Slow Jigging the Hogy Harness Jigs for Giant Bluefin Tuna East of Chatham
Capt. Mike Hogan and the Hogy Crew head out to Regal Sword, a well-known fishing spot East of Chatham, to target giant Bluefin Tuna on the Hogy Harness Jig lures. It’s the middle of August and in the fishing world, most anglers know that this is prime time for targeting the big boys.
“The fishing at the Regal Sword has been hot,” Capt. Mike said. “But we still need to focus on locating the fish, especially if we are using artificial lures.”
Capt. Mike will be implementing two main strategies today. Staying with life is the main one that most anglers will use and the first one any angler should start off by using. This can include staying near whales that are bubble feeding, tuna breaking and feeding on the surface, visible bait balls on the surface and bird activity. Lucky, Capt. Mike and the Hogy Crew were able to find all of that and more.
The second method that is worth exploring is the search and drop technique, which involves using a search pattern while idling slowly and looking for marks on the fish finder.
“Today we have been noticing the targets have been hanging down near the bottom, even though we have seen some fish surfacing on the top water,” Capt. Mike said.
The crew is fishing with jigs, specifically the Hogy Harness Jig, which means that locating the fish is extremely important. Where as with live bait, such as mackerel, they’ll tend to locate the tuna for you.
Using artificial jigs becomes more tactical in that you really need to make sure you are on top of the fish. This summer, there are a mix of mackerel and sand eels at Regal Sword with sea herring mixed in. The good, structured bottom makes a great plan B for Cod fishing too, if the BFT just aren’t biting.
“The Hogy Harness jig is a great place to start,” Capt. Mike said. “It has the right size and profile to match any of the aforementioned baits.”
This lure is highly imitative with its airbrushed head, over sized eyes and available soft bait colorations, adding to it’s already life-like, natural presentation. This is very important when slow jigging soft bait for tuna, like Capt. Mike will be doing today, because the tuna will be getting a very close look at the lure before committing.
When deciding on a slow jigging method, a regular slow jig won’t cut it. This movement has to be incredibly, painfully slow to entice the fish you are targeting by bring the tip up and dropping it back slowly. Start to finish, the entire “jigging” motion should be around five to six seconds long.
“The name of the game today has been down deep close to the bottom,” Capt. Mike said while letting out his line. “You really need to focus on staying close to where you are marking the fish on your fish finder.”
Outfit Details
Reel: Mix of Shimano Talica 20s and 25s
Line: 100lb braided hollow core
Leader: 30-foot wind-on jigging leader, 130lb fluorocarbon
Lure: Hogy Harness Jig Lure
