Prince Edward Island, Canada September 24,25,26 2013

We had a series of 3 trips to PEI for this year and this is our last trip for this season, as always the fishing was outstanding and the hospitality did not change, all I have to say about Tony’s Tuna Fishing is that he ran a great operation and he is on the top of it!

I took the drive from New Jersey with Raymond and we drove to Boston to pick up Nick, Danon was flying from Texas and was supposed to arrive on the same time as us, unfortunately his plane from Toronto had a problem and he end up staying overnight, we on the other side made it late at night and were informed to meet up in Souris at 6:00AM the bite seems to be shifted to the other side of the island,
after an hour run we made it to the spot and within minutes we were tight, Nick was first and his fish put all the heat on him, it was his first ever giant and he took the abuse with a smile on his face,
The Shimano Talica 50II took quite a good beat but never failed to deliver, great reel for the money!
get the fish to boat side took a quick pictures and released it to fight another day, the fish was estimated around the 950lb mark,

Raymond was next, nervous a bit and I can see it on his eyes, he was observing and trying to register all what he saw from Nick’s fight, the fish that took his bait was a barrel, he saw it in his eyes and was screaming from the joy but he did not realize the pain that he is going to go through to get it done, he took a beat but manage to finish the job with a bit of help at the end, the fish estimated at 1000lb and was fat.

We couldn’t have a better day than that and at 3:00PM we were back at the dock, Danon was waiting for us and was all fired up to hear about the day and how it went, we took the drive and get fresh oyster for the night mixed with salad and barbeque.

on the second day we launched out at the same time and made the run but heard that the bites was very slow, the herring boat are hauling their catches and they barely see any tuna behind the net,  some boat made the decision and made the long run to North Lake, we stayed for a while and Captain Kurt turn to me and I said just go, it is a bit over 2 hours run but we had to make a decision, the bites was better in North Lake but not the way it supposed to be.

It was a frustrating day but it happen at the end and we all saw the miss on the kite before the fish came back to charge it again, beautiful take that get everybody’s attention after a long day of waiting,
the drag was set at 51lb at strike and I had it to max right from the beginning, after 55 minutes the fish surfaced and Captain Kurt decided to use his kill tag, the fish measured at 106 inches long with a 79 inch belly, it weighted 793lb bled, quite an achievement on landing all those fish on the Shaimano Talica 50II paired with the Shimano Tallus Rod.

The weather was changing but we had a small window in the early AM and it was Danon’s turn, the ocean was rolling with vengeance with big waves,
as soon we made it to the net we marked fish and with a bit of chumming we start hand feeding them,
we set up Danon in the corner and we tossed the dead herring , the fish took the bait and he is finally smiling J

In about 10 minutes from the fight a big wave came in and everybody’s rushed in every direction, I was right behind the chair and I tell you, I thought we are going down! The whole back of the boat get filled up with water, I hold up to the chair and the water came down from my neck all the way to my toes, I looked to see Danon on the floor but still holding to the reel and rod, he stood up and fought his fish with a bruise on his leg,  Raymond came in to the rescue after a 50 minutes, Danon was in pain from the fall,
after 10 minutes the fish surfaced and we got it to boat side to take a quick pictures,
what a great day to end the trip, everybody’s had the chance to fight and land a fish, in some occasion the guys worked as a team taking into consideration that this was their first Giant tuna fishing trip, they sure learned a lot from this experience and I expect to see better result next year , until then I will report for you with more to come!
My observation to PEI : world class fishery grab it while you can, fishing for giant will get you to understand the behavior and the fight technique to win with these amazing species, you don’t need to fight them with heavy tackles as I believe you will be fighting the equipment rather than the fish, affordable and world class experience with top notch organization.
Tackle used:

Reel: Shimano Talica 50II
Rod: Shimano Tallus TLT-STXH
Line: Power Pro Hollow 130lb
Shot Leader: Varivas shock Leader 200lb
Leader: Seaguar Fluorocarbon 200lb
Belt: Black Magic Belt

  Tight lines

   Sami

I get a call from Captain Eric to jump on board to fish the Cape for Bluefin tuna.
my only concern was the drive as I did not want to drive alone but Ray made it happen and he tagged along with me and he then headed north along with his group to fish with Captain Josh,

The run was long and my concern was the afternoon weather on the way back to the dock, however the weather man made another mistake and we had a great ride back home.
We were close to Captain Dom and Captain Josh and we fished in the same area, took us a while to get a bite and set up the right drift, thanks to Captain Dom for his advice it came in handy and fruitful,
listening to the radio in the early morning was a lot of fun, I probably heard the words of tight over 50 times yesterday and the guys on board Captain Dom and Captain Josh were on fire, as always I have to work harder but I know it is a matter of time before it will happen to us,

I was talking to Captain Eric and Richard and wanted to grab my plier and boom, I get hammered on the stop, I set the hook and the fish charged to the top to come unbuttoned right at gaff, the fish hit the Shout Width 210g in pink, I was a bit disappointed to lose it at the gaff but that is what keeps us going harder,
get to another drift and Captain Eric get a good bump but the fish did not commit to the jig, we kept on drifting and hearing and seeing guys getting fish here and there, I can see Eric getting worried so I turned to him and I said: Eric we will make it happen today we just need to put our time and effort.

I switched back to the OBX-400 Paired with the Torsa 16 and we marked fish and I instantly get a decent hit in mid water, that fish literally kicked my A.. I had never fought a fish like that, so stubborn and on the top of that the reel did not help me, I had a problem with the drag as the reel is old and need to be serviced but I never had the chance to send it to Shimano, it took close to 30minutes to land that fish and on every turn and run I felt like I wasn’t  going to land it, Richard was full of encouragement and it  reminded me of myself when others are fighting along with me , he gave me the encouragement to fight and land that fish and I have to admit that for once I had my fore arms seized on me,

The gaff shot was amazing after missing the first one which made me forget about the miss,
a big celebration took place on the Contender and a nice 65 inch fatty hit the deck,
I can’t have a better day than that, we stayed for another hour and we called it off.
I thank Captain Dom for the Intel and Captain Eric for the great day on the water.

Tackle used:

Rod: Saltywater Tackle OBX-400 Jigging Rod, MC Works SB 556MS, Smith AMJ-52EX, El Maestro 77H Prototype, Race Point 100 Prototype
Reels: Shimano Stella SW20000, Shimano Saragosa 10000 prototype, Shimano Torsa 16
Line: Sunline HG PE Jigger
Leader:  Seaguar 100lb Fluorocarbon
Jigs: Shout Width 210g, Shout Shab Shab200g & 300g, Haoli Slim & Long 230g

  Tight Lines

    Sami