Author Topic: A Story of the Boma and the Bluefin (7/26)  (Read 15537 times)

Latimeria

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A Story of the Boma and the Bluefin (7/26)
« on: July 27, 2015, 07:12:03 AM »
Well, I installed a new fuel pump in the Boma and was hoping that would fix my bogging out problem after a few hours out there.  Steve had a ride on his buddy's nice Parker and I just needed some quiet and solo time to get my head right.  My plan was to run to the kelp, pick up bait and shoot offshore looking for paddies and trolling.

Everything went to plan and I loaded up with about 2+ dozen Spanish and headed offshore.  The bulk of the fish have been off Oceanside, but I was planning on finding my own fish.  The motor ran good, but I was still a few hours away with the motor running to see if it was the solution or not. 

NO BIRDS

NO PADDIES (I stopped on a 3' stringer for nada)

NO MARINE MAMMALS

...for the next 2.5 hours. 

Then a saw a big hooked fin swimming at the surface.  As I got closer, I saw it was a Hammerhead, so I was like WTF and cast at it.  All of my rods had trolling gear hooked up, so I grabbed my 25# stick and lobbed a Spanish out.

In about 15 seconds I was hooked up! 



I was d!cking around trying to take pics of the bendo and reeling in my trollers that I let sink out.  He fought for about 15 minutes and took me around the boat 3 or 4 times when I started getting close.  My plan was just to cut the line after a quick pic, but when he popped out from under the boat it was a 35# class Yellowfin Tuna!  Holy Crap!!!  I dropped the camera and tried uncorking the gaff while trying to get it out of it's spot.  I was not prepared to see a big ass YFT and I cant' believe I was d!cking around with it the way I was.  As he was on his last circle to the gaff, I got 4 inches from his ass when the hook popped out!  NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!  He was stunned and I almost free gaffed him, but he got his bearing and was gone...

Instead of sulking I hooked up another and cast it out.  Lose one...Rig One...

I looked at the screen and I saw a bunch of marks!!!  WTF?!?  This screen shot was seconds after I had about 40 tuna under the boat.  I couldn't get me camera working from dropping it.



Just then my rod goes bendo and I'm on again!  I had to maneuver the boat a lot because he was kicking my ass on the 25#!  I was about 20 minutes into the fight when a sport boat sees me bent over and literally stopped right on my ass.  I have the pic of them, but I figured I would fish their chum slick and they would have no beef to say a f@cking word about it.  I was just over 30 minutes when I finally got a swing on the gaff to this beast of a Bluefin!



I look up and birds are everywhere and fish are busting water all around me!  I threw him in the cooler and attached the bungees and rigged my 40# outfit.  Next cast and BAM!  On again!!!!!  I wish I had the 40 for that Bluefin as I was whooped, but didn't want to stop!

10-12 minutes later and I get (what I thought at first) was a Yellowfin Tuna!  This one was only 24# and quite smaller than the one I lost.



I then looked up to witness one of the coolest things I've ever seen on the water.  My guess is purely speculative as I have no way to judge fish this big, but what looked to be 100-150 pound Bluefin started crashing on bait and looked like Fiats falling in the water when they landed!  I was frozen in awe!

I ran the boat over as my finder when blank and the sporty saw it also so started to make a move.  Just then my boat motor went sluggish and I couldn't recoup.  This was a hard decision as I had my cooler stuffed and a LONG SLOW ride back to the ramp in pretty nasty swells as well as the wind was picking up, so I called it quits and trolled back to the docks.  It took me 2 hours to get back, but what a great feeling to finally get back to the ramp safe and sound.

Got home to a lot of work in front of me, but what a cool sight.  My wife could not believe I caught them on my boat after I couldn't even catch them that big on my buddies offshore boat! LOL



I put a new battery in my digital scale and went for the weight.  My digi scale must be going out or something as the new battery said it was dead and would only show for 15 seconds before automatically turning off.  In that short time, I got 24# on the (70% sure Big Eye) and 47.2# on the Bluefin!  I need to get a new scale as I had to call my wife out and read off the numbers since I was having trouble holding it.



As I was cleaning the tuna, I checked the bellies.  The Bluefin was PLUGGED!!!  With Tuna Crab and nothing else!



The "Yellowfin" was plugged with finbaits!  This Spanish wasn't my mackerel as It was partially digested, but it was loaded!



Just then I notices something weird.  The liver looked diseased or striped on one side.  I thought the thing might be going into liver failure or something, but tossed it in the bin as I was wrecked from the day and still had to cook dinner.  As I was thinking about the fish, I thought maybe that was a Big Eye instead of a Yellowfin?  I went back into the garbage bag and tried to take pics of the liver, but my back was killing me from being bent over so the pics didn't come out too well.

So the fin was extra long down the body past the anal fin almost and I saw weird stripes on one side of the liver.  I'm not 100% sure since I have never seen a Big Eye liver before, but I feel better than 70% confident it is a small one!  I'm thinking I might have a new species on top of that which would make 3 tuna species on the Boma!

I need to take the week off as my back is really hurting today and I do not want to go through another surgery if I could help it. 

Until next Tuna Tide!
« Last Edit: July 27, 2015, 07:13:41 AM by Latimeria »
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Latimeria

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Re: A Story of the Boma and the Bluefin (7/26)
« Reply #1 on: July 27, 2015, 07:28:05 AM »
I just got some more external evidence from James and I'm back down to 50-50 on a YFT or Big Eye.  It wouldn't be a big deal but I have never caught one, so a new species would be awesome, but It is whatever it is so there no calling a swordfish a tuna if it isn't.  LOL
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j.rasta

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Re: A Story of the Boma and the Bluefin (7/26)
« Reply #2 on: July 27, 2015, 08:59:20 AM »
Nice work boss! looks like the boma is becoming a tuna magnet!

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Re: A Story of the Boma and the Bluefin (7/26)
« Reply #3 on: July 27, 2015, 10:27:51 AM »
I wish you had Jon's boat.

Latimeria

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Re: A Story of the Boma and the Bluefin (7/26)
« Reply #4 on: July 27, 2015, 10:29:21 AM »
I wish you had Jon's boat.

Me too...
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WheresMyBeer

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Re: A Story of the Boma and the Bluefin (7/26)
« Reply #5 on: July 27, 2015, 11:31:57 AM »
Very nice!! Fun story.

We hit 9 on Sat 5BFT / 4 YFT ... just outside the north 9. Figured O'side would be a madhouse so opted to stay local. Paid off. Back at the docs by noon.

Need to spend more time in the "BOMA" zone ... you keep finding nice ones  ;D ;D ;D

skrilla

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Re: A Story of the Boma and the Bluefin (7/26)
« Reply #6 on: July 27, 2015, 12:07:10 PM »
There may be a correlation between your motor bogging and catching nice fish. You sure you want to fix it?

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Re: A Story of the Boma and the Bluefin (7/26)
« Reply #7 on: July 27, 2015, 12:43:41 PM »
You need to get the Boma before it leaves you stranded out there. Nice little haul too!
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Fish Jerk

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Re: A Story of the Boma and the Bluefin (7/26)
« Reply #8 on: July 27, 2015, 01:02:33 PM »
I don't know if you've checked this or not but check your gas tank for debris. I remember once on one my fathers boats, somehow we picked up a small piece of plastic (like from a thin bag). We kept getting a similar issue as your describing. The port engine would run fine most of the time but at random times the engine would bog down to little more than an idle like it wasn't getting any gas. We finally had the mechanic check the tank and found the plastic. As best we could determine, it would at random times float close to the fuel intake stem and get suctioned to it and restrict the flow of gas starving the engine. After sitting for a day or 2 it would fall/float away and we would be good to go. Once we had the tank cleaned out, we never had the issue again. Took us months to figure that one out. We even stumped the factory mechanics.

Latimeria

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Re: A Story of the Boma and the Bluefin (7/26)
« Reply #9 on: July 27, 2015, 01:26:37 PM »
I don't know if you've checked this or not but check your gas tank for debris. I remember once on one my fathers boats, somehow we picked up a small piece of plastic (like from a thin bag). We kept getting a similar issue as your describing. The port engine would run fine most of the time but at random times the engine would bog down to little more than an idle like it wasn't getting any gas. We finally had the mechanic check the tank and found the plastic. As best we could determine, it would at random times float close to the fuel intake stem and get suctioned to it and restrict the flow of gas starving the engine. After sitting for a day or 2 it would fall/float away and we would be good to go. Once we had the tank cleaned out, we never had the issue again. Took us months to figure that one out. We even stumped the factory mechanics.

You know, I like where you are going here.  I noticed it was always at the end of a trip when the gas level starts to get down there and always runs good when the gas level is full.  That is something I will definitively keep my eye on and check out while the tank is empty.  Thanks for that boss.  That may be the missing link that escaped me.
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Re: A Story of the Boma and the Bluefin (7/26)
« Reply #10 on: July 27, 2015, 03:23:14 PM »
good call fish jerk.  A fuel pick up problem totally sounds legit in this case...Nice trip Tom....Those silly fish seem to show up out of no where... 8) 8)
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Re: A Story of the Boma and the Bluefin (7/26)
« Reply #11 on: July 27, 2015, 06:01:13 PM »
I don't know if you've checked this or not but check your gas tank for debris. I remember once on one my fathers boats, somehow we picked up a small piece of plastic (like from a thin bag). We kept getting a similar issue as your describing. The port engine would run fine most of the time but at random times the engine would bog down to little more than an idle like it wasn't getting any gas. We finally had the mechanic check the tank and found the plastic. As best we could determine, it would at random times float close to the fuel intake stem and get suctioned to it and restrict the flow of gas starving the engine. After sitting for a day or 2 it would fall/float away and we would be good to go. Once we had the tank cleaned out, we never had the issue again. Took us months to figure that one out. We even stumped the factory mechanics.

You know, I like where you are going here.  I noticed it was always at the end of a trip when the gas level starts to get down there and always runs good when the gas level is full.  That is something I will definitively keep my eye on and check out while the tank is empty.  Thanks for that boss.  That may be the missing link that escaped me.

That sounds even more likely. It doesn't need to be anything large either. A bunch of small debris can have the same effect. Most fuel pickups have a mesh over the actual intake to prevent sucking up large debris. But small stuff can accumulate eventually blocking enough to starve the engine. Especially as when the tank gets low it sloshes the fuel around a lot causing the particles to suspend and get sucked up to the intake. I'm not sure if you use removable tanks. If you do you can try borrowing one from the repair shop and see if you have the same issue. If you have a built in, you can also add an inline fuel filter and pop the screen out of the pickup. It might be easier changing fuel filters than purging a built in tank.

Latimeria

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Re: A Story of the Boma and the Bluefin (7/26)
« Reply #12 on: July 28, 2015, 07:02:31 AM »
I don't know if you've checked this or not but check your gas tank for debris. I remember once on one my fathers boats, somehow we picked up a small piece of plastic (like from a thin bag). We kept getting a similar issue as your describing. The port engine would run fine most of the time but at random times the engine would bog down to little more than an idle like it wasn't getting any gas. We finally had the mechanic check the tank and found the plastic. As best we could determine, it would at random times float close to the fuel intake stem and get suctioned to it and restrict the flow of gas starving the engine. After sitting for a day or 2 it would fall/float away and we would be good to go. Once we had the tank cleaned out, we never had the issue again. Took us months to figure that one out. We even stumped the factory mechanics.

You know, I like where you are going here.  I noticed it was always at the end of a trip when the gas level starts to get down there and always runs good when the gas level is full.  That is something I will definitively keep my eye on and check out while the tank is empty.  Thanks for that boss.  That may be the missing link that escaped me.

That sounds even more likely. It doesn't need to be anything large either. A bunch of small debris can have the same effect. Most fuel pickups have a mesh over the actual intake to prevent sucking up large debris. But small stuff can accumulate eventually blocking enough to starve the engine. Especially as when the tank gets low it sloshes the fuel around a lot causing the particles to suspend and get sucked up to the intake. I'm not sure if you use removable tanks. If you do you can try borrowing one from the repair shop and see if you have the same issue. If you have a built in, you can also add an inline fuel filter and pop the screen out of the pickup. It might be easier changing fuel filters than purging a built in tank.

I change my fuel filter 2x a year and notice sediment in the filter.  I'm going to try and purge my fuel lines and clean out my tank.  I get my coils in today, so I'm just going to replace them anyway.
Thanks for the info.  I need to get her running up to par again!
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Eric H

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Re: A Story of the Boma and the Bluefin (7/26)
« Reply #13 on: July 28, 2015, 09:45:48 AM »
Nice ones
 8) 8) 8)

Latimeria

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Re: A Story of the Boma and the Bluefin (7/26)
« Reply #14 on: July 29, 2015, 06:31:30 AM »
I don't know if you've checked this or not but check your gas tank for debris. I remember once on one my fathers boats, somehow we picked up a small piece of plastic (like from a thin bag). We kept getting a similar issue as your describing. The port engine would run fine most of the time but at random times the engine would bog down to little more than an idle like it wasn't getting any gas. We finally had the mechanic check the tank and found the plastic. As best we could determine, it would at random times float close to the fuel intake stem and get suctioned to it and restrict the flow of gas starving the engine. After sitting for a day or 2 it would fall/float away and we would be good to go. Once we had the tank cleaned out, we never had the issue again. Took us months to figure that one out. We even stumped the factory mechanics.

You know, I like where you are going here.  I noticed it was always at the end of a trip when the gas level starts to get down there and always runs good when the gas level is full.  That is something I will definitively keep my eye on and check out while the tank is empty.  Thanks for that boss.  That may be the missing link that escaped me.

That sounds even more likely. It doesn't need to be anything large either. A bunch of small debris can have the same effect. Most fuel pickups have a mesh over the actual intake to prevent sucking up large debris. But small stuff can accumulate eventually blocking enough to starve the engine. Especially as when the tank gets low it sloshes the fuel around a lot causing the particles to suspend and get sucked up to the intake. I'm not sure if you use removable tanks. If you do you can try borrowing one from the repair shop and see if you have the same issue. If you have a built in, you can also add an inline fuel filter and pop the screen out of the pickup. It might be easier changing fuel filters than purging a built in tank.

So I drained and checked my gas and found just a slight amount of sediment in there.  Nothing that the fuel filter can't catch.  I also removed the pick up and tank float and cleaned that out.  Nothing in there.  The pick up is huge and designed to have a hard time sucking larger or heavy sediments, but I still cleaned all my lines anyway. 
I did get to my quick connect and used pressurized air to try and blow out the opening and did find a piece of plastic or film covering one of the holes inside.  You can just make it out here...
You can clearly see in that center hole that half of the port is blocked by some impurity or plastic.



I also have to install the new coils, but it is not as easy as I would hope.  There is a 4 pin connector that I don't want to ruin, but I'm having a hard time trying to replace each of the pins in the boot as it almost seems welded in there.
I searched Youtube on my phone for nada, but I'll try on the computer in case I missed something.  My mechanics manual also doesn't tell me how to do this and it never came with instructions.  Something so small and simple has me stopped dead right now.  I'll look at it again today.
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