Capt Brants Fishing Report

Giant Bluefin Tuna have finally shown up off our coast. I am happy to ring in the New Year with the good news that the Giant Bluefin Tuna have finally shown up off our coast. The season for this fishery typically starts in December and runs through January. Last season it was very slow off our area, but this season we had our hopes high. Much of the commercial netting of Menhaden (Giant Bluefin Tuna’s main food source) has been haulted off the Carolinas and all indications were that there was going to be much more baitfish presence this season. Everything has been lined up and ready, except the Bluefin have not been cooperating. Despite a few flurry’s of Bluefin off the Morehead City area through December, the fishing off Southport and Ocean Isle had been poor. That is until day before yesterday. Credit needs to be given to Keith Logan (the winner of the 2008 Jolly Mon King Classic) for landing the first Giant Bluefin off our area this season. Keith said he had been fishing four other times for Giant Bluefin with no luck, but on Monday, December 29th, his luck would change. The weather wasn’t great, but it was certainly fishable. However, due to lack of good reports, Keith was the only one fishing for Giant Bluefin on this day. He reported hooking up and losing a Giant Bluefin at 9:30am and then redeploying and hooking up a double header at 10:30am. One of those fish broke off, but he and crew managed to land the second fish and bring it to the dock- the first of the year to the Ocean Isle Fishing Center. The Giant Bluefin measured 85 inches long and weighed approximately 350 pounds. Courtesy of Capt. Brant at the OI Fishing Center