Powerfully fighting some fifty blue water feet below in ever decreasing circles was a blackfin tuna - a sushi lover's delight! Although only twenty pounds, this one, like all tunas I have ever caught, fought like a fish three times its size. Members of the tuna family are hard to catch and release successfully, particularly on light tackle. These fish will literally fight to the death if you let them, and the light tackle will allow that to happen. The best thing you can do to insure a successful release is to get the fish to the boat as quickly as possible. Of course this fish, being a blackfin, was never destined to be released.
We gaffed and boated the fish as it continued to “swim” lying on the deck. It powerful tail still vibrating wildly left and right. One strike with the fish club put this one in the box – but only for a few minutes.
Jim found his filet knife and I found the soy sauce. A small chunk of side meat was all we needed, and while we relaxed and allowed Jim’s arms to stop aching, we both enjoyed fresh sushi. Folks, it “don’t get much better” than this! We had been dolphin (mahi mahi) fishing along the Sargasso weed lines all morning when this fish struck. We knew immediately it was not a dolphin, because it ran out and down instead of across and skyward.
The funny thing was, that it hit the flat line bait and not the downrigger. Usually we only troll flat lines skipping ballyhoo for dolphin. On days like today when the action gets slow, we will put a bait down twenty or thirty feet on a downrigger. The tuna generally hit the down bait. This one was different.
I have always considered tuna, blackfin and yellowfin, as a by-catch when we fished the blue water. Not that the by-catch is bad, but specifically pursuing these “sushi on the hoof” often results in a long day with little or no action. We catch most of our tuna while trolling for dolphin or kingfish over distant offshore reefs.
Wahoo are the same way for me. Maybe it’s the methods I use – the way we troll – but wahoo also end up being an extra-added attraction. We always know when a wahoo takes a bait. There is a reason they call them wahoo. Wahoo is the word you generally scream as the fish strips a couple of hundred non-stop yards of line from your reel.
Wahoo, although one of the mackerels, really identify more with the billfish family, and as such are found much closer to the Gulfstream than tuna and dolphin. But they occasionally come in close enough to tear up someone’s tackle.
Blue water fishing is always a challenge for small boat anglers, what with wind, weather, and seas. But it is also an exciting opportunity to catch some fish that others can only dream of catching.
And, oh yes, what about the blackfin? It made it all the way to my table that night in two forms: plenty of fresh sushi for Jim and I and our wives, and four very nice grilled tuna steaks. Try some with a dill/soy sauce basting while you grill. I guarantee you’ll be on the water next week looking for another one!
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