# Bluefin tuna in the shallows?



## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

I'm hearing that giant bluefin tuna are turning up off off Va. Beach and other places in 15 feet of water chasing pods of menhaden. Is this true?

I know that occasionally, live bait fishermen will catch sailfish off the piers in the summer--can you imagine someone hooking into a 400-pound bluefin off Sandbridge pier? No one would ever believe them.


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## SHORELINE (May 21, 2000)

Do you think your old heaver will do the job on a giant bluefin? Oh i saw diggers breakaway and man those are sweet. You know those bluefin can get to 1200 lbs.


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## Russ Dadds (Feb 23, 2000)

I was just down there and I think they've moved off a little now. Even so they are not reallt there to feed, just migrating. From what I've heard they are almost impossible to hook.


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## Salty (Jan 10, 2000)

Never heard of big blues in the shallows, but I guess if the conditions were right, anything is possible. 

Bluefin are something though, I have seen Porsche size bluefin chasing 10-15 lb bluefish out over shoals in New England, and you've never seen nothing until you've seen a 1000 lb fish fly. They'll jump clean out of the water chasing blues and other "bait fish" that do the same trying to get away. I couldn't imagine one over a few hundred pounds (let alone over 1000) on the end of my line. 


Tight lines, 

Salty


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## Shoebag22 (Jun 17, 2004)

They're about 3 miles out chasing bunker with the stripers...


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## Advisor (Jan 12, 2003)

Wonder if you could pick one up on a Sabiki rig?


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## Fishman (Apr 23, 2000)

Advisor said:


> Wonder if you could pick one up on a Sabiki rig?



LMAO


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## Dixie719 (May 12, 2003)

This post resurfaced out of the Blue!

But I did hear they are out by the CLT....


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## AL_N_VB (Apr 3, 2002)

heard they caught one @ OV...right in front of Catman32's place


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## Lip Ripper (Dec 8, 2003)

i seem to remember about 4 yrs ago a 350lb blue fin beached itself at obx in the middle of a striper blitz! and 3 guys grabbed it. thats just what i heard, may not be true. but i think there was an article on it.


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## Fishman (Apr 23, 2000)

Nserch4Drum said:


> heard they caught one @ OV...right in front of Catman32's place



Still LMAO


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

This thread is _five years old._


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## Rockstar (Jun 23, 2004)

from what i understand, it's pretty rare... but areas of jersey get runs of bluefin, false albies, and bonito along the shore.


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## gus (Jan 24, 2002)

i think i remember reading an article of a bluefin that was caught from shore, unbelievably enough. it is not with enough regularity to actually target them specifically id imagine.


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## TreednNC (Jul 1, 2005)

Seems I remember reading a thread on the NC board on here or RDT about somebody hooking up to a bluefin on the shoals off the point or somewhere roughly 1-2mi off OBX and it dragging them out to sea. I think they were striper fishing. Seems like also somebody off of one of the OBX was hooked up to what they thought was a striper and was fighting it then all of a sudden got dumped like it was hooked up to an F-16. I reckon its possible. Could you imaging throwing a bucktail or Hopkins into a school of breaking 400lbers


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## Shoebag22 (Jun 17, 2004)

don't know how I stumbled across this post... my apologies for digging it up... guess it happens every year... or every five years...


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## fishbone4_14_74 (Feb 7, 2005)

Well damn and here i was all ready to go after them big ole boys in the am ,,, Boat was all ready and everything. well looks like a pier fishing day tomorrow threw saturday ,, see you guys tomorrow night with turkey sammys.


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## rockhead (Nov 6, 2002)

I have seen them free jumping just east of the CLT,


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## RACN35 (Oct 17, 2004)

GOOD JOB KAJUN !! THOSE BLASTED TF'ERS !! MAN YOU JUST CANT TRUST THEM CAN YA !! THANKS .


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## AL_N_VB (Apr 3, 2002)

RACN35 said:


> well if not tuna - how about a lil ole striper at rudee inlet ?


Pic from this seasons?


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## RACN35 (Oct 17, 2004)

not sure - i dont think so- it came from a guy on tidal fish - but it was caught by the rocks beach side of rudee- i mysef used to catch alot of fish there too- my lil brother was a surfer big time and would haul my rig out past the rocks for me and i always caught good fish down there in the mid 80's


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## rockhead (Nov 6, 2002)

that doesn't look like rudee to me


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## RACN35 (Oct 17, 2004)

hard to say- dont matter what it looks like tho cause look what rudee looked like a year ago with the resteraunt still there....the beach changes so much every year.....i still remember when there was no damn neck road and nothing past pungo clear to NC. even all the rocks at rudee are not the same as last year, i dont see a pole or channel marker in that pic either ?


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## Rockstar (Jun 23, 2004)

is it now legal to fish from the jetty? as of late i've seen alot of people fishing out there... and i mean camped up. one guy had 2 rods out and was kickin back in a lawn chair... must have been 3 others out there at the time. also a guy from shore casting along the jetty...


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## RACN35 (Oct 17, 2004)

nope- there are signs all over the place "keep off rocks" - " no trespassing,city property" it just depends on what cops are on beat and what kind of mood they are in. i have been written tickets *($40 trespassing in court)* and other times just BS'd with the cop for 1/2 at a time ! just take your chances


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## GotchaMack (Jun 16, 2004)

Thats not Rudee, if he is on the beach side of Rudee then the ocean is in the wrong spot and that doesn't happen too often. The jettie in the photo is too narrow and low at the end to be Rudee not to mention the lack of the sign on the end. Nice Nice fish though!


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## RACN35 (Oct 17, 2004)

i know and some times photos are backwards- and for the record there has not been a sign there all summer !!


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## Kajun (Jul 13, 2003)

if you click on the pic..it tells you where this is...Montauk,NY.

41.62bass-on-10-27-03.jpg in Places::Montauk Pete, 42lbs


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## Digger (Jan 4, 2000)

Complete with a VS reel and Lamigals rod and with a very hard to find Dri-core top.


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## RACN35 (Oct 17, 2004)

Good Job Kajun !! Those Blasted Tf'ers !! Man You Just Cant Trust Them Can Ya !! Thanks .


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## Kenmefish (Apr 21, 2000)

Nice fish but looks skinny. Can you iamgine what it would weight with some girth? Maybe 50#


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## in2win (Dec 18, 2003)

sand flea said:


> I'm hearing that giant bluefin tuna are turning up off off Va. Beach and other places in 15 feet of water chasing pods of menhaden. Is this true?
> 
> I know that occasionally, live bait fishermen will catch sailfish off the piers in the summer--can you imagine someone hooking into a 400-pound bluefin off Sandbridge pier? No one would ever believe them.


A few years back Angel threw a castnet over what I was told was a 67# Bluefin off LIP. 

Every fall a few Striper fishermen get dumped between Sandbridge and Carolla by Bluefins inside 3 miles.

I hear the never ending stories about Bluefins chaseing big Bluefish every winter on Hatteras Island and one or two running aground "zigged when he should have zagged" 

Best I can say for sure is I caught em in 38' of water off Ocoke in Dec. 1998 and 70' -110' 7miles or so SSE of the sea bouy out of Hatteras Inlet in 1999 and 2000. 

CATCHEMUP,

Mike


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## Heaver (Feb 7, 2001)

The bluefin feed on bluefish that they follow in. There have been quite a few large bluefish caught a few miles off the beach lately, so its logical to believe the bluefin are there too.

Yes, a few years back a tuna was caught at LIP. A bunch of us arrived at LIP that morning in the usual search for stripers. On the south side immediatley across the sink, someone spotted two large fish swimming in tight circles. We were puzzuled as to what they could be, it was too cold for drum, and the striper season was near its end. All sorts of lures were offered to the fish and they just kept swimmin gin tight circles - this was really odd. I managed to snag one by the tail with a stingsilver, but fortunately the hook did not penetrate the hard tail - and it didn't even bother the fish, it kept up with its tight circular swimming.

Angel threw a cast net at one, and missed wide. He reloaded and cast again, this time completely capturing the fish under the net. An explosion of water and fish ensued. I gave him a hand raising the net to the surface and right away IDed the fish as a tuna. We brought the fish onto the deck, removed the net, and since non of us had a tuna angling license, threw it back in the water. By this time the other tuna had moved to the N side of the pier next to the sink. It circled there for a little while than swam away.

Fifteen min later, while discussing the experience I saw a swirl behind the breakers about 50yds N of the pier. It was the tuna we had just released. It was beaching itself. Several of us with waders went in the cold water and retrieved the tuna. Angel in the meantime called Fish and Game and inquired about keeping the fish. They gave permission. All they wanted was stats on the fish and location. By the time we got the tuna on the pier for the 2nd time another angler that worked at a fish house had his professional fillet knives ready. We all took tuna home for dinner that night!

The next year, Rob, also known as "Donk" to many LIP old-time regulars, wrestled another bluefin onto the beach next to the Duck Inn. The fish, obviously lost and disoriented, had beached itself there. Donk's a big guy, he threw the BF over his shoulder and went home.

So you see, there is always a chance, however remote, to tangle with a tuna from the beach....  

Here are some pics of the LIP BF tuna:

Pic of me and tuna that Angel netted. 









Retrieving tuna from surf:


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## Heaver (Feb 7, 2001)

BTW, the LIP BF tuna Angel netted was never weighed. Don't know where that 67lb number came from. I have caught heavy fish before, and IMHO and estimate it weighed more than that. How much more I don't know.

Lou
aka Heaver


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

Un. Freaking. Believable.

This thread was from 2000 when the tuna came in close. Were those shots taken that same year?


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## Heaver (Feb 7, 2001)

LIP BF tuna, Fall of 1998 or 1999.

Lou


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## AL_N_VB (Apr 3, 2002)

Thanks fer posting them Pics Lou!...Un freekin believable


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## flathead (Dec 18, 2003)

Well folks,to me,that is the pure beauty of saltwater fishing.You might go to the beach targeting a certain species but you just never know when you chunk something in what is going to come out.Excellent pics !!


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## Fishman (Apr 23, 2000)

Heaver said:


> By the time we got the tuna on the pier for the 2nd time another angler that worked at a fish house had his professional fillet knives ready. We all took tuna home for dinner that night!
> 
> 
> 
> I knew the guy that cut tuna. I worked with him for about three years and was my best friend and has sinse move away. He loved to fish.


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## in2win (Dec 18, 2003)

Heaver said:


> BTW, the LIP BF tuna Angel netted was never weighed. Don't know where that 67lb number came from. I have caught heavy fish before, and IMHO and estimate it weighed more than that. How much more I don't know.
> 
> Lou
> aka Heaver


Lou,

I don't know where the 67# number came from either it was just mentioned to me. Angel virified the catch and that was all I needed to know it happened  

Thanks for the pics.

CATCHEMUP,

Mike


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## rockhead (Nov 6, 2002)

thats awsome I thought I hooked one that same winter while kayak fishing in the biggest blitz of huge stripers and blues I have ever seen, I hooked a fish for maybe 4-5 minutes that felt like a whale, no runs no headshakes nothing, just towed me around a bit, but slowly. What ever it was must have never knew that it was attached to my line. reguardless if it was a tuna my 17 lb test and spinner wouldn't have lasted but a few seconds.


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## murphman (Sep 4, 2003)

Kewl!!!!!


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## NTKG (Aug 16, 2003)

wow


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## Fly Wacko (Aug 8, 2005)

*Tuna*

Actually guys, they are here every winter. I have a friend who targets them. He does not catch many, but enough to keep trying. He keeps real quiet about it, as he does not want a lot of competition. 

If you go often and troll tuna gear...you will catch them. And some monster Stripers that hit the Tuna rigs.

FW


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## rattler (Jul 3, 2004)

been fishing the bay for a long time, and have seen alot of things that were hard to believe...there was a huge shark in little bay in 80-81...est. 12-14'...have hooked things off the beach and pier that just kept going...no shake, no nothing...i saw something eating barnecals off the old OV pier that looked kinda like a giant sun fish...i still have no idea what it was...tuna from the beach...cool


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## RACN35 (Oct 17, 2004)

this thread is wacked - page 2 has 1 - 15 replys and page 1 has rattlers as the 45th reply and i cant UN subscribed to this friggen post


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## AndyMedic (Mar 22, 2003)

haha im gonna keep bumping this


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## rockhead (Nov 6, 2002)

dang 2000 thats an ole post!


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## KICKNBASS (Jan 18, 2006)

*Thats Funny*

Cause someone on TF.com said that they heard of someone catching a 100lb bft in a gill net earlier this week.

And they do come aroung every year before the blues leave. One of my fishing partners had 2 brand new 320gt2's burned up in '02 by tuna when he was ou trolling for stripers on the 3 mile line. Those POS reels didn't stand a chance. The same day one of his fishing partners on another boat got his wireline rod snapped at the reel seat still in the holder. Talking about hitting like a freight train


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## 8AnBait (Jun 24, 2002)

These are the stories that I have herd before about blue fin… Ben Thomas got a Bluefin about 3 years ago in 25 ft of water off Sandbridge striper fishing hit a stretch30 and he landed it 200 pounds "true" I know that he did anyone who knows who Ryno Lures he use to own it. Now their was a guy who got one off of the beach on a conventional rod and real in nags head 3 years ago around 100 pounds I don’t realy know didn’t see the pic's. Also herd that a real big one hit the beach down their a few years ago chasing trout and some builders saw it and drag it up on the beach. Herd that someone got some right out side the cbbt one year also. But besides Ben Thomas and Angles I've never seen them any closer than just out side of the light tower, but its all one big body of water and who am I to tell the tuna where to swim. DO KNOW THAT THE WATER HAS BEN WARM THIS YEAR AND THAT THE KINGS NEVER LEFT 280 ROCK THIS YEAR AND THAT YELLOW FIN BITE IS STRONG RIGHT NOW.


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## rattler (Jul 3, 2004)

it looks to be a banner year...i've seen alot of things in the water that suprised me...whales, turtles(big ones), sharks(12'+)...from the piers...to me things are changing...hopefully for the better...


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