Does anyone have recent tuna fishing reports?

[MC]

Myself and 2 friends are booked for tuna fishing in 2 weeks on 7/13 out of Point Pleasant. This is our first time fishing for tuna. I was curious if anyone has recent reports. I thought I had read this is a prime time of year so I sure hope we catch one.

[Capt. Debbie]

You should ask the person who told you that late June is prime tuna time what they are catching.

I'm not sure how many tuna people would call this prime tuna time. There also and inshore and offshore/canyon season too. BFT? YFT? Giants?

Overnighting? Day trolling?

A lot of variables to make late June "prime" for everything. And frankly most all tuna guys don't openly burn spots. So where is hot is another variable.

If your captain is hooked in, he may likely have inside info. Freshness and movement make that sometimes useless.

But first time tuna trips are fun with your first blazing runoff. Enjoy it and don't overthink it.

Originally Posted by MC

Myself and 2 friends are booked for tuna fishing in 2 weeks on 7/13 out of Point Pleasant. This is our first time fishing for tuna. I was curious if anyone has recent reports. I thought I had read this is a prime time of year so I sure hope we catch one.

[Gerry Zagorski]

I've seen some reports of a mixed bag of Bluefin and Yellowfin and it looks as if some warmer water has moved into the Canyons recently so looks like your timing is good.

Are you planing a day troll or overnighter?

[No Bananas]

Not exactly sure this is prime time, but it's a good time.

Hopefully I'll have a report late tomorrow or Wed. The plan is to head out early tomorrow morning..

[MC]

I have not actually fished for tuna before so I am not speaking from a position of knowledge or experience. In my research it seemed like most sources identify June to October as the tuna season in NJ. In my mind I thought there must be a more prime time within this broad window. Fishingbooker.com is the only source I was able to locate that identified a prime time for tuna in a more narrow window of June and July. We are fishing July 13th so mid July rather than late June. I am uncertain as to if Fishingbooker is correct or not but seemed like a safer bet to me than a much broader window of time.

We are leaving at midnight and returning by 5pm. I hope we have good luck and if not it will be a learning experience to devise a better strategy for next time.

[Gumada]

It’s not like last year, where there were yellows short of the canyon. There are BF, but not the yellow filler charters had last year.....

[No Bananas]

Originally Posted by MC

I have not actually fished for tuna before so I am not speaking from a position of knowledge or experience. In my research it seemed like most sources identify June to October as the tuna season in NJ. In my mind I thought there must be a more prime time within this broad window. Fishingbooker.com is the only source I was able to locate that identified a prime time for tuna in a more narrow window of June and July. We are fishing July 13th so mid July rather than late June. I am uncertain as to if Fishingbooker is correct or not but seemed like a safer bet to me than a much broader window of time.

We are leaving at midnight and returning by 5pm. I hope we have good luck and if not it will be a learning experience to devise a better strategy for next time.

I think I know what type of trip you have planned and yes this is very good time of the year. As Gerry mentioned, the reports of bft and yft are now coming in. Actually, one of the best trips I ever did was right around this time last year.

Broadly speaking Jun to Oct is the season here in NJ, but the type of fishing you are doing along with other factors will define "prime time".

Do not expect any 300# plus bft, but a turn around trip like this is a great way and relatively inexpensive way to get your feet wet. So to answer your question, YES a mid July trip for what you have planned should be very productive.

The nice thing about this time of year and into July as the water gets warmer you do not need a canyon run to bring home some sushi

When you are ready to step the game up, start thinking about an overnighter in the fall around Sept/Oct.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Our season here in NJ starts usually starts in June trolling, jigging and popping short of the canyon in the mid shore grounds...Bluefin are the primary target although you occasionally get some Yellowfins.

The timing of the canyon bite is usually determined when the warmer water shows up in the Canyon and that’s usually in July... This fishery typically starts off with a day troll bite where you can get Yellowfin, Longfin and Big Eyes since these fish usually don’t bite that time of year at night...

Once August rolls around most are doing overnight trips since the fish will start biting at night as well as trolling during the day... I would say that’s prime time here in NJ and where you can most reliably load up and that will last well into October. These troll and chunk trips is where I think you have the best chance to be on the meat.

Here’s an article I wrote on the subject, enjoy and hope it helps you..

https://www.njfishing.com/NJ_Tuna_Fishing.php

[MC]

Gentlemen, thank you for your feedback and advice! Hopefully, we have success and it would be fun to book a longer trip in the future.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Originally Posted by MC

Gentlemen, thank you for your feedback and advice! Hopefully, we have success and it would be fun to book a longer trip in the future.

Let me warn you right now you’re gonna get hooked on this fishery and have many sleepless nights looking at the weather, fishing reports and what I call the Tuna Tango , are we going, should we go, when should we go etc. Do yourself a favor and trust your captain. Let him make the go no go judgment calls. He knows how to read the weather knows the limitations of his particular boat and has probably already sized up your crew so he’s the best judge.

Hope you have a great trip, let us know how you make out and be sure to take some Bloody Deck shots.