Author: Alex Wexler
Summer Tuna Fishing In New Jersey
I went home for a week and was able to get out on the water for an overnight trip to the Canyon with some good buddies. We left out of Barnegat Inlet in New Jersey at about 9pm and settled in for the 70 mile ride to the Hudson Canyon.
The plan was to shark until first light and then get on the troll and try to find the tunas. The water was a little warm for makos but we had heard of a couple caught the night previously. We started sharking at about 1am and through the night had one run off about an hour into the drift. We came tight on it but the fish ended up spitting the hook a couple minutes later.
At about 4:30 am we brought everything in and went on the troll. We were looking to capitalize off that first light bite and we started working the tip of the Hudson Canyon. We had seen bait there through the night while we were shark fishing. Tons of squid and mackerel were swimming through the lights all night so we were hopeful.
Unfortunately we didn't get bit and it sounded like there were a few boats inshore of us that did so by 7:30 we headed in that direction. Along the way we saw pods of dolphin working and a couple nice rips.
We stopped at some lobster pots and pulled some mahi off of them. The biggest was about 10 pounds.
We trolled the area where we heard the bites were but still no luck and the bite had faded out. We decided to go back to where we had started because we had seen all that life and figured it would be a matter of time til the fish started feeding.
(Read Other Articles About Tuna Fishing)
Around noon we got our first bite and we were pretty stoked because it had been a long morning with not too much action. The fish ate a spreader bar in close to the boat and was about a 40-50lb yellowfin.
We got the lines back out and within 5 minutes we had another bite on a ballyhoo that missed the hook. I switched the bait out and 10 minutes later we got tight on another fish. This one was a little bigger, about a 60lb yellowfin. We were stoked they were finally biting.
(Find Out How To Rig Ballyhoo)
I believe we missed one other bite on a ballyhoo that missed the hook and decided to bring it in and head for the barn.
Overall it was a great time on the water with great friends and thats what its all about!
I did a sketch inspired from the trip which can be seen below.
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!
We Help Millions Of Anglers Spend More Time Fishing
We are the Bullbuster Team, our mission is to help you spend more time fishing. We accomplish this by selling our fishing line directly from our factory to our customers without any middle men, as well as fostering a community of anglers who are ready to make a commitment to spending more time fishing.
Tour Our Factory Below
Buy Your Fishing Lines Brand Direct Now!
