Tuna Info Needed - please help

[Arbutis]

Leaving in the dark on Saturday from Sandy Hook area and heading east offshore. It's a very rare opportunity for me to get to go so I want to give it the best shot I can.
Throw me a bone here NJFishing.com!!! Please give me some intel on where I should head at first light. Anyone who has been out recently, please share a few tid bits of info that may make our day. Anything at all would be helpful.
Landmarks? types of jigs? chunk bait? poppers? What's the scoop?

Afterall, isn't that what this forum is set up for? Thanks guys. I'll hook you up with some sushi when I get back!

[LIGHTACKLE]

Second hand info the chicken canyon has been red hot..but an early bite!!

[Dino]

nice.. get after them. are you running out in your own boat? i would try to bring a buddy.. its "inshore" but the chicken canyon is a legitimate run in a nearshore boat... cant help you with numbers ( I am out of the country lol) but if you cannot get any fresh intel, just get out to the general area as early as possible and find the life.. u want the slicks and chicky birds... and yup, you will want to have a couple rods you can jig with.. and a couple rods you can troll with.

trolling wise: if its a real good bite, squid bars and lures will work, if its slower bite you should probably have some ballyhoo on hand. fish at least one bally way way back.

jigs: a basic HDJ will work but this time of year you get fish keyed in on the sandeels.. so something with a slim profile is even better.. sting-o, butterfly jigs both proven.

put the boat right upcurrent of the slicks and try to read fish on your scope as you drift, drop the jigs, work the entire water column, etc etc etc

as you know getting out early before the boat traffic and high sun really makes the entire equation much easier.

[loosescrews]

We ran out there last Saturday and thought we could catch fish short of the chicken. Big mistake! We broke SRI at 430 and zig zagged on the way out hitting little italy , lillian and then down to resor. The problem with that was, no life and dirty water until about 45-50mi out by the time we got to the "spot" the bite was winding down and we never got ours. If we ran strait there we probably would have put some nice fish in the boat. You don't have to be in the chicken canyon to catch fish but that just happens to be about where the water clears up with tons of life and bait. Good luck

[Gerry Zagorski]

Great advice above.... Trolled stuff should be more on the smaller side for Bluefins and I would definately put a tried and true cedar plug or 2 in the spread as well as some smaller spreader bars. If you can't raise any fish in the spread but are marking them while trolling, then stopping and dropping down a jig might be a better bet.

Not sure how much fuel you carry and what the range is on your boat....You say you are in the Sandy Hook area so you need to be prepared for an 80 mile run each way plus trolling. General rule is to have 1/3 more fuel than you need for the run in case you encounter seas in which case you are going to consume a lot more fuel then you normally would.... You'll be down south a bit so you could always run into the closest port to fuel up if you are running short on the way back north.

Not sure how big your boat is but this offshore forecast if its stays as predicted is marginal at best if you are running a smaller boat.

TONIGHT
W TO SW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT.

SAT
W TO SW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. ISOLATED
SHOWERS AND TSTMS DEVELOPING.

SAT NIGHT
W TO SW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING W TO NW AFTER
MIDNIGHT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS.


You also need to have an HMS permit and need to know the regs and be familiar with how to identify the Tuna. And in MHO, an Epirb and good fixed mount VHF radio and antenna are musts.

I see you are trying to hook up with Dfish so that is great..... You might also want to let someone know what time you are expected to get back into port and where you intend to fish (float plan) just to be on the safe side.


Best of luck and be safe.

[hammer4reel]

you would be hard pressed to find a more effective jig than the STINGO PBJ in 150 and 200 gram, in both Silver and Gold.

The other jig that has been working good is the RUN OFF lures sand eel. it has been very good when fish are tight to the bottom.

I think trolling while effective is what shuts a bite down fast as these tuna are in pretty tight areas right now.
and all the excessive trolling has been knocking the bite off quickly .

Jigging over good marks while these fish are on sand eels is VERY effective , and isnt disturbing the fish, allowing the bite to last longer

STINGO PBJ 200 GRAM IN ACTION

[Arbutis]

Thanks guys - all great advice so far. Keep it coming.
We are on a contender type 30 ft CC (Black) with twin 250 yamis. We've done this trip before - last year and the year before - so we are aware of the need for safety equipment, sat phone, etc. And also aware of the size and limit regs.

I think the KEYS from what I have read hear are to get out EARLY, and don't stop till we are there - or near there.
Look for life, follow signs on the sonar, start dropping jigs. No signs of life - start trolling.

What else?

[Gerry Zagorski]

Wasabi, soy sauce and fresh Ginger

If all else fails a good plan B might be to bring some Spearing or Peanut Bunker and work the pots for Mahi.