Aku Min and his kayak-caught bluefin from Nag’s Head, North Carolina, shared by Ocean’s East OBX on Instagram.
Something wild was happening in the Outer Banks over the last week. Schools of bluefin tuna moved close enough to the beach to allow kayak anglers and pier anglers to present baits to them.
One angler on Jenette’s Pier in Nag’s Head caught and released a bluefin while casting from the end of the pier. Two other anglers launched kayaks from the beach, and got into the fish with soft-plastic swimbaits.
As reported by Ocean’s East, “Aki Min from Durham NC, stopped by @oceanseastobx this am, he rigged up and caught this blue fin tuna right off the beach on a kayak.”
My friend Merv Rubiano, maker of Strategic Angler and Small Lure Company lures, shared the story of another angler, Stefan Turko, who caught a tuna from kayak on April 4:
On Jenette’s Pier, Greg Allen fought a bluefin for 2.5 hours before getting it close enough to release. Interestingly, all the tuna were skinny, with sunken in bellies. Whether this indicates a recent spawn (in the slope sea?), or a long migration (from the Mediterranian?), I don’t know. Either way, it’s remarkable that these fish fed close enough to the beach this spring for kayak and shore anglers to catch them.
It’s important to note that any angler fishing for bluefin tuna, even from a kayak, must have a Highly Migratory Species Permit. Since the two kayak anglers kept their tuna, and posted them all over social media, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt that their vessels were properly permitted.
