# Bag limit for overnight yellowfin tuna?



## Trouthappy (Jun 12, 2008)

Does anyone know the bag limit for yellowfin tuna,
if you stay offshore three days? How many YF tuna can
you return with, in a Texas port? We were told last year
it was two yellowfins, regardless how many days you
spent offshore, and you must have a Texas fishing license
to land them in Texas.


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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

Recreational Atlantic Tunas Retention Limits
The recreational daily bluefin tuna (BFT) retention for limit for HMS Angling and HMS Charter/Headboat vessels (while fishing recreationally) is 1 BFT/vessel/day/trip, measuring 27 to less than 47", and 1 BFT/vessel/day/trip, measuring 47 to less than 73" CFL. This limit effective through December 31, 2008. Effective January 1, 2009, the Angling category retention limit will be one BFT/vessel/day/trip (measuring 27 to less than 73 inches). These BFT retention limits are effective for all areas, except for the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico is designated as a spawning grounds for BFT and therefore NMFS does not allow vessels, commercial or recreational, to target BFT while fishing in this area. However, HMS Angling and HMS Charter/Heaboats are eligible to retain 1 BFT (73 inches or greater) per vessel per year as a "trophy" fish for the boat. This fish may be retained in the Gulf of Mexico if it is caught incidentally while pursuing other species. *The recreational yellowfin tuna daily retention limit is 3 yellowfin/person/day/trip*. The minimum size for yellowfin and bigeye tuna is 27" curved fork length. There are no recreational limits for bigeye, skipjack or albacore tunas.

https://hmspermits.noaa.gov/News.asp

This site is all I could could find. Some one else will know for sure.

Assuming it is the same for TX you are allowed 6 in the bag limit, no matter how many days offshore. You know what happens when you assume though. Make an Arse out of U and Me!


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## bwguardian (Aug 30, 2005)

Just remember...you will need two lisenced captains on board to retain two daily bag limits on an overnight trip.


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## Matt06 (Dec 25, 2005)

3 yellowfins whether you stay out a day or a week.. you need a fishing license to return to any texas port whether you fished in state waters or not


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## jig (Aug 2, 2005)

Yep, 3 YFT per person per trip. Does not matter how long trip is.


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## Always-Gone-Fishing (Feb 20, 2006)

If you catch 3 per person then you had a great trip and don't forget the sushi/sushimi that can be outside of the bag limit


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

Always-Gone-Fishing said:


> If you catch 3 per person then you had a great trip and don't forget the sushi/sushimi that can be outside of the bag limit


At 1.5 pounds of legal fish for personal consumption per day, let's hope you don't catch a 100-pounder because you'll be out at Boomvang a looooong time chomping down all that sashimi! Bring extree toilet paper and some ice cream for all that wasabi! :rotfl:


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## Tiny (Dec 19, 2006)

3 YFT per person is a bunch of Tuna.....

Why would you want to keep more than that anyways???


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## Always-Gone-Fishing (Feb 20, 2006)

Quality problem for sure! I hope to have that to deal with the week after next while in Venice for a week of poking around the Lump, Floaters, and Fixed Rigs!!!! I hope the weather is gooooood.

AGF



Swells said:


> At 1.5 pounds of legal fish for personal consumption per day, let's hope you don't catch a 100-pounder because you'll be out at Boomvang a looooong time chomping down all that sashimi! Bring extree toilet paper and some ice cream for all that wasabi! :rotfl:


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## myprozac (Feb 7, 2006)

I sure would hate cleaning that much yft. They sure do taste good, but it takes hours to clean big ones right.


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## Tiny (Dec 19, 2006)

Always-Gone-Fishing said:


> Quality problem for sure! I hope to have that to deal with the week after next while in Venice for a week of poking around the Lump, Floaters, and Fixed Rigs!!!! I hope the weather is gooooood.
> 
> AGF


Hmmmmm.... you taking your boat??????


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## Always-Gone-Fishing (Feb 20, 2006)

Yep'um that is the plan right now but last year only afforded two days of ok weather to fish and the Lump Succccccked so Mother Nature will make the call but I am off for a week and plan to fish, drink, and play in that beautiful place we all call Venice. Ok, ok, maybe beauty is in the eye of the beholder and just like women the village of Venice looks much better the more beer you drink.

Talk to you soon Tiny,
D


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

myprozac said:


> I sure would hate cleaning that much yft. They sure do taste good, but it takes hours to clean big ones right.


I'm no expert but a large fish like that should be very easy to quarter except for the area around the ribcage. I'd quarter them and keep them cool maybe 38 degrees and then figure out how to skin them if that's what you want. The old fellas at the Hawaii and Japan fish houses can basically unzip and quarter a giant tuna in under two minutes.

The way we served swordfish in many restaurants, we left the skin on the one-inch thick steaks - don't tell anyone we were getting a few off the sportsfishers.

Honestly, I never skinned a tuna. Seems like I'd leave the skin on unless I perfected some kind of system that wouldn't get bacteria all over the dang thing. Any ideal?


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## DFoley (Sep 11, 2007)

Not to derail the thread but the marina owner were I keep my boat wants me to save him a whole YFT next time I go out and he wants to smoke it, has anyone ever done it? Sounds a little crazy and it might be a waste, hes a dam good cook though.


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## OutKast (Nov 11, 2008)

Hey guys...don't forget about the HMS permit needed for tuna and swords...NMFS Permit Shop...do a search


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## bwguardian (Aug 30, 2005)

DFoley said:


> Not to derail the thread but the marina owner were I keep my boat wants me to save him a whole YFT next time I go out and he wants to smoke it, has anyone ever done it? Sounds a little crazy and it might be a waste, hes a dam good cook though.


It is VERY good...had some smoked in Cabo and then canned some more which I brought back.


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## jig (Aug 2, 2005)

http://www.randyq.addr.com/albacore/smoking_fish.htm


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## myprozac (Feb 7, 2006)

lol. wish it was that easy. They have a huge bloodline. Also you really cant get the meat wet while cleaning them. Eventually it all has to go into a food saver vacuum machine so they have to be cut small with all the bloodline out. 


Swells said:


> I'm no expert but a large fish like that should be very easy to quarter except for the area around the ribcage. I'd quarter them and keep them cool maybe 38 degrees and then figure out how to skin them if that's what you want. The old fellas at the Hawaii and Japan fish houses can basically unzip and quarter a giant tuna in under two minutes.
> 
> The way we served swordfish in many restaurants, we left the skin on the one-inch thick steaks - don't tell anyone we were getting a few off the sportsfishers.
> 
> Honestly, I never skinned a tuna. Seems like I'd leave the skin on unless I perfected some kind of system that wouldn't get bacteria all over the dang thing. Any ideal?


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## Trouthappy (Jun 12, 2008)

We did a Gulf crossing from Mexico and only kept two
Yellowfins per angler...Whoops! Should have kept three.
Tuna are in the northern Gulf only, not Mexico, and we caught
them at mile-deep Louisiana rigs on the way back to Port Aransas.
They were busting in the lights all night at those rigs, and we
never saw another boat...

When I was in Venice two Novembers ago, there were 120 pound
tuna laying around the cleaning table. The local Cajun captains
cleaned the tuna chunks while leaving the skin on until the last
moment. They didn't want the meat touching those nasty wood
cleaning tables, which are heavily used every day. (If the weather
is fishable and not foggy). It's kind of a grim, marshy place where everyone sleeps in a long row of cheap SW trailers, and hamburgers 
in the marina's little restaurant are about eight bucks each, but only a few hundred yards from the trailers. That is one fishing marina; tuna laying 
everywhere in wheel barrows, and piles of redfish cleaned by guys wearing
white rubber boots...A bunch of duck hunters showed up, but they
had about two ducks per boat when they returned each evening.
Slim pickings. The marsh is drowned from hurricanes and there is
no cane left like there was about 1990 when I was there.


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## Boboe (Feb 11, 2009)

Swells said:


> I'm no expert but a large fish like that should be very easy to quarter except for the area around the ribcage. I'd quarter them and keep them cool maybe 38 degrees and then figure out how to skin them if that's what you want. The old fellas at the Hawaii and Japan fish houses can basically unzip and quarter a giant tuna in under two minutes.


If you've got an issue with ice box space on your boat, and your tuna are big enough such that a tuna without its head and tail will be over 27", you can core him. To do that, you cut a ring around his *******, hacksaw through his backbone just behind the eyes, and cut through the throatlatch. At this point, all of the guts will be loose from the inside, and you can just take his face and pull it off, and all the guts will come out attached to it. Hacksaw off the tail, clean the cavity well, and pack the cavity with ice. Put that big ham in the cooler. You should probably leave the sickle fins on, so that you can easily prove to any grouper troopers that it's a yellowfin, and not a little bluefin.


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

Boboe said:


> If you've got an issue with ice box space on your boat, and your tuna are big enough such that a tuna without its head and tail will be over 27", you can core him. To do that, you cut a ring around his *******, hacksaw through his backbone just behind the eyes, and cut through the throatlatch. At this point, all of the guts will be loose from the inside, and you can just take his face and pull it off, and all the guts will come out attached to it. Hacksaw off the tail, clean the cavity well, and pack the cavity with ice. Put that big ham in the cooler. You should probably leave the sickle fins on, so that you can easily prove to any grouper troopers that it's a yellowfin, and not a little bluefin.


My reckoning is you need to land the fin to shore somewhat resembling a Yellow Fin Tuna my friend, and not some train wreck. That was supposed to be funny! 

The more you whack on a fish at sea the more bacteria spoilage you get. Some old-timers will bleed under the gill/heart area and that's it, keep them on ice slush about 31 degrees. Some gut the abdomen and sprinkle rock salt on the cavity as well, helps kill the bugs.

As to an earlier comment about the "bloodline" I didn't understand that other than I know that after quartering you need to bag the stuff quick, preferably no air like Seal-A-Meal and that kind of thing. I don't freeze the first 10 or 15 pounds of select tuna because freezing ruins it forever. I give away a bunch if I can't eat all the fresh with my buddies. It's best to BLAST FREEZE the rest.

Smoking I reserve for the fatty belly meat, neck meat, tail meat, and small stuff like that, certainly not your best steaks. It's OK although I don't care for much stronger than real Alder wood, or something mild like that. Mesquite is a major mistake IMHO, save it for beef.


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## great white fisherman (Jun 24, 2008)

JFT have a lot of real dark looking meat aka blood line. When cleaning one of those hogs you need to remove this dark colored meat. In some cases it runs completly threw the fish. It does take a while to properly clean a big yft. Some people do cut off the head, remove the tail and guts and some even remove the cicles. Place in a slush of ice to keep very cold. 

Personally I wish the limit was one fish per person. One big tuna would feed a family at least once a week for a year. I personally think there is a lot of waste with tuna. I realize people like to brag and like to bring a bunch of fish back to the dock for pictures but really you can only eat so much tuna in a year. A lot goes to waste. We would catch and release them and keep one for the table.


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## Formula4Fish (Apr 24, 2007)

10-4 Great White Fisherman,

I caught three last fall, which yielded well over 100# of bagged steaks. I've been generously sharing with friends and still have plenty enough to last until next fall.

I'm glad the limit is three though!


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