With the exception of inclement weather, catching, transporting and retaining fresh live bait was the most daunting giant tuna challenge for us during 2010. I am very happy to declare that to date this autumn, the news on the live bait front is a lot more reassuring. So far so good on the giant tuna live bait front.
This past week I trailered the Miss Loretta all the way down Cape to Lewis Bay, outside the Hyannis Marina. My offshore fishing friend had undertaken a live bait trip in Lewis earlier on in the week, and encountered many perfect size bluefish that were all over 5 in . juvenile menhaden. Each of our expectations were certainly set high for a fruitful bait fishing trip. Hopefully we would be able to load up our bait well with plenty of fiesty bluefish.
This past week I trailered the Miss Loretta all the way down Cape to Lewis Bay, outside the Hyannis Marina. My offshore fishing friend had undertaken a live bait trip in Lewis earlier on in the week, and encountered many perfect size bluefish that were all over 5 in . juvenile menhaden. Each of our expectations were certainly set high for a fruitful bait fishing trip. Hopefully we would be able to load up our bait well with plenty of fiesty bluefish.
Bait pen we use to store live bluefish.
I have to say, the public motorboat ramp at Lewis Bay is spectacular. It’s a paved launch, with a perfectly conditioned modern dock together with plenty of area to maneuver a truck or van and boats. Additionally, there was no fee. I am speculating no cost access was probably a post-Labor Day phenomenon, and probably isn't an excpected standard at Lewis Bay. In any event, I'm not complaining!
Promptly after some recon around we unearthed the motherload of blues loaded up in 7-18 feet of water. The piles of small bluefish relocated from place to place, even so there appeared to be tons of bait size bluefish, to the point that when we lost track of them, it didn’t require much time for us to move around quickly find them again. The fastest action happened as soon as the current began going in. The action slowed down quite quickly as soon as the tide begun to slow down, at around the middle of the day.
We put up with a whole lot of snapper bluefish which were just not big enough to utilise as bait for bluefins. Having said that, for almost every 10 tiny bluefish we snagged, we boated one bigger bluefish-perfect for fishing under the kite. It turned out that anytime we came across a tight school of juvenile menhaden, we also found the bigger bluefish underneath them. Remember to add a steel leader when targeting the bigger blues. They're teeth have no problem chopping through monofilament.
Hot lure for the very small blues was a gold colored one inch metal spoon. This lure casts very easily when paired with very light tackle, and hooks the blues very well. Best lure for the larger blues was the 3in. suspending, blue Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow.
A view of the lighthouse at Hyannis Marina.
I am seriously praying that Lewis Bay will become packed with 12-20 inch bluefish through September and October. It would be wonderful to maintain a consistent sport for live bait. Even if we've got to drive a bit to find the bluefish. The ride is definitely worth it.
It's always worth the extra effort when you have a bait well full of live baits the morning of a tuna trip. Nothing is worse than having to run all over creation looking for bait, when you should be tuna fishing!
