South Chatham Tackle Bluefin Gear
South Chatham Tackle Bluefin Gear
Bluefin tuna represent the most exciting and challenging big-game fishery available to NC anglers, and with temperatures falling, they’re beginning to show up around Cape Lookout.
Finding, hooking, and fighting a bluefin is enough of a challenge, but securing one of the 200-600+ lb. fish boatside is one of the largest hurdles.
Fortunately, Sanford, NC’s Capt. Bob Earl, of South Chatham Tackle, manufactures a line of custom tools that give anglers everything they need to secure a fish boatside and bring it to market in the best condition possible.
Trying to hang on to a straight gaff with a quarter-ton of angry fish on the opposite end is an impossible feat, so when a fish first comes into range, anglers must sink a flying gaff or harpoon attached to a rope and tie the fish off to the boat. South Chatham makes both flyers and harpoons, and, coincidentally, a flying gaff/harpoon combo that features one handle and both a flying gaff head and a harpoon iron and dart in one package, allowing anglers to choose which tool best suits the particular situation and fish.
The company’s new Stinger harpoon is a stand-alone tool designed to be the best on the market today. A 6’ shaft with a solid 10” brass head and a brass counterweight in the other end gives the harpoon weight and balance. A 22” solid stainless-steel leads to the harpoon dart. Anglers and mates will find the weighted ‘poon throws much better and more accurately than un-weighted models, and the weight also helps anglers drive the dart home when stabbing the fish in close.
Battling against a heavy drag builds up large quantities of lactic acid in tuna muscles, and this acid “burns” the fish’s meat and substantially reduces its value at market. Swimming the fish behind the boat for a few minutes before killing it reduces the acid build-up, and South Chatham has a product specifically for that purpose, too—the Tuna Swimming Hook. Born out of a meeting Earl had with state biologists and bluefin buyers, the tool is essentially a burly meat hook with a heavy duty, spring loaded gate. The swimming hook allows anglers to get a fish boatside, snap the hook through the fish’s lower jaw, and tie the hook off to the boat, a much easier process than trying to tie a rope around a still-living giant tuna.
In addition to their giant tuna products, South Chatham offers custom-made tools from dehookers to line spoolers to address a host of anglers’ needs. The entire line can be viewed and purchased at www.southchathamtackle.com.
