The thunnus obesus, what are the common technique that is worth trying to target them? Are they pound for pound the best fighter in the tuna family?
pound for pound the best fighter would have to be the silly blackfin, if blackfin got the size of bluefins or yellowfins they would be an amazing fight. Bigeye are commonly tolled up in the northeast, if you are trying to target with a jig I would suggest going deep like past 300' as they normally are caught deeper. They do fight amazing much better than a yellowfin IMHO
concur with gman. blackfin imo is the strongest, certainly the most scrappiest tuna i've yank on. large eyes definitely are deep and powerful. got mine in clear hawaiian waters just before day break. only bluefins i've seen are in magazines.
Blackfins are powerful fish mainly because they have a large tail for their size. They are also very fast. Just from my own observation, the blackfins when near the surface feeding seem to move twice as fast as the yellowfins. They also love a fast moving jig. I've also noticed that a large blackfin love to hit your jigs on the fast drop. Yellowfin seldom hit a jig on the fast drop. A large blackfin (25-30#s) will take as long to bring in as a 75# YF. I also believe that the blackfins are born in very deep water. Very seldom do you catch big blackfins in 2000-8000' of water. The big ones, once mature tend to be caught in the 200 to 500' range of water. In the GOM, I've caught my biggest YF's in the shallower water also. Very seldom do you catch a YF over 115#'s at the deep water floaters. The big boys in the GOM (125-175#'s) seem to roam in 200 to 800' range in the summer months.
I went six for six back 2 back non-stop 25lb+ blackfin last year on one trip and I had to take a good 30-40 min break afterwards before I could continue fishin, lol. Those little footballs sure are tough for their size!
the only bigeyes i've caught have been in the Northeast canyons, usually on the troll with either a green machine or big zuker behind a bird trolled WAY back in the wake(100-150yrds!!) i wish there was a way to specifically target them but in my experiences its always been a fluke, anybody else got anything?
We have been getting a few (BE) out here off SD. But it just seems to be a matter of luck not focus. And I have not caught a blackfin yet, but if bonito got in the 25-40# range it would be a buttkicker.
There are a select few who have become very good at catching large bigeye. There is a technique, time and a place to do it. Normally you troll very large lures in a tight pattern close to the boat. You gotta be in the deep. Certain canyons outproduce others at certain times of the year. You must be trolling well before grey light. And of course, you must be at the right place at the right time!
there are a fair amount of bigeye caught down here, but im yet to see a monster like the canyon bigeyes up north. most people just dont identify them.
there are a fair amount of bigeye caught down here, but im yet to see a monster like the canyon bigeyes up north. most people just dont identify them. Hey snagged, how 'bout that pic of your bigEYE from the big E a few years ago what was it, 185# or somethin? "dingo ate me baby"- that is a hilarious handle! welcome, mate!
Hey guys im new here. I don't know where your fishing out of but I fish out of Montauk, NY and this has been the best big eye season Ive yet to seen. Most of the eye balls we get on our boat are either very close to the boat on the flat lines or way back on the riggers. It doesn't matter what your pulling they will eat anything you just have to find them. Its all about being in the right place at the right time. Start trolling before first light and keep trolling until its pitch black at dusk thats when theyre up top feeding.
Welcome aboard Big Eye. They're a rarity to us Gulf of Mexico fishermen. I think a few are caught and misidentified. If as many fishermen are flinging topwater as I suspect on the Big E trip in November, I think a few want to jig deep and try for the prize. Fred
eyeballs can be caught the same way you catch any other tuna, except there are just not as many of them. You see most of them caught on the troll in packs of anywhere from 1 to ive seen as many as 10 in a pattern. Lots of people think big heavy dark lures work best, hex heads, jets, big squids. Lots of peopel jig for them right before dawn in the canyons around 4-5am jigging deep to about 250-300. Ive seen them caught on bait as well. Its just that longfin and yellowfin outnumber the big eye by so many its hard to target them specifically and be successful.
NC off the Outer Banks get some nice ones We caught a big one around 220 (older scale) The charter guys averaged 2 or 3 each The bite was great for about a week and then the size dropped quite a bit
pound for pound the best fighter would have to be the silly blackfin, if blackfin got the size of bluefins or yellowfins they would be an amazing fight. Gotta disagree. I have caught many blackfins up to about 38lbs and I think bluefin fight harder pound for pound. Never caught a bigeye though.
