Kayak Fishing for Bluefin Tuna in Massachusetts

Hi kayak fishermen. Adam Bolonsky here at North American Kayak Fishing. Welcome to another installment of NAKF's fence post navigation series, your online resource for tips, tools and pointers useful to kayak fishermen around the world.

East Coast kayak fishermen from Maine to the Carolinas interested in catching their first bluefin tuna will do well to take trip to the North Shore Massachusetts towns of Gloucester and Rockport.

An hour north of Boston, Gloucester and Rockport, set on Cape Ann's rocky granite outcropping, are a unique world unto themselves, not only for their variety of groundfish, such as pollock, cod and haddock, but also for the yearly arrival of three coveted pelagics: the heavily-targeted striped bass, the under-rated but truly delicious bluefish and, finally, that perhaps most coveted of sportfish, bluefin tuna.

Bluefin tuna arrive and feed in the nearshore waters of Cape Ann between mid July and the end of October. Their arrival from distant corners and regions of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico coincides with the arrival of bluefish and shoal-like schools of mackerel.

Bluefin tuna are a fast-swimming exciting catch, and quite good to eat. Their caloric needs and demands are enormous. So they migrate to New England waters between Maine and the Stellwaggen Seamount, off Cape Cod, not because they enjoy the balmy weather, but to feed on mackerel and bluefish.

The key is where to find them. And when.

Enter the shorelines of Rockport and Gloucester, Massachusetts, from the nearshore waters off Milk and Thachers Islands to the more open waters off Rockport's Halibut Point and off Gloucester's northwestern shores from Folly and Lanes Coves. Ditto the open stretches of water between Ipswich Bay and Newburyport, and off New Hampshire.

Kayak and inshore powerboat fishermen looking bluefin tuna this in this productive but relatively unknown area need to equip with gear which is not so much different as simply an exaggerated version of what they use for striped bass: trolling gear, leader, swimmer and popper lures.

But bait and lures needs to be bigger, as do hooks, rods and reels, terminal tackle, and, finally, the fisherman's skills, physical endurance, and ability to land large, brutally powerful fish.

Kayak fisherman accustomed to trolling shoreline structure 15 feet to 25 yards offshore, and the mild physical needs this type of fishing demands -- essentially the ability to sit on your rear end for hours at a stretch while trolling at speeds that match a tricycle's -- need not apply. The angler in the kayak needs both open water and rough water paddling skills plus the physical endurance and mental willingness to paddle several miles offshore.

The typical kayak fisherman's 10 to 12 foot sit-on-top or sit-in kayak won't quite do the trick unless you happen across a school of bluefin tuna within a stone's throw of the shoreline or put-in.

The kayak fisherman looking for bluefin will need to get offshore on his own. One place to start is Rockport's Granite Pier. You will need the skill and ability to paddle a longer, faster kayak 14 feet long or longer, or, alternativelym a 17-or 18- foot fiberglass sea kayak. You'll also need a federal tuna fishing permit.

Here are Gloucester and Rockport put-ins that yield access to Cape Ann's bluefin tuna waters.

In Rockport, try Pebble Beach, a small rock- and boulder- covered beach with a steep firm and oftentimes intimidating launching conditions. Offshore like the waters east of Milk and Thachers Islands.

Also in Rockport, try Old Garden beach, a five to six minute drive from streets of downtown Rockport, where launching kayaks is informally allowed before and after Labor Day weekend. Here you'll gain access to Sandy Bay, Avery Ledge, Straitsmouth Island and the offshore rock clusters the Salvages.

Third put-in in Rockport is Back Beach, also a short drive from downtown Rockport.

Fourth on the list: Folly Cove off route 127, with access to Ipswich Bay and the shoals of Halibut Point, where the Gloucester villages of Lanesville and Bayview look across Ipswich Bay's open expanse. Parking in the small lot is restricted to Gloucester residents during June, July and August.

Another access point to Ipswich Bay, which includes the mouth of the Annisquam River and the open waters east of Coffins and Crane Beaches, is the free public ramp and good-sized parking lot at Lanes Cove. Just be sure to use the ramp and avoid the temptation to plow through the eelgrass on foot (and thereby destroying baitfish hatching habitat).

If you're interested in other Massachusetts kayak fishing areas and put-ins, see the large number of Google Earth maps I've written and stored at Massachusetts Fishing Maps.