Sushi

For the past week or so, there have been rumors that the Blackfin Tuna bite is red hot along the 30-fathom curve.  Blackfin Tuna make excellent sashimi and poke.  Two of my favorite foods.  Unfortunately, a sprained right ankle has kept me from offshore fishing.  On Thursday, the allure of fresh Blackfin Tuna became overwhelming.  So, Brody and I invited Elliott (my son), Dave (my brother) and Tristin Poole to join us on Friday.

We left the dock just before first light.  Our plan was to run to the 30-fathom curve then troll a spread of DTX lures (for Wahoo) and cedar plugs (for Blackfin).  We arrived a bit late to the fishing grounds and missed the prime fishing time.  However, we did manage to catch some tuna.  With a good supply of sashimi and poke in the fish box, we decided to stop trolling and do a little vertical jigging.

While I navigated to a small ledge in 165 feet of water, the crew switched from trolling to jigging tackle.  Upon arrival at the ledge, we dropped Shimano 170-gram Shimmerfall jigs to the bottom.  This was my first time to fish a Shimmerfall jig.  I liked it.  More importantly, the Grouper and Snapper liked it too!  Dave even hooked a couple of Blackfin Tuna on the Shimmerfall.  However, one pulled the hook and the other was eaten by a shark.  This got us to thinking about specifically targeting Blackfin Tuna with jigs.  It will take a bit of trial and error, but I think it will become a highly effective technique for keeping sashimi and poke on the table!

On Saturday, Brody and I did a little inshore fishing.  The Trout, Flounder and Redfish were crushing the Z-Man Finesse TRD.  They were congregating around creek mouths on the last half of the falling tide.  Shallow, oyster laden creeks produced the best action.  While we were fishing, a boat pulled up and stopped.  I expected them to ask a fishing question.  However, they just wanted to see the “famous” fish finding and stock trading dog.  It was a humbling experience.