ROFFS EMAILS....

[sportfishingusa]

Did anyone else get this pick me up report from them yesterday or today.. they sent one out stating that this huge eddy is somewhere off the coast running thru the edge and covering from north all the way to hatteras and is holding all these tuna in very deep water about hanging under the thermocline past the 200-300 ft mark...

they said the abundance of squid underneath this thermocline is so intense that the fish have no reason to surface at this time and thats why the fishing has been so horrific..

i dont really think i can rely on something like this to make me spend thousands to run offshore but want to hear what you guys think..

thanks

vinnie

[Toona]

Didnt see it but would really love to read it... would you mind sending a link or copy and pasting it? Not sure if I buy it but I keep thinking there has to be some explanation...

[HOLWACHAGOT]

Post it up Sir.
Holwachagot

[sportfishingusa]

deleted the email but just got it sent back and will have up shortly

[sportfishingusa]

THE TUNA ARE HERE--- JUST DEEPThere has been a substantial amount of talk on the docks and elsewhere aboutthe lack of tuna in this region. Some have even considered that theyellowfin tuna have migrated south early this year. It is my experience thatthere is no reason for the fish to migrate early as the fish follow certainoverall migration habits in relation the location and conditions of theirpreferred habitats. Most importantly is that fish, especially tuna followcertain preferred habitats of temperature, oxygen, salinity,clarity/turbidity and food abundance. Presently the conditions that exist now do not preclude the tuna from beingin this area. However, as there is an abundance of warm, blue water in theregion (78°F-81°F) from the Gulf Stream eddy (see enclosed ocean color imageof the eddy today). There is an extensive area of this blue water from thecanyons south of Long Island to Cape Hatteras. However, the surfacetemperature conditions indicate that the tuna are located substantiallydeeper in the water column and are feeding on an unusually abundant sourceof squid. When the fish are feeding deep in the water column they are lesslikely to swim to the surface to attack your trolled baits. The best tactic under the present conditions is to place your baits deep inthe water column as if you were fishing for swordfish. We have heard reportsthat the thermocline (area where the water temperature rapidly declines) islocated at a depth of 200-300 feet. While you have to determine this depthfor your local area using your fathometers, you must change your fishingtactics to catch more fish. This means that if you are only interested intuna, that you should probably stop trolling during the day and startchunking and placing live baits 50-100 feet below the thermocline and at thethermocline. If you have to troll you should find locations where the wateris not as warm, e.g. 77°-78°F, with adequate water transparency(non-turbid conditions) to allow the fish to see your baits since the tunasare visual feeders. The blue water is pretty, but fish often feed along thecolor changes since they are ambush visual feeders. Color changes areimportant as visual cues and often they are indicators of the more importantwater mass boundaries which are zones where significant water densitydifferences occur. These ocean frontal zones are where the convergent forcespull food particles (zooplankton and small fish) into a relatively narrowzone. If these zones stay in one location for three days, the larger fishusually find them and are concentrated themselves. To catch tuna tolling should also modify your trolling techniques to placeyour baits at depth by using high speed planers, weights before your swivelto the leader (as if you were wahoo fishing in the Bahamas and elsewhere),and down riggers. You will also have to find locations where the naturallyoccurring bait is concentrated, such as areas where the water massboundaries have been coincident for three or more days and where the currentis moving into the ledges. Flow away from ledges tend to disperse thenatural bait fish, leaving the larger target species dispersed over a largerarea. Based on the present oceanographic conditions in many areas, thismeans that you will have to troll over 30-40 fathom depths. Remember thedays when the boats were not so big and fast? Successful fishermen used tocatch tuna, dolphin and marlin in 20-50 fathom depths.

[Toona]

Thanks SF! Not the craziest thing I've ever read - makes sense to me. It would explain the jigging success.

[Capt. kapoc]

3 weeks ago we were out looking at a thermocline that was 20 ft thick would explane a bit