# Head boats



## Go Man Go (Feb 10, 2005)

I saw two head boats at Nansen on Friday night. Were are their reports?


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## etan (Oct 12, 2004)

What boats were they? I heard the Pelican was there. If they were Port A boats I can go by the dock and find out.


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## dn17 (Jul 19, 2010)

Pelican and Big E


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## lasancha (May 21, 2010)

Doesn't it make you happy when the party boat shows up? :headknock


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## LaDiver (Nov 17, 2009)

lasancha said:


> Doesn't it make you happy when the party boat shows up? :headknock


 Yea, they are definitely the turd in the punch bowl of the fishing industry.Or how bout when you find out they are destroying rigs like the infamous "big e" taking 100 spawning YFT off of one rig last weekend. The only reason those particular rigs are good is because people around here and rec fisherman respect conservation and our fishery. Guess they have moved on from you guys over our way. And, bear in mind, these guys can fish every weekend unless it's over 12 ft seas. They are on tap to go the next 3 weekends. Such a great thing to see happening to such an awesome area to fish. I hope these guys get some regs put on them. 100 spawning yft off one rig is just sickening. Talk about slapping the hand that is feeding you? Kill em all mentality. Went in because they were low on ice. People like that shouldn't be allowed to fish...much less run a 40 man cattle boat operation. I think if they want to screw the fishery we have all spent money on and worked so hard to conserve, the rec guys should band together to try to screw them right back, however that may be....

Disclaimer: I know what they are doing is "not illegal," just flat irresponsible and blatant


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## saltwater4life (Aug 5, 2010)

good lord, here we go again............i got the popcorn popping in the microwave as we speak


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## etan (Oct 12, 2004)

Where is the rig you are talking about?


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## Bottom-Feeder (Jun 29, 2010)

100 yft? Rediculous. I would like to get 1 if there is any left .


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## Mustad7731 (May 23, 2004)

*YFT Can you share them ????*

Not everyone can afford a true "Bluewater" Boat to fish for YFT. Taking 100 YFT
divided among 40 fishermen is not bad....Just barely over 2 fish each...Lots of the
guys posting on this board catch that many...Many times a year...

I'm not a YFT biologist but taking 100 a week doesn't seam to outrageous to me.

If their success attracts a dozen more Headboats you could be right...

Please let those who cannot afford a fancy boat have a shot at taking a few
YFT....

Mustad7731
Jack


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## wacker (Mar 22, 2006)

GOOD LORD NOT AGAIN!!!!!!:an5:


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## TOM WEBER (Aug 14, 2005)

LaDiver said:


> Yea, they are definitely the turd in the punch bowl of the fishing industry.Or how bout when you find out they are destroying rigs like the infamous "big e" taking 100 spawning YFT off of one rig last weekend. The only reason those particular rigs are good is because people around here and rec fisherman respect conservation and our fishery. Guess they have moved on from you guys over our way. And, bear in mind, these guys can fish every weekend unless it's over 12 ft seas. They are on tap to go the next 3 weekends. Such a great thing to see happening to such an awesome area to fish. I hope these guys get some regs put on them. 100 spawning yft off one rig is just sickening. Talk about slapping the hand that is feeding you? Kill em all mentality. Went in because they were low on ice. People like that shouldn't be allowed to fish...much less run a 40 man cattle boat operation. I think if they want to screw the fishery we have all spent money on and worked so hard to conserve, the rec guys should band together to try to screw them right back, however that may be....
> 
> Disclaimer: I know what they are doing is "not illegal," just flat irresponsible and blatant


 I would rather see some non boat owners get out there than see YF in the grocery store and long liners in the gulf. TW


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## mariner (Oct 23, 2005)

LaDiver,
Do you think all those fish belong to you because you have a boat? or access to one? What makes you so entitled. Just how many YFTs have you taken this year? 
I'm willing to bet that it's more than any one man on that head boat.


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## LaDiver (Nov 17, 2009)

This has nothing to do with the customers. Its the captains that are the ones at fault. Any respectable capt has self imposed boat limits as to not wear it out too bad/over do it. Most here in la have a 2 tuna per customer self imposed limit...and I bet their customers respect them and their awareness of conservation for it. Team big e wouldnt dream of stopping until they had their 35 man obnoxious boat limit, or run out of ice with 100 monster tuna in the box as if that wasn't enough anyway. Surprising to me that more of you Texas guys aren't sickened by this considering what they have done to your tuna fishery. It is pretty subpar now, So these guys are now forced to go pillage another area. Anyone who thinks taking 100 huge spawning yft off one rig 3-4 weeks in a row off 1 boat doesn't deserve to have fishing privileges IMO. Imagine if everyone had that mentality? We would have nothing left.
Have I caught more yft last year than those guys? Maybe? Maybe not? But it would take my boat 2 years to catch as many fish as big e did in one trip last wkend.
Again, I think it's great for everyone to be able to enjoy fishing. But these capts obviously have zero respect for our fishery. 100 yft and a 35 man limit of beeliners, probably too many blackfin to count...Christ. Where does one draw the line

This will be the last I look at this thread, so if you want to insult me for having concerns about what the cattle boats are doing....save your breath. Those who don't understand "just don't get it."


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## bjd76 (Jan 12, 2008)

I thought tuna spawn in the spring. Am I wrong? Reports I read on here from La Cpts do not indicate to me there is a widespread 2 per person limit. I personally favor a 2 per person limit. I do fish a lot and 2, 40 - 80 lb tuna is a lot of meat even if you're only going once or twice a year. Been planning on catch and release if fish box full; single hooks and lip gaff. I'm ok with that but others may need to look at the cost ($) versus benefit (lbs) ratio closer than others have to. I respect that too.


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## Paradise Outfitters (Feb 24, 2011)

LaDiver said:


> Yea, they are definitely the turd in the punch bowl of the fishing industry.Or how bout when you find out they are destroying rigs like the infamous "big e" taking 100 spawning YFT off of one rig last weekend. The only reason those particular rigs are good is because people around here and rec fisherman respect conservation and our fishery. Guess they have moved on from you guys over our way. And, bear in mind, these guys can fish every weekend unless it's over 12 ft seas. They are on tap to go the next 3 weekends. Such a great thing to see happening to such an awesome area to fish. I hope these guys get some regs put on them. 100 spawning yft off one rig is just sickening. Talk about slapping the hand that is feeding you? Kill em all mentality. Went in because they were low on ice. People like that shouldn't be allowed to fish...much less run a 40 man cattle boat operation. I think if they want to screw the fishery we have all spent money on and worked so hard to conserve, the rec guys should band together to try to screw them right back, however that may be....
> 
> Disclaimer: I know what they are doing is "not illegal," just flat irresponsible and blatant


Not taking sides here. But you do realize that pretty much every female tuna caught in the summer is "spawning," right? Does that boat "crush" em like that every trip? I doubt it...



bjd76 said:


> I thought tuna spawn in the spring. Am I wrong?


Summer. I have a neat book down in Venice I'll cite this weekend when I get back down. But apparently yellowfin spawn every day or every other day in the summer for like 100 days, several MILLION eggs each time.

Captain Woody Woods


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## etan (Oct 12, 2004)

LSU says yellowfin tuna spawn several times a year in the open sea in water temp. above 78 degrees.


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## Day0ne (Jan 14, 2006)

LaDiver said:


> Yea, they are definitely the turd in the punch bowl of the fishing industry.Or how bout when you find out they are destroying rigs like the infamous "big e" taking 100 spawning YFT off of one rig last weekend. The only reason those particular rigs are good is because people around here and rec fisherman respect conservation and our fishery. Guess they have moved on from you guys over our way. And, bear in mind, these guys can fish every weekend unless it's over 12 ft seas. They are on tap to go the next 3 weekends. Such a great thing to see happening to such an awesome area to fish. I hope these guys get some regs put on them. 100 spawning yft off one rig is just sickening. Talk about slapping the hand that is feeding you? Kill em all mentality. Went in because they were low on ice. People like that shouldn't be allowed to fish...much less run a 40 man cattle boat operation. I think if they want to screw the fishery we have all spent money on and worked so hard to conserve, the rec guys should band together to try to screw them right back, however that may be....
> 
> Disclaimer: I know what they are doing is "not illegal," just flat irresponsible and blatant


This might be interesting if you knew what you were talking about, but obviously you know nothing about head boats or tuna fishing for that matter


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## danmanfish (Jun 17, 2010)

Do the LA captains/fishermen also have the "respectable self imposed limits" while taking 5 reds between 16-27 inches or 10 flounder without a size limit or 25 specks between 12-25 inches?? not from the pictures I see in their websites.. now.. now.. now.. we only bash Texas fishermen ?? right???


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## High Hopes (Oct 10, 2007)

Turd in the punch bowl, LaDiver, that pretty much sums you up. I assume you are just trying to stir the pot and and make a bunch of people mad, or just confused at your stupidity, because I couldn't imagine someone being so ignorant and selfish about the subject that you are bsing about.


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## LaDiver (Nov 17, 2009)

A few points I forgot to leave before I bow out of this one. First of all, I've gotten about 10 private messages from certain forum members who completely agree with everything said, but don't want to get mobbed on here which apparently is pretty popular. Second off, this has nothing to do with Louisiana vs Texas fisherman, capts, etc. I have no idea the mentality of the majority of the charter capts...I'm strictly talking about party boats. I have actually met some great rec guys here, traded trips, and got tons of useful info. So, it's nothing to do with texas guys.

On the topic of spawning, while I do think they are still spawning in that particual area...yes. Do I know for sure...no. It is honestly a subject I have not followed very well and should do more research before posting. But, it really is beside the point. My main reason for using the word spawning was to indicate the size of these fish caught. Hence, why the hell do you need to go out and catch a hundred of them?
Do they do this well every trip? They do pretty **** well...and usually don't do as well when they continuously hit the same spot because they have thinned the school. When they haven't been in a while, they hammer them. But, when they go weekend after weekend, it starts tapering off. You do the math here.
I WANT TO LEAVE YOU GUYS WITH THIS:
Deep inside, do you all honestly think that the head boats have done no damage to the texas fishery? Be honest with yourself. Now, do you see why people who aren't used to this style of fishing would have concern for an area they used to never see these boats in? 
Let's try to keep this civilized. I have not insulted any of you on here. Only the capts of one particular head boat.
Please read all my posts before saying s things like entitlement, texas vs La....this has absolutely nothing to do with that.

I just wanted to clear that up before I quit posting on this.


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## Southern Hunter (Jan 4, 2010)

I'm not going to waste my breath repeating nearly exactly what LAdiver said, but I could not agree with him more!! Not trying to insult anyone...but come on guys....think about it!! Let's show some respect for our fishery!!


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## Gluconda (Aug 25, 2005)

*Report from another site.*

*Big E Trip Report*

Everything that has been said before I could reiterate, but I will just say it was the best, most exciting trip ever for me. The tackle busting fish had me actually dreading the next hook-up, but like a Ho on crack I always went back for more! LOL It was hard to stop even though you knew you were going to get your *** handed to you. 

Several crazy things happened that night that I will never forget. While winding my little plastic flying fish toward the boat several fish had tried to hit it just grabbed it by the tail and jerked on it. Then one time when I was reeling it in, it was sitting approx. 6-8 ft from the boat when a huge 100lb. plus fish busted it and then proceeded to just about jerk the rod out of my hand. This fish had a full head of steam approx.20-30 m.p.h.s and was just ripping the line from the spool set at 18-20 lbs. of drag. He then took me for a tour of the boat by going underneath then all the way to the front we fought about 45 minutes (thanks to Caleb). The big *** YFT finally broke the line. Oh well plenty more where that came from. 
Later that morning I was trying to net a little flying fish next to the boat 5-6 ft away then a another big *** tuna came up and got it just as I was putting the net in the water. I wonder what would have happened if that big thing would have stuck his nose in that net. It would have been cool seeing that net zipping through the ocean at 20-30 mphs. These fish splashed all night long at the edge of the lights nailing flying fish. Huge explosions every where were just part of the scenery. 

These fish were huge and ****** off. There was so much busted tackle that night it was ridiculous. I really wanted to just catch a 50-75 lber just so I could enjoy the fight and relax for a change instead of worrying about when I was going to hear that awful sound of a crack or snap of the rod or line. 

Several guys that never fished on the Big E before managed to hook big fish and set the bar very high for future trips. I got my personal best YFT 105 lb. fish. Spent all day Monday cleaning fish. Thanks again to Raul and all the deck hands for putting us on the fish. Those deckhands were amazing fighting fish all night long for the customers trying to help them out then when they could no longer fight the fish. Then they were there to gaff the fish when needed. 

Thanks again to the Raul, Joey, all the deckhands, and Evonn, Shelly at the Underwater Expeditions office for putting the best trip of my life time together. We will never forget this one! I think this will be the trip that all Big E trips will be compared to for a very long time.


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## Southern Hunter (Jan 4, 2010)

Hopefully you guys made some great memories....at the pace y'all are catching fish at, before long our areas will be a desert just like all of yours out of Texas are! Wait nevermind y'all will just start running to below Mississippi and Alabama to kill their fishery too....hats off to you guys!!!


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## lasancha (May 21, 2010)

Gluconda,

What do you guys do once you catch your 3 yellowfin limit?

I think it's great that you guys had a good trip. From some of the other reports, it souded like some of the party boat captains weren't very conscious of other smaller boats trying to fish - no fault to the anglers. I'm big on respecting other boat's space.


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## Casey C (Dec 7, 2004)

Is there a difference from 1 boat catching 100 or 10 boats catching 10. I don't think so. I owned the Big E for its first 3 seasons and I can tell you that trips like that (100+ YFT) only happen about once or twice a year And sometimes none. They are very few and far between. There have been many of those multi-day trips that have caught zero yellowfin tuna, but if I had to average it out. The number is probably around 30 yft. Frankly, I do feel your pain, because I don't like seeing that many fish brought in at one time, but on the other hand, they are just trying to take advantage of a good bite while they can and that is competely understandable. having been in that business, I understand trying to make customers happy and attempting to get repeat business. It is very tough to make a living in that business especially in today's times of ludicrous seasons and limits. Just my 2 cents worth.


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## scubaarchery (Oct 7, 2010)

*Few thoughts...*

This is an interesting thread for me from the perspective that I fish both head boats (Big E and Captain John) and private boats whenever I am fortunate enough to get a ride from many of the people on this board. I think that there are a few things to keep in mind:

1. The Big E and the Captain John both follow the limits that have been set. On a Big E 60 hr trip (2 day trip) I was allowed to keep 3 YFT (I caught 6), 4 red snapper (in season when I went, I did not limit and threw some small keepers back) and all other normal bag limits for a 2 day trip.

2. This haul was a record setting haul for the boat and again was over 2 nights, so 100 tuna = 2.5 tuna per person = 1.25 -1.5 tuna per day... The trip I was on caught close to 100, I only kept 2 of the 6 I caught. I also did not keep my biggest tuna, but kept enough to keep my family in tuna until the next trip. Most of the people that I know who fish this boat are not fish hogs, they love fishing and catching a huge tuna school like this is more like a once a year experience if not once in a lifetime...

3. There have been many trips where the big E did not do as well. They have back to back trips in November and December but less trips the rest of the year when the bite is not as hot and the tuna are smaller. The reality is that they run a charter business with clients from all over the country who fly here to fish. Like any other captain, they fish when the bite is hot to satisfy their clients. They fished several rigs before they found the tuna, then they caught tuna and went home early. Not sure that that is really a bad thing...The Captain John is another example, they run snapper trips all summer and do a great job. I have seen them leave a spot while the bite was still hot (I am not sure why but I assume it to be to avoid overfishing). They also hit several spots a trip, even if its 12 hours. The most interesting thing about the Capt John is that many people are novice fishermen/women and end up seasick and don't catch a thing...

4. Many of the people on this board are responsible fisherman, they have great days and good days on the water. They do not keep more than they need and if they max out on fish they go home early. This is the first time I have seen a head boat leave early, or have a catch like this (I have been reading Big E reports for over 18 months) so I am not sure they did such a bad thing. In the end, they found a fisherman's dream and 40 people on the boat were fortunate enough to be there as well as a few people in private boats.

5. The bad thing is truly if they got too close or went to fast around other boats. I would recommend reaching out to the office to express your concerns. They have been great people to work with.

6. Personally, I prefer fishing on a private boat when I am fortunate to catch a ride with some of you. There are less people, less tangles and more camaraderie. I have also met great people and lifelong friends on the Big E and take many of my friends on the Capt John if I am introducing them to fishing.

I am not trying to take sides here, I am just trying to provide two perspectives. I am not against head boats, in many cases they are the only way I get to fish. They are good for people that don't have a boat and can't afford a private charter and they are a good platform for new fisherman who have not been on 4 foot seas in a 30ft boat. I respect all responsible fisherman on any boat they are on, and I am grateful that the head boats understand and enforce the limits.


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## scubaarchery (Oct 7, 2010)

*Extra fish*



lasancha said:


> Gluconda,
> 
> What do you guys do once you catch your 3 yellowfin limit?
> 
> I think it's great that you guys had a good trip. From some of the other reports, it souded like some of the party boat captains weren't very conscious of other smaller boats trying to fish - no fault to the anglers. I'm big on respecting other boat's space.


Typically, the head boats track the catch by angler and by boat. If an angler has caught their limit, any additional fish caught are given to other anglers on the boat who have not. If the boat has reached its limit, then any additional fish are vented and released. It always sucks to catch the second warsaw on a 12 hour trip because despite the fact that there are 40-80 anglers, it has to go back...


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## RonnieS (Jan 1, 2010)

I have a few questions to the OP.
Do you think the headboats should not have the right to fish?
If they do, then what would you have done differently on this trip?
How else can I, with no offshore boat, fish for tuna that would be appropriate since I cannot afford other trips?


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## Slow Boat (Jun 12, 2011)

RonnieS said:


> How else can I, with no offshore boat, fish for tuna that would be appropriate since I cannot afford other trips?


How far can you cast?

Seriously, fellas, we're all just fishermen and a boat's just something to keep your feet dry when you fish. I have a boat but I live in Austin but sometimes I can't drag it to the coast on the same weekend the kids are free so we go on the party boat. Whatever boat we're on we keep our limits and we don't waste anything.

Like any given group of people some of the head boat operators do the right thing and some do what they can get away with. We stopped going on one of the boats because a new captain broke the law (plus he was a bit of a chucklehead) and I try to set an example for my kids. Being rude or dangerous 100 miles from shore on a 90 or 100 foot boat around smaller craft or not watching limits is bad behavior in an otherwise pretty decent business.

Okay, now stop being so serious. Your faces will all freeze like that.

How can you tell it's a head boat? Dirty Knees!


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## Go Man Go (Feb 10, 2005)

Holy ****, all I wanted was a report. Not a fight. I thought fishing was slow but I guess it was hot and heavy. Maybe I'll sell my boat and fish on a head boat. WHAT AM I SAYING!!


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## etan (Oct 12, 2004)

You know the results for the Big E. I checked on the Pelican and in the picture it looked like they had close to a limit for the 10 to 12 fisherman who usually go on their long trips.


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## bjd76 (Jan 12, 2008)

Let me make one thing perfectly clear, I made the initial reference to a discourteous headboat on my post and it was NOT the Big E. They came, they fished, they left - no problems. The PELICAN on the other hand.....


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

Go Man Go said:


> Holy ****, all I wanted was a report. Not a fight. I thought fishing was slow but I guess it was hot and heavy. Maybe I'll sell my boat and fish on a head boat. WHAT AM I SAYING!!


It's the fall tuna run and it sounds like they got lucky and got a good shot at it. I'm glad for 'em because the winter is sure gonna suck and be cold.


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## High Seas Drifter (Sep 7, 2008)

where'd they go? The usual BV/Nancen/Ensco... or did they run longer to Gunnison or Hoover?


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## El Sellador (Apr 30, 2011)

Hmm... I wonder which headboat has the record for most lbs.of y.fin tuna landed in GOM? How do the Texas headboats compare to SOCAL tuna headboats in the amount of poundage landed? I wonder how big Ragu's head is now? I wonder what grade the meat on these fish would be in? I wonder if someone took their catch down to a sushi bar on Montrose could they make some fast cash? I wonder if Ragu will break Capt Franks record of 87 Marbled Grouper? I wonder if their thinking about installing ice maker and increasing the fish holding capacity by 10,000 more pounds? Or maybe a blast freezer,or a brine chiller system.


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## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

pretty hard to fault a headboat for the clients keeping limits

it's just another way to get there

now, if the capts. are running off other boats and being general clowns, that's another story


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## TOM WEBER (Aug 14, 2005)

Party boat fishermen don't often realize how much meat is on 1 80lb YF. Tell them they can keep 1 and they likely will not go. My first trip to Diana was flat calm on POCO weekend. Tuna every where hitting everything. 7 guys on my buddy's boat...let the 3 teenagers catch all the tuna. We quit keeping at 6 fish. I thought Dan was crazy as the 80 plus pounders were rolling in the lights under the boat. Now see where he was coming from...lots o' meat. The commercial take is phenomenal once you go to Panama or Costa Rica and witness the circle net catches with the helicopter spotters...no comparison to what we do in the Gulf. TW


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## High Hopes (Oct 10, 2007)

Rod and reel recreational fishing is a drop in the bucket compared to commercial catch. 
If your going to bad mouth some blue collard boys for going and getting the three yellow fin that they are allowed same as you, I don't know what to tell you. Are the tuna just for you to go catch? By the way, the last "head boat" tuna trip I went on there were several men that just served there country out with us, what do you have to say about that private boat owners?
If a captain of a head boat was operating in a way that endangered others vessels or in a rude or aggressive manner, there is no excuse for that and they should be reported along with the vessel.
Wow they had a great trip, a large number of factors lined up and a few yellow fin tuna were congregated around a needle in a haystack spot in the out in the gulf of Mexico and they had a good trip. I've been out when we didn't get half our limit with only 15 fisherman, think we got 21 yellow fin. How many rec. boats in Texas have the range and take trips? How many total yellow fin do these bring in each year? If there are fish hanging out around the deep water rigs one night or they are not does not at all seem like an accurate gauge of the health of the yellow fin tuna fishery in the gulf of Mexico. They are a highly migratory species right?

In the next few years I will be upgrading to something that has range to get out there, and I'm just fine with head boats operating out there. These fisherman get to see and experience things that 99.9% of the rest of the people in this country or people in the world will never have the chance to, good for them, I hope they have a great time.

So hypothetically, say its POCO weekend, 100 boats head out. Each boat keeps just six.....


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

Yeah High Hopes, you said it right. Not many of us tuna wannabees got a boat to get to the floaters.

So being the case, I should have logged in with a burn handle and written somethin' like ...



> Well here I was out at the floaters in my custom offshore mud buddy, just a-poppin' and chunkin' away and here comes this big *** boat. Not even a searchlight or a honk of the horn, almost plowed my mud buddy over. I think it said 'Pelikin' on the side of the bote. Anyways, he potlicked us wicked bad and we moved out anyways because we had our two hogs each already - enuff butcherin' for anybody and the ice waz goin' fast. Got on the blower on 16 and told him I was headin' into port' after him almost running over our ***. Delbert wanted to bust off a cap and I said no, you been drankin' and you know the house rules. You don't know how easy them Pelikin boys got off 'cause Delbert can shoot from the hip like nobody you'd ever seen.


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## Day0ne (Jan 14, 2006)

Southern Hunter said:


> Hopefully you guys made some great memories....at the pace y'all are catching fish at, before long our areas will be a desert just like all of yours out of Texas are! Wait nevermind y'all will just start running to below Mississippi and Alabama to kill their fishery too....hats off to you guys!!!


 One of several questions I have is where did the idea that our (TX) tuna fishing is a "desert" come from. I keep hearing this from people from LA and it makes no sense to me. We have fewer places to tuna fish and have much further to travel but a "desert? Come on! At present we have Hoover-Diana, Boomvang-Nancen on the upper/middle coast and Perdido down south. They all produce fish.

The second question I have is the idea you can catch all the tuna on a rig. Tuna are highly migratory. The tuna at a rig today are just as likely to be at some other rig tomorrow or at no rig at all. Tuna don't have a "home" like snapper or grouper. They are constantly moving looking for food. Constant boat traffic can drive them off though. If anything affects the TX fishing it is probably that as opposed to catching too many fish. In fact, the Big E probably heads to the farther rigs to avoid the boat traffic as much as anything. As a matter of fact, all the times I've fished Auger, Magnolia and the other "LA" rigs, I've only seen 1 other boat fishing there, so who are we saving the fish for?


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## nelson6500 (Jun 8, 2007)

High Hopes said:


> Rod and reel recreational fishing is a drop in the bucket compared to commercial catch.


Here is a good example. 

http://news.yahoo.com/italy-entrepreneur-defies-mafia-tuna-ice-cream-112323605.html

100-YEAR-OLD FAMILY TUNA COMPANY
Callipo's tuna company, the flagship firm of the Callipo Group, was founded by his great grandfather in 1913 and in 1926 became the official purveyor of tuna for Italy's royal family.
To maintain the family tradition of high quality, he chooses suppliers of related products like extra-virgin olive oil and has resisted mob attempts to dictate where he buys ingredients.
During a recent visit by a reporter, Callipo, donning a white smock, walked along the plant's floor, where workers greeted him with the backslapping familiarity accorded to a member of the family rather than a boss.
The plant processes about 30 tonnes of yellow-fin tuna daily. That day, workers were preparing some 22,000 jars and cans for export to the United States.
The fish, each weighing 20-60 kg (44-132 pounds), goes through phases of cutting, cleaning, slow vapor cooking, packaging and months-long seasoning. Filets of the highest quality are cut and packed by hand into trademark jars.
Callipo says he is proud that the plant is eco-friendly, producing hardly any waste.
The first choice tuna is sold under the Callipo brand at the highest price, the second-choice under another brand, and the leftovers -- bones, guts, tails and fins -- are sold to pet food companies. The plant has its own sewage purification system.


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## RED SNAP (Jul 22, 2009)

I think Tom Weber said it best....just my .02
(The commercial take is phenomenal once you go to Panama or Costa Rica and witness the circle net catches with the helicopter spotters...no comparison to what we do in the Gulf. TW)


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## Chase This! (Jul 20, 2007)

Well at least they are letting the blackfin go. Or was the camera lens not wide angle enough to fit in them in???


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## mako (Nov 10, 2004)

Chase This! said:


> Well at least they are letting the blackfin go. Or was the camera lens not wide angle enough to fit in them in???


Nah, they were probably chunked for chum...


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## Tom Andrews (Jun 7, 2006)

Keep this going and next thing you know NMFS will state based on 2cool electronic creel surveys the GOM yellowfin species is overfished and that they will be implementing a 1 fish per boat 60 day season starting March 1st and ending April 30 2012


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

Hey come on folks, the idea is that the NMFS is supposed to track the fisheries including the yellowfin tuna using the best science, sampling methods, as assessments instead of some politics, headboat hatred, bad attitude, and some perception that sea-raping fishermen are decimating the stocks if they harvest more than one or two fish each. 

You've got the commercial guys out there, some cattle boats, some smaller charterers, and hundreds of recreational fishermen. It is an open access fishery so everyone gets a shot at it. If anything, the long-liners have to use "weak hooks" to reduce bluefin by-catch, and they along with all commercial boats and large charter boats report their yellowfin catches to the NMFS. 

Us recreational fishermen do not, we don't use weak hooks, and we take a lot of tonnage too although it is not really known because of an almost total lack of data - perhaps a few silly survey phone calls is it. 

If it makes you feel better, your brothers over at PEW are lobbying to close the long-liners during the April through May bluefin spawning period in the Gulf (closure period like that). So far, Congress or NMFS hasn't acted on it. Give 'em a call and make a donation, why doncha? 

So far as I know, not a single agency or lobby thinks that Gulf yellowfin tuna are threatened or over-fished.


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## bjd76 (Jan 12, 2008)

Hey Swells,
You must be speaking for you cause you sure aren't speaking for me with that rambling nonsense. I've got no problem with head boats, I've been on 'em. Its inconsiderate and ignorant behavior that bothers me. I don't care if you're in a private boat, head boat, or sitting in a chair on land...


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## mad marlin (Jan 17, 2008)

bjd76 said:


> Hey Swells,
> You must be speaking for you cause you sure aren't speaking for me with that rambling nonsense. I've got no problem with head boats, I've been on 'em. Its inconsiderate and ignorant behavior that bothers me. I don't care if you're in a private boat, head boat, or sitting in a chair on land...


Bruce could not agree more with you , this whole post its totally worthless.


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## El Sellador (Apr 30, 2011)

I really enjoy Swells ramblings.


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## TunaTango (Dec 6, 2009)

Swells said:


> Hey come on folks, the idea is that the NMFS is supposed to track the fisheries including the yellowfin tuna using the best science, sampling methods, as assessments instead of some politics, headboat hatred, bad attitude, and some perception that sea-raping fishermen are decimating the stocks if they harvest more than one or two fish each.
> 
> You've got the commercial guys out there, some cattle boats, some smaller charterers, and hundreds of recreational fishermen. It is an open access fishery so everyone gets a shot at it. If anything, the long-liners have to use "weak hooks" to reduce bluefin by-catch, and they along with all commercial boats and large charter boats report their yellowfin catches to the NMFS.
> 
> ...


Dude lay off the beer and dope cuz you can't afford to loose anymore brain cells:spineyes:. Once again your full of **** and wind.


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## RSN (Jul 5, 2010)

this thread is ridiculous. All Go Man Go wanted was a report. Too many keyboard-fisherman around here


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

If this thread is so worthless, why do you comment on it?

Ah, comic effect I suppose ... nevva mind :cheers:


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## Chase This! (Jul 20, 2007)

RSN said:


> this thread is ridiculous. All Go Man Go wanted was a report. Too many keyboard-fisherman around here


Did we get the report?


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## dn17 (Jul 19, 2010)

Chase This! said:


> Did we get the report?


Its somewhere up there, but you also got Swells' unsolicited view points on every issue dealing with the gulf, longliners, and NMFS.


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## Chase This! (Jul 20, 2007)

dn17 said:


> Its somewhere up there, but you also got Swells' unsolicited view points on every issue dealing with the gulf, longliners, and NMFS.


Ey, this happens every year. The locals get restless when the wind starts blowing.

I'm chill. Second hobbies, gotta love 'em. 

Brandon


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## mad marlin (Jan 17, 2008)

Swells said:


> If this thread is so worthless, why do you comment on it?
> 
> Ah, comic effect I suppose ... nevva mind :cheers:


Sammie y=u need to go fishing Man , whether on a longliner a head boat or a nutshell as your statements are pathetic by the day.
JO since you know it all so well , why dont you run the WH


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## Paradise Outfitters (Feb 24, 2011)

LaDiver said:


> On the topic of spawning, while I do think they are still spawning in that particual area...yes.


It's not "that particular area." These things are egg-laying machines. Every couple of days-MILLIONS of eggs per tuna. Again, when I get back to Venice in the next few days, I'll get the exact citation from my pelagic biology book down there.



LaDiver said:


> A My main reason for using the word spawning was to indicate the size of these fish caught. Hence, why the hell do you need to go out and catch a hundred of them?


Size has nothing to do with them. A 45 pounder may be sexually mature and droppin eggs, just as a 145 pounder would.


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## Go Man Go (Feb 10, 2005)

6 pages and go answer. Show me the catch!


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## etan (Oct 12, 2004)

you can see reports on the big E catch and some pictures over on the TFF board.


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## kyellier (Aug 28, 2010)

my buddy Z posted this video of the guys getting their buts kicked by the tuna.


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## Bottom-Feeder (Jun 29, 2010)

Now we have good arguments from both side. Let the show begin! hahaha


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## scwine (Sep 7, 2006)

Is it really that complicated. If you feel you must,,,,,,go ahead.  better than being dead. 
http://www.texasbestchl.com/faq.html


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## Go Man Go (Feb 10, 2005)

Wow..the Youtube tells the story.


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## scwine (Sep 7, 2006)

scwine said:


> Is it really that complicated. If you feel you must,,,,,,go ahead.  better than being dead.
> http://www.texasbestchl.com/faq.html


Oops ^^^wrong thread...


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

scwine said:


> Oops ^^^wrong thread...


That happened to me too! 

Take Sammie fishing for blackfin tuna before he splooges!


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## jim smarr (May 21, 2004)

Guys we had a limit of ten. It was cut to three a few years back after a huge debate.

Many of these guys save money all year to take their trip to go for yellow fin. Three fish is fair since many only get to go once a year due to the cost. The fish are not wasted but prized catch.

These fish are plentiful and crashing the fishery with a rod and reel is not going to happen. The commercial boats take is 60,000 pounds a day and some are worried about recreational anglers catching three? 

The head boats can only fish a limited number of days due to weather and the time it takes to fill a trip with willing anglers. Three yellow fin is legal and sustainable end of story.


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## rainbowrunner (Dec 31, 2005)

Thank you sir!

I was on this particular trip and I brought home 2 yellowfin, a couple of large blackfin, 2 almaco jacks and about a dozen beeliners.

Some caught a few more, some caught less.

I do this about twice a year, as do most of the other UE customers. This was an outstanding trip for the average size of the tuna. I have been on several multi-day trips where there were no yellowfin boated.

I can also attest that the captain of this boat fully respected the area that other boats were fishing and kept his distance.

Dale



jim smarr said:


> Guys we had a limit of ten. It was cut to three a few years back after a huge debate.
> 
> Many of these guys save money all year to take their trip to go for yellow fin. Three fish is fair since many only get to go once a year due to the cost. The fish are not wasted but prized catch.
> 
> ...


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

I sure do like reading the reports, like Dale here and the first guy who started the thread in Post #1. It sounds like the tuna run was on, the waters were right, and the size was good. Pretty hot fishing and the weather isn't snotty cold yet. Hard to beat that combo! 

Keep the tuna reports coming if ya got one.


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## fathom lures (Jan 27, 2007)

The intel I recieved was they came across the largest aggregation of flyers the capt. has seen. The tuna that where on them where larger . 
We all fish federal waters, some people don't seem to understand this.


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## captianmitch41 (Oct 5, 2009)

*sustainable*

longliners might be something to complain about.this sport fishing is legal and belongs to all fo us. dont stir the pot or you will have a 6 week season on yellowfin. mabey even a 1 fish limit!!!!!! come on man:idea:


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## Chase This! (Jul 20, 2007)

kyellier said:


> my buddy Z posted this video of the guys getting their buts kicked by the tuna.


Looks like a cluster ****. Just sayin'. 

B


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## lite-liner (Mar 15, 2005)

LaDiver said:


> Yea, they are definitely the turd in the punch bowl of the fishing industry.Or how bout when you find out they are destroying rigs like the infamous "big e" taking 100 spawning YFT off of one rig last weekend. The only reason those particular rigs are good is because people around here and rec fisherman respect conservation and our fishery. Guess they have moved on from you guys over our way. And, bear in mind, these guys can fish every weekend unless it's over 12 ft seas. They are on tap to go the next 3 weekends. Such a great thing to see happening to such an awesome area to fish. I hope these guys get some regs put on them. 100 spawning yft off one rig is just sickening. Talk about slapping the hand that is feeding you? Kill em all mentality. Went in because they were low on ice. People like that shouldn't be allowed to fish...much less run a 40 man cattle boat operation. I think if they want to screw the fishery we have all spent money on and worked so hard to conserve, the rec guys should band together to try to screw them right back, however that may be....
> 
> Disclaimer: I know what they are doing is "not illegal," just flat irresponsible and blatant


your "irresponsible", "turd in the punchbowl", "kill 'em all" crew & their anglers just returned from the same areas that they "raped" last weekend.
total count: 31 yft for 40 anglers, w 2 over 100#.

....that's tuna fishing, I guess :wink: never the same week to week.


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## rainbowrunner (Dec 31, 2005)

It *was* a "cluster ****", indeed! But a fun one, had grown men screaming like little boys.

BOOM!

Dale



Chase This! said:


> Looks like a cluster ****. Just sayin'.
> 
> B


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

The tuna don't stay just by the rigs, which is why sometimes you don't catch any. Here's a April 2011 map of the deepwater "floater" rigs and a 2010 catch map of tuna based on longline data. Looks like plenty of yellowfin spread out quite a bit. Rigs simply attract the bait and the schools of tuna sometime. More close-in rigs down by Louisiana, of course.


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## trackersocha (Sep 7, 2011)

Pretty cool chart, where did it come from?


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## Paradise Outfitters (Feb 24, 2011)

Very very interesting data. Let's assume that it is indeed accurate, and all catches go reported. Looks like they stay waaay offshore of where we typically fish.


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

trackersocha said:


> Pretty cool chart, where did it come from?


The one that looks 3-D in blue is from BOEMRE (or whatever it's called, son of the former MMS). It has the Google overlay for the bathy chart.

I found this on a blog called Sky Truth.

http://blog.skytruth.org/2011/04/gulf-of-mexico-deepwater-development.html

Sorry I don't know much more than that, capt. I just searched and ran accrost it.


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## fuelish1 (Aug 3, 2004)

Casey C said:


> Is there a difference from 1 boat catching 100 or 10 boats catching 10. I don't think so. I owned the Big E for its first 3 seasons and I can tell you that trips like that (100+ YFT) only happen about once or twice a year And sometimes none. They are very few and far between. There have been many of those multi-day trips that have caught zero yellowfin tuna, but if I had to average it out. The number is probably around 30 yft. Frankly, I do feel your pain, because I don't like seeing that many fish brought in at one time, but on the other hand, they are just trying to take advantage of a good bite while they can and that is competely understandable. having been in that business, I understand trying to make customers happy and attempting to get repeat business. It is very tough to make a living in that business especially in today's times of ludicrous seasons and limits. Just my 2 cents worth.


I agree....AND, if I might add....if I get out offshore only ONE TIME per summer...you can bet yer last dollar that I'm going to fish my arse off and try to catch as much as legaly possible! I pay ALOT of good money when I fish offshore, weather it's on a friends boat (I ALWAYS kick in $$ and food, drinks, bait, tackle, and WORK on the boat) too....yes I understand the point that has been made with party boats...but I've been on trips on them and hit home runs...and I've been on them and almost the whole boat has struck out...THATS FISHING and why we all love it! FOR THE RECORD....I also release almost all freshwater fish I catch and now do the same if at all possible with saltwater fish barring some to take home and eat.....I think as long as everyone stays within legal limits, and even release a few that you COULD keep too, we'll all have plenty to go around, despite the COMMERCIAL FISHING pressure that is the TRUE enemy of the rec. fisherman (just saying, I know they are just trying to make a buck in this hard world too):headknock
To each his own, everyone is different with different views and opinions, I say as long as everyone stays LEGAL, who are we to judge?! Peace out and tight lines everyone!:texasflag


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## Go Man Go (Feb 10, 2005)

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..... Stop the wind so I can fish!


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