Last week Capt. Brandon Hagopian of Cranston caught an 800-pound bluefin tuna when fishing at the mouth of Narragansett Bay.

Capt. Hagopian said, “We caught the fish with a tinker (Atlantic chub) mackerel, and it took about four hours to fight and boat the fish.”

“This is a commercial fish,” said Capt. Hagopian who caught a 1,000-pound bluefin in 2021 when fishing off Cape Cod with Jenna Lombardo. Hagopian is owner and operator of B-Hagz Bait and Adventures fishing charters.

Congratulations Capt. Hagopian on another great fish.

Although commercial giant bluefin fishing is open, last week NOAA Fisheries announced that The Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Angling Category fishery is now closed until December 31, 2025. Based on data landings, the Angling (or recreational) category quota, has been reached.

An abundance of school and giant bluefin tuna have been caught off Rhode Island and Massachusetts for the past four years. We have had a variety of bait in abundance close to shore and it has attracted large animals including bluefin tuna, sharks of all types, dolphin, and whales to name a few.

Warm water, a climate change impact, has brought a variety of bait here at the same time including mackerel of all types, adult Atlantic Menhaden and juvenile peanut bunder, silver sides, sand eels, squid, scup and a host of other forage fish that large animals like to eat.

Lighten up to catch 

bonito and false albacore

It was great to hear that bonito are being caught and that false albacore are making their presence known in the Capt. Cod area.

Last Thursday, Declan O’Donnell of Breachway Bait & Tackle, Charlestown, said, “This past week, large schools of Bonita have been spotted along the south shore and Block Island. They are a fun fish to target with epoxy and metals when they are visible on top. If you know they are in the area, trolling shallow diving plugs can also be amazingly effective.”  

Ryan Collins of My Fishing Cape Cod, said, “The Albies have arrived. The late summer fishing season on Cape Cod has reached an exciting turning point with the arrival of false albacore and the continued presence of bonito.”  

To catch bonito and false albacore you need to lighten up your gear.

Bonito and false albacore are sensitive to line and tackle in the water. These fish have large eyes like most species in the tuna family and can see very well. They rely on their sight to feed so in regard to line, leader thickness, and hardware in the water if the fish see it, they are not likely going to bite.

Many targeting bonito and false albacore use 10-to-20-pound braid with 10-to-20-pound fluorocarbon leaders with direct tie offs and no swivels. 

Set your drag properly, not too tight, and not too loose to avoid breakoffs.

Many times false albacore and bonito are mixed in with striped bass and bluefish. They can be caught from boat and shore with lures and even on the troll. They can range in the two-foot range, weigh four to five pounds but have been caught as large as 12 to 15 pounds.

Atlantic bonito are part of the same mackerel family (Scombridae) as tuna. Their meat has a darkish color and a firm texture, with a moderate fat content. The meat of young or small bonito can be of lighter color, close to that of skipjack tuna. They are often grilled or baked. However, false albacore are usually not eaten.

Where’s the bite?

Freshwater fishing for largemouth has been good with spinner baits, frogs and shiners depending on the location and conditions. All are waiting for the fall stocking of trout in Massachusetts and Rhode Island waterways. 

“The largemouth bite has been good with customers still catching trout in area ponds as they had not been fished hard at all in the spring,” said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence

Striped bass, bluefish, and false albacore. East End Eddie Doherty, said, “There is still plenty of live bait in the Cape Cod Canal and real bait was king last week! I stopped my bike to say hello to the Almeida brothers as they were chunking mackerel into a west dropping tide. Within minutes ‘Westport Jim’ and I were watching his brother Mark reel in a tasty 18-inch black seabass from the floor of the Canal. Raynham resident Joe Triolo was chunking into an early rising east tide with his circle hook holding small portions of mackerel. His sinker was holding bottom close to the edge when the bait was hit by a hungry 33-inch striper that was released to fight another day.”   

O’Donnell of Breachway Bait & Tackle, said, “Striped bass fishing has improved at the Charlestown Breachway with large fish being caught a night. And fishing in the salt ponds has been good too, with less weed this week.”