(Originally published Nov/Dec 2014)
Thunnes Obesis
By Capt. Tred Barta
There is not one captain, mate or angler who over the last 10 years only dreamed of the good old years of bigeye tuna fishing. Catching a bigeye during the drought was an anomaly and many stopped targeting the species. However the last two years have been nothing short of remarkable. Two examples of this is the Real Action out of Shinnecock landing 14 and another crew landing 21 and leaving them still biting.
I have not heard of anyone doing a 7-for-7 on bigeyes like we did on Makaira in the late 1980s. Those fish were consistently 250 to 275 pounds dressed, and that is with the heads and tails off. They were 290 to 300 in the round. Although there have been some real trophy fish this year in the mid- to high 200s, it is great to see smaller bigeyes in the 80- to 130-pound category. The last two years absolutely have rivaled or surpassed the fishing of the 1970s and 1980s.
The above leaves more questions than answers. Why the great resurgence of bigeye? Is it conservation, the abolition of pair trolling, the reduction of commercial longlines, or is it nature at its best, rejuvenating, surprising and delighting canyon anglers?
I stand extremely proud of our Northeastern fishermen. As a general rule, they have become better blue-water fishermen. They appear to be having more patience in recognizing the potential for the bigeye bite and paying their dues. Their tackle, their rigging, their resolve and perfecting the multiple hook-up all have to do with spectacular fish landed.
I have dedicated my entire life to the study of this species so now let me pose some questions we have no answers for. Where do bigeye tuna breed? Where do they go after their southerly migration from the northern feeding grounds? We know that many of them pass New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and then disappear.
There is less known about Thunnes Obesis than any other tuna in the ocean. I have caught them aboard Makaira in the late 1970s and 1980s. We caught them in June, 150 miles off the fathom line. I believe most bigeye tuna spend most of their life hundreds of miles away in the deep ocean.
There is absolutely no question that the bigeye tuna along with all species of blue-water fish visit the lush, rich waters of the Northeast in their final leg of their feeding migration. This we know.
I challenge all of you to try to find information on this subject. Most of you will come to the same conclusion that I have. Their life is that of a ghost. It is fascinating. It haunts me. It is a spark that will never leave me.
What is so fascinating to me about the canyons is the ebb and flow of life that scientists, conservationists and supposedly ocean managers such as National Marine Fisheries just cannot explain as much as they try. Why do the albacore show up some years in great abundance and other years are almost nonexistent? Why are there so many small yellowfin this year and yet so many bigeye tuna? Why in certain years are there so many trophy yellowfin and of course why are we flooded with white marlin one year and the next year they are so difficult to find. These are questions that perhaps can only be answered by a higher being.
Capt. Tred Barta
