Untitled - Tom Keer

to revealcurrentaction,
Spenglerrelyon shearwaters
petrelsto point out pastaction,and gannetsto reveal
herrings."We get excitedwhen we seeblack-backed
gullsoffshoreand on bait,"saidMoody. "lt seemsthat
thereis alwaysa hot bite that accompanies
that pattern."
PeterGraeberat the SaltwaterEdgein Middletown, RhodeIsland,echoesMoody'sobservations.
"Time and experience
arecritical,"Graebersaid.
"l've found that watertemperatureand tirne of year
aren'tasimportant asconcentrated
bait patterns.
The concentrated
bait will hold the fish for longer
periodsof time. Off the RhodeIslandcoastwe look
for seaherring,menhaden,juvenilesandeels,and
peanutbunker."Havinga networkof reliableguides
and friendsalsopaysbig dividends."The fish move
so quicklythat knowingwhat the variousschoolsare
doing is critical,"saidGraeber."Biggerbait tendsto
fish,but if thereis enough
bring out more aggressive
smallbait the fish will getcrankedup. I watchfor
feedingshearwaters
and gannets,but I alsowatchthe
water. Down herein RhodeIslandwe seebetter biteswhen the
water is clear. Dirty waterkeepsthe fish deep."
Underwaterstructuremattersto Moody, but he'sseen
enoughvariationto know it's not 100percentreliable,asit is
for other speciesof saltwaterfish. "l like to targetdrop-offs,
particularlywherethere is slow water at a givendepth that is
adiacentto fastercurrent at a deeperdepth. For instance,I'll
frequentlyfind fish on the seambetweena hundred twenty feet
and a hundred-fifty-footdropoff. The currentvariationconcentratesthe bait,and the fastermoving waterbringsthe fish to the
top.That said,Derekand I haveseenmany instances
wherethere
is an enormousschoolof fish on a flat ninety-foot terrain."
While many anglersare catchingstripedbassand bluefish
during the spring and fall runs,the schooltuna fishingkicks
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off in May and lastsuntil Novernber."We'refortunateto have
sucha reliablefisherythat spansacrossa long season,"
said
Moody. "While we arefully bookedin Augustand September,
we havean excellentspringbite aswell asconsistentfall fishing.
Weatherpatternsmay be a bit diceyin the fall,but the fishing
is excellent.It'sa much longerseasonthan most arnglers
realize."
Approachinga School
Onceyou'vefound a schoolof any kind of fish,the tendency
is to movequicklyand often to stayon the body of fish. The
run-and-gunapproachseldornworksin any fishery,and it is
particularlyineffectiveon tuna. "We find that the fish feedinto
the wind," saidMoody. "Beingpatient,watchingtheir behavior,
and gettingupwind from the fish helpsus put our clientsin
the bestpossiblecastingposition."Graeberagrees,
and likesto
turn offhis engine."Sometimes
fishcouldn'tcarelessaboutthe
soundof an outboard,other timesthey getspookedby a quiet
4-stroke.Feelthem out to seewhat they will toleratethat day."
Spenglerlikesa castthat is 45 degrees
to the school."Excited
anglersfrequentlycasttheir fliesdirectlyto a schoolof approachingfish,"he said,"but a forty-five-degree
angleshowsthe
fly to a largernumberof fishand increases
hookups."Many times
the schoolsthat havepassedby the boat will resumea similar
feedingpattern. Ratherthan pick up and leaveaftera pod has
passedby,wait a bit. That schoolmay return to continuefeeding, or theremay be a secondor third schoolfollowingbehind.
EssentialTackle
Excellentgearis criticalto gettingfish in the boat. As anytuna
anglerknows,the speedand strengthon a schooltuna breaks
linesand meltsreels.Spenglerand Graeberboth favorthe
1480Sagewith eitheran Abel Super5 or a Tibor Gulfstream,
loadedwith 50- to 60-poundPowerPro for backing. For fly
lines,Spenglerand Moody workedwith JohnHarderat Rio to
developthe Leviathan."Initially we usedlinesthat werecom"but we found they were
mon to the industry,"saidSpengler,
breakingduring the fight. The Leviathanhasa sixty-pound
corethat withstandsthesetough fish." Moody and Spengler
favor a 500- to 600-grainLeviathanline, while Graeberprefers
the intermediate."The intermediateline is easierto pick up
and recast. With thesefast fish, every secondcounts."
Pamet Special
HookTiemco
600S8
sizes
Z0ftrough
4/0.
Ihrcad:3/0Monocore.
TalhPolar
BearUltaHair,
tapered4toSinches
long,
overwhite
arctic
fox.
green
tflng: Emerald
bucktailover
pale
asflatwings
oversparse
Fla$:
Seven
to
10
stands
of
" -Xryshl
Flash
asa beard.
Eyc: 3/1O-inch-diameter
llead:Medium
PearlE-Z
Body
greensaddlehackles,
tiedin
Krystalflashontopandred
Prismatic
eyes.
youcancolorfliffiltd"the E-Body
ll&: lf youprefer,
braidwitlroliveor
permanent
lavender
marfers.ffiffh'ffifo*reJers
toiietreflywitholive
andbrown
bucktail.
U/VVWAMERICANANGLER.
COM
Riggingand Flies
Surprisinglyenough,riggingfor schoolbluefinisn'tso complex
asanglersthink. At the end of the backing,tie a Biminitwist.
At the end of the fly line,tie a triple nail knot arndcreatea
loop-to-loopbetweer-r
the backingand the fly line.At the fror-rt
taper,tie arspeednail knot of 60-poundfluorocarbonand a
palomarrknot in the line end systemand in the butt of the leader.
Moody ar-rdSpenglerfhvoran 8-foot leaderof 35- to 50-pound
fluorocarbonwith a Rapalaknot to attachthe fly.
Graebertapershis leaders,and runs threefeetof 60-pour-rd
fluorocarbonasa butt sectior-r
ar-rdthreefeetof 40-poundfluorocarbonasa tippet. He connectsthe butt to the tippet with a
doubleUni-Knot, and useseitl-rertr nonslipmono loop or an
improvedcinch knot to attacha fly. Seatingar-rdtestingeach
knot is important.
As for the fly, Moody says,"lf I had to fish for school
bluefin with one fly, it would be Rich Murphy'sPametSpecial.
That fly consistentlyputs tuna in the boat." Graeberagrees,
and addsthat a variety of sizehooks from 4/0 to 8/0 coversthe
range. "Make sureyou useGamakatzuhooks,"Moody adds.
"They don't break."With that, all you needis someopen water,
a fastboat,and a good eyeto chasetheseamazingfish.S
TomKeerwroteaboutlly rodding
tunain theJuly/August
for skipjack
issueof American
Angler.He livesin hmacountry.
2NOBI 63
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