Tuna Jigging 7/27

[OMC]

Well we have been having a great Bluefin season so far here in NJ but at some point it has to end as the waters warm and the fish push north. It may last a little longer since there is so much bait but we can only hope. I also wanted to give a Huge thumbs up to NMC02 and RGW . NMC02 hooked me up with a couple of jigging rods to try out since I really haven't jigged for tuna much and I wanted to try a couple before I drop $800 - $1,000 on a setup. RGW gave me some up to date intel on where some fish were recently being caught which anyone that goes offshore knows that is half the battle. 

Saturday morning we headed out to the numbers but we stopped short because we had great life Chicks, Whales and Rays. We jigged there for sometime and picked up a short Bluefin quickly but decided to keep moving on to find the bigger fish. We arrived to a Parking Lot,there had to be 150 - 200 boats in the area. I guess the word got out LOL. There was some chatter that some boats had fish but not many, set up on some marks away from the fleet and started jigging. We got a nice fish hooked up and he was screaming line off the reel, just as we started to move on him it dropped. The 5 cent split ring that was put on a $20 jig failed and looked like a paperclip what a piece of shit. Fbombs flying for sure. We stayed in that area for awhile but it really died off and the radio was silent. We put out the trolling gear and went on the search for less pressured fish, a few miles away we found them breaking on top with plenty of Chicks and Rays. We went back to jigging and we hooked up with a good fish. Fought it for about 45 mins and the gaffed our over 54 inches about 90 lbs. Jigged a little longer hoping for an under or two but it wasn't to be. Long day up for 24 hrs but we brought home some sushi. 

Edited July 30, 2019 by OMC

[Lphunsjr]

That's awesome work right there, well done

[LPJR]

That is awesome Mike! Well done, and kudos to Nick and Ryan for hooking you up. Great job all the way around boys 

[MGHunter66]

Well done Mike. I learned long ago that big fish require heavy duty hardware and am amazed at the cheap shit they use to finish off a $20 lure. I change all the hardware on even brand new lures. Had a similar issue with a Manns Stretch 25 split ring. Never again, losing a 50 plus striper was enough for me.

[Deerslayer21]

wheres my tuna?   ill post pics of the meal lol 

[SPEARFISH]

Nice.  Great fish

[OMC]

27 minutes ago, Deerslayer21 said:

wheres my tuna?   ill post pics of the meal lol 

Here is yours 

[rgw]

Awesome glad it all came together for you. Hopefully the yellow fin follow suit. A few were caught around there

[OMC]

It would be great if they fill in that would be perfect. There are a lot of warm water species showing up daily inshore so one would think the yellowfins will show up in numbers. The water out there was great 78 degrees and crystal clear blue water. 

[Deerslayer21]

26 minutes ago, OMC said:

Here is yours 

yummy

 

[Buck154]

Nice one Mike. 

[nmc02]

Meant to ask....what kind of jig was it that the split ring failed 

[mightyhunter]

Nice fish!

[rgw]

1 hour ago, nmc02 said:

Meant to ask....what kind of jig was it that the split ring failed 

thats what i was wondering, only seen heavy duty ones used

[nmc02]

I have been lucky. Never had one fail. I am a big fan of spro swivels & split rings. I only use momoi mini lock sleeves when crimping.

https://diamondfishing.com/crimps-and-sleeves/mini-lock-sleeves/