Article by Doug Olander. | Courtesy of SportFishingMag.com | Please click here for original article.
A look at some of the very best places around the world to tangle with trophy tuna.
1. The Canadian Maritimes of Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia
As promised in the January 2014 feature, “11 of the World’s Best Fishing Spots,” in Sport Fishingmagazine, here are 10 of the top spots in the world to catch a huge tuna. Of course “huge” varies per species; a 350-pound yellowfin is as huge for that species as is a 1,000-pounder for bluefin. Also, note that these are not offered as “the ten bestspots” in the world, but rather, 10 of the best. Big difference. These are not ordered by rank, but arbitrarily and randomly.And there are lots of other candidates, of course, such as Kona, Rodrigues Island, the Azores, Ivory Coast, Canary Islands and more.
The IGFA all-tackle record bluefin just four pounds shy of 1,500 was caught off Nova Scotia; many granders-plus are caught (and mostly released) each season here and off neighboring PEI.
Above: Image Courtesy Capt. Josh Temple / primetimeadv.com
2. The Reviilagigedos Archipelago and Other Banks off Southernmost Baja
The world’s biggest yellowfin tuna consistently come from this area of the eastern Pacific. Recent studies have shown that these big cow tuna don’t migrate long distances but remain in the region, perhaps because the waters are so productive.
Above: Image Courtesy Ray More
3. Venice, Louisiana
The Gulf of Mexico off the MIssissippi River mouth offers some of the most productive waters anywhere for big yellowfin tuna. Capt. Rimmer Covington (left) guided David Cresson, with CCA Louisiana (center), to his biggest tuna to date, as mate Scott Sullivan assists.
Above: Image By Doug Olander
4. Westport, New Zealand
Pacific bluefin are the name of the game here, off western New Zealand. In this shot, Leanne Dixon admires her 650-pounder, a pending line-class world record. It was caught on the Cova Rosa with skipper Lance Goodhew.
Above: Image Courtesy Reel Adventures
5. Cape Hatteras / Mid Atlantic
While granders might not be likely here, the bluefin that visit this coast each winter can run to sizes approaching that — huge fish by any measure.
Above: Image Courtesy Ken Neill
6. Panama
Trophy yellowfin are no stranger to the waters off Panama (and often neighboring Costa Rica as well). This 268 came from the Zane Grey Bank area off Pinas Bay.
Above: Image Courtesy Raleigh Werking, Tropic Star Lodge
7. Mauritius
Sitting far off Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean, Mauritius and nearby Reunion Island provide good shots at some hefty yellowfin (like this Mauritius specimen) and bigeye.
Above: Image Courtesy Riccardo Tamburini
8. Stellwagen Bank/Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Big bluefin can be caught anywhere off the New England coast. Stellwagen Bank — where this beauty was caught with Capt. Chuck DiStefano(right) — is one of the better bets.
Above: Image Courtesy Doug Olander
9. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Puerto Vallarta, characterized as “Cow Town” inSport Fishing magazine, in one of the earliest features on the burgeoning fishery for 300-plus-pound yellowfin, remains a great place to find tuna — of many sizes — feeding at the surface.
Above: Image Courtesy Capt. Josh Temple / primetimeadv.com
