Plymouth, UK - Blue Sharks ..... and Tuna

Just back from a couple of days sharking in Plymouth. Reasonable - we had four on the first day and seven on the second, although not quite in one of our member's league. He'd fished the two previous days as a singleton with Dave Uren on Mirage and had 10 followed by a 16. Not bad! And, other than a couple of pups, the fish were all of a reasonable size. I had the best that was estimated at 100lbs, although his best on those two earlier days had been a 120.

More interesting than the sharking though were Tuna. Water temperatures were up to 20C, and we saw two small pods on the first day and the other Club boat the one. What were they though? Um ... I have to say I really don't know. Possibly Albacore - although I suspect that would have been somewhat early - juvenile Bluefin or perhaps even Skipjack or Little Tunny. My closest sighting was probably at 100 metres range. I saw an initial surface disturbance and then, in both cases, singletons jumping. Fish, I would estimate at that range, in the 20 to 30lb class and very silvery. On both days we finished our days trolling at 7 knots for about an hour, but our lures were a little on the large side. We did have some cedar plugs, but unfortunately no needle eyed hooks on which to rig them. Still we left them with the crew and I'm confident they'll try dragging them.

As well as the Tuna though we spotted one smallish Wreckfish (Stone Bass) in the chum trail plus two Sunfish (Mola mola). They were within 4 metres of each other. Also, and presumably they were there for spawning, three amorous Mullet. We were way, way South of the Eddystone lighthouse and reef.

And, on the other boat, they ending up played a Blue that fought somewhat strangely. Not surprising it had got a weed covered 20/0 offset circle in its jaw plus the whole of the longlining snood through to the clip and the attendant light. It had still got a little battery life in it. So I suspect it was off a Broadbill lining boat. But where it had been operating who knows, perhaps Southern Biscay/Northern Spain or even out near the Azores? Just amazing that with all that resistance the fish had dragged it for patently quite a way, so a relief that it found that 'easy to catch' Mackerel flapper.

Yes Reinaard I suspect, given their size, they were probably Albacore. The Spanish commercial fleet do target them from North West Spain, skirting Biscay and out to South West Ireland. But Albacore are perhaps, with Bluefin and Skipjacks, the most far ranging of Tuna species and continue that migration off the Irish coast, and around Scotland to the Norwegian coastline. It's really only that demarkation of cold Arctic South of Iceland that prevents them going further North.

One of our group has similarly fished, and caught, Albacore off South West Ireland but he was unable to give a positive ID of what we'd seen. Interestingly, and part of the overall confusion/doubt in my mind, was that last year, slightly further West off Falmouth, some individuals a friend knows caught a couple of juvenile Bluefin Tuna - fish in the 40 to 50lb range - on Whiting livebaits whilst shark fishing.

It's some years since I last fished for sharks in the UK but one of our crew, associated with the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, told me about a single Mako they'd caught this year plus Threshers, some very large, that earlier in the year were attacking commercial Sprat nets. Also, over the past several years, they'd started catching numbers of 100lb plus fish, up to an estimated 200 pounder. These are undoubtedly females whereas for some time all that were been caught in the West country were the smaller Males. Interesting times ......

I really don't want to be drawn into a debate about the supposed (very occasional) presence or otherwise of Great White Sharks in UK waters but - leaving aside the unfortunate hype from what are described as 'red top' newspapers - those that have in the past reported supposed sightings of Elvis Presley or a London Transport bus on the Moon - this report was fascinating - http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/u…proof-great-white-2181232 . Patently the 60lb Blue Shark had been bitten by 'something' with a significant bite radius and it wasn't the usual wound/marking associated with breeding behaviour.