Cabo Tuna

[Baja Marty]

Back in Cabo for the New Year. Incredibly, it's 5 weeks later and they are still netting sardinas off of Palmilla Point and catching yellowfin and dorado just a mile offshore. The first day I went out tuna fishing was slow so I brought the live bait inshore and had a great time catching keeper Cabrilla and snapper. I fished New Years day but the bait boats took the day off.

Third time was the charm. I waited an hour to buy a scoop but It didn't take long after that. I hooked this 25-30# tuna soon after joining the fleet. There's nothing like being surrounded by jealous boaters. It took quite a while to land on 30# test. I rarely catch anything big enough to warrant bringing a gaff, so I had to net this fish belly-up.

Unfortunately I could have taken better care of my catch. The fish was bled, but then I didn't know where to stow it. I had purchased a large fish bag but forgot to bring down the hardware necessary to attach it to my Revo 13. I ended up putting the fish head first in my bait tank with the tail sticking out, and that left a lot to be desired. In hindsight I should have just kept it on my lap while peddling in..... Any suggestions about how to manage a large catch would be appreciated. The Hobie Mirage drive kayak is new to me and there's not much room.

[summers in kuwait]

Great post and awesome fish! Congrats.

With regards to fish storage on a Revo 13, I used to do the following:

Store fish below in a thinner kill bag or burlap sack. The hatch is pretty wide and open on the Revo 13, so this isn't too hard. Try to be careful with the gasket seal around the opening when dragging fish over it as the sealant can eventually loosen and the gasket will peel off.

Mount a kill bag up front or behind (depending on your setup, bait tank, etc.)
I have a reliable kill bag and added some pad eyes to my revo 13 to match the D rings on the kill bag. Then I had some clips to connect. Makes access to hatch a little harder, but still doable.

With larger fish, like big WSB, Threshers, etc I would just pull the drive and paddle in.

Cheers and awesome catch!

[JohnMckroidJr]

Congratulations on a nice kayak Yellowfin Tuna. A fresh caught tuna is releasing heat, that will melt ice faster than if you wait till it is dead before putting it in the fish bag. Bleeding and gutting a fish does wonders to preserve freshness. If just the tail is sticking out of the fish bag, I tie a plastic grocery around it -- blocking direct sun light and keeping the skin from drying out. The tail is full of tendons and not the best meat, so it's a minimal loss if it gets a little cooked. If the fish is way too big for the fish bag, head for shore asap. For the peddle in,wet towels, plastic bags or anything else available to block direct sun light and prevent drying is helpful.

[jlabs63]

You are making me jealous again! My brother was just down there and didn't even fish. I am hoping to get down in the next month or two; hopefully the fishing is still good.

There have been wahoo in that area as well. I have caught two in the past around their yo-yoing a purple wahoo bomb. Also, like I said last time, you can try some bigger slabs of the Humbolt squid to avoid the bait lines.

[Baja Marty]

Originally Posted by summers in kuwait

Store fish below in a thinner kill bag or burlap sack. The hatch is pretty wide and open on the Revo 13, so this isn't too hard. Try to be careful with the gasket seal around the opening when dragging fish over it as the sealant can eventually loosen and the gasket will peel off.

Mount a kill bag up front or behind (depending on your setup, bait tank, etc.)
I have a reliable kill bag and added some pad eyes to my revo 13 to match the D rings on the kill bag. Then I had some clips to connect. Makes access to hatch a little harder, but still doable.

With larger fish, like big WSB, Threshers, etc I would just pull the drive and paddle in.

Great advice, thanks. I picked up a large Hobie kill bag which appears to be the same size as the Reliable bag. It seems HUGE, almost too big. Anyway, I forgot to bring extra padeyes and couldn't figure out how to lash it on. This will have to be a project for next time.

[Baja Marty]

Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr

A fresh caught tuna is releasing heat, that will melt ice faster than if you wait till it is dead before putting it in the fish bag. Bleeding and gutting a fish does wonders to preserve freshness.....

You think I should bleed the fish and then gut it while still out on the water? I didn't think of that. I'll try it. Thanks!

[Baja Marty]

Originally Posted by jlabs63

like I said last time, you can try some bigger slabs of the Humbolt squid to avoid the bait lines.

I will definitely try slabs of squid, but you just can't beat live sardinas when available. It was worth the wait. Thanks.

[Iceman]

Martin, bring out a soft cooler with frozen water bottles in it and an old towel. If you catch the big one wrap it in the wet towel with the water bottles if you don't catch throw the water bottles back in the freezer for next trip

Nice YFT! very jealous, now lets see a big bull dorado next!

[Baja Marty]

Originally Posted by Iceman

Martin, bring out a soft cooler with frozen water bottles in it and an old towel. If you catch the big one wrap it in the wet towel with the water bottles if you don't catch throw the water bottles back in the freezer for next trip

Nice YFT! very jealous, now lets see a big bull dorado next!

Thanks Andy. Sure, I'd love to hook a dorado. It's great seeing them jump!

I may have to come by your shop and look at the smaller/medium fish bag. That large kill bag is too huge. I feel like it's bad luck to assume I'm going to catch something that big. Or I'll try your wet towel trick and stash the fish on the back deck behind the bait tank after bleeding and gutting.

[PescadorPete]

Originally Posted by summers in kuwait

Try to be careful with the gasket seal around the opening when dragging fish over it as the sealant can eventually loosen and the gasket will peel off.

The old style gasket was two piece. I replaced it with a one piece gasket that doesn't have this problem. I think it's called Trim-Lok Trim-seal. (maybe DDA2513?).

[Valek]

Another nice catch, congrats. Thanks for report.

[jacksonbigtuna]

Nice fish! Absolutely bleed it immediately! First thing I do is cut the gills

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by Baja Marty

You think I should bleed the fish and then gut it while still out on the water? I didn't think of that. I'll try it. Thanks!

In South Florida we take a good amount of Blackfin Tuna off kayaks,and it is standard procedure to bleed them while they are still alive. If not too busy fishing gut them as well. Once the bite slows down, usually gill and gut. The guts are the part of the fish that smells the worse, if you can dispose of them on the water it makes a difference when cleaning later. I prefer to keep the fish bag on the back end as the extra weight on the bow makes the kayak directionally unstable, and harder to steer on the way in.

[Baja Marty]

Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr

bleed them while they are still alive. If not too busy fishing gut them as well...... I prefer to keep the fish bag on the back end as the extra weight on the bow makes the kayak directionally unstable, and harder to steer on the way in.

That's great information, thanks. Kayak tuna is new for me, so I appreciate the advice.

I picked up a medium Hobie kill bag and was planning to put it in the forward hatch, but didn't consider the impact of bow weight on handling. Not sure if there is enough room on the stern of the Revo 13 behind the bait tank. I'll check it out.