We’ve been fielding reports of big bluefin tuna in our area for months now, it seems. Sadly, despite numerous sightings of jumpers and bluefin feeding events, very few have actually been hooked and landed. Last week a number of dedicated local anglers who have put in the time and effort as well as footing the fuel bills finally saw the bite start to open up. A good number of fish were reported caught over the past two weeks. The Davenport “Fingers” area seemed to be the spot for hooking a tuna. 

 

About ten miles offshore from Davenport, three deepwater submarine canyons poke eastward into the deep offshore shelf. The shelf is abut 800 feet deep with the intruding canyons diving down to 3000 feet. This creates a perfect habitat for baitfish, with cold nutrient rich water upwelling in the canyon areas. Right now, the area is a hotspot for feeding birds, whales and fish.

 

“Whales, bait, birds, foamers. Full on Nat Geo.” said Captain Joe Baxter, referring to the Fingers tuna grounds last week. Baxter is one of the local Santa Cruz fishermen who have put in their time and effort for months now, heading up the coast when the weather allows and dealing with the frustration of knowing there are giant tuna in the area that just won’t bite. Who knows what variable changed just enough to get these fish biting, but we finally got a flurry of bluefin catches.  Baxter counted two fish over the weekend. One was a hundred-pounder caught while flylining a live mackerel with 80-pound fluorocarbon leader. He was fishing with Nick Castillo and the tuna weighed in at 100 pounds. On Sunday, Baxter was out with another local, Chris Woerner.  They fished live mackerel deep, trolling slow about 100 feet down to find their fish. Getting points for understatement Baxter added, “Sunday’s fish was a rat at 80 pounds.”

 

Weather and sea conditions have kept most anglers off the tuna grounds this week, but hopes are high these fish will stick around and give the bluefin hunters another shot.