Saturday, it was time to fish the Virginia Beach Tuna tournament. We had the Angelson group aboard on friday and we left early in calm seas headed to the lumpy bottom looking for bluefins. We got there with an hour before lines in and found a buoy that was holding bailers. We threw some chunks and watched them eat, but could not put a line in the water until 730, so we just moved on. A mile or two up the road, there were tunas busting out of the water, so that would be our spot. We sat and waited for almost an hour watching 100# fish come out of the water all around us. 3 minutes before lines in, a 40# cobia comes right to the transom of the boat like it was mocking us. The guys on the boat were really antsy at this point and I'm glad it was time to fish because I dont think I could have held them off any longer. Finally 730 came and we dropped lines at 950 and 750. On our first circle through, we had a bite on the Iilander in the shotgun position and the fish briefly pulled drag before pulling off. We circled around and five minutes later, had him on the flatline speader bar. We fought this one for a few moments before the 90# class fish busted the leader just under the boat. Using light leaders, it happens. Id rather get all the extra bites that other guys arent getting and then risk busting them off than not getting any bites at all. Many of the other guys in the area were not getting bit at all and I couldnt keep the fish away. Light leaders make a huge difference tuna fishing. We circled back to the same spot and this time we had a solid hookup on the short rigger. After 20 minutes, we got this one to the boat. It didnt look huge, but we decided to gaff it anyways. On the deck, the fish was 54" and kind of skinny. It ended up weighing in at 82#. At this point we had decided to catch one more fish in the area before going to look for a smaller one. The tournament and NMFS rules kept us limitted to only one fish of the size that was in the area, so we would have to go find either a smaller bluefin or a yellowfin. So we put the spread back out and instantly had a two fish blow up on the longriggers, with the one on the port side hooking up. We carefully released this fish that was much larger than the one we had in the box and it measured in at 57" fork length and earned Joe a release citation. This fish was in the 90-95# range and would have been more desirable for the tournament, but rules are rules and off she went. We didnt even put the spread back out and ran straight out to 40 fathoms just south of the washington. The water was pretty blue and there was a lot of sulphur lines and some bait. Conditions looked OK to find a yellow. We caught two dolphin before we heard a couple boats on the north wall of the norfolk having encounters with yellers and so we picked up lines and ran 12 miles to where they were. We got there and it had shut off. Not that it was ever really on, but the other boats in the area werent seeing them any more and neither were we so we started trolling towards waynes world. Nothing for a while, then we saw where the other charter boats were working just before lines out time. We saw some bluefins cutting on top and did not get a bite. Working closer towards the fleet, with 15 minutes remaining, we had a blue marlin come cruising in. I saw him and Scott saw him coming in a he got a nice dropback on the 300# class fish. He put the drag tight and the fish came completely out of the water 50 feet behind the boat. The reel was singing and we put the guy in the chair. After a moment, it went slack and she was gone. Light tuna fishing leaders were no match for this fish and it was pretty for a minute, but we really didnt have a chance at the fight with that one. We picked up lines and in calm seas made it home in less than two hours. It was a beautiful day with calm seas and good fishing, but we just didnt win the tourney.The fishing is good right now and we have available dates. Give us a call or check www.matadorcharters.com and we will set you up.
Matador Sportfishing
Virginia Beach, VA
