Another Bluefin Report- OI 3/20

[TunaTeaser1]

Left the dock at a dark 4:30 with the thought that there were going to be a ton of boats out there- We wanted to be first on the scene and try to catch as many as we could today. That gameplan changed pretty quick once we got out there!

Lines in at 7:15 on the 280 after being greeted by a 45-65 degree temp break. Sure enough we were the first boat but were also welcomed by 5 knots of current. We messed around here for a little while without marking anything despite seeing a lot of life. It took a couple more hours for us to get our first bite, which coincided with someone grabbing their first beer for the day- works every time.

Unfortunately we were getting worked over by albacores destroying our ballyhoo. I think we caught 5 or 6 before finally getting away from those things- pretty funny watching them just skip across the surface after being hooked.

Continued north and had a double header on some nicer fish- couldn't tell if they were yellowfin or small bluefin. Turned out to be the latter as the hook pulled on one and we released the other around 70-80 pounds in hopes of a bigger fish. Kept plugging north and decided to try the jigging thing and on our 4th drop hooked up. 15 mins later we had our kill fish, 65"/#155. Pulled the trolling stuff in and just messed around jigging the rest of the day. Hooked a nicer fish minutes later and it was this run that put the Saragosa spinning reel into submission!
The reel froze up and we broke that fish off. Rerigged to see if it was a fluke and immediately hooked another bluefin only to break that one off as the drag locked up- oh well. That was the first time I'd ever jigged for bluefin so it was nice to hook three like that in 30 minutes...Called it a day after that and happy to have had some bites.

Anyone know what it's gonna cost to get this reel fixed- Shimano Saragosa 18000? I had to borrow this setup for the weekend and of course we burnt it up

[TunaTeaser1]

I've got some good video of us fighting this fish on a jigging setup- Problem is I don't have any editing software.

If anyone has suggestions for a fairly inexpensive PC program I can get some footage up!

[offshore]

I've got some good video of us fighting this fish on a jigging setup- Problem is I don't have any editing software.

If anyone has suggestions for a fairly inexpensive PC program I can get some footage up!

Alex is it a hard drive camera, mini dv tape,cd, or SD card? If you get it to me I will edit for you if you want. I can also put it on a DVD for ya. Give me a call if you want me to do it for you..I use pinnacle 11 ..Mark

[offshore]

Another great day!! Good job Alex and crew. Sorry to hear about the jig stick burning up Would love to get that on video...Mark

[offshore]

Alex you might be able to change the format on the camera for the Mac..Mark

[TAT-TUNA]

PRETTY WORK GUYS..!

[bigfishhooker]

That is a good reel but without carbontex. It's not gonna cut it. Shimano fixes them; call and/or check their site.

Stellas and Daiwa Saltigas seem to get the nod on tuna jigging.

[TunaTeaser1]

I agree but it was either that or no jigging rod at all since I don't have a combo.

It was good enough for our one kill fish so I guess that's what really counts.

Any idea how much Shimano is going to charge me?

[TSM]

I feel your pain on the Saragosa. My 14000 died after full on combat fishing Sunday. I guess you can get buy with the Saragosa,but so can the tunas. Shimano says 44lbs of drag on the 14,000. I was a half turn from full. I'm guessing 30lbs. Oh well, I guess i will be spending the big bucks. Way Cool Fishing out front of OI now. I hope they stick a while.

[Tunaman]

email Shimano I did recently and they sent pregreased carbontex drag washers for my 18000 for free. I have been told this will fix the drag issue.Make sure you tell em which model Saragosa.