Blue Fin in eastern NC

**Fish** · 12-07-2015, 08:12 PM

Originally Posted by Strick9

Fish, I remember those years, phukrs were everywhere and my grit and testosterone was up to mule level back then, we spotted em here on a spear fishing run out and wound up going after them for weeks, hooked one at the 60 in January on a 2lb little tunny that fd us up right quick like. The end.

One of my favorite critters for sure.

The fish were first encountered by a commercial boat called the Capt Stacy. They were hand lining 8 - 12 pound blue fish off some wrecks between Shakleford and Okrecoke. Every once in a few, something would rip off a dropper and take a fish. They had no idea what it was and out of curiosity, they put a big hook in a blue fish and put him down on some 800 pound leader. When they hooked up, five or six of em piled on the line and they tussled around until they got the fish to the surface.

After that, it was a heavily guarded secret for about two years. I heard about it the next fall on that second year and only through some local charter guys who I had become good friends with. We went out that winter and caught them on the Tarpon Wreck. All you had to do was pull a single ballyhoo over the wreck and it was like a herd of blue Volkswagens started playing pile on at speed. It was pretty damn incredible.

It was a privilege to get to go up there and catch them like that.

**formerly bohica** · 12-08-2015, 08:36 AM

Ive still got some good VHS tapes of 2 seasons up there.

**Tmbrhntr** · 12-09-2015, 09:07 AM

Back in the early to mid 80's we used to go to Hatteras every Thanksgiving to surf fish for drum and flounder. One of the guys in the group went a few days early one year and when we got there he had an incredible tale about a huge fish he saw stuck on the dirt while riding down the beach. He told us that he saw the fish and that it was big as a car when he saw it splashing in the surf. He stopped the car and grabbed a gaff and went to the surf to stick it and pull it on the beach. He said just when he sticks the gaff in the fish a big wave breaks and the fish gets some water under it and takes off pulling him out into the ocean. He swears he thought the fish was going to drown him before he could get the gaff out. We laughed at his story and figured he had been in the bottle that day. He got mad and said that he would show us bacause before he got out of the truck he took a picture. When he got the pictures developed sure enought there was a huge fish on the beach. We had not ever thought about or heard about bluefins in that area at that time but I am almost positive that is what it was. Probably ran some bluefish in the wash and got temporarily beached. Point is I think they were around for a pretty good while before alot of people realized it.