Giant Bluefin Tuna are arguably the most powerful fish in the ocean. They normally are found in fast moving schools in very deep water, are difficult to hook, and are very difficult to land due to their incredible power. One feels lucky to even have a chance to catch one of these monsters. Several years ago though a revolutionary discovery was made off North Carolina. Huge schools of bluefin were found wintering in shallow water voraciously feeding on menhaden. Here one could have the opportunity not to catch just one but many of these muscle bound giant footballs in a single day. Actually one could catch as many as they had the strength and endurance to tackle.
Ian McTurk and I recently had the pleasure of getting to partake in this awesome endeavor. Fishing with Captain Bruce Pollock and his mate Bob on the Sea Hawk out of Morehead City, North Carolina we headed north some fifty miles. Here, roughly halfway between the ports of Morehead City and Hatteras, we found the fish in only 30 fathoms of water. The ensuing three and one-half hours provided the most incredible fishing experience I have ever encountered and it was well worth enduring the cold weather and rough water.
In that brief period I caught twenty-one giant bluefin between 300 and 600 pounds. Eighteen were taken from the chair using 200 pound Spider-wire wrapped on an International 12-0 and a 180 pound class chair rod with 90 pounds of drag at the rod tip. The other three fish I captured using my 80 pound Ian Miller Australian-made bent-butt stand-up stick and an 80 wide Shimano Tiagra reel with 80 pound Amilan-T monofilament line as a top-shot over 80 pound Magibraid dacron. Using the stand-up technique I could only handle 45 to 50 pounds of drag and stay in the boat.
I have pulled on some “real” fish in the past including blue and black marlin approaching 1000 pounds, thresher shark over 500 pounds, yellowfin and bigeye tuna over 300 pounds, and even broadbill swordfish. I therefore thought I had an understanding of what to expect from these behemoths of the deep. As it turns out, I was wrong! The giant bluefin is a markedly different fish than its close relatives. Using both hands I could not pull line from the reel against ninety pounds of drag. Yet these fish were able to pull off 150 to 200 yards at 30 miles per hour against that force on their initial run. They had so much power that the rod and even the entire fighting chair was vibrating violently during that run. Their power was awesome!
Anyone who has not had the opportunity to catch one of these fish needs to do so. It is not for the weak or faint of heart though. The waters off North Carolina this time of year are very rough and the winds are strong. It is often quite cold with frost on the deck in the mornings. And the power of these fish necessitates working-out in advance and being familiar with fighting-chair technique to avoid going swimming unexpectedly. This however is the epitome of heavy tackle fishing and I cannot imagine anything else even being remotely comparable!
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Here I am on a 450 pound Giant Bluefin tuna with an 80# class Ian Miller rod and Shimano Tiagra 80-wide reel. We captured this fish in 15 minutes primarily because of a continuous 50 pounds of drag and aggressive boat handling.