What the bluefin are eating

**Double D** · 08-04-2009 10:13 AM

Look what my buddy pulled out of his under yesterday

**Jared D** · 08-04-2009 10:16 AM

Wow, looks like he has been munching it up. Are those the "sand eels" I always here yall talking about?

**Captain Fred Archer** · 08-04-2009 11:42 AM

DD,

Thanks for the great shot of what the tunas are eating. Sand eels are favored chow for sure, as are other long, skinny baits like sauries. Here's our way of matching them in various sizes and the one of the ways that we use them...

We use these squids on bars and lightweight dredges. Never used them on a jig, but that would probably work - maybe as a dropper above a diamond jig or something like that. Back when I pinhooked there were lots of sand eels around and we used to use quite heavy blue and white jigs with white pork rind eels on them. We'd bounce them on the bottom, then rip them a big hop off the bottom. Got bit on the sink a lot by stripers, tuna, and of course blues (the reason for the tough pork rind).