BY DAVE HURLEY
HALF MOON BAY – Just when we thought the northern California bluefin bite couldn’t get much better; IT DID, exploding to unheard of scores. Last issue’s statement was ‘a five-fish day, previously unheard of, is becoming increasingly commonplace.’ Party and commercial boats have blown well past that standard now.
When Captain John Marfia of Tanker City Sport Fishing out of Half Moon Bay posted six bluefin from 130 to 170 pounds a few weeks back, we couldn’t imagine a more successful trip. Although that was an amazing day of fishing, Marfia has eclipsed this score with 8 and 10 bluefins during the weekend of August 14 as part of a total of 40 tuna within 6 trips. He said, “We left them biting when we had the 10 with no more room in our hold and 72-inch fish bag. I’ve since purchased another 72-inch bag. I used to dream of catching three tuna per trips, but this has been unbelievable, and I think September and October are going to be incredible as there are bluefin from the Pioneer Seamount past the Davenport Fingers up to Cordell Banks off Bodega Bay.”
Captain Charlie Barberini of the Scallawag out of Golden State Guide Service posted 7 more bluefin on a single trip while Codfather out of Alameda put in tuna pushing 275 pounds. And it has not just been from the Half Moon Bay Weather Buoy as offshore on the Sonoma coast has come alive for the big blues. Captain Rick Powers of Bodega Bay Sport Fishing added, “While we are pounding out limits of salmon along the beaches, several private boaters ran to the Cordell Bank area for up to 6 bluefin tuna. It is absolutely spectacular.”
Captain Jerad Davis of the Salty Lady out of Sausalito has added bluefin trips to his array, and his boat landed two bluefin out of seven hookups on a recent trip near the Half Moon Bay Buoy. Davis added, “Every time those rods go off, it is so exciting. This is different, as they are here in numbers with fish all the way up the line from outside the Farallons to Fort Bragg.”
Captain James Smith of California Dawn Sport Fishing has planned a crew trip this week to try jigging and drifting live bait at night to assess the potential of these techniques. Smith said, “We know how to catch them by trolling Mad Mac’s, but we want to try similar techniques to those used in So Cal. The tuna are loaded with 5- and 6-inch anchovies, and the volume of bluefin up here is amazing. El Nino is a big factor in their presence.”
The private boat fleet continues to grow for offshore attempts at this fishery, and dedicated anglers are shortening the NorCal bluefin learning curve. Let’s see what the next two months hold, but a blue future is well within sight.
