Tuna fishing tips..

T

TheDeparted

New member
Found this on a deep sea fishing forum.. wow..

To keep the Tuna in best condition be careful how you handle it.

**Always gaff in head to avoid puncturing flesh which will ruin the meat around the puncture for a good distance.

At the very minimum tuna must be killed and bled immediately to prevent build up of lactic acid and to prevent the temperature of the blood from rising.



STEP 1: If possible, club the fish sharply on the top of the head between the eyes to stun it and prevent the thrashing which bruises the meat.



STEP 2: By running your thumb along the top of the head of the tuna you will feel a soft spot usually directly above the eyes. Insert a sharp spike or knife into this soft spot at an angle of 45°. This is where the brain is. If you hit the spot correctly, the tuna will shudder and the mouth will drop open. Move the spike around to destroy the brain. Another step called the Tanaguchi Method also sees a large diameter length of monofilament run along the backbone to neutralise the nervous system. This stops blood from pumping deeper into flesh.



STEP 3: Lift the pectoral (side) fins and measure about 4 fingers from the base of the pectoral fin. Cut an incision about 2cm long vertically. Blood should flow freely from the cut. Do both sides. It's a good idea to tail rope your tuna and secure it to a cleat over the side before you do this. There is lots of blood and it makes a hell of a mess. Do not bleed by cutting anywhere else.



STEP 4: After 5 to 10 minutes, the bleeding should have stopped. At this point cut out the gills from the underside of the fish leaving the head intact. From inside the gill cavity you can cut into the gut cavity and remove the entrails. You will need to cut a circle around the anal opening to get all the entrails. Do not gut by slicing down the underside and ruin the belly meat. The fish should now be placed into an ice slurry to preserve the flesh.

Keep in mind that only tuna prepped this way with the Tanaguchi rod left in place will be considered Sushi quality. Do not drop fish on deck at any time during handling. Meat bruises very easily and you can tell the difference between bruised flesh and properly handled flesh. Contrary to popular belief Sushi quality tuna is not "caught that day fresh" it has probably been slurried and then frozen for a good week. If someone offers you tuna they caught today as sushi turn it down. It has not been prepared properly. The cold acts on the flesh to preserve and kill off bacteria.

Cutting it up you should quarter it. The fish will have the same vertical backbone as other fish but also a smaller horizontal one along the lateral line/skin color change to use as reference for cutting. Trim off all the dark meat and DO NOT WASH FLESH WITH WATER....JUST WIPE IT CLEAN.
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Speaking of tuna, I have a tuna trip chartered out of Yomiton port on the 17th. I don't have any fishing gear to loan this trip, but I have some ideas for you if you need to get some. I do have plenty of hooks and leader. You could always ask some of the other fishermen on this forum.

Its 11,000 yen, you have to pay in advance, I'm sure we will leave around 6:00 and return around 4:00 and the fishing has been pretty good. Let me know ASAP if your interested, as soon as I get four more people we are full.
 
What kind of fishing...?

Usually when we charter, I don't troll, I just wait till the skipper finds a school, people start chumming and sending hooks down, and I start casting lures off the bow or stern......


Would I be able to do that....? If so, I might be down as well.

What charter..? and where does it take you...?
 
We go with a captain from Yomiton. He doesn't troll, we go out to the piles (buoys) on the West side of the island and fish for tuna and mahi mahi. I use lures and bait but most people just us bait. We've always been pretty successful!

Let me know!
 
Hey check out this photo that Captain Billy sent me. It's just a big blue shark, terrible eating, but check out the guys fishing on the right side of the boat. I'm thinking he's ready to go in! LOL!

shawnshark.jpg
 
Was that any of our comrades on this forum? That's good stuff for blackmail!

I can see the headline now: Shark caught with the help of chumming fisherman

Dana
 
man, I don't blame the poor dude... I've been on that boat, it is so darn long and rides the waves so ackwardly.

I'm in the Navy, been on TONS of boats, fishing and not, boats where you walk on the walls and have to get strapped in at night to sleep...... but that boat made me get blue in the face for a couple hours, first time ever. He has like a 25% sick customer guarantee, he he.
 
Terrible eating it is not. The fins probably went for soup and the rest went for Tempura. Deep fired, blues are good eating. Actually all shark is. Okinawa people will create a great dish out of everything. Just ask my son who found that marlin eyeball was great to eat and asked for seconds even after he saw it before it was cooked. Hell, captain called dibs on the guts of the marlin I got. Something about the guts are the best part... Didn't really catch the last part since I was busy swinging chunks into the cooler box.
 
My Dad always used to marinate the shark overnight in Milk because of the whole **** through their skin thing.....

Anyways Mike, how was the trip....?
 
Didn't make it out, weather was bad... But this weekends trip is looking promising. I'll give a report after the weekend!
 
Jeff, we really need to go shore/reef fishing soon, I'm so itching for it.... And I really wanna find some giant trevali this year.
 
Hmmm travali? I know a couple spots but off shore is much better...even for gara (travali) This place has been over fished but down by kinser I know a place that still has some nice ones to offer. If you really want some fun, (and don't mind scraping your knees a bit) we can fish Maeda.

Tuna kick the crap out of gara though. If you ever want to go offshore, mike and I can set something up.
 
had lots of fun guys.. just to bad that the fish werent biteing yet.. unless your mike. :D

hope they'll be bigger/better next month..

one thing I did notice though was the last we went out there were 2 other boats with us.. this time only 1 showed up and he didnt hang out long. Think that should have told us that it wasnt going to be a productive day.
 
Buddy of mine went out on Friday with Capt Billy. He caught a 25lb Tuna a about 4 Mahi.

Lets set up a date for Maeda Flats or that place by Kinser
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9626031#post9626031 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by teto_78
Buddy of mine went out on Friday with Capt Billy. He caught a 25lb Tuna a about 4 Mahi.
Click to expand...

well that sucks(for us)... also read in Japan Update that a lot of people were haveing good luck.. :(
 
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