Tuna trial boats two UK giants

Last week Angling Times reported how a cruise company in the Outer Hebrides was planning to start tuna fishing trips.

Now the skipper Angus Campbell has landed two huge bluefins weighing 515lb and 400lb on only his third trial run targeting them. Fishing 10 – 15 miles west of Leverburgh, the fish were hooked within 10 seconds of each other and took Angus and his two crew members about an hour to land. The 400lb tuna was swiftly released, but the second was bigger and had unfortunately swallowed the lure, so it was taken back to port.

“We intend to be very conservation minded and will operate catch and release fishing to sustain the population, but we’re still learning as we go on and are so looking at some new hooks which disintegrate quickly if the trace has to be cut. We intend to start taking anglers out between late August and October 2014, when the water here is at its warmest,” said Angus.

For information on the trips, keep an eye on Angus’ website www.kildacruises.co.uk.