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28/08/2024
Fishing Report by Steve Green
on Brigand (Brighton, East Sussex)
28 Aug 2024 by Steve Green
Report on-board Brigand
BLUEFIN TUNA OUT OF BRIGHTON!!
Paul (again) Dennis, Charlie & Will
Dennis had booked Will & Charlie as a 21st birthday present for Charlie whose actual birthday it was. Another cracking bunch of guys and we explained that the previous day there was very little activity but the great sea - state would enable to move faster & further today, we intended to make the most of it.
Once again, not a great deal of activity until we arrived at our designated spot when slowly, things started to develop. A few gulls in the water, Gannets in hunting mode and then the real indicator, Terns lifting up and it started to feel very fishy! Peter Stotesbury had his fish eyes on and sighted a disturbance approx 1/2nm to starboard, quickly followed by another 1/2 mile to Port - gently eased the engines up and picked the Port disturbance which soon became obvious was a significant Tuna bust - the atmosphere shifted from jovial to professional in an instant. Harnesses on and checked, rods manned, outside controls switched and an intercept course plotted. Amazing seeing these huge fish up very close and absolutely smashing the bait fish; as we swung by the short rod exploded into action...... Tuna on!
3 rods quickly taken in, Charlie (birthday boy) securely attached and we were battling our first Bluefin out of Sussex- what a great feeling. First run took 300m line very quickly so we knew it was a good fish and Charlie was on it like a veteran supported by Pete & Jason (a fantastic crew & angler in his own right). Careful manoeuvring of the boat, adjustment of drag and relentless work by Charlie and we had sight of a magnificent Bluefin being leadered by Pete. When the fish is close to the boat with rudders & props in play it becomes a game of delicate movements and patience. Although this was my first Bluefin Tuna I'm no stranger to Yellowfin and the characteristics are identical- languid circling motions which are largely predictable and the leader man exercising both patients and control whilst directing the helmsman. After a 30 minute duel Jason managed to get the flying gaff perfectly in the gap of the lower jaw and there was collective sigh of relief and euphoria - we had done what he had set out to do.
A quick measure alongside revealed the magnificent fish to be around 78" which placed it in the 350lb - 375lb range. A slow recovery swim and it was upright, full of colour and tail working hard within a couple of minutes so the decision to release as soon as possible was made. A couple of quick photo's and off it went with a few powerful flicks of the tail..... mission accomplished, the first ever Bluefin Tuna caught out of Sussex ��
We immediately set the gear to work again and once again, another bust - then another with fishing going under by the time we got to them and no takes. In all we saw 6 busts with an estimated 50 fish in each, in an area of around 10 square miles so quite probably different fish and plenty of them; that bodes very well for the remainder of the season which runs right up until 31st December this year as more fish will be tracking their way up from the Southwest so the chances are going to get better and better in the coming weeks and months.
We could have had another 3 or more fish to the boat as making our way back there were several busts very close by but time was not on our side and we could have been out there all day and well into sunset such was the proliferation - literally hundreds of fish.
A huge thank you to Pete & Jason for their invaluable expertise onbaord, to all that have (in whatever capacity) supported our efforts and of course to the anglers who have had the faith to book with us on our exploratory trips.
We are now taking bookings for Bluefin Tuna trips out of Brighton, 4 anglers maximum £950 for the whole boat 8hr trip and additional hours charged at £150/hr...... we drive a long way currently and are flexible about times as long as we can agree them at time of booking so if you want to catch one of these magnificent fish out of Brighton drop us a line and come see, feel and experience these amazing fish.
Best wishes
www.brigandcharters.com
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