MJ's Sportfishing ● Atlantic Ocean
Kyle Shipp has fished all over the world in the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean in search of large pelagic species such as tunas and marlins. Last year, Kyle fished out of Pirate's Cove in the Outer Banks of North Carolina on a charter boat called the Instigator. This year, Kyle is working on a private boat called MJ's fishing the Atlantic Ocean from the Bahamas to the Northeast canyons.
How did you get your start fishing?
When I was a kid, around 5 or 6, my grandmother “mema” used to take me fishing with cane poles for bass and bluegill. From there, I fished the local piers with my brothers. Once we took our first offshore trip together, I was hooked. The outdoors has always been an integral part of my life, so I began working as a mate and have been chasing the dream ever since
Who would you say was your biggest mentor?
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to fish alongside some of the very best in the world. I would say my biggest mentor has been Captain Milton Sykes. I worked under him as the First Mate on the Episode for five years. During that time, he taught me that being extremely meticulous and detail oriented would be the key to taking my career as a professional to the next level. You could eat off his engine room floor!
You and your girlfriend, Kylie, make quite a team out there fishing. Did you get her into fishing, or was she into fishing before you two met?
Kylie grew up hunting and fishing with her dad in the mountains. About five years ago, she moved to Virginia Beach to be closer to her passion for fishing. We met almost a year later, and I guess you could say the rest is history.
How did you get Kylie into fishing and how do you keep making the sport fun and accessible for women?
I think what makes us so successful on the water together is that for the most part, we leave our relationship at the dock. I treat her, and she wants to learn and be treated, like any other mate. I’ll be the first to admit I have some pretty high standards in the cockpit, but I’ve helped her work hard to be the mate she’s become. Ultimately, I remind the women we fish with that at the end of the day it’s about having fun. A lot of the girls we have fished with have never fished or caught certain things before and we want them to enjoy it as much as we do. There is nothing like working together as team to help a lady angler land her first blue marlin!
Describe your ideal spread fishing for tunas.
Sea witches in my long riggers, flat lines and shotguns. I like to put chains and heavier baits like Joe Shutes or Magic Tails in my short riggers. I usually pull larger baits like select ballyhoo in that position as well. Depending where I’m at and what tuna I’m targeting, I like to pull very different spreads.
What do you think has made you successful tuna fishing?
Mainly luck...but paying close attention to my spread and what is getting bit, making sure my baits swim like Michael Phelps. Remembering to meticulously check and recheck drags. Checking and changing leader and tackle connections. After landing a large tuna, I’ll be sure to pull and recheck the drag on that reel. An accurate drag reading can be the difference between quickly fighting and landing a fish or wasting a lot of time.
What do you think most people overlook while tuna fishing?
BAIT and structure, it’s amazing how many nice tunas are caught in cold green water.
What’s your favorite color to pull?
I pull different colors in different scenarios, but my favorite color to pull for bluefins it’s a full crystal skirt on a red or burgundy head.
What has been your best day on tunas?
On my best kite fishing day, we had 5 yellowfin from 101-112lbs with really sick bites. My best bluefin day we released 9 giants. Finally, my best bigeye day was with quality over quantity we had 5 200+ pound fish in Norfolk canyon.
Describe one of the craziest days for you fishing.
I’m not sure about the craziest, but one of my favorite fun trips was June 19th, 2020. I had come home for a weekend and called up my buddy, Justin, to go try to run north to look for big eyes. We were planning to stay overnight and sword fish and then troll again in the morning. Kylie, Justin and I ran out of Wachapreague, VA on Justin’s 34 ft Fountain center console to the Washington Canyon. At first light we hooked a double of big eyes. After about 30 minutes, one pulled off and I still had mine on. We boated the first big eye of the day about 20 minutes later and it was 197 lbs. 10 mins later, we had another explosion on the chartreuse long rigger and Kylie landed her personal best, a 205 lb big eye. Again, another 10 mins later, this time a full spread knock down of an impressive class of yellowfin with only 3 people on board. It was exhilarating chaos with the three of us working together to keep rods tight, keep the boat moving in the right direction, no tangles, and well-placed gaff shots. Speaking of gaff shots, on the final yellowfin we boated, the line snapped just as I went to make my shot! I managed to sink the hook on a 70lber. We had barely gotten the spread back out when we had another knock down. This time we could tell that the fish on the other end was a little meaner than the others. I took the stand-up 50w and fought the 215lb big eye. By that time, we were all pretty tuckered out, and almost in disbelief of the luck we’d just had. Just as we started to realize we did not have enough ice or room on the boat to stay overnight, another rod goes off. I took the rod again, and as the fish came up I said “That’s a funny looking big eye...”. After a gaff shot, we discovered I’d just landed a size XL longfin (true albacore) tuna. As it turns out, it ended up weighing out at 72 lbs, the new Virginia state record! All in all, we landed 3 big eyes (197, 205, 215), 5 yellowfins (70-81lbs), and the new state record longfin (72). Kylie refers to it as one if the best days of her life.
You have fished all over the world, what's an underrated fishery for tunas?
Bahamas has some sick yellowfin fishing if you target them, Mexico is unreal, and the northeast canyons has to have the best bigeye fishing anywhere. The Outer Banks fishery sure is something special, I don’t know where else you can catch yellowfin 12 months out of the year.
At the beginning of the season, talk me through your process of what you do to prepare for your fishing.
Through the winter, I spend a lot of time tying sea witches and making spare wind-ons, hook, teasers chains and dredges. That way when the season is in full swing, I don’t have to worry about running out.
I see all these great meals you've been cheffing up in the kitchen with the tunas, what's a recipe or key ingredient that you've found improves your tuna dinners?
When it comes to eating tuna, freshness, quality, and simplicity are key. It all starts when the fish hits the deck. Properly bleeding and icing it down immediately is extremely important. The same goes for making sure you’re removing all the blood line and connective tissue. We rarely actually cook tuna. My go-to is to take a small cut of yellowfin or big eye loin, wrap it in a damp paper towel and freeze for about 15 minutes. Once it’s chilled, I thinly slice and drizzle with roasted sesame oil and a few drops of siracha. I finish it with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and of course, dip it in some soy sauce.
What are some other brands that you like to work with in this industry?
Shimano is my preferred brand for reels. I pull a lot of custom lures from Magic Tail Outfitters. For outer layers I’ve always worn Grundéns and I get most of my fishing shirts and shorts from Avid Gear. Lately, I’ve been using Marsh Tacky Carbon gaffs and have been very impressed by how flexible, yet tough they are, and the extremely sharp titanium hooks. Tunas in the Box shirts have always been lucky too.
Keep any eye out for Kyle and Kylie this year fishing tournaments and putting Tunas in the Box all up and down the East coast of the United States!
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