hot; other years, it’s cold. Changing conditions can also affect how anglers target the tuna. Captains Andy Piland and  Tim Hagerich on Good   Times, a custom 47 Carolina sport-fisher, have made a science of catching blackfin.  Hagerich  insists,  “You  have 
five ways to catch a blackfin, and you’d better be ready to use each.”  On any given day, Hatteras skippers might have to troll ballyhoo,  work a greenstick, fly a kite, drop jigs or throw topwaters. Fishing with Hagerich over the years,  I’ve done it all.  Sometimes we fish three or four tactics in one day. Changing tactics allows the crew to stay on the blackfin bite through winter and into spring.  As the season progresses, the tuna seem to get more finicky.

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