Oregon Inlet Bluefin tuna ending season March 2014

I had Sergey from Kazakhstan, Igor from Singapore and Konstantin from Texas on my last guided trip to North Carolina, the guys were so excited as their fellow fisherman and friends had a nice open bite for 2 days in a row and I was honestly very optimistic to get to see an open topwater bites,

I’d rather say a typical North Carolina madness but unfortunately that didn’t happen, that was not due to the lack of fish, the fish were in a great numbers but the bite was weird in every sense, we were making fish on the screen and seeing hundreds of tuna swimming down sea ranging from 100lb to 500lb,
they were very obvious when the sun was straight up and you can see them in the warm cobalt water  swimming in a group of 3s and 4s and of course the big one coming in single, it was a great scenery but a frustrating one without any doubt, we set up to cast right up to their nose but there was no taker whatsoever  as if they were keyed in for a mission somewhere.
Finally Ned asked to drop a jig as the mark is really good and after a couple of twitch Igor came in tight on the jig and manage to land his first tuna for the season, the fish made it to the gaff and was served for dinner that very night, even though the fish was not that fat but the O’ Toro on that fish was one of the best I had ever had in a long time.
The weather got crappie again and we stayed ashore for 3 days straight, it was a long 3 days but lucky enough my wife and the kids made it so I finally had the chance to spend some time with them.

After the long wait, the weather finally improved and we headed out with excellent marks but harsh conditions for the jigging and popping guys, the trollers and the green stick guys had their day, they definitely did better than us this year and I can’t figure out the reason behind it, are we encountering the same scenario as the Cape where the fishes tend to feed at night? No matter how much we know about these fish, they tend to make us think deeply and when we think we finally figured it out, it is almost never right but that is why we love targeting Bluefin tuna, the achievement to catch a fish on a jig or on topwater is priceless and the success does not only go to the angler but to all involve, including the Captain, mate and the crew. Boat positioning, leadering, gaffing, photo taking all add up to a successful catch.
No bites for us and we were starting to lose hope.
Captain Ned moved us to the colder green water, from a distance we saw the porpoises and we headed straight out to intercept them, the guys were not interested to cast but we manage to get them going and in a couple of twitch and while I have my camera focused on Sergey ‘s lure, Boom! Fish on!

Massive top water boil and Sergey is on, after 9 minutes Sergey manage to land a 77 inch fish, took a quick pictures and released it to fight another day, Sergey is an avid angler and it is no surprise he got the job done quickly and on his own with no help, the Carpenter Endless Passion 86-40R performed amazingly with a lot of lifting power to spare, we called the day off with smiles on everybody’s face,

What a great day to end the season in North Carolina!

I would like to thank all our clients that gave us the opportunity to serve them in North Carolina for the 2014 winter and we look forward to see you guys again in 2015, Thank you!

Tackle used:

Rods:  Carpenter WV, Carpenter EP 86-40R, Patriot Design, Race Point
Reels: Shimano Stella, Daiwa Saltiga
Lures: Carpenter Gamma, CB One Zorro, Blue Marlin Stickbait, Siren, Bertox.
Jigs: Shout Shab Shab, CB One, Hot’s drift tune.
Line: Power Pro Hollow 130lb, Varivas SMP PE8, Sunline PE8
Leader: Saltywater Tackle twisted leader for popping,  Seaguar 150lb for jigging

  Tight lines

   Sami

Oregon Inlet, Bluefin Tuna March 2014, Russian style :) Part II

We had the chance to experience another good bite but unfortunately we get the tail of it,
on that day and after a great success from the previous day the whole fleet went into silence,
with scattered boat looking in every direction there was no sign and report at all.

The weather was perfect to look for them and with the hour passing by we start losing hope till Captain Dan hit the throttle with full speed, I right away knew that he has something in his mind or he must get a call from somebody, I shouted to get his attention for an update, he smiled and said 15 miles run be ready, we start seeing a small fleet and by the time we were next to them we noticed that most of them are hooked up, that was Hatteras commercial fleet.
 my guys were losing interested as the day was not close to what they saw the other day and all what they want to see is busting fish on topwater, however we all know that this scenario is not to be seen every day and the blind cast pay off on days like that, I’ve seen it many times and I experienced in many occasion when everybody gave up and I stood to keep casting and aiming to catch a fish, hard work always pay off at the end.

Edwardo and Yuri start casting while I dropped a jig, next to me was Andrew.
I looked at Andrew and I told him cast there is fish around and this might be our last chance, he casted and after 2 twitch he had a taker with beautiful strike, he sat the hook with excitement building up on board and everybody shouting out of joy,
After a long day it finally happen and at 4:00pm, Captain Dan had put up the extra mileage and the time to make it happen and his mission was completed, now it is the angler job to finish the job.

After huffing and buffing Andrew passed the rod till it reached Edwardo,
Edwardo was using the Black Magic Belt, in another note I warned him from the beginning about the advantage and the disadvantage of the Black Magic belt.
I would also take this opportunity to remind all anglers that are heading down south to get a taste of those Bluefin tuna on popping gear to be careful of the usage of the Black Magic Belt, the belt was originally designed for stand up gear but can be used on popping set up with an experience angler that is capable of reacting fast and willing to communicate with the mate and the captain at all time.

The angel was wrong and the unexpected happen when the fish took a dive under the boat leaving the angler with no time to react to get that 45 degree angle, the mid-section of the rod snapped followed by Eduardo losing his balance and the whole rod end up in the water with the reel.
Defeated is the right word as we all know we can’t win all the time.

Tackle used:
Rod: Ripple Fisher 710 Big Tuna, Race Point 300, Carpenter, Patriot design
Reel: Shimano Stella, Daiwa Saltiga. Maxel jigging reel.
Lures: Carpenter Gamma, CB One, Siren, Moutoukenmaru, Bertox
Line: Power Pro Hollow, JB Hollow, Varivas SMP, Sunline
Leader: Saltywater Tackle casting leader, Seaguar Fluorocarbon

  Tight lines
   Sami

Oregon Inlet March 2014, Russian style :)

A beautiful opening day for North Carolina today, fish were busting in every direction you can look at.
a bite that we were waiting for to happen for the last month, upon our arrival to the fishing ground we marked fish right away and Captain Dan asked the guys to start casting, after 5 minutes we saw a blow on Andrey’s lures,
the fish dumped half of his spool leaving him with a confusion on his face, Iron man was next but his fish was smaller and he manage to land the fish after 15 minutes, we called the shot and gaffed the first fish on the boat just to secure our catch knowing that Andrey’s fish is larger,
he struggled as this was his first Bluefin tuna so he asked for help and the rod went around for close to an hour till I came in and had it in the boat, the fish measured at 83 inch and looked very roundish, we estimated that fish to be in the range of 280lb to 290lb, took a few shot and released it safely,

We moved along and start marking again till we start seeing the fish busting on topwater, Yuri launched his Gamma 200 only to get inhaled with peeling line and screaming drag however the line broke as I believe another fish ran through the line, in the meantime to fish sounder is singing the blue and Dan right away ask us to drop a jig, Iron Man and myself dropped our jig to 220 feet after a couple of twitch I came in tight but not for too long, the fish took off and my line broke, Iron man get a bite but his knot failed, the first 2 jig bites on the Tuna Duck for this year resulted of breakage and knot failures.

We kept on looking till we found the bait boil, Captain Dan shouted from the bridge to be ready,
the tuna were smashing the Blue fish and we had the ultimate shot, 3 guys fired and the 3 get tight on the spot, my line & Edward ‘s line broke but Iron man was on fire he landed the fish after 20 minutes on Siren lures, I took a few pictures and released it safely after tagging it.

Dan again asked us to drop the jig as the fish sounder is beeping, Iron Man get an amazing strike,
he sat the hook and the fight began but after 20 minutes he lost the fish when his line dig in to the spool, that was a hefty fish and we all saw the pressure he put up on the rod.

We moved on and saw another bait ball with big fish crushing on them; we fired our lures and Edwardu get tight right away but he lost the fish on the first run, a day to be remembered for sure as the Russian came in to believe that North Carolina is alive and the fish is around,

I will be reporting for you tomorrow as I need to catch some sleep.

Tackle used:

Rod: Race Point 250, 300, Carpenter, Patriot design
Reel: Shimano Stella, Daiwa Saltiga
Lures: Carpenter Gamma, Siren, Bertox, CB One/
Line: JB Hollow, Power Pro Hollow, Varivas SMP
Leader: Saltywater Twisted leader
Hooks: Shout Kudako hooks

  Tight lines
   Sami