Locally Caught Tuna !!

[sam harris]

British Tunny.

The British Tunny Club H.Q. was based at Scarborough until 1952. The Record fish that Lorenzo Mitchell-Henry caught was brought ashore at Whitby and taken to Scarborough so possibly lost a few pounds by the time it was weighed.The rod and reel used was designed by the cowboy story writer Zane Gray and was built to his specification by Hardy's of Alnwick. The combined weight of the rod and reel is about 50lbs. plus.
Line was Irish hemp, a cotton type of material and the poundage of the line was dependent on the number of strands, for instance, 10 strands might be something like 100lbs. breaking strain. The line used by Mitchell-Henry was 20 strand. The hook was a Mustad 20/0, there was a steel trace of 25ft. which is the I.G.F.A. standard length.
There was NO stretch in either the line or steel trace and virtually no bend in the rod, so to act as a shock absorber a piece of leather about 12 inches in length was doubled and whipped onto the line between it and the steel trace. Leather when it is wet will stretch and in this case this leather "shocker"would stretch to 18 inches or more to take the shock of the fish diving and running.
The rod was built on the lines of a split cane but instead of bamboo the material used was Lance Wood. There was no glue used in the making of the rod the only thing holding it together were the rod whippings, take them off and it fell apart, the reason for this is, imagine a fish off 1,000 lbs. and more being hooked there would be hardly any bend in the rod and if it was glued together the strain on it would just explode it. There was a steel rod running up the centre of the rod and this made it even stiffer.
The reel alone in 1930 cost £300, the rod was a little cheaper at £200, work that out at todays prices and you can see it was a rich mans sport.
It is thought that the Tunny still run up the N.E. coast each year as they have done for hundreds of years following the herring shoals, as a huge shoal of them was seen only about 15 years ago, some 40 miles off.

[joostan]

The British Tunny Club H.Q. was based at Scarborough until 1952. The Record fish that Lorenzo Mitchell-Henry caught was brought ashore at Whitby and taken to Scarborough so possibly lost a few pounds by the time it was weighed.The rod and reel used was designed by the cowboy story writer Zane Gray and was built to his specification by Hardy's of Alnwick. The combined weight of the rod and reel is about 50lbs. plus.
Line was Irish hemp, a cotton type of material and the poundage of the line was dependent on the number of strands, for instance, 10 strands might be something like 100lbs. breaking strain. The line used by Mitchell-Henry was 20 strand. The hook was a Mustad 20/0, there was a steel trace of 25ft. which is the I.G.F.A. standard length.
There was NO stretch in either the line or steel trace and virtually no bend in the rod, so to act as a shock absorber a piece of leather about 12 inches in length was doubled and whipped onto the line between it and the steel trace. Leather when it is wet will stretch and in this case this leather "shocker"would stretch to 18 inches or more to take the shock of the fish diving and running.
The rod was built on the lines of a split cane but instead of bamboo the material used was Lance Wood. There was no glue used in the making of the rod the only thing holding it together were the rod whippings, take them off and it fell apart, the reason for this is, imagine a fish off 1,000 lbs. and more being hooked there would be hardly any bend in the rod and if it was glued together the strain on it would just explode it. There was a steel rod running up the centre of the rod and this made it even stiffer.
The reel alone in 1930 cost £300, the rod was a little cheaper at £200, work that out at todays prices and you can see it was a rich mans sport.
It is thought that the Tunny still run up the N.E. coast each year as they have done for hundreds of years following the herring shoals, as a huge shoal of them was seen only about 15 years ago, some 40 miles off.

Great right up mate, really interesting.

[Topfly]

Nice one Sam, ya owld salt.

[paulthespark]

just imagine if we had not totally decimated the herring shoals only took what was needed,catching blue fin tuna from our shore line durring the summer months could have been a reality, instead of macky bashing we could have been using the mackerel as bait for a bit of tuna bashing ,even the small [joey] tuna are 25lbs plus and they go off like a steam train,why do we seem intent on destroying every bit of marine life in our waters, for what, a quick buck,does anyone think in the long term anymore, is there not more important issues than temporary financially security,or am i just a dreamer.

[phill_itofish]

I'm afraid so mate

[g.ordon]

just imagine if we had not totally decimated the herring shoals only took what was needed,catching blue fin tuna from our shore line durring the summer months could have been a reality, instead of macky bashing we could have been using the mackerel as bait for a bit of tuna bashing ,even the small [joey] tuna are 25lbs plus and they go off like a steam train,why do we seem intent on destroying every bit of marine life in our waters, for what, a quick buck,does anyone think in the long term anymore, is there not more important issues than temporary financially security,or am i just a dreamer.

Yep it is a shame but if they had authorisation to do it then maybe they didn't realise or understand the impact their actions would have, until the fish ran out like. So yes "we", at the time, did it.

[boatangler33]

The British Tunny Club H.Q. was based at Scarborough until 1952. The Record fish that Lorenzo Mitchell-Henry caught was brought ashore at Whitby and taken to Scarborough so possibly lost a few pounds by the time it was weighed.The rod and reel used was designed by the cowboy story writer Zane Gray and was built to his specification by Hardy's of Alnwick. The combined weight of the rod and reel is about 50lbs. plus.
Line was Irish hemp, a cotton type of material and the poundage of the line was dependent on the number of strands, for instance, 10 strands might be something like 100lbs. breaking strain. The line used by Mitchell-Henry was 20 strand. The hook was a Mustad 20/0, there was a steel trace of 25ft. which is the I.G.F.A. standard length.
There was NO stretch in either the line or steel trace and virtually no bend in the rod, so to act as a shock absorber a piece of leather about 12 inches in length was doubled and whipped onto the line between it and the steel trace. Leather when it is wet will stretch and in this case this leather "shocker"would stretch to 18 inches or more to take the shock of the fish diving and running.
The rod was built on the lines of a split cane but instead of bamboo the material used was Lance Wood. There was no glue used in the making of the rod the only thing holding it together were the rod whippings, take them off and it fell apart, the reason for this is, imagine a fish off 1,000 lbs. and more being hooked there would be hardly any bend in the rod and if it was glued together the strain on it would just explode it. There was a steel rod running up the centre of the rod and this made it even stiffer.
The reel alone in 1930 cost £300, the rod was a little cheaper at £200, work that out at todays prices and you can see it was a rich mans sport.
It is thought that the Tunny still run up the N.E. coast each year as they have done for hundreds of years following the herring shoals, as a huge shoal of them was seen only about 15 years ago, some 40 miles off.

great read

[boatangler33]

just imagine if we had not totally decimated the herring shoals only took what was needed,catching blue fin tuna from our shore line durring the summer months could have been a reality, instead of macky bashing we could have been using the mackerel as bait for a bit of tuna bashing ,even the small [joey] tuna are 25lbs plus and they go off like a steam train,why do we seem intent on destroying every bit of marine life in our waters, for what, a quick buck,does anyone think in the long term anymore, is there not more important issues than temporary financially security,or am i just a dreamer.

yet again too late was the cry. it would be fantastic regulary catching them on this coast!

[Pete from shields]

just imagine if we had not totally decimated the herring shoals only took what was needed,catching blue fin tuna from our shore line durring the summer months could have been a reality, instead of macky bashing we could have been using the mackerel as bait for a bit of tuna bashing ,even the small [joey] tuna are 25lbs plus and they go off like a steam train,why do we seem intent on destroying every bit of marine life in our waters, for what, a quick buck,does anyone think in the long term anymore, is there not more important issues than temporary financially security,or am i just a dreamer.

IMHO exactly the same will happen to the humble mackerel judging the reaction of people and over fishing of them on piers, seen people with bags full of the stuff. I was even told that last summer some chinkies had a wheelie bin of them on Shields pier, we don't seem to learn anything until it's too late.

[paranoid and surnburnt]

There are no fences enclosing the North sea and if a giant like a sperm whale can be found at redcar whats stopping anything else passing through or paying a visit ?


Jonny

Though that sperm whale did go to Redcar to die, that's not a regular occurrence even for Redcar, and I thought the tradition was to swim away from Redcar to die.

No in all seriousness for anglers its great to see more bio-diversity in the sea, as long as this is not at the detriment of already established species, though we need to continue the good work that many anglers have done for years and keep returning these newcomers so they can establish themselves.

[joostan]

IMHO exactly the same will happen to the humble mackerel judging the reaction of people and over fishing of them on piers, seen people with bags full of the stuff. I was even told that last summer some chinkies had a wheelie bin of them on Shields pier, we don't seem to learn anything until it's too late.

Agreed mate.
I've now said that when I'm out on the boat I am only going to catch what I need for Bait and a few for friends. The problem is though getting past the buggers. Think I might also drop down to a spinning rod and single spinner as well for a bit of fun.

[TerryC]

Bluefin

With the price of Bluefin tuna how long before the boats come.........

[bazza 1144]

Thats 5 that i know were caught yesterday, 2 off amble 2 off blyth and the one in this post. so yes there are tuna in the north sea.

[elliott.e]

mackerel

IMHO exactly the same will happen to the humble mackerel judging the reaction of people and over fishing of them on piers, seen people with bags full of the stuff. I was even told that last summer some chinkies had a wheelie bin of them on Shields pier, we don't seem to learn anything until it's too late.

in 2007 a westcountry fishing company set a world record when one of its trawlers landed 2,000 tonnes of mackerel - the biggest catch for human consumption ever made by a tank ship.

so i wouldn't worry about humble shore anglers and local restauranters wiping them out, the commercial lads are already having a go!! That said they reckon those catches are sustainable due to the sheer numbers of the stripey fellas, but then again they probably said that about the tuna...

[lingking]

Agreed mate.
I've now said that when I'm out on the boat I am only going to catch what I need for Bait and a few for friends. The problem is though getting past the buggers. Think I might also drop down to a spinning rod and single spinner as well for a bit of fun.

im nae expert but find best way past maccaroonies is a single hook loaded with bait(mackarel lol tend to attract less attention,or a ripper with bait on