Tuna Guys which service provider do you use
- Thread starter Strrykerr
- Start date
Sculpin
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the site Strrykerr. Nice ride 
(Post up some shots of her in the members boats thread).
I use Terrafin for sst's and chloro's. I use Buoyweather for looking at the weather. Their 2 day forecast for weather has been really accurate IMO.
How do you like Ripcharts? I'm always looking at new or different things.
(Post up some shots of her in the members boats thread). I use Terrafin for sst's and chloro's. I use Buoyweather for looking at the weather. Their 2 day forecast for weather has been really accurate IMO.
How do you like Ripcharts? I'm always looking at new or different things.
eriks
Active Member
Aren't the tuna in the same general area (when they do show up)? What I mean is, aren't you fishing the same basic locations i.e. 5-6 sq. miles for the most part of each canyon, and only really venturing to 60 miles looking for them off Tofino early on in the season? Is Terrafin therefore really useful to a tuna fisherman that isn't one of the first out there? Are you using Terrafin in the last week of August or during the shootout?
harper44
Well-Known Member
It's nearly essential. The fish school at the temp and color breaks. Without knowing where those breaks are you and just trolling around blind. You can burn through a lot of fuel if you don't know where to start. The thing about fishing in, say the Shootout, is that there are 30 boats in 4 canyons that can hone in on fish. On days where you are by yourself and don't get a clean sst shot it's not unheard of to run out to Barkley and find no fish or temp breaks and have to pull gear and run 15 miles to Louden.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Birdsnest
Well-Known Member
i usually fish the same 10 square miles all year but I agree terrafin is essential. Yes to know where to fish but absolutely to see where NOT to fish. I occasionally will be at loudoun if I have to. I'm not fishing temp breaks but more fishing structure with good water conditions and if you have high chloro levels the fishing can be tough. I used to fish without the charts ( not knowing any better ) for years and had many days of fishing in bad water. Cold water plankton blooms can plague a guy out there.
I've never been to 60 miles but early season does get us searching out a but further. Usually because of what we see on the charts.
eriks
Active Member
On Terrafin, what do these temp and colour breaks look like? Aren't you looking for 59+ waters (on the SST), i.e., the red areas, and on the Chloro, is it where the value is low, i.e. the purple areas? Do you bounce between the Chloro and SST's comparing Lat/Lon where you have both red temps and purple Chloro or do you just call Birdsnest and ask him where he caught tuna yesterday?
I was under the impression that there was upwelling at the canyons, hence all the sea life lower down the food chain, so the tuna would end up there too.
harper44
Well-Known Member
Your impression of the canyon is correct and that's why the fish congregate there. With that said, the canyons are big! And there's several of them. So in order to have the best chance of finding fish consistently, you need to use every tool at your disposal. I bet you could go to the same spot in the same canyon every day during tuna season and probably kill fish. But if you use the tools like terrafin effectively, you better your chances of finding fish in abundance on a consistent basis. IMO What you are looking for in an sst and chloro chart is the "trifecta" where a temperature and color break meet over top of canyon structure. Through research this seems to be the best method for finding Pelagics and in my limited experience has worked pretty good. Most research will tell you that in fact the actual SST itself is not as important as the temperature break and that is why terrafin uses a sliding color/temp scale to help you find the breaks. although I don't have enough hours in the canyon under enough varying circumstance to draw that same conclusion quite yet, this seems to be the consensus in the pelagic fishing world.
These are just tools among others to help put you on fish. I mean, you can fish big bank for springs all summer without sonar but when the fishing is tough in march, you'd be glad you had that tool in your bag.
Cheers
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
These are just tools among others to help put you on fish. I mean, you can fish big bank for springs all summer without sonar but when the fishing is tough in march, you'd be glad you had that tool in your bag.
Cheers
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Last edited by a moderator:
eriks
Active Member
Thx Harper, I'm beginning to get it now. The trifecta is a great way to explain it.
Where I grew up, we fished Yellowfin Tuna at the confluence of a cold current and warm current. Where the two currents would meet would obviously change. Once you found the "wall" (temperature break), the tuna were there. They would swim along it. I only went out once for Albies last summer, but had a blast. I had the guys on Bad Habit helping us out. I'll be out there a few times this season - weather permitting. Thx again for the explanation.
Where I grew up, we fished Yellowfin Tuna at the confluence of a cold current and warm current. Where the two currents would meet would obviously change. Once you found the "wall" (temperature break), the tuna were there. They would swim along it. I only went out once for Albies last summer, but had a blast. I had the guys on Bad Habit helping us out. I'll be out there a few times this season - weather permitting. Thx again for the explanation.
