Tuna Talk

[mbowers]

We tried chumming with dead chovies last year, still have about #100 left for next summer. Apparently dead chum works and chunk bait catches fish but we didn't have much success on it. The big problem with dead bait is that you need to do it on a really calm day without much wind drift as unlike live chovies for some reason the dead ones want swim with the boat hehehe. We have a large bait tank on board but filling it on the west coast of vancouver island is challenging. It would be really cool to cast net up some herring or chovies in the inlet and give them a go. This seems like a lot of work though the payoff could be pretty excellent.

Tie off a medium sized drift sock amidships (assuming the seas are reasonable enough to do that) and you should find the wind drift factor goes way down and you can probably chunk effectively in winds up to 25 km/h. Once you get the hang of turning the rudder to control drift direction with the sock you should be able to tack back and forth across a temperature break while drifting.
Throwing a cast net isn't the easiest thing in the world either. I recommend a lot of practice in the backyard or on the beach. Try to find bait in shallow sand / gravel bottom water so you can pin them to the bottom before closing the net without catching the net. Careful how the purse line is attached to your hand (some people make a second loop like a choke collar but I just stick my wrist through the spliced loop so I can get it back out quickly and under tension). Make sure you have a knife ready as a cast net wrapped around a boulder in heavy current with less than expert boat driving could easily result in man overboard and dragged down to the bottom with no way to free himself..

Depending on the bait species you might be able to get them super concentrated with fish meal chum / cat food etc before throwing the net.

Live bait makes for an exciting show but is no better at attracting fish than dead chunks and chum IMHO.

 

[blackvelvet]

Live bait makes for an exciting show but is no better at attracting fish than dead chunks and chum IMHO.

Thats funny stuff. Sounds like you've never been to Westport. Those guys that are dialed in will stay tied to the dock if they only had dead chunks and chum.

Those Westport hardcore tuna guys can put over 50 fish (most average 25-35 per day) in the boat in 4-5 hours while others around them with crappy bait get single digits, and those big numbers are a direct result of good live bait.

Believe me, if using blocks of frozen chum worked as well as live bait, then those Westport boys (including commercials) would be using it instead of paying $50 a scoop for live bait.

Not sayin' chunks and chum won't work, just sayin' nothing beats live bait during a feeding frenzy..............Tight Lines.....BV

 

[Dogbreath]

Believe me, if using blocks of frozen chum worked as well as live bait, then those Westport boys (including commercials) would be using it instead of paying $50 a scoop for live bait.

Yeah chunking can be a pain sometime it's like fish know something's not right.

They watch the chunks fall and pick off the ones that look right to them-if one with a hook is not falling right because the hook weighs a tad too much or the leader is showing then no dice.

Sometime people resort to stuffing bits of foam inside a hooked chunk to make it fall just so.

OTOH Guys on the E coast of the USA don't have a lot of access to live bait and they make chunking work.

 

[Sculpin]

I think the best way to get a taste of the live bait stops is to go out with someone in Washington. All Rivers Charters with Cpt. Mark Coleman seems like a good one to go with and give it a try.

 

[Finished Business]

if the macks are back next year in the harbours (beyond my knowledge if they would be), we caught a half dozen last year on salmon tackle while trolling...many had the hook straight through there head yet the still survived up to 5 hours in a half full cooler (of water) and a few caught and bonked salmon. I couldn't believe how durable those Mackeral were.

I remember seeing them into September around the docks... if you could net them and put them in a bait tank with aerator I'd wager they would survive a trip to the tuna grounds and at least a half day on the water. We caught a very hungry tuna that had 2 mackeral half digested in its belly.
If they are around, maybe worth trying?

 

[Charter Tofino]

We could drink beer and catch a well full on bad weather days if the Mack's are in. We could even rip around the area on off days trying to get live stuff. Any idea how long they can survive in a well?

 

[harper44]

Macks will survive pretty long I bet. Covies or herring on the other hand wouldnt survive without proper circulation.

 

[Birdsnest]

We could drink beer and catch a well full on bad weather days if the Mack's are in. We could even rip around the area on off days trying to get live stuff. Any idea how long they can survive in a well?

Last year there were some macks in the ukee aquarium. They looked fine so maybe try putting them in a cage.

 

[mbowers]

Thats funny stuff. Sounds like you've never been to Westport. Those guys that are dialed in will stay tied to the dock if they only had dead chunks and chum.

Those Westport hardcore tuna guys can put over 50 fish (most average 25-35 per day) in the boat in 4-5 hours while others around them with crappy bait get single digits, and those big numbers are a direct result of good live bait.

Believe me, if using blocks of frozen chum worked as well as live bait, then those Westport boys (including commercials) would be using it instead of paying $50 a scoop for live bait.

Not sayin' chunks and chum won't work, just sayin' nothing beats live bait during a feeding frenzy..............Tight Lines.....BV

I am guilty of never visiting Westport but I have fished a lot for tuna on fly in FL. We have easy access to LOTS of live bait down here and I've tried both live and dead chum extensively. For me the live bait brings the tuna to the surface and makes for exciting fishing but the dead bait brings them in just as well. The live bait is either expensive or more importantly time consuming to obtain so I'm just as happy to head out with dead bait here.

This guy has a comment on chunking versus live bait
http://www.insidesportfishing.com/html/chunking_for_giant_yellowfin.html

Chunk fish get stupid and they're usually big! In fact, most of the big fish this year have come on the chunk so you want to have your big guns ready. They want to come up and eat anything if they're in the chunk line. About the only thing they won't eat is live Mackerel. We'll drop live baits in on them when they come up and they just won't touch them. They're looking for the chunks, period!

 

[Birdsnest]

Well this is good news because I really believe it is pretty much imposable to get live bait here. I fished with live pilchards a few years ago and the main event of the day was catching the pilchards. Seeings how the stars need such precision alignment for a day of tuna fishing here lets hope that chunk and frozen bait will do.!!

 

[Finished Business]

Im not saying its a key to our past good fortune but we have chunked heavy during our tuna trips. Trolling at 7 knots makes it I think difficult to keep a steady chunk line obviously, but once we hook up we tend to turn the wheel slightly so we are making wide (1ish mile diameter) circles. I continue with chunk bait, throwing it as far as I can into the center of the circle.

I didn't research this method or anything, it just seemed logical to me to try and group the fish if at all possible. Whether it actually worked or not, who knows, but I do know we loaded the boat so its one more variable that I will continue to throw into the mix until proven otherwise.

 

[blackvelvet]

Hold on here guys, not so fast.

I apologize if I gave the impression that going after albies without live bait was a losing proposition.

The all out bait frenzy for the Westport fleet usually doesn't happen till later in the season when the tuna are eating most anything, and swim baits, butterfly jigs, surface irons, etc. still catch plenty of albies, but the live bait seems to do a notch better later in the season......Early in the season the bait seems to not be as effective, as the albies are there, but not as aggresive. That is when most the top dogs get them on the troll or with swimbaits and butterfly jigs, Etc.

Another thing is if you use chunks and chum offshore from Westport, you would end up surrounded by blue sharks.............some go as far as to plug their deck drains when bleeding the tuna during a bite to keep the blood from attracting the sharks.

 

[Birdsnest]

Im not saying its a key to our past good fortune but we have chunked heavy during our tuna trips. Trolling at 7 knots makes it I think difficult to keep a steady chunk line obviously, but once we hook up we tend to turn the wheel slightly so we are making wide (1ish mile diameter) circles. I continue with chunk bait, throwing it as far as I can into the center of the circle.

I didn't research this method or anything, it just seemed logical to me to try and group the fish if at all possible. Whether it actually worked or not, who knows, but I do know we loaded the boat so its one more variable that I will continue to throw into the mix until proven otherwise.

What I have done in the past is take a bucket of 2x4 cut to 6 or 8 inch lengths. The instant we hook up some one throws a chunk of wood out to mark the location. I have even painted them florescent orange to make them easy to spot. We also turn the boat as soon as we hook up. This makes a mark on the gps that you can go back to but is nice to just fish around the piece of wood instead of having to focus so much on the gps. The wood thing works very well on the smooth days. the rougher it gets the harder it is to keep track of the wood and it is subject to movement due to wind.

Funny that the one day I fished alone on my boat with 6 or 7 other boats at louden i caught some tuna that spit up some chunk anchovie. I thought that was odd for I had never seen a chunk in a salmon, only whole. Who was chucking the anchovies that day? they were eating it.

 

[Sculpin]

What I have done in the past is take a bucket of 2x4 cut to 6 or 8 inch lengths. The instant we hook up some one throws a chunk of wood out to mark the location. I have even painted them florescent orange to make them easy to spot. We also turn the boat as soon as we hook up. This makes a mark on the gps that you can go back to but is nice to just fish around the piece of wood instead of having to focus so much on the gps. The wood thing works very well on the smooth days. the rougher it gets the harder it is to keep track of the wood and it is subject to movement due to wind.

Funny that the one day I fished alone on my boat with 6 or 7 other boats at louden i caught some tuna that spit up some chunk anchovie. I thought that was odd for I had never seen a chunk in a salmon, only whole. Who was chucking the anchovies that day? they were eating it.

Wouldn't marking a MOB on your chartplotter be easier than the wood chunk?

I think I read that someone was chunking out there that day. Maybe Shawn or Mikep.

 

[Pippen]

Funny that the one day I fished alone on my boat with 6 or 7 other boats at louden i caught some tuna that spit up some chunk anchovie. I thought that was odd for I had never seen a chunk in a salmon, only whole. Who was chucking the anchovies that day? they were eating it.

If it was that Sunday of the Labour Day weekend when you were out solo (also limited out ) and there was about a half dozen of us, I was with Shawn and we were chucking chovies.

 

[Birdsnest]

Wouldn't marking a MOB on your chartplotter be easier than the wood chunk?

Guess it depends on your equipment. My plotter is way forward of my boat in a cab. The wood just keeps every ones eyes on the fishing. Its annoying to have to look at my plotter through the window from the rear steering even though I still do it. No boat is perfect. The fishing can keep everyone busy so for me not having a guy committed to pushing buttons on the plotter and staring at the plotter is just nicer for every one. Plus my plotter is mine an I really don't want just anyone pushing buttons cuz that can go bad quick. Of course having a driver is nice but often I do not have a guy that really knows how to drive well so I throw wood. Thats just me tho. If I throw wood I can just stay on deck where the action is and everyone can see the wood and understand where we are and where to go. I know it seems silly with the technology onboard but I love it it simplifies things for all on board. I know it seems silly but it works for me. I don't do it all the time tho.

 

[Birdsnest]

If it was that Sunday of the Labour Day weekend when you were out solo (also limited out ) and there was about a half dozen of us, I was with Shawn and we were chucking chovies.

Chunks??????

 

[Pippen]

Chunks??????

Oh......no sorry....missed what you were saying. We were just unloading packages, my bad.

 

[Birdsnest]

Well I would say that they were eating them.

 

[Birdsnest]

Score!!!: 5 inch feathers rigged!!

http://www.tackledirect.com/boone-tuna-eyes-rigged-lure-kit.html

just purchased 15 of these. I have been looking everywhere all winter!!

My stuff showed up! That was fast.

Anyone have a line on cheap spectra? How about using 150# downrigger braid on a halibut reel? That would save some$$$$

The black one on the left is actually very very dark green with a green belly and some green feathers.