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Old 12-12-2014, 12:38 PM   #31
Mattedhead
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Re: Winter NC Diving

More people than you think have taken Tuna off NC...we're just not a talkative bunch! hahaha.

It's actually not that difficult off Hatteras at the right time of year, though the YFT are typically on the smaller side with an occasional bigeye. That being said, winter is a difficult time to get to the stream out of ILM or Hatteras with any consistency...you need to be fluid and get out at a moment's notice as windows quickly close. In addition, you need to be ready to gamble a fair amount of fuel $ with a fairly low chance of seeing a tuna. It has been done, but you are going to EARN your BW fish this time of year!

The biggest YFT I have ever seen in the Atlantic were on a wreck off ILM midsummer...~150lbs. The only tuna I have seen while diving this time of year were BFT...I had a ~600lb-er swim by while farting around on the Lib Ship just off the beach of ILM.

Good luck if you guys venture out, but be safe...it's not like the GS in the summer...diving out there in the winter is a whole 'nother animal!
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Old 12-12-2014, 01:31 PM   #32
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Re: Winter NC Diving

Go with him.
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Old 12-12-2014, 07:18 PM   #33
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Re: Winter NC Diving

Matt thats to funny about the bluefin at the lib. Its a shame we can't take them. Im headed to the tower Sunday with a bunch of guys. I might have a spot let me know if you're free and want to dive.
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Old 12-12-2014, 08:18 PM   #34
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Re: Winter NC Diving

Have you ever encountered Big Eye out there? Has anyone down there ever nailed one?
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Old 12-14-2014, 03:56 AM   #35
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Re: Winter NC Diving

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Originally Posted by Paclc1 View Post
Bleu, mahi maniac, I'm very motivated to get some Bluewater action. I can bring gas money and beer
PM me. And I if you go with Blue he's good at finding fish around Wilmington.

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More people than you think have taken Tuna off NC...we're just not a talkative bunch! hahaha.

It's actually not that difficult off Hatteras at the right time of year, though the YFT are typically on the smaller side with an occasional bigeye. That being said, winter is a difficult time to get to the stream out of ILM or Hatteras with any consistency...you need to be fluid and get out at a moment's notice as windows quickly close. In addition, you need to be ready to gamble a fair amount of fuel $ with a fairly low chance of seeing a tuna. It has been done, but you are going to EARN your BW fish this time of year!

The biggest YFT I have ever seen in the Atlantic were on a wreck off ILM midsummer...~150lbs. The only tuna I have seen while diving this time of year were BFT...I had a ~600lb-er swim by while farting around on the Lib Ship just off the beach of ILM.

Good luck if you guys venture out, but be safe...it's not like the GS in the summer...diving out there in the winter is a whole 'nother animal!
We used to go out this time of year R&R fishing ALOT before my family got hooked on hunting. The weather window is usually 1-2 days before it starts blowing again but thats enough to get out there. Granted, we've almost capsized in the Inlet with an incoming tide and light NE breeze (bad news, my buddies down below ended up on the ceiling and our 30ft boat was almost completely vertical). NC inlets tend to take a few boats and lives yearly it seems. If we go, the investment on fuel isn't a big deal, and whenever we're offshore my dad always insists on trolling some so it's rarely a wasted trip.

The bluefin should show up in about a month, cameras only in the water but they would actually be pretty easy to hop in with at the right time. It's amazing how close they come inshore.

Also, seeing a yf off Hatteras is no easy feat. The fishing fleet down there usually runs way North to get them.

Thanks for the info.

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Go with him.
Some experience on the boat would help haha.

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Originally Posted by Behslayer View Post
Have you ever encountered Big Eye out there? Has anyone down there ever nailed one?
Encountered...yeah, caught a few on R&R. Lost even more from break-offs, cut-offs (other boats), and hooks bent straight out. Easy to tell it's a bigeye and not another tuna or marlin because they run a few hundred yards at the surface before sounding. If it goes straight down it's not a bigeye and if it's a blue marlin and doesn't sound it'll start jumping. Whites, Sails, Wahoo, and Mahi just don't pull enough to mistake for a bigeye.

Mid-late summer is when most are brought in off OI but we have them year round. The guys marking them will work the same spot all day until they surface to warm themselves so once your on them I suspect enough drifts would give divers a chance. They average 150lbs but guys catch them over 300 and we've caught them as small as 70lbs. Occasionally the fleet will have every boat catch one with most of the charters bringing in 3 or 4 (If the Charters aren't catching em us private boats chances shoot way down). The Pilot Whales and Bigeye tend to hang around each other on the deep side of the shelf. Most bigeye in NC are caught off OI because the boats that can catch them tend to fish the places they hang out more. Once you get South of OI it's a much longer run to the shelf so less people fish for them or come across them by accident. I've seen them come clear out of the water chasing flying fish and not even look at trolled baits, if I'm ever on board with my gear when that happens I'll let you know how it turns out
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Old 12-14-2014, 10:07 AM   #36
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Re: Winter NC Diving

Because a fair few got the Shaft up here this year..
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Old 12-15-2014, 09:22 AM   #37
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Re: Winter NC Diving

Quote:
Have you ever encountered Big Eye out there? Has anyone down there ever nailed one?
I know of one large BigEye shot, but not landed. Wahlers hit a nice one on a wreck off Hatteras a while back...stoned it and the shaft pulled. We weren't exactly set up for that size of fish.

Quote:
Also, seeing a yf off Hatteras is no easy feat. The fishing fleet down there usually runs way North to get them.
YFT may be difficult to get after on R&R in Hatteras, but we were able to get on them 3-4 years in a row with relative ease. They seem to love two specific wrecks, while they were spottier in other areas. Again, they aren't the larger models, but plenty of decent size schools rolled through...trick was keeping the cuda and sharks off of them. We weren't specifically targeting them, but that time of year on those wrecks they always seem to pass through...pay attention to where the Dolphin/Porpoises are it's rare to see them and not see the YFT.

Running out of Hatteras the fuel isn't much of an issue....running to the GS from ILM, and the fuel burn is much greater.

Again, Good luck! Be safe, and let us know how it goes!

Quote:
Matt thats to funny about the bluefin at the lib. Its a shame we can't take them. Im headed to the tower Sunday with a bunch of guys. I might have a spot let me know if you're free and want to dive.
Thanks for the offer! How was it? I am inland a bit these days, but need to get out there soon!
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Old 12-15-2014, 10:01 AM   #38
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Re: Winter NC Diving

Git out there.
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Old 12-15-2014, 10:20 AM   #39
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Re: Winter NC Diving

Nice friends you hang out there with Jon a wanted fugitive Peter Correale. SMH

http://www.syracuse.com/outdoors/ind...arfishing.html
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Old 12-15-2014, 10:42 AM   #40
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Re: Winter NC Diving

Went out Sunday and we had a great trip left the dock about an hour before sunrise and ran the 40 miles to the Tower. The vis wasn't the best but we lucked out and had almost no current. The gags were thicker than I have ever seen and decent sized. All in all we landed a stud permit, AP, limit of 6 gags, and some sheepshead. The forecast was a little off as it was a bit rougher than expected but nothing too bad.
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Old 12-15-2014, 11:31 AM   #41
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Re: Winter NC Diving

An AP in DEC, that's awesome! Sounds like a great trip!

I like those hazier days out there, easier to get on the fish...and no current to boot!
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Old 12-15-2014, 11:34 AM   #42
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Re: Winter NC Diving

Woodward, get a life. Or atleast go hit on your maid. Yep, that's my good buddy El Bandito, Pedro Correale who nailed what is to my knowledge the first Big Eye ever speared (and landed) on the East Coast this past summer.

Sounds awesome. What was the Water Temp?
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Old 12-15-2014, 11:45 AM   #43
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Re: Winter NC Diving

Thanks Matt I was stoked when he swam in. I wasnt really expecting it because the water was chillier than I have seen them in. It was 68-70. The water warmed up during the day a little. https://www.facebook.com/sam.blount.988. Link to the photos if you want to check them out. Jon my fish were shot with my 130 MH feel free to post them up on your page if you need some newer pictures.
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Old 12-15-2014, 12:56 PM   #44
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Re: Winter NC Diving

Mahi, I am new to the spearfishing scene but have been a bluewater guy since i was kid and i am 100% down for going offshore out of OI when the bluefin run through. I got into the sport cause i was so tired of trolling and marking monsters but never able to get em up! I kept thinking why not just go get them lol.... turns out you can

Im currently running a 28 grady that my buddy and i have put about 7000 ocean miles on, mainly running out of Ocean City but she is on a trailer and we have taken her down south (VB and OI) for the winter bluefin bite before (trolling.)

If you guys are serious about jumping in the water and teaching a newbie some tricks i would be happy to supply the boat if we split the fuel bill. Cost shouldn't be to bad though, she has some 4 stroke yahmi 250s that run pretty good.

I got a HMS permit for the boat, but what is all this talk about not being able to spear bluefins? We poon em at the boat all day, whats the difference between throwing a spear into the water and shooting one from in the water? I guess worst case we just bring a couple 80s and tell the tax man that those are gaffe holes.....

What kinda gear do you guys run, i am in the process of ordering a few guns from Petros. A pathos open carbon 90, 130 and a bluetec oceanborn 140. I figure that would be a good starting point, but didnt know if you guys run with bigger stuff?

How is the ditch these days out in the sound? Last time I came down I ran outta Pirates and we got shoaled up cause the "channel" moved...
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Old 12-15-2014, 05:38 PM   #45
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Re: Winter NC Diving

Solarfuel, we got it pretty sweet right now being able to Spear all the other tunas. That was due to some hard work put in by Terry Maas, Roberto Reyes, Mark Labochetta and others. The Bluefin are such a sought after commercial resource. It could breed resentment towards divers if the commercial guys thought you were hucking shafts at them. I seen a Commercial boat blast a few shotgun shells at a Sporto this summer just for tying up to their lobster pots. Why not target the Wahoo, YFT, Big Eye, Albacore? I'm not saying that if came upon a floating log jumped in and 6 100lb Tuna swam up to me and I wasn't 100% sure whether they were YFT or BFT I wouldn't blast one, but I wouldn't go out into the thick of the BFT fleet and jump in and then get dragged around for 2 hours. Also, you are going from 0-100mph real quick here. But you got the Bluewater spirit.
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