[Munchman]

Need some info On Giant Bluefin Fishing in Prince Edward Island...

What is the best time to go for the hot bite? I have heard early July, heard late August early September. Trying to avoid an expensive boat ride...

What charter boats do you recommend?

Accomodations?

Any other tips?

Any and all info is appreciated!!

 

[TunaBully]

Over the last two years, the hot bite started in late August and extended well into October. According to the local captains the last two years were their best seasons EVER, far surpassing what was seen back in the 70's and early 80's with respect to sheer numbers of fish. There is no guarantee that what was experienced each of the past two years will reoccur in 2012 or beyond, but hopefully it will. Their is no better place to give recreational giant tuna fishing a try, in my point of view. The fishing grounds are very close to the port and all of the captains will put you on fish. I fished with Tony and Bradley of Tony's Tuna Fishing and they were top notch. That said, friends of mine fished on a number of the other boats as well and everyone seemed happy with the people they fished with. In general the captains I met were very nice and they really want you catch. They also are concerned about maintaining the fishery which i really respect.

If there is one thing I would point out as an issue that you should be aware of before booking a trip to PEI is that you are only able to catch and release one fish per boat per trip. The boats follow the rules so don't expect to be releasing fish until you're ready to drop, unless of course you're ready to drop after one fish. Be prepared to book multiple trips per day if you wish to catch and release more than one fish.

 

[phillyfishing]

wow so you can only catch and release one fish per boat.. thats crazy.. wonder if its a full rate charter or if you get a break.. cause i know some trips your a mile off the beach.. but im sure a lot break off while fighting fish too

 

[KSONG]

wow so you can only catch and release one fish per boat.. thats crazy.. wonder if its a full rate charter or if you get a break.. cause i know some trips your a mile off the beach.. but im sure a lot break off while fighting fish too

You can make a half day charter with half price.
So you have two half day trips for a day.



--------------


www.jignpop.com
www.jignpopforum.com

 

[TunaBully]

You can make a half day charter with half price.
So you have two half day trips for a day.



--------------


www.jignpop.com
www.jignpopforum.comhttp://www.jignpopforum.com

Kil is correct. You can catch and release one fish per trip and last year boats could do two half day trips per day. The boats follow the rules. Keep this in mind when booking a trip to PEI. If you have multiple people in your group I would recommend booking multiple boats for multiple days to make sure everyone in your group has a chance to reel in a fish.

 

[lighting]

Need some info On Giant Bluefin Fishing in Prince Edward Island...

What is the best time to go for the hot bite? I have heard early July, heard late August early September. Trying to avoid an expensive boat ride...

What charter boats do you recommend?

Accomodations?

Any other tips?

Any and all info is appreciated!!

You can check with Tony's Tuna Fishing. He has four boats. Most manufacturers (AVET, Okuma and etc) always go with Tony.

**Edited**


Thanks,
--Alan

 

[Munchman]

Thanks, I will check out Tony's....

Interesting about one catch and release per day, I will speak to the charter captains as well to make sure our crew has a chance of getting a bend in the rod...

Any other charter recommendations?

What about accomodations? Where did you stay when you were up there? Any nightlife? restaurants?

Thanks!

 

[OffshoreAfflicted]

Is it strictly catch and release or can you keep one and then release one?

 

[Fishgeg]

I would assume this means leaving port, catching and releasing a fish, returning back to the dock and doing a turnaround back out to the grounds?

You can make a half day charter with half price.
So you have two half day trips for a day.



--------------


www.jignpop.com
www.jignpopforum.com

 

[TunaBully]

Is it strictly catch and release or can you keep one and then release one?

It's pretty much catch and release. Last year each boat with a tuna permit received ONE tag for the season giving them the right to take ONE fish for the entire season (I believe PEI boats received less than 30 total tags for the entire 2011 season). The boats can then buy or sell tags to/from other boats. The different boats try to space their fish out to make sure that they don't drive up the market price of the fish. There is a small chance that you will be on a trip that they take their one fish, although I do not believe the charter will receive ANY consideration if they decide to take their fish the day you are fishing. The sole benefit to the angler is getting to experience the commercial harvest of a giant bluefin, which would be a pretty cool experience, in my view. The Canadian bluefin tuna fishery is 100% commercial so there is NO chance of getting a fish for the cooler.

 

[GetReel]

wow so you can only catch and release one fish per boat.. thats crazy.. wonder if its a full rate charter or if you get a break.. cause i know some trips your a mile off the beach.. but im sure a lot break off while fighting fish too

Where else can you go fishing and be guaranteed a fish over 600 pounds? You can catch and release an unlimited number of giant tuna in NJ, but given that a true giant hasn't been caught here in years, what good is that?

 

[TunaBully]

Where else can you go fishing and be guaranteed a fish over 600 pounds? You can catch and release an unlimited number of giant tuna in NJ, but given that a true giant hasn't been caught here in years, what good is that?

This is a great point. PEI is an interesting trip that is worth doing in my opinion, especially if you wish to catch and release a giant bluefin on stand up. If fishing this year is similar to what was experienced the last two years, you will definitively get multiple shots at the fish of a lifetime. The downside to PEI is that you can only release one fish per trip and there isn't much to do on the island other than relax (certainly not a bad thing). If you book multiple trips you can increase the number of fish you can release per day. However, there is a good chance the fishing portion of your day will be over before noon.

 

[Cardrok]

This is a great point. PEI is an interesting trip that is worth doing in my opinion, especially if you wish to catch and release a giant bluefin on stand up. If fishing this year is similar to what was experienced the last two years, you will definitively get multiple shots at the fish of a lifetime. The downside to PEI is that you can only release one fish per trip and there isn't much to do on the island other than relax (certainly not a bad thing). If you book multiple trips you can increase the number of fish you can release per day. However, there is a good chance the fishing portion of your day will be over before noon.

Very true. I went this year, and half the fun was just hand feeding the Tuna. I would seriously book another trip to JUST feed them all day, I had the time of my life feeding herring to those monsters.

 

[KSONG]

I have three trips to P.E.I. this fall and I might fight only one or two times and let other fishermen fight giant. It is so much fun to watch giant to hammer poppers or feed herring to them like in a pond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlZ8uS8_NTY&list=UUSD5vo0Evq3lF4bMQOw-faQ&index=1&feature=plcp



---------------


www.jignpop.com
www.jignpopforum.com

 

[Striperswiper12]

I fished with the Bruce Brothers **Edited**

You can't beat their customer service and fishing knowledge. Troy and Jamie are 3rd generation PEI fishermen. They have tricks and spots they got from their grandfather and father!

I fished October 3-4th 2011 and caught 3 giants. Two released and one we took because it died at the boat and could not be revived. That one was 957lbs!

I stayed at the Bothwells beach cottages. They have 3 really nice 2 bedroom cottages at a very fair price. The view of the ocean from the front decks when your cooking up your steak dinner on the grill and having a cold one is awsome.

The cottages are about 5 minutes from the boat and either Jamie or Troy can stop by in the morning to make sure you don't get lost.

Fishing there is laid back but serious. In the fall it's 7 am at the boat, make bait, herring or mack's and hit the tuna grounds which are less then 2 miles out.

It was instant hook up on every trip I made with them.

The 957 I fought for 2 hours and 15 minutes on stand up with and 80 2 speed and a 5 foot rod. Great fight, too bad the fish died , I really didn't want to kill any.

No night life at all. Pick up your food and drinks in town on the way out to north lake as there is only a general store there. Sunday's the stores in town close at around 6 so make sure you have an early flight so you can food shop if you get there on a Sunday.

Call the Bruce brothers and they will hook you up with the Bothwells and make sure you have a great time.

Capt Brian

P.S That's Jamie Bruce on the left in the photo

 

[skelley0526]

I went with Tightline Tours very good had a blast. They were very accomodating to help us with whatever we needed. Caught some tuna, I went mid October and the bite was still hot.