We have slots open on Sunday’s shared Cod and Haddock charter on May 13th. 
 Bring Mom! or bring home plenty of haddock and cod (all cleaned and ready to cook, of course!)

Cod and haddock fishing is great right now – Happy Mother’s Day to all!

Give us a call at 978-407-1351 or email captain@tunahunter.com to join – Good fishing to you!

Seth Michelsen and friends have good luck with bluefin tuna, every time they go for them.  On a recent bluefin tuna charter aboard Tuna Hunter, they succeeded in boating a giant bluefin, plus two smaller bluefin, tagged and released.  That makes for a great day of tuna fishing, plus some tuna steaks for the grill.

The giant was an awesome hit on the kite – what a way to start a good angling battle.  The next fish hit on dead bait, different depths seem to be working, making the hit hard to predict, but worth the captain’s extra efforts.  The final fish was again on the kite. Kite fishing is a standard these days. We have several kites and balloons on board to meet the wind and sea conditions of the day – we have to, to consistently produce fish.

Sore arms for all, but that’s a welcome part of good fishing!

Don’t miss the 2010 Tag-a-Tiny Tournament, running over a full week from August 18 through 29. Book Tuna Hunter for a tournament date – Call for your slot, 978-407-1351.

Tag and release makes for much less glamorous bluefin tuna photos, but Greg’s skill with the camera gives us this series on tagging and reviving a bluefin tuna.  Let’s hope we see this fish again next year.

                                   Tagging a bluefin – Stick holds Tag to be Inserted

                                         Tag goes in at the base of the dorsal fin

Tag In at Base of Fin

                Once tagged, we “Swim” the fish alongside the boat to revive it  prior to safe release.

Not to be left out, son Alex managed the live bait situation, perhaps the most critical part of the operation.  We look forward to seeing Alex on the rod in a year or so!

Tuna Hunter employs a variety of bait, tackle and fishing techniques to match the conditions of the day, including live bait.  The bluefin fishing is challenging this year, demanding extra effort to get the fish to bite, so you get to fight them.  We always have the full arsenal on board, ready to go. Call us for the latest openings – Friday on the water, battling a bluefin.  Or why not Monday?  That next hook-up could be yours – call 978-407-1351 or email captain@tunahunter.com.

 Some guys go fishing on their birthday … these guys go tuna fishing on their birthday. The birthday guy gets a can of tuna fish (Starkist?) for his present. That’s dinner, unless he lands a bluefin tuna that day.  So far, these guys are 100% successful, and were spared the canned tuna.

Bluefin tuna arrived in Gloucester early this year – so bluefin tuna charters are in full swing now. There are tuna of all sizes out there, and even with the current slot regulations, Tuna Hunter will make sure you get the best battle and most bluefin tuna action possible.  Tuna are feeding on live prey, and matching that prey along with being the right locaiton at the right time with the right tackle and great crew makes the difference. This bluefin bypassed beautiful mackerel dangled from a kite, for a boring chunk of baint 30 ft down. Go figure.

Not into tuna? Striped bass are here as well, though perhaps getting overshadowed by tuna news. Striped bass around the rocky coast of Cape Ann is a great bet for a great day on the water, and a great piece of fish for the grill. 

Call us for the latest openings – that next hugie has your name on it

Technorati Tags: gloucester tuna fishing, tuna charter Massachusetts, Tuna Hunter fishing charters, gloucester fishing, tuna tagging, kite fishing, deep sea fishing charter

Skorp and crew are back aboard Tuna Hunter for some early summer Gloucester cod fishing.  Good people, great time, great catch.

The whole gang …

And one hefty cod …

The last trip for this crew they landed two giant bluefin tuna   (see photo on our Facebook page).  So of course we are happy to have these guys, and their luck, return for a cod & haddock fishing charter aboard Tuna Hunter.

A gorgeous day, good company, and great cod fishing made for a good time for all. No hugies on this trip, but steady action of keeper cod, limiting out by the end of the day.

We look forward to fishing with these guys in a month or two, when the bluefin arrive. Bluefin tuna fishing is right around the corner! And, we already have Striped Bass in Gloucester, so get ready for Gloucester striped bass charters – call soon for your date.  Good fishing to you!

OK, I hear the guys want to see some tuna photos. 
Let’s start with the giants …

The following collection of photos are all from bluefin tuna fishing charters aboard Tuna Hunter.
See our website, http://www.tunahunter.com  for more details.

Ok, I have to start with MY tuna.  Note the attire … rumor has it the leggings attracted this November fish.
This was the only fish I ever got  – and will ever get to -  yell at the Captain (REEL!)

 More giant bluefin:

At the buyer. Price negotiated .. the next step for this bluefin is an ice-bath, then off to Japan.

And another …

All of these bluefin are taken on different days, different fishing areas, different fishing tactics.
Captain Gary Cannell has been giant fishing since ’74 or so.  He knows the fish, the waters, the tactics and techniques, and knows how to adapt to the current conditions to read the waters and second guess the fish.   All that, and Gary will tell tell you that sometimes the fish wins.  We can tell you that very often Tuna Hunter wins.

You can reach Tuna Hunter at 978-407-1351, or captain@tunahunter.com

More later … focus on those elk!

tuna fishing, bluefin tuna charters, giant bluefin tuna, giant tuna

Tuna Hunter encourages all anglers to participate in the Tag-A-Tiny Tuna Tournament August 22 – 24 to support the Large Pelagic Research Center’s Tag-A-Tiny program.

The focus of the Tournament, hosted by the North Shore Community Tuna Association, is promote tag-and-release of juvenile bluefin tuna and to raise funds for Dr. Molly Lutcavage and the UNH Large Pelagics Research Center. The Tag-A-Tiny program studies the migration paths of juvenlile bluefin tuna through internal and external archival tags. The Tag-A-Tiny program has made great progress since its inception in 2005. ( Read more about the Tag A Tiny program here) but funding is needed to continue this important program.

The Tournament has three categories of boats: small, large, and charter.

The winner of each category will be the boat that tagged the most fish.

Dated digital photos will be required for each fish tagged in order to
make the tournament as fair as possible.
There will also be a kill
category for giant Bluefin Tuna.

Each registered boat will receive a
tagging kit, sponsor gifts, four t-shirts, and four meal tickets for
the grand celebration dinner. The tournament will take place up and
down the east coast (from Maine to Florida ) with its base in
Gloucester, MA . Tournament tagging kits will be sent to all
applicants whose registrations are received before August 10^th.
Entries within a two hour drive of Gloucester , MA will be accepted through Wednesday, August 20^th, 2008.

Full details including registration form can be found at www.rockonproducts.com.

To Download a registration click this link:

http://rockonproducts.com/pdf/tag_a_tiny_registration.pdf

Sign Up

Contact Mark Godfried for more information about signing up for the Tag A Tiny Tournament

email: tagatiny@gmail.com

phone: (978) 317-1797

Thank
you to the tournament sponsors: Ouellette and Smith (Fishlaw);
Grady-White Boats ; Gloucester Seafood Display Auction; Gloucester
House Restaurant; Captain Carlo’s Restaurant; Commercial Fisheries
News; On the Water Media; Madfish Grill; Intershell; The Billfish
Foundation; and Seaboard Products Company, proud distributors of
Anheuser Busch Products. Please support these sponsors as they help support our fishery!

Tuna Hunter strongly supports tag and release of bluefin tuna and other species, and Molly Lutcavage’s efforts with bluefin tagging in particular. See our AFTCO Tag Flag tagging story here.

Call Tuna Hunter at 978-407-1351 or email captain@tunahunter.com for our latest openings.
Bluefin Tuna are running strong now – register for hte Tag-A-Tiny Tournament, or call us to book your appointment with a fattie (for tag-and-release, or course!)

Bluefin Tuna Fishing aboard Tuna Hunter is HOT lately, as the Roach charter can attest.

Their recent bluefin tuna charter yielded several gorgeous bluefin tuna in the 130 – 200-pound range.
On Tuna Hunter we fight this size tuna on light tackle, standup.

This looks easy here .. but battling a bluefin tuna standup is heavy work. All aboard had sore arms by the end of this charter!

The guys retained one fish; the remaining bluefin were tagged and released unharmed.
Tuna Hunter supports tag and release. See our AFTCO Tag Flag tagging story here.

Captain Gary is known along the eastern seaboard for his expertise with bluefin tuna. It helps that Tuna Hunter is fully loaded with all sizes of rods and reels, bait and lures to handle any and all fishing conditions. Tuna Hunting is Captain Gary’s passion … if there’s one around, he’ll likely hook it. You get to land it!

Call Tuna Hunter at 978-407-1351 or email captain@tunahunter.com for our latest openings.
Bluefin Tuna are running strong now – call us to book your appointment with a fattie!

The “Pineapple People” have a great time fishing aboard Tuna Hunter each year.
2008 is no exception ~ In fact, 2008 was a surprising Striped Bass Fishing Charter …

because they ended up with a Bluefin Tuna!

Captain Gary is known for the occasional bluefin tuna catch a mile or so offshore .. as only Gary can spot ‘em and hook ‘em that easy. It helps that Tuna Hunter is fully loaded with all sizes of rods and reels, and all sorts of bait for just such an event. Tuna Hunting is Captain Gary’s passion … if there’s one around, he’ll likely hook it.

Call Tuna Hunter at 978-407-1351 or email captain@tunahunter.com for our latest openings. We work hard to make sure you go home with fish – and if a bigger fish comes along, we’ll try for that too!