Bluefin Tuna on the Fly

Hello everyone,

This just too cool! I’m really excited to have made the cover page of On The Water Magazine July/August 2023. (www.onthewater.com) While some of my pictures have been used for cover pages in past editions, this is the first time I'm featured in one.

On The Water Magazine is the largest regional fishing & boating magazine in the Northeast and it offers a wealth of knowledge for all anglers. The editors at OTW, selected the picture of a 35lb bluefin tuna I caught last September using a fly rod, about 30 miles south of the Fire Island inlet on New York's Long Island.

Landing this fish was challenging and we are still surprised we did it, here’s the full story and why.

Earlier in the day we had a great morning and caught several yellow and bluefin tuna using conventional tackle, but about mid-day we had lots of false albacore (albies) and bonito breaking around the boat, so I grabbed the lightest of our fly fishing outfits to try and catch one.

On the very first cast, after letting it sink for a few seconds and about 3 strips, I came tight with the fish and was into my backing in seconds and it didn't stop running, so I knew this was no albie and the battle was on. Because I was using only 20lb leader (maybe lighter) I could not put the brakes on this fish or I'd have easily popped it, so I figured I didn't have much of a chance to land it, but I would play it as long as I could.

To make things worse, way deep into my backing I head a loud noise, like a guitar string breaking, it was a knot that halted the line and I thought, that's it, game over - fish gone. But somehow, he stopped running away from the boat and turned so I was able to gain some of my backing and stayed in the fight. As the minutes we by, I started to think that I may just land this fish and after several close calls with the engine props, about 30 minutes later, we were able to bring it on the boat. Just an incredible experience.

The gear used was a Rise Fishing Level Series 10wt fly rod, Abel fly reel with Cortland Compact Intermediate line, 20lb Seaguar fluoro tippet (maybe 15, not sure) and a size 1/0 clouser minnow, I tied the day before.

However, if you are targeting tuna this size I recommend using a heavier outfit. We had 12 and 14wt outfits setup and ready to cast at tuna, which would have allowed me to bring in the fish faster and increase the odds of landing it.

We're already looking forward to late summer, when smaller tunas in the 30 to 50lb range arrive in our waters and are the perfect size to target with a fly rod.

Huge thank you to my friend Ray Phelan for finding the fish, helping with the boat and Al Lescius for and recoding video of the fight.

Hope you catch a tuna on the fly this season, tight lines!

Sergio