For months now, we’ve been reporting the exciting catches of awesome giant bluefin tuna from Central Coast and Monterey Bay waters. Ferocious fighters, the bluefin have ranged from big hundred-pounders to massive fish that approach nearly 300 pounds. In recent weeks the bluefin catch rate has gone up. Milder weather conditions allow more boats to spend more time on the offshore fishing grounds while the schools of tuna are moving closer to the coast. While these giant tuna catches may be creating a rise of  “fish of a lifetime” stories for local anglers, even more significant is the increasing number of smaller fish we’ve been seeing in the mix.

The past few weeks have seen not only a marked increase in the number of fish caught, but  also a notable increase in catches of juvenile fish in the 30 to 60-pound range. The huge adult fish are more likely to stray from the main biomass of bluefin schools. These are the fish we’re used to seeing locally, kind of like outliers from the big schools that hover and feed off the coast of Baja and extreme Southern California.

The appearance of all these smaller fish could be an indication the main biomass of bluefin are heading our way in huge schools.

Old timers will tell you “There’s always been bluefin in the Bay.” This is likely true. Like weather and climate however, they tend to run in cycles. What I can personally attest to is I’ve never seen anything like what we are experiencing today, though I’ve only been fishing Monterey Bay for 45 years. As always, long-time tuna hunter Mike Baxter from Santa Cruz has been paying close attention to this year’s tuna movements. Here’s what he has to say. “These fish have always been here possibly, but there’s no dispute that the numbers then were a fraction of what they are today. So even if we had bluefin here back in the day, the stock was much smaller. We also saw a number of big eye tuna, at least in the late 80’s and early 90’s, mixed in with albacore schools. Current conditions that prevail has warm water pushing from the south. Exotics are moving in near San Diego and the Channel Islands while temperate water favoring bluefin squirts north, fanning up the coast. We are yet to see large numbers of bluefin past the Oregon/California border, but we will see.”

We had a slow start this year for tuna fishing, even in Southern California. Many considered this possibly the end of an era or cycle. Anglers wondered if the bluefin era was waning. Most notable right now is the mix of generations of fish. With the presence of a number of mixed age classes, it appears as we have future stocks for the next five or six years.

For bluefin success, most boats are fast trolling Mad Mac lures around 10-12 knots, with the lures set 60 to 75 seconds behind the boat. Hookup rates might increase by utilizing somewhat smaller lures, like the Halco Laser Pro 190. A smaller lure, it can get hooks on these smaller fish, as well as hooking up the giants. A lower trolling speed can save on fuel expenses as well.