Bluefin tuna limit reported at Poorman’s Canyon, offshore bite builds

Poorman’s Canyon is the cleanest tuna signal in the Mid-Atlantic right now. A reader report described a boat coming home with three bluefin tuna and a mahi, and the offshore bite had been building since the start of June, making that canyon one of the first names worth penciling into a run plan.

The bigger picture is a mixed but useful offshore spread. FishTalk’s June 11 Coastal Mid-Atlantic report said anglers were finding tuna, mahi, sea bass, flounder, tautog and tilefish from the back bays out to the offshore canyons, which tells you the water is offering options if you are willing to make decisions based on conditions instead of chasing one fish. For tuna specifically, the message is simple: the bite is there, and Poorman’s Canyon is producing fish you can measure.

If you are deciding where to run, the best split is between canyon water and the deep-drop grounds. Anglers fishing out of Chincoteague and Virginia Beach were also finding strong tilefish action, which matters when the tuna bite turns finicky or the ride out does not justify a pure bluewater gamble. That gives the Mid-Atlantic offshore program a practical backup plan: target tuna in the canyons first, then keep tilefish on the table if the weather, fuel burn or bait situation argues for a different kind of day.

The regulation side of the fishery also changed in anglers’ favor on June 1, when NOAA Fisheries adjusted Atlantic bluefin tuna recreational retention limits. Those limits run through December 31 unless modified again, so June opened with more room than the one-fish default many anglers were used to. NOAA’s June 10 status page showed the Gulf of Maine and Southern New England trophy-area bluefin fisheries open, while the South trophy area was closed, a reminder that bluefin rules still move by region even when the fish are showing coastwide.

The size of the fish in the region is no small part of why these reports are getting attention. Virginia certified an 832.6-pound Atlantic bluefin tuna as a state record on January 10, landed by Mike Rogerson off the Eastern Shore of Virginia aboard High Hopes with Capt. David Wright. The fish measured 108 inches overall length, 78 inches girth and 34 inches fork length, topping the previous Virginia record, a 708-pound bluefin caught in 2020. With that kind of water history behind it, Poorman’s Canyon is not just another offshore waypoint, it is part of a June pattern that now has fish, numbers and a clear place to start.