Called Crazy… Until It Worked – Tuna Tubes in Curaçao

Curaçao… a beautiful island… somewhere in the Caribbean…

Yep, that’s the paradise we’ve been lucky to call home for more than 20 years.

But it’s an island, and an island has its limitations — especially if you want to set up your boat as a real sportfishing boat.

Fishing with live bait has always been my favorite. And when it turns out that the big pelagic fish here absolutely love fresh little tuna, well… I first have to catch them. Easy, right? Plenty of small tuna in the sea. But… they don’t stay alive very long in a live bait tank. So the search began for a way to keep them alive longer.

Keep in mind, 20 years ago Google wasn’t my friend yet, and we had never even heard of ChatGPT. But there was internet — via a phone line. Yep, I’m from that era.

My research led me to tuna tubes… of course, you couldn’t find those here anywhere. So I started tinkering and coming up with my own solution. And yes, I admit it — the first version looked strange, with a Coke bottle clearly visible, duct tape here and there, but… it worked.

Several fishermen here thought I was crazy. Why would you need that? Until they realized I could keep the tuna alive for a long time and let them swim again whenever I needed them. Over time, I’ve made my tuna tubes more appealing, so the little tuna don’t mind staying in them for a while and happily stay alive.

And the other fishermen? Well, I’ve lost count of how many have come to look at my tuna tubes, asked for photos, or wanted tips on how to make them. But believe me, if you look around the fishing boats here today, you’ll find “my self-made” tuna tubes.

And they don’t think I’m crazy anymore… well, at least not for the tuna tubes. 😄