Smaller Bluefin tend to migrate into Biscay from the Med each year, so not getting so far north. The other species that get to the waters of the British Isles are Albacore and Atlantic Bonito. The Albacore are predominantly oceanic in nature, so rarely close to UK shores, while Bonito are a more coastal variety of tunas, but rarely if ever get to 20lbs - more like 5-7lbs. Probably most occurrences are around major headlands off Devon and Cornwall starting in June, depending on water temperature. They are a fully pelagic species, so will very rarely be encountered by static or anchored boats, but trolling would be the optimum method, like for Bass, and slightly faster.

 

I’ve heard of a few bonitos locally now and then.
Never seen one. Be nice to get swarms of small bluefin in our seas on usual spinning rods be amazing. I had one in Mauritius off the shore about 10kg.

 

Used to collate as much information as we could find into an exotic species database, never had record of small Bluefin in all the years we collected. The only time I found one example was an accidental fish mixed in with a school of Albacore that were part of the southern Irish fishery, and that was way beyond the sight of land. Albacore were exceptionally rare until the actual migration patterns were determined and the drift net fishery started. Bonito were by far the most common genuine tuna species encountered around the UK.

We handed the database over to a professor at the University of Southampton before we left the UK, most of the collection was double verified, and nearly all on paper.

 

I believe it was a skipjack Bronzhai.
I did go out on a tuna boat but we didn’t get any at all. Some saddam Hussain lookalike turned up in his coastguard boat and ordered us off elsewhere

 

Smallest we've seen offshore have been about 50lbs, but they're mostly 150lbs plus. My mate did hook something near a frenzy, too powerful to be a bass, but would only have been a small tuna (or something else??) - only taking a couple of small bursts of line off his 14k reel. Then shook the hook. It's remained a bit of a mystery that one.

Most of the bluefin seen from the shore here have been lone large fish 300lb mark.

With you, would love some 20-40lbers to show up inshore. Much more fun than big fish.

 

Bluefins grow way too fast to remain under 20lbs even the 20-30 kilo, juveniles here in the Med keep well off shore usually with schools of albacores but have been spotted close to shore occasionally.

The main coastal tuna species over here are false albacores and they sometimes get giant 10-15 kilos but the average is 1-4 kilo

 

There have been many reports of 'manageable' size tuna being either seen or caught locally in the south west. There is also a late-summer albacore run off the west coast of Ireland and to me, that would be fun as they fight hard but don't get too big, and you're allowed to keep them (and very good eating they are too - it's a light-meat tuna).
There's a few examples from the WSF archive that I've found. The most notable is probably the Chesil Beach capture - see the first link. Mark333's comments on this are, as usual, illuminating if you want to think about targeting exotics such as tuna from the beach in late summer, as he himself had a blue dorado from Chesil a year before.
Fwiw, I think Dave Pitman, skipper of Atlanta out of Weymouth, has had a few goes at catching tuna locally, and I don't think it's bluefins that he's targeting. Madpolka might know more as he fishes frequently with Dave.
And one of the first bluefins to be taken in the current resurgence of the species in these waters was a 35lb baby taken off of Portland Bill by a spearfisherman. A fish like that would be borderline manageable from the shore. You'd need the tackle and tactics used to fish from the beaches in places like Baja California - beachcaster, proper reel with strong drag and lots of capacity, 50lb braid and heavy metals whacked out 100m+ - but it could be done.
Maybe ...

Tuna , chesil , south coast section

Someone bring it here .... I know Karl well who caught it , great angler ,, Getting same grief I did with my dorado off there last year ...... Photoshopped bull ,,,( me photo shopping a dorado , imagine that for a moment ) AS I SAID .....MORE WILL COME ............ and they have ...

www.worldseafishing.com

Tuna - praa sands - honest!!!

BREAKING NEWS: We at Newtown Angling have just weighed a 5.8lb tuna!!! Had a lady in, questioning 'what is it? so i know how to cook it!!!' her son had just caught it from Praa. Weighed in at 5.8.0 on our certified scales. Pictures attached, please identify exact species, we dont see many...

www.worldseafishing.com

Tuna in Loch Long

Hiya, as the title says, a 1m Tuna (species yet to be identified) was washed ashore in Loch Long yesterday. I'll post more details and hopefully a picture or two when I get them.

www.worldseafishing.com

 

thanks Ben good stuff hadn’t see the praa sands tuna before it’s exactly what I’d like to go after.
We had a big tuna in the river plym a few years back.

 

Plenty of albacore off the southwest coast of co cork. 7 of us from Southampton had 21 one day fishing west of Baltimore, the first ever landed from that port, best one was 14lbs.

There have been plenty of way bigger ones since then the record is around 70lb and the locals target them most years

Very odd records along the south coast one a year or so back caught from chesil beach and one off christchurch caught by a commercial boat. So not much hope of getting one off the south coast

Mike

 

I put the photos up of Karl and his catch. I work with him and I've fished with him a few times too.
Mart