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By: Team T&T's Reece McDowell
For years hooking and landing a bluefin tuna on fly was something I dreamt of, something that felt like a “someday” more than a reality. As my skills as a saltwater angler in the northeast grew that “someday” started to become something else, a switch was flipped in my head, and I knew this dream had to become reality.
Bluefin tuna are some of the strongest fish in the ocean, they are warm blooded, with some specimens growing over 1,500 pounds, top speeds exceeding forty miles per hour, and a tail capable of over 120 beats per minute. The fight they bring is one of most brutal an angler can experience. For the fly angler fish of fifty to one hundred pounds are the ideal target size.
Fueled by years of conversations with Bluefin fly fishing pioneers like T&T pro Captain Joe LeClair, the upcoming design of the new Exocett Bluewater was the perfect excuse to begin what would become a multi-season-long pursuit of one of the ocean’s toughest gamefish. Bluefin tuna push the limits of what fly tackle is capable of. Casts need to be fast, long, and accurate, while the rod also needs to be able to apply immense pressure without failing. For many years this left anglers with a choice: fish a 12wt for ease of casting but sacrifice fish fighting ability, or fish heavy, stiff, 14 to 16wt rods which were a chore to cast and wore out the angler’s arm quickly. T&T set out to bridge that gap with the new Exocett Bluewater series, light and responsive yet exceptionally strong with great lifting power. My setup of choice for this trip was the 8’4” 15/16wt three-piece prototype rod paired with a Shilton SL14 reel.
In late June of 2026, I got the call from Captain Mack Escher of Cape cod offshore; “We found them”. I loaded my gear into my car that night and made the made the three-hour drive to cape cod in the dark. I met Mack at the dock at around 3:30AM. He fired up the pair of 300hp mercs which purred in the quiet morning air, and we pointed the bow of the 26’ Regulator south and began the long run to the area that had held fish the previous day. We made it to the Tuna grounds as the sun broke the horizon, where we were met by life. Whales, Dolphins, and Bluefin Tuna, gorging on large schools of Sand Eels, while Shearwaters and Petrels fought for their shares from above. I’d had shots at bluefin before but nothing like this. Tight balls of bait were being ravaged by the pelagic hunters, water spraying as the fish broke the surface at incredible speed.
After several unsuccessful presentations to fish throughout the morning, and one eat I failed to get tight on, we ran to another feed and Mack positioned the boat. I fired off a cast, placing the 5/0 synthetic baitfish fly into the foaming water and began a fast two hand retrieve. A Tuna broke away from the bait ball, tracking my fly, and inhaled the offering. I stripped hard, setting the hook. The line jumped through my Hands and my reel started screaming. “We hooked one! We hooked one!” I shouted to Mack who was already by my side for the obligatory fist bump. After multiple long runs deep into the backing the fish sounded and the fight became vertical. I quickly overheated in my bibbs, so I shed the extra layers and we got a fighting belt in place. With my lower back and shoulders starting to burn and my arms and legs not far behind, it started to become a battle of willpower more than physical strength.
I thought of all the time and resources I spent chasing this dream, which was now so close to becoming a reality. After about twenty minutes (which felt more like an hour) I got fly line back onto the reel and eventually we saw color, as the fish pinwheeled deep in the clear water. I palmed the reel to apply maximum pressure while lifting with the lower half of the rod until I finally had the leader out of the water. The fish made the final turn of the fight just under the surface and Mack was able to land it, bringing the large school Bluefin over the gunnel and into the boat. I marveled at the size and width of the fish. The deep blue back gave way to silver and bronze flanks, marked with light colored spots and stripes. I followed the colors back to bright yellow finlets, which cut through turbulence and produce cleaner lateral flow to the powerful sickle shaped tail.
After celebrating the milestone catch, we fished a bit longer before heading north, back towards the dock. The sea was flat calm, and we made good time. I sat back and watched the seemingly endless water passing by. My body was sore and my face hurt from smiling. My dream had finally become reality and “someday” was a thing of the past.
Special thanks to
Captain Mack Escher
Cape Cod Offshore Charter fishing