Tuna After the Blow

(Originally published May/June 2023)

By Capt. Jim Freda

As a charter captain I often say to my clients, “I don’t want to fish, I want to catch.” The one piece of information I want when I am heading out to the tuna grounds is intel. If you were out yesterday and caught, I want to know where you were. And I don’t mean a general location like in the Hudson Canyon; I want your exact numbers. If conditions do not change from one day to the next in terms of winds, storms, or the presence of bait I can pretty much bet that if there was a good bite at your numbers yesterday there will be a good bite again today.

If tuna have a good food source there is no reason for them to move. They will stay and feast. This is particularly true when sandeels take up residence on a particular lump or ridge. If, however, the bait moves as the water moves, the tuna will follow suit.

When stability in weather conditions allows bait to settle into a particular area, going to that exact area can produce instant results. Clients are happy as the first spread that is set or jigs that are dropped produce instant results.

A hotspot like this does not remain a secret for long, however. Eventually the area becomes a fiberglass parking lot. This scenario continually plays out in my chartering area out of Manasquan Inlet,