Bluefin Tuna in NJ Sandy Hook surf......

[DarkSkies]

Thought I would share this as I'm surprised it hasn't shown up on any of the internet sites yet....
A friend of mine fishes 5 days a week, and gets the chance to see more than most out there.....

About 1 1/2 weeks ago, he mentioned he was seeing a large fish breaching.....
At first, it was an "after the fact recognition"......out of the corner of his eye as it went back into the water....

[DarkSkies]

Lately he has been fishing the Sandy Hook area.

Background....he's a hardcore surf guy....one of the best out there.....and consistently catches some of the largest surf caught bass on artificials.
He's been up and down the Coast chasing striped bass on their migration, and been fishing for bass and other species for over 40 years.....
He is well aware of the sturgeon population in the Sandy Hook area, and has seen them breech many times.....
He's always been able to provide a fair and accurate description of any fish we talk about....and I've found his assessments to be fair and balanced.

As mentioned, when we were speaking about 1 1/2 weeks ago he started mentioning seeing this large fish breach....out of the corner of his eye....
The breeches became more frequent to the point where he started describing the size and shape of the fish...but it was still too quick and far out for him to get a good glimpse, and too infrequent to make watching for it with binoculars worthwhile.....

At first, I really tried to convince him that it was possibly a sturgeon, but he was adamant that it was not....
Since I know he knows his fish......we were trying to brainstorm what other possibilities it could be......:don't know why:

[DarkSkies]

The breeches became more frequent over the past week.......


Some of the possibilities we discussed....in not knowing more about the fish and having a solid description....
Bluefin tuna.....
Cobia....
Small whale, maybe pilot whale...
Small thresher shark (but the dead giveaway here would have been the long tail....and he claimed this fish was not shaped like one, it was more solid, and rounder...)

Sturgeon...(again, adamantly discounted by him, he was sure it wasn't a sturgeon....)
Bottle nose Dolphin (discounted because he has seen hundreds of dolphins over the years....)

We also talked about how close it came in, as being something that might define what fish it might be...
At first, it was breaching a half mile out...making the ID a little difficult....
Then, he discussed one time he saw it breech in about 5 feet of water (again, only for a second, out of the corner of his eye)



Toward the end of the last 5 days, the breeches became more frequent, albeit further out....to the point where we thought there might be a small group of fish.....whatever they were.....

[DarkSkies]

This began to puzzle him....he was stumped...and reached out to me.....
I reached out to a marine biologist I sometimes ask questions of.....


Reached out to finchaser and some other old salts as well......
Finchaser thinking out loud, mentioned tuna, pilot whale, as possibilities.....

It seemed we all became curious as to what this fish could be......:huh:







Yesterday I got a definite answer from Fin....:thumbsup:

"The big mystery fish at Sandy Hook was a 74 inch bluefin tuna that washed up dead today.
Was said to have been seen breeching because it was injured or sick."

[DarkSkies]

We thought someone would have found that tuna by now, and reported or taken a pic.

The guy who originally found it walked out to the beach to see it after spotting it from one of the observation decks there.
He had to leave to go to work.

Did the Park Service come by and pick it up?
Or did it wash out to sea?

We talked about that fish being really sick, bluefins don't like 71 degree water.....optimal temp for them is in the 60's.....
If someone was able to take that fish off the beach and harvest it.....would have been tough....a fish that size would have been in the 250# class or bigger.
And who knows how long it was sitting there....meat might have spoiled if it was in the sun for too long....


Yup........ya just can't make this stuff up....:)

[hookset]

Yesterday I got a definite answer from Fin....:thumbsup:

"The big mystery fish at Sandy Hook was a 74 inch bluefin tuna that washed up dead today.
Was said to have been seen breeching because it was injured or sick."

I thought that finchaser's home area was ocean county. It's impressive the knowledge and intel base that these old salty's have. Good call finchaser. Thanks for sharing the story ds.

[Blazin420]

Ya just never no whats gonna wash up or what your gonna find on the Jersey shore!!! Man that thing would have scored BIG points in the dead things thread!!! Thanks for the info and story DS!!!

[porgy75]

Awesome story thanks for sharing it.

[bababooey]

Did the Park Service come by and pick it up?
Or did it wash out to sea?...
If someone was able to take that fish off the beach and harvest it.....would have been tough....a fish that size would have been in the 250# class or bigger.
And who knows how long it was sitting there....meat might have spoiled if it was in the sun for too long....



A team of immigrant sushi chefs descended on it and carved it into 15,000 pieces of sushi!

[jigfreak]

We thought someone would have found that tuna by now, and reported or taken a pic.

The guy who originally found it walked out to the beach to see it after spotting it from one of the observation decks there.
He had to leave to go to work.

a fish that size would have been in the 250# class or bigger.
And who knows how long it was sitting there....meat might have spoiled if it was in the sun for too long....

Yup........ya just can't make this stuff up....:)

Cool story Dark thanks for posting.
This ending would have been a lot different if that guy saw the tuna as it lay dying on the beach. I think there was something like that happened in south jersey a few years ago. These guys were fishing a jetty and a sick bluefin came within reach. They gaffed it and brought it home. They stupidly posted pics online and I heard the NMFS cops came looking for them, which I think is stupid. The HMS permits allow you to take a tuna from a registered vessel. They say nothing about taking them from the surf.
If it was me, and that tuna was still breathing I would of run home and got one of those tarps the landscapers use. Doubled it up and tied it with heavy duty mooring line through the grommets. I would have dragged that beast off the beach, or got a buddy to help. No matter if we got a hernia or not. At 250+ lbs that would have been a lot of meat dressed out. Even if you only got 150lbs and sold it for $10/lb that's still a $1500 payday at the very minimum. I would love to one day find something like that dying, not yet dead, on the beach. I would show the raritan bay meatmen up for sure.

[DarkSkies]

Glad ya's enjoyed the story people...wish we had a pic, but that tuna is probably long gone....
I'll reach out to my contacts in the Park to see if they hauled it away.......







I thought that finchaser's home area was ocean county. It's impressive the knowledge and intel base that these old salty's have. Good call finchaser. Thanks for sharing the story ds.


Folks reading the threads here have heard me talk about the Finchaser intel chain.....
He's got a network that stretches Coast-wide.....

Yesterday, in NJ waters....when others were having problems finding small bass in the surf.....someone he knows was fluking from shore with mullet fillets, and ended up with a 44" bass.....easily 21-26lb class.....
Fin knew about it within the hour.........

The old grouchy basstid......knows stuff.......:learn:

[surfstix1963]

Probably in a Chinese restaurant near by.

[fishinmission78]

If it was me, and that tuna was still breathing I would of run home and got one of those tarps the landscapers use. Doubled it up and tied it with heavy duty mooring line through the grommets. I would have dragged that beast off the beach, or got a buddy to help. No matter if we got a hernia or not. At 250+ lbs that would have been a lot of meat dressed out. Even if you only got 150lbs and sold it for $10/lb that's still a $1500 payday at the very minimum. .


Probably in a Chinese restaurant near by.

Yeah me too like that tarp idea it could work. Like SS said if it didn't float away its prob in the closest Chinese restaurant.

[J Barbosa]

Come on guys...its not at the Chinese restaurant.

We all know the Japanese make the best sushi. :HappyWave:

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/01/22/us/23sushi02_600.jpg

[cowherder]

Damn that pic is making me hungry!

[VSdreams]

I think there was something like that happened in south jersey a few years ago. These guys were fishing a jetty and a sick bluefin came within reach. They gaffed it and brought it home. They stupidly posted pics online and I heard the NMFS cops came looking for them, which I think is stupid.

maybe one of these theads
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?4854-tuna-from-the-surf
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8131-Bluefin-caught-in-NJ-surf!

[surferman]

Yeah VSD and JF I remember that, tuna from the surf Cape May 2009. I was the original one to talk about it. The first link you posted. I can't even imagine one over 250lb laying in the wash. Would have been a monster!
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?4854-tuna-from-the-surf

[buckethead]

Interesting read thank you for sharing.

[J Barbosa]

18921
Someone finally snapped a picture of this thing.

Those guys in the Dead Things thread are really slacking...

[storminsteve]

Yesterday I got a definite answer from Fin....:thumbsup:

"The big mystery fish at Sandy Hook was a 74 inch bluefin tuna that washed up dead today.
Was said to have been seen breeching because it was injured or sick."

Probably not the same fish JB. Dark quotes finchaser as saying it was 74". The fish in that pic looks about half that size. Maybe a small school bluefin. A 74" tuna would take most of the length of the rod in that pic. Just my .02.

[storminsteve]

Those guys in the Dead Things thread are really slacking...

I'll was out last night couldn't find one dead thing! Not even a skate or dead crab. The bait guys must not have been fishing a lot lately. I'll get one soon. How about you?:HappyWave: