If Wednesday’s result is any indication, teams participating in the eighth annual MacLeod's Ledge Bluefin Tuna Cup which began Thursday and continues Friday, will be looking to get on Blair Matthews’ boat, Searcher 1.
Searcher 1 is one of the charter boats participating in this year’s tuna cup. On Wednesday, he was out on the ledge for just a matter of minutes when he hooked his first tuna of the season.
A little more than an hour later, Matthews and his crew of Jody Gaudet and Sarah Woodside were heading back to their home port in Northport with a 600-pound fish onboard.
“We were actually just going up to have a look today. That was our plan, see if there was anything around,” said the captain.
“I saw a seagull and a gannet sitting there and it looked a little fishy, so we just stopped there and tried it.”
His hunch was right. Just 10 minutes later they had their fish on the hook. An hour or so after that they brought the fish alongside the boat.
Woodside, who is an Eastern Canadian champion softball catcher, can now add tuna catching to her resume. Wednesday was her first-ever trip on a tuna boat.
“It was great. A great experience,” Woodside said.
“She’s our good luck charm; she has to come out every time,” Gaudet said.
Matthews is hopeful of a good payday on the fish which dressed 490 pounds.
Although fishing activity has been light, and only a small number of tuna have been landed since the season opened in mid-July, Matthews said he has been hearing reports of fair to good prices. He anticipates fishing activity will pick up next week.
With some unused quota from 2018 and a Mexican allocation added to the P.E.I. 2019 quota, it’s anticipated all tuna captains will be eligible for two tags each this year. Participants are required to affix a tag to each fish they land. With Matthews and Gaudet teaming up, they are eligible to land a total of four fish.
Fish caught in the MacLeod’s Ledge Tuna Cup fishing derby don’t require tags as tournament fish are measured and released.
Tignish Credit Union, winners of the 2018 Bluefin Tuna Cup for longest fish measured, is coordinating this year’s two-day tournament.