BY DAVE HURLEY
HALF MOON BAY – All it takes is a few days of calm ocean conditions to reach the central California bluefin grounds, and when the ocean calmed down on Wednesday, August 5, a bluefin blowout took place on the six-pack fleet.
First blood was drawn on Wednesday on the Codfather out of Alameda, trolling Nomad’s Mad Mac’s near the Half Moon Bay Weather Buoy with two quality bluefin in the 150- to 170-pound range. Thursday brought out Captain Charlie Barberini of the Scallawag out of Golden State Guide Service for 4 tuna ranging from 100 to over 200 pounds, only to be exceeded by five bluefin tuna from 130 to 170 pounds on Friday by Captain John Marfia of Tanker City Sport Fishing out of Half Moon Bay.
Marfia said, “We were also out on Thursday for three tuna out of four hook ups, but Friday’s trip was as good as it gets as we left them biting since there was no more room in the hold for more fish. The group on Friday had three youngsters and their fathers, and we started out trolling for salmon around the Deep Reef but only landed two horse mackerel. Since we found them the previous day, we discussed whether we should make the run for tuna or start rockfishing. The fathers said, ‘Let’s go for it,’ and we ran out below the Weather Buoy to put the lines in for a total of 7 hook ups for the tuna including two broken wind-on leaders. We have switched over to 200-pound monofilament instead of fluorocarbon, and it has improved the landing ratio. We are running Mad Mac’s 240’s at 9 to 12 knots, and the mono allows for more give whereas the fluoro is stiffer with less give. We are constantly learning about these fish, and one key is to stay in the area when you find fish. We also run a long line 1800 yards behind the boat, and two of the fish came on the long line with three on the conventional 90, 75, and 60 second let outs. Green Mackerel was the hot color on Friday, and these fish are feeding on anchovies, sauries, mackerel, or sardines, and they are butterballs.”
The Codfather was back on the grounds in sporty conditions on Saturday, August 8, and they had another banner outing with a brace of big blues. The learning curve for northern California bluefin tuna is clearly being shortened, and a five-fish day, previously unheard of, is becoming increasingly commonplace.
