SHARK/TUNA FISHING

Question
HI,  I FISH WITH A21 FT CAPE HORN OUT OF BARNAGET INLET.  I WAS LOOKING FOR SOME SHARK/ TUNA SPOTS WITHIN 20 MILES OF THE INLET CAN YOU SUGGEST ANY AND THE GPS NUMBERS FOR THEM.  ALSO WHERE IS THE MUDHOLE AND ITS NUMBERS THANKS IN ADVANCE CHUCK

Answer
Hi Chuck;

 I do not have GPS numbers for areas off of Jersey but have fished the mudhole a number of times, but that was  quite a few years ago.  It is the deep trench that has been formed by the prehistoric canyon cut by the Hudson River as it flowed out of NY harbor. If you check out a marine chart for the NY bight and follow it all the way off shore, you will see a definite deeper underwater valley that eventually will lead to the Hudson Canyon some 80 miles out.  But for your purposes, the area several miles SSE of NY harbor where the depths get down to close to 200 feet is the mudhole.  It is about 8 miles south of Ambrose tower and in the safety zone between the northbound and southbound shipping lanes designated as Barnaget-Ambrose, and Ambrose-Barnaget.  You should have no problems finding it on a marine chart, but don't expect it to be named.  Just look at the area where the shipping lanes approach the "BA" bouy and look for the trench that drops from depths of less than 150 feet to almost 200 feet.  That is the mudhole.

I have done quite a bit of off shore shark fishing and also some much closer in than is commonly done.  I have had mako, thresher, brown, dusky, and hammerheads in depths as shallow as 60 feet.  This is not something that is done regularly by the off shore fishermen with the bigger boats, but for smaller boats like the 21 footer I ran for several years, it shows that you need not run way out to find shark.  Of course the size and quantity is generally better furter off shore, but there are possibilities closer in.  Any area that has food for sharks is a potential fishing spot.  And one of the prime food sources for many shark species is bluefish.  If you setup a chum slick and fish the appropriate shark baits and rigs in a proven bluefish spot, you have a reasonable chance to tangle with sharks.

The mudhole used to be a great tuna spot.  At one time, early fall was prime time to find tuna there.  Anything from small school bluefins, to giants.  Unfortuantely, that fishery has collapsed and can no longer be counted on.  But tuna still do pass by the bight during the summer and early fall.  As with the shark, food is the key factor that will attract the tuna to an area.  Find the bait, and you will probably find the tuna.  One thing that years of fishing have taught me is to look for the floating "tuna grass" in this area.  When you see the light brown almost tan colored weed floating on the surface, it is a good place to troll for tuna.  It is simply an indicator that water conditions such as temperature, clarity, salinity and such are right for the food sources tuna depend on.  And thus the tuna that favor these same conditions are usually found there.  

I hope this is of some help in getting you started shark and tuna fishing with your boat.

-Rich