Current Waters: Bluefin Blast

Wind, wind, wind. Three days of northeast winds are really going to shuffle the deck. Any fishing reports we give now will be old by the time you read them. But I predict that this northeast wind will give our fishery a good shot of life: shuffle the deck.

What a great time of year to be an angler. Great weather (for the most part), fewer people around and lots of fish. And the tournaments available to us add a little competitive fun.

The Inshore Classic, run by the Nantucket Angler’s Club, is off to a great start. It’s especially great to see the junior division taking off. Keep an eye out for weekly standings and leaderboards here. If you sign up for the tournament, which benefits the Angler’s Club scholarship fund, you’ll get weekly emails with the standings.

Stripers, albies, and bluefish should all be good for a while. The cooler water and weather events change patterns, but these species will all be around for a bit longer. For those in the tournament, the bonito will be the first to leave our waters, so they should be the first target species. To compete for the grand totals, you’ll need a bonito on the board!

We’ve had lots of bluefin tuna around and they should remain so for a time. Topspin has had the opportunity to go to the tuna grounds more lately. This moon should bring another flush of small fish in bringing in more rec size fish adding to our tuna biomass. This action should also set us up for the Bluefin Blast Tournament this weekend.

The Bluefin Blast is a tournament that celebrates the bluefin tuna fishery. Now in its 13th year, the goal is to “give fisherman a professional and fun tournament for anglers and guests alike.” Tournament Director Jonas Baker puts on this tournament. It is all his effort – he IS the tournament. There is also a big list of sponsors which give out swag to the captains and donate door prizes.

The tournament this year will be held on Sunday, September 11th, a change from previous years which was a 2-day tournament. This tournament is trolling-only and is primarily a catch-and-release tournament. Since it’s the number of fish that count, anglers take photos and release.

Lines are in at 6 a.m. and lines out at 3 p.m. For those who choose to weigh in a fish, you’ll likely catch them at the weigh station between 4:30 and 6 p.m. (majority on the earlier side) on Sunday. The weigh station is by the Nantucket Angler’s Club.

First place goes to the boat that catches the most fish during the angling time Sunday. Yes, there is a cash prize, but really it’s all about the bragging rights. And the stories. You know every fisherman loves to tell a good story.

We look forward to fishing this tournament every year. Lots of great anglers and fun competition. There will be some familiar boats from our local waters. The tournament also brings in boats from around the region, so it’s also a chance to check out some great fishing boats in the Nantucket Boat Basin.

I expect we’ll see a lot of tuna caught this year, but it’ll be quite a challenge to surpass the record-breaking year for 2021. Hopefully you’ll see me Sunday afternoon at the scale with a Big Fish.



We hope you all enjoy what looks to be a great weekend out on the water!