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So I finally got to go on my much anticipated tuna trip. Myself, my wife, two colleagues from work, and one of their wives all booked on the Fury from Deep Sea charters. As this was a 10 person party boat no fly-fishing gear was used. We arrived in Westport Wednesday at 4p with an anticipated departure of 7:00p. My Scopolomine patch was placed to allow it to kick in. When we checked in at 6p we were told the weather/seas has been rough on their trip in from the previous days charter, and that we would wait until 10:30 to let the worst of it past. At this time the flags on the wharf were standing straight out from the stiff breeze. After dinner on shore we returned to the boat at 10:00, and were told we should go down and get some sleep, but that we would depart with enough time to be on the fish by sunrise.
At 12:00 midnight the motors started and we pulled out of the harbor. By 12:20 we were getting tossed about like crazy and I made it up to the deck for he first of many purgings. After spending a nearly sleepless night on deck on a pitch black sea without a horizon and with repeated emptying of stomach contents the sunrise started about 6:00.
As the seas calmed slightly and a horizon was visible the motion sickness began to improve. Fishing commenced with trolling four jigs until a strike occurred, at which time the boat would turn back over the school and we dropped lines baited with live anchovies over the side. Most of the time we would have 1-2 hook-ups on the jig, then get another 2-5 fish on bait. This continued until 8p with occasional episodes of no fish on bait, and occasional episodes of 10+ fish on bait. Fish ranged from 15-29 lbs, and did pull like a train. Not a whole lot of skill involved in this fishing, apart from selecting an anchovy lively enough to swim rapidly away from the boat. As the day progressed the motion sickness did improve, and by afternoon I was able to eat.
After fishing ended we had 120 fish on board in the refrigerated hold. We had dinner (this was strictly bring your own edibles, but our group put together a nice spread), then went to bed. As a precaution I slept on one of the benches on deck, but thankfully the seas had calmed and my sea legs were finally under me, so I slept soundly.
Up again at 6:00 Friday, with more fishing until 9:00a. By 9:00 we were just about out of bait, had the hold full of 145 fish, and decided to head in. Made it back to port about 1:00p, divided up the fish, and headed for home.
Reflections: There needs to be a limit on Tuna, if for no other reason than to stop people from catching more than they can use. Because the fish were caught for the boat and then divided in equal shares there was really no way to say "I don't want any more fish, so I'll stop fishing now". My wife and I got the meat from 29 fish between us - well over 150lbs - and will have a hard time using it even after giving large amounts away. Additionally, there was large amounts of down time with very little skill involved in either the hooking or landing of fish. I'd much rather catch an 8" trout that I know I targeted, presented the fly correctly to, and played and landed with the risk of losing the fish. At least if you're not catching while fly-fishing you are working on reading the water, presenting your fly, fine-tuning your cast, or building skills in other aspects of the game. In fact, I think the tuna fishing experience would have been much more enjoyable if I had only caught 2-3 fish, got to experience the fight and see them in all of their beauty, then enjoyed the other wild life - and calm seas would make it nicer as well. We did see about 7-8 off-shore bird species (a few new ones for my life list), a humpback whale, 2 mola molas (ocean sunfish), and a leatherback turtle. All in all, I'm glad I had the experience but most likely would not go out again. For the same amount of money I could do 2 guided days on a river of my choosing, fish in an environmentally responsible manner, have a nice dinner, and sleep in a comfortable bed.
At 12:00 midnight the motors started and we pulled out of the harbor. By 12:20 we were getting tossed about like crazy and I made it up to the deck for he first of many purgings. After spending a nearly sleepless night on deck on a pitch black sea without a horizon and with repeated emptying of stomach contents the sunrise started about 6:00.
As the seas calmed slightly and a horizon was visible the motion sickness began to improve. Fishing commenced with trolling four jigs until a strike occurred, at which time the boat would turn back over the school and we dropped lines baited with live anchovies over the side. Most of the time we would have 1-2 hook-ups on the jig, then get another 2-5 fish on bait. This continued until 8p with occasional episodes of no fish on bait, and occasional episodes of 10+ fish on bait. Fish ranged from 15-29 lbs, and did pull like a train. Not a whole lot of skill involved in this fishing, apart from selecting an anchovy lively enough to swim rapidly away from the boat. As the day progressed the motion sickness did improve, and by afternoon I was able to eat.
After fishing ended we had 120 fish on board in the refrigerated hold. We had dinner (this was strictly bring your own edibles, but our group put together a nice spread), then went to bed. As a precaution I slept on one of the benches on deck, but thankfully the seas had calmed and my sea legs were finally under me, so I slept soundly.
Up again at 6:00 Friday, with more fishing until 9:00a. By 9:00 we were just about out of bait, had the hold full of 145 fish, and decided to head in. Made it back to port about 1:00p, divided up the fish, and headed for home.
Reflections: There needs to be a limit on Tuna, if for no other reason than to stop people from catching more than they can use. Because the fish were caught for the boat and then divided in equal shares there was really no way to say "I don't want any more fish, so I'll stop fishing now". My wife and I got the meat from 29 fish between us - well over 150lbs - and will have a hard time using it even after giving large amounts away. Additionally, there was large amounts of down time with very little skill involved in either the hooking or landing of fish. I'd much rather catch an 8" trout that I know I targeted, presented the fly correctly to, and played and landed with the risk of losing the fish. At least if you're not catching while fly-fishing you are working on reading the water, presenting your fly, fine-tuning your cast, or building skills in other aspects of the game. In fact, I think the tuna fishing experience would have been much more enjoyable if I had only caught 2-3 fish, got to experience the fight and see them in all of their beauty, then enjoyed the other wild life - and calm seas would make it nicer as well. We did see about 7-8 off-shore bird species (a few new ones for my life list), a humpback whale, 2 mola molas (ocean sunfish), and a leatherback turtle. All in all, I'm glad I had the experience but most likely would not go out again. For the same amount of money I could do 2 guided days on a river of my choosing, fish in an environmentally responsible manner, have a nice dinner, and sleep in a comfortable bed.
