is it me ? (wicked tuna )

[Bass_Appeal]

does anyone not agree with fv-lilly harpooning and being on the show with rod and reelers ...i dont know i kinda think the harpooning is cheating

[CatchEmUp]

I totally agree - especially with the plane spotter!

[youngdumbandfulloffish]

I think it is cool to see/learn about. It is definitely a completely different ball game and don't think it's fair as far as the leaderboard.

[Bass_Appeal]

dont get me wrong the harpooning takes skill, but just doesnt measure up to rod and reel , i mean to talk crap about the rod and reelers when ur spotting from a plane is kinda rediculous

[dakota560]

Good TV is all about drama. Just as you post suggests, harpooning adds a different perspective but one that will intentionally include controversy between the rod and reel guys and the dart guys. Personally I think it's a pretty interesting technique. Many years ago we had a charter for stripers out of Massachusetts and the Capt. said if we agreed to go for giants that morning he would charge us only half fare for the striper trip and we could go on the tuna trip. Only caveat was the boat kept whatever tuna they caught. It was a free trip for us. They opened the season for a few days and the Capt. wanted to take advantage of it.

We ended up not far off Cape Cod, sand eels all over the place and more whales feeding on them than I've ever seen before. The Capt around mid morning, without the benefit of a spotter plane, found a school of giants on the surface. It amazed me because he tracked this school for about 20 minutes before I could even see there were fish there. He'd say they're going to the left, now they're going to the right and at one point said they broke up into two schools. I actually thought he was pulling my leg at one point because no matter how hard I tried I couldn't see a thing. It was dead flat calm and again I couldn't spot the BFT's. Seemingly from out of nowhere, all of a sudden I could just make out a small wake and see the dorsal fins breaking the water about 50 yards in front of the boat and saw exactly what he was looking at. About 5 minutes later, the guy on the pulpit had his shot and as you see in the Wicked Tuna footage, about 30 giants boiled on the surface and sounded. Unfortunately the tuna the guy was aiming at veered precisely at the same time he threw the dart and he missed. That was the only shot we had that day but I will tell you it was an absolutely amazing thing to experience. It is definitely different than rod and reel but I will tell you it takes a skill to catch a BFT that way. Spotter planes have no doubt made it easier but you still have to stalk these trophies in stealth mode and throw a dart 30 to 40 feet at a moving target, not an easy task.

Personally I think it's pretty cool and I would imagine the harpoon guys have a more limited season than the rod and reel guys. At least it seems that way.

Dakota

[PeteyHD]

Like Dakota said its all for TV drama. However, I do think it is very interesting seeing the harpoon boats and the technique they use. Despite the plane helping them from above I strongly believe that dart shot and maneuvering of the boat take a LOT of skill. I am a rod a reel fisherman and strongly discourage netters and draggers but these harpooners actually have to hunt the fish and dart them at the perfect moment while taking into consideration water refraction. Harpooning seems like some sort of Olympic athletic sport and thou many may not agree with the unfairness of hunting the fish I think its pretty neat and adds for good TV as well.

[ScowardNJ]

I think its pretty cool. It's one shot at one fish. Not like the spotter is guiding a net boat to clean out an entire school....

[chrislars]

i think they had harpooners during the first season, or maybe it was on another fishing show because i have seen them on TV before

[PeteyHD]

i think they had harpooners during the first season, or maybe it was on another fishing show because i have seen them on TV before

They did last season.

[Ol Pedro]

Stick boats are a tradition in the North East . They targeted Swordfish then switched to Bluefin when the Market exploded. I think that it has a place on the show.

[Sucker]

It must be expensive to run the boat and the plane. Talk about overhead.

[tombanjo]

Yeah, you think of those old whalers harpooning until you get to the spotter plane part. Takes some of the challange out of it. Matter of time before some genius figures out how to drop a giant net from a plane and corral a whole bunch of them.

[jerseyhunter]

Don't know for sure but I imagine that they were harpooning fish and mammals(whales) long before hook and line. Their season may be shorter and besides it's tv and makes for a good show. Nice aerials to say the least. Been in a top water school like that about 25 yrs ago needless to say we could see them but no hook ups. That'll get you blood boiling.

[SaltLife1980]

Not a fan of the harpooners..

[DaveTats]

It must be expensive to run the boat and the plane. Talk about overhead.

Yeah. Fuel for the boat and plane. How much are they making after all those expenses on a couple fish?

[Super]

Harpooning is cheating, but it's still a lot more honest than tracking the fish with a satellite and putting out a two mile net like Japanese fisherman do.

[njfisherman1975]

I am sure that there are guys taking tuna by harpoon all of the time, but with the show...they are putting that stuff for drama and ratings. Either way...I enjoy watching the show, and if I had the chance, I'd love to try to harpoon one. I am sure that once you do it for the first time, you get hooked on it...just like fly fishing!

[tombanjo]

I find it strange that there's no haggling over the price they get from the wholesalers. These captains bitch and moan over every little thing yet get all giddy over $14lb. The show loves drama, surprised there is none over the price.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Last time Paul and Dave were down this way we talked about harpooning.

It's usually a very limited time where you can fish this way. Not because of regulations but because the fish only school up and surface like this for a very limited time. It's usually when they first arrive from their migration usually in June... The fish are usually schooled up on the surface but have lock jaw and it's tough to get them on rod and reel. They won't usually start feeding until they settle into the area and the summer feeding paterns.

Also something I did not know and they don't talk about it on the show, the harpoon line is not a simple line....It's got voltage in it so when you stick a fish they get jolted big time and it takes the fight right out of them. My guess is the PITAs would be all over that :)

Not sure how I feel about harpooning but I'll tell you one thing...... What a thrill it must be to out on the long pulpit and seeing those Giants swimming up top...The pucker factor must be off the charts. It's also got to take some serious skills to throw that harpoon.

[JBird]

I had a friend who worked on a harpoon boat and said that if you hit the fish with the dart it was game over. A wire on the line delivered a big jolt that basically ended the fight before it started. To me it seems far more humane to zap the fish and end it quick. I think this method is WAY harder than hook and line up until the fish is stuck and isn't "cheating" at all.
I imagine being up in the pulpit above those giants must be an incredible thrill.
Anyway, I can't watch this show. Too much tv BS drama and not enough actual fishing. It's lame.

[Ol Pedro]

Did anyone else notice that the stick boat was dragging a spreader bar ? Not a bad idea to cover all the bases.

[HDMarc]

I think the quality of the meat of a fish caught by harpoon versus line caught would be superior because there's no lactic acid build up in the meat being that there's no long battle involved. Since sushi grade tuna revolves around the quality of the meat, a fish that didn't endure a two hour battle at the end of a line would be substantially better.

[irishc]

Also something I did not know and they don't talk about it on the show, the harpoon line is not a simple line....It's got voltage in it so when you stick a fish they get jolted big time and it takes the fight right out of them. My guess is the PITAs would be all over that :)

This ends a long time bar stool debate!

[Gerry Zagorski]

This ends a long time bar stool debate!

Glad I could help ;)

[Harpoon]

Not a fan of the harpooners..



Cmon...you don't even know me :)

[Taxman]

My 2 issues, when there is a size limit, hard to catch and release. FIrst week one of the boats was giddy over their BLT, barley legal tuna. But again, the rod and reel guys stick them and gaff them before they measure so I guess the survival chances are the same

First week they lost one 1/2 way in, I doubt it survived

[JerseyCoast]

I think the quality of the meat of a fish caught by harpoon versus line caught would be superior because there's no lactic acid build up in the meat being that there's no long battle involved. Since sushi grade tuna revolves around the quality of the meat, a fish that didn't endure a two hour battle at the end of a line would be substantially better.

No doubt about that!

Also..... The plane is cheaper than you think. Same thing with the spotter planes used for bunker here in NJ.. The fuel saved by the boat is what pays for the plane fuel. Im not a bog fan of it because of the spotter plane.... but the guys who do it from the tower.... have my respect.

[PeteyHD]

I think the quality of the meat of a fish caught by harpoon versus line caught would be superior because there's no lactic acid build up in the meat being that there's no long battle involved. Since sushi grade tuna revolves around the quality of the meat, a fish that didn't endure a two hour battle at the end of a line would be substantially better.

Agreed.

[Capt Sal]

No matter how entertaining the show may be the fact is they are commercial fisherman. The next thing is they are killing the same giants that we are allowed to catch a total of one per year. Unfair? You bet but that is fishery management at it's best in our world.:mad:

[beerbelly]

Good TV is all about drama. Just as you post suggests, harpooning adds a different perspective but one that will intentionally include controversy between the rod and reel guys and the dart guys. Personally I think it's a pretty interesting technique. Many years ago we had a charter for stripers out of Massachusetts and the Capt. said if we agreed to go for giants that morning he would charge us only half fare for the striper trip and we could go on the tuna trip. Only caveat was the boat kept whatever tuna they caught. It was a free trip for us. They opened the season for a few days and the Capt. wanted to take advantage of it.

We ended up not far off Cape Cod, sand eels all over the place and more whales feeding on them than I've ever seen before. The Capt around mid morning, without the benefit of a spotter plane, found a school of giants on the surface. It amazed me because he tracked this school for about 20 minutes before I could even see there were fish there. He'd say they're going to the left, now they're going to the right and at one point said they broke up into two schools. I actually thought he was pulling my leg at one point because no matter how hard I tried I couldn't see a thing. It was dead flat calm and again I couldn't spot the BFT's. Seemingly from out of nowhere, all of a sudden I could just make out a small wake and see the dorsal fins breaking the water about 50 yards in front of the boat and saw exactly what he was looking at. About 5 minutes later, the guy on the pulpit had his shot and as you see in the Wicked Tuna footage, about 30 giants boiled on the surface and sounded. Unfortunately the tuna the guy was aiming at veered precisely at the same time he threw the dart and he missed. That was the only shot we had that day but I will tell you it was an absolutely amazing thing to experience. It is definitely different than rod and reel but I will tell you it takes a skill to catch a BFT that way. Spotter planes have no doubt made it easier but you still have to stalk these trophies in stealth mode and throw a dart 30 to 40 feet at a moving target, not an easy task.

Personally I think it's pretty cool and I would imagine the harpoon guys have a more limited season than the rod and reel guys. At least it seems that way.

Dakota hay dakota i hear that boat on f dock is some kind of fisherman, i think its name is lady k, can u get me his autograph

[Blackfish Doug]

I would love to see them Harpoon a Whale now that would be a site. Bring on Moby Dick this ought make those tree huggers cringe. Too many Whales too little baitfish maybe that's where all our Whiting went.