A Tale of Tuna City
by Tom Largy, luck guy
This was the top fishing time for me on a camping trip to the Connecticut Lakes. The camping at Lake Francis campground was superb; blue skies and chilly nights that called for a little bit of scotch in front of the fire. The fishing was difficult, maybe miserable. Late August saw a number of very heavy rains and all of the dams--Murphy, First, Second--were over the boards. The Connecticut River below the dams was a torrent. A couple of fish chased streamers in the few flat stretches, and I had a couple of hits in pockets on a big X-Stimulator, but that was it. As almost always, my fishing buddy, John, did manage a couple of fish. Over to the Androscoggin and we got a bunch of little salmon below the Errol Dam on Stimulators and caddis. John got a couple of trout.
The little Mohawk, which John had dismissed as too small, finally made the trip right for me. My thought was that all that rain had made what is normally a trickle over rocks, into a nice fly fishing stream with a few deep pockets. The trout somehow survive through the trickle periods, since they definitely seemed to be native residents, and John caught a 10-inch stocker rainbow.
A week later, I'm 30 miles south of the Vineyard out after sharks and perhaps a “football” tuna. I've never done this before. The boat skipper is not really a fisherman, but he likes this kind of adventure once a year. He has a very sea-worthy cabin cruiser and has down-loaded a chart that shows fingers of warm water coming up from the Gulf Stream. On board are several of us, including a couple of guys from New Bedford. One had been a mate on a tuna boat. The other had actually harpooned a tuna and a swordfish when he was younger.
My heavy duty spinning reel is spooled with 50 lb. PowerPro, a very thin and strong line that I've been using for the past few years. Since knots with this line can be a problem, I've been using a perfection loop to make a loop-the-loop with the leader--in this case, 60 lb. mono. Everybody else has a traditional boat rod, and used a heavy swivel at the connection. The bait is butterfish, and we put the hook through the mouth, out the eye socket and then through the cavity, covering the hook completely since the experienced guys tell us that tuna have extremely sharp eyesight and are also sensitive to the feel of the hook as they grab the bait.
In our baits go. My rod takes a big dip in a minute or so, and I'm onto a football. I had always wondered about the perfection loop arrangement, but no problem, even on a small tuna. We get it in the boat, I kiss the fish (too much television), and the skipper declares that it's the first tuna ever on his boat. A big moment for me, and I gracefully accept the congratulations.
Our baits are back in the water in a minute or so, and I'm on right away again. And again, and again. About 10 takes, two fish boated, and about six fish on. I had a leader severed by a shark, and at one point a 9- to 10-foot shark was chasing my hooked tuna. A heck of a day.
My fishing companions are turning a little stony. Nothing for them for a while, although ultimately they have a few hits and land one other tuna and a 4- to 5-foot blue shark.
There is some conjecture about whether I am a master fisherman or just a lucky guy. My theory is that I was lucky to be using a very thin line with virtually no weight. We were drifting the bait and my line was near the top and out a long way, beyond the chum area, while all the other lines took a distinct slant down into the water. Also, their heavy braided lines stood out in very clear weather conditions. Some trollers nearby were also taking fish, likely on top. My thought is that the fish were roaming around chasing bait near the surface, and that's why I did well. Later, the tide direction changed, our baits may have been going deeper, and we all stopped getting fish.
Two very good and lucky days. I'll take some more of that kind of luck.
Click here to view pictures of that day.
-- TL