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Pacific bluefins off the coast of Southern California often prove elusive, even when big schools are boiling and jumping around the boat, driving anglers to distraction as they frantically try everything they know to get a bite. The pursuit has often led to scaling back on tackle, line, lures and baits to finesse a bluefin into eating, ­many times to no avail.

But last summer, some angler—no one’s absolutely sure who or where it happened (see below)—discovered something completely different: speed-trolling a lipless diving plug.

It worked. Previously disinterested bluefins ranging from 40 to 250 pounds found the fast-moving, vibrating lures irresistible. And as word got out, it triggered a buying frenzy of big lipless trolling plugs, most notably the Nomad Design Madmacs. Anglers feverishly combed through tackle stores and online retail websites. This—combined with hoarding behavior—quickly depleted the available stock. 

Price gouging grew rampant, and desperate anglers paid double, triple or even quadruple the suggested retail price to get their hands on the coveted fast trollers, and with good reason: They were racking up impressive catches. Today there are plenty of Madmacs and other effective lipless trolling plugs in stock, and prices have mercifully returned to normal—around $50 to $55 each.

Speed Demons

If you plan to speed-troll for Pacific bluefins this summer, ­having the right lures is essential. The best plugs were originally designed for trolling for wahoo at speeds as fast as 15 to 20 knots. 

The lipless designs allow greater speeds than lipped plugs, such as the 7-inch Rapala X-Rap Magnum that’s rated for speeds to 13 knots. Lipless designs are also less likely to track off-center, pop to the surface, or become barbed projectiles while reeling them back to the boat. 

The Madmacs 200 and 240 high-speed plugs serve as the benchmarks for bluefin speed-trolling, but other lipless plugs produced bluefins last summer, including the Halco Max 190 or 220, MagBay Desperado MagDog, Savage Gear Mackstick Speed Runner and Yo-Zuri Bonito 210. 

While some anglers have favorite colors, such as purple, pink or mackerel, it’s not likely that color makes a big difference when the lure races along underwater. The best guess is that blistering speeds trigger reaction bites. Bluefins have only seconds to grab and go, and that leaves little time to evaluate the color of a potential meal. 

Throttle Jockey

So, how fast do you need to troll for bluefins? Typically, speeds range from 9 to 12 knots, but sometimes even faster—as high as 14 knots—if the slower speeds are not triggering strikes when fish are in the area. 

The faster the trolling speed, the deeper these sinking lures run, though not as deep as lipped plugs such as the X-Rap Magnum, which can dive down to 40 feet. The Madmacs 200, on the other hand, maxes out at 12 feet, while the 240 dives to 15 feet. Those depths seem more than sufficient for success.

One downside to speed-trolling is fuel consumption. At speeds of around 12 to 14 knots, many saltwater boats run at an awkward, bow-high stage between displacement and planing speeds. Let’s call it plowing, and it results in the worst possible efficiency. For this reason, many trollers keep the speed at a more efficient 10 knots until they spot fish in the area or schools show up on sonar, then they ramp up the speed.  

Long Game

If there is a factor common across all the techniques for Pacific bluefins, it involves stealth and putting some distance between the fish and the boat. These tuna grow extremely wary of boat noise and prop wash. To compensate for the bluefin’s inherent wariness, speed-trollers put the lures at least 100 yards behind the boat, and sometimes as far as 150 yards.

To gauge the amount of line they let out, most use color-coded braided line such as PowerPro Depth Hunter Offshore, which has a different color (blue, orange, green, red and yellow) every 100 feet. This makes it easy to establish the distance and track the line while trolling. 

Another downside to this technique comes into play with so much line out. There’s the distinct possibility of another boat crossing your wake, running over your lines, and cutting off your expensive lures. For this reason, speed-trolling for Pacific bluefins works best when there’s minimal boat traffic. 

Rig for Success

Anglers often use fairly large lever-drag two-speed reels, such as Okuma’s Makaira 50W II or Shimano’s Talica 50 II, loaded with 80- to 100-pound-test braid to ensure that there is sufficient line capacity to handle a cow—the name assigned to any Pacific bluefin over 200 pounds. Reels are matched to heavy-action trolling rods, sometimes with bent butts to keep the line angle as low as possible while trolling.

Speed-trollers use 50- to 100-foot wind-on 100-pound-test fluorocarbon or monofilament leader, crimping the lipless plug to the bitter end using chafe tubing to prevent line wear. The heavy wind-on helps prevent the tuna from chewing through the ­leader material, in case the fish inhales the lure. The ­theory is that by avoiding the use of a swivel or other terminal gear, there’s no bubble stream or other tipoff that can deter tuna from attacking the lure.  

Read Next: Pro Tactics for High-Speed Trolling

The Right Time

While speed-trolling can be deadly effective, it’s not a good technique to search for bluefins. First, as mentioned earlier, it burns way too much fuel. Second, you’re not likely to find success ­until you know there are fish in the area.

Reserve speed-trolling until you see fish, such as bluefins feeding at the surface in what Southern California anglers call foamers. These fast-moving schools, which usually attack schools of tiny bait such as anchovies, can be difficult to entice. If you can’t get them to bite surface baits or small metal jigs, break out the speed-trollers and work the area; this is when the technique can be most effective.

Sometimes fish might not be feeding at the surface, but you can see them on sonar—the telltale jagged marks of schools crossing under the boat on the display. If you cannot get them to bite live bait or heavy metal jigs, try speed-trolling around the area where you are marking fish. Last summer, this often ­resulted in multiple hookups. 

Hawaiian Roll

There’s a related technique that paid off for some bluefin speed-trollers last season, but it was not widely shared. West Coast marlin anglers call it the Hawaiian roll. If you see schools of bluefins in the area—be it foamers or sonar fish—and you’re not getting bit, point the boat downwind and pull back on the throttle to idle, allowing the plugs to sink deep. Then throttle up to trolling speed. As the plugs rocket up from the depths, they can trigger deep-dwelling bluefins to chase—like a cat pouncing on a fast-moving piece of yarn—and inhale the lure.

Whether you roll or troll, you need the speed to find success.

How Did It Start?

Fast-trolling goes contrary to everything West Coast anglers previously knew about Pacific bluefin tuna. Then someone discovered it and, as the saying goes, it was a game-changer. But who was the first?

No one knows for sure who or when, but one theory points to the panga fishing fleet based in Ensenada, Mexico, about 60 miles below the border. The hypothesis is that some pangero came upon the technique by accident. 

The story going around the Southern California sport-fishing community is that one panga fisherman was trolling a plug or two when he spotted a foamer (a school of bluefins feeding at the surface), according to veteran West Coast offshore angler Barry Brightenburg.

“It’s plausible that he just left the lures in the water while he accelerated for the foamer as fast as he could,” Brightenburg says. “Pangas don’t go that quick, but fast enough for speed-trolling, and he inadvertently hooked a bluefin tuna on the plug when he was just trying to get to the foamer.”

The pleasantly surprised pangero likely bragged about his experience to others, and word eventually spread northward, leading to one of the most effective techniques ever for bluefins—at least, that’s the theory.

The post Speed-Trolling Lipless Plugs for Bluefin Tuna appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

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This scenario ­repeated itself time and again this summer off the Southern California coast: Boats would pull up on huge schools of surface-feeding bluefins—known as foamers for the vigorous way they churn up the water—charged with the expectation of multiple hookups on hard-fighting tuna. Lines baited with live sardines, anchovies or mackerel would be cast into the fray, while other anglers would toss a range of swimming jigs known as surface irons, including Colt Sniper spoons, surface poppers and other lures, working them right through the melee.  

Occasionally, the fish would respond, and an ­angler or two would hook up on a bluefin that could range from a 25-pound schoolie to a 200-pound jumbo. More often, these tuna would disappear in a cloud of baitfish scales, never touching anything with a hook, leaving anglers stumped. 

Such was especially the case over this past summer as bluefins of all ­sizes were often feeding on massive schools of “micro bait”—tiny anchovies, sauries and other finfish smaller than your pinkie finger. And as these oft-­repeated angling experiences indicated, when tuna are focused on devouring small baits, it’s devilishly hard to get them to notice anything else.   

The cheat code for summer 2022 came in the form of the clear popper. Poppers of various ­sizes and colors have been popular for ­many years to catch surface-feeding bluefins. Their effectiveness makes perfect sense: These lures create splash, noise and commotion, appearing from below like a frantic baitfish trying to escape a feeding frenzy. They come in a wide range of metallic and natural baitfish colors, some with internal rattles to add to the commotion and illusion of a freaked-out baitfish.  

However, even these popular lures were now being dissed by tuna laser-focused on eating as many tiny baitfish as they could scoop into their considerable jaws. Tackle developers figured: If you can’t mimic the profile of a tiny baitfish in a practical-size lure, why not create a lure with no profile at all? Tackle manufacturers like Nomad Design, Fish Lab, Clear Choice Lures, Chasing Pelagics and Tackle House offer different styles of surface poppers that are literally see-through.  

The concept is that these transparent lures displace water and create surface commotion when retrieved, much like any popper, yet tuna can’t get a good visual on the lure’s body size or profile. Tuna strike at the noise and splashing without the chance to get turned off by something that doesn’t look right.  

Popular models include Clear Choice’s Ghost 150 Popper, Tackle House’s Feed Popper 150 Clear, Nomad’s Chug Norris 95 Holo Ghost Shad, Chasing Pelagics’ CP175 Clear Popper, and Fish Lab’s Scrum Popper Clear. Some have internal rattles, some don’t. While most are completely clear, the Chug Norris Holo Ghost Shad has a small internal color spot, giving the fish something appropriately small to key in on. While stealth is the overall approach, these lures are made heavy enough to cast on reasonable-size gear and tough enough to stand up to savage strikes and prolonged battles. 

“Clear poppers are the best option when tuna are feeding on tiny bait,” advises Capt. Jimmy Decker, an expert Southern California ­tuna angler and fishing guide. “The fish key in on the motion, and I think they see the points of the two treble hooks as six tiny baitfish. I work the lure with a pop-pop-stop action. When your lure is in the middle of that foaming Jacuzzi tub of ­tuna, just leave it still. Nine times out of 10, you’ll get bit.”

“If the frenzy dissipates without a fish hitting your paused popper, work it ­vigorously back toward you to call in nearby tuna,” adds Erik Landesfeind, a fellow bluefin specialist. “Work the lure by sweeping your rod tip to the side rather than up. This keeps the popper face in the water for better noise and commotion.”

“When you do it right, be ready for explosive strikes,” says Capt. Gerry Mahieu, a successful tournament angler, professional fishing guide and owner of Clear Choice Lures. “The lack of visual profile eliminates any doubt fish may have, and they literally engulf these lures.” 

Read Next: Southern California Bluefin Tuna Fishing at Night

Your tackle needs to be able to cast these relatively light lures yet still handle large tuna. For bluefins up to 60 pounds, Landesfeind uses 400-size saltwater baitcasters with 65-pound braid and a short 80-pound fluorocarbon leader paired with a heavy-action saltwater bass rod. When targeting bluefins from 80 up to 200 pounds, he goes with a Penn Fathom 25 Narrow two-speed reel spooled with 80-pound braid and 100-pound leader. He pairs it with an 8-foot medium-action graphite composite rod. 

SWS Tackle Box

• Rods: Daiwa Proteus 810H (tuna to 80 lb.); Calstar 800H (tuna over 80 lb.)
• Lures: Poppers such as the Feed Popper 150, Fish Lab Scrum Popper or Chug Norris 95 Holo Ghost
• Line: 65- to 80-lb. braid; 80- to 100-lb. fluoro top shot
• Reels: Daiwa Lexa 400, Okuma Komodo 400SS or Shimano Tranx 500; Penn Fathom 25N two-speed for larger bluefins

The post Using Clear Poppers to Catch Bluefin Tuna appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

A Welsh charter captain and two anglers drifting for sharks on Oct. 9 caught and released what is thought to be the largest tuna ever captured in the United Kingdom, a 111-inch bluefin estimated to weigh more than 900 pounds.

Anglers Simon Batey and Jason Nott teamed up to bring the massive bluefin to the boat after a 90-minute fight. Capt. Andrew Alsop, who runs White Water Charters, called it “the dirtiest fighting fish I have gone up against.”

“I’ve caught thresher sharks, mako sharks and numerous tuna, but I’ve never had a fish stay up on the surface like this,” Alsop told Salt Water Sportsman. “At times it was like you were a matador. The fish would come screaming straight at the boat and you’d move out of the way, making sure you have tight lines for the angler. Then the fish would take 200 yards and turn back around in the dark to come screaming back at the boat again.”

This happened about five times, Alsop says. At one point the tuna spent “a crazy few minutes twisting and rolling and smashing the surface to foam about 30 yards from the boat,” he noted. “It was one hell of a fight.”

“It was exciting,” he adds, “but my wits as a skipper on the controls and the throttles, especially being in the dark, were tested to the limit, to be honest.”

Bluefin Bycatch While Shark Fishing

Alsop captains one of only six boats licensed to handle tuna under Wales’ new Catch and Release Tagging (CHART) program, which collects data to improve scientific understanding and management of bluefin tuna in Welsh waters. The collaboration between the country’s government and Swansea University trains charter crews to safely handle and release tuna caught by recreational anglers, attaching tags that allow researchers to learn more about the movements of the wide-ranging migratory species.

However, the 900-pounder taken last weekend 25 to 30 miles southwest of Milford Haven was not eligible for tagging because it was caught during a shark-fishing trip, a memorable outing that produced 12 blue sharks, many over 150 pounds, and a porbeagle shark over 350 pounds that the captain believes to be one of the largest males of the species caught in the UK. All were released.

“A lot of the press is a bit mixed up because I am part of the CHART program,” Alsop said of news reports linking the tuna to the tagging initiative. “I’d be breaking the rules if I tag a fish that’s technically outside the CHART.” Instead, fisheries regulations classify such fish as bycatch, and Alsop recorded a video of the release to prove to fisheries officials that the bluefin was handled carefully.

Such incidental catches have become more frequent off the west coast of Wales in recent years, because big bluefins have begun scavenging off the trawlers that work the area, Alsop says. “We do get a crossover when we’re chumming the water for sharks. The bluefins will join the chum trail to feed as well, and when they get into a feeding frenzy they’re not too choosy on what they eat.”

The tuna smashed a mackerel the captain dredged out of his freezer after running out of pollock, the bait that enticed the 350-pound porbeagle. “The boys were actually over the moon with that fish, and they wanted me to put another big pollock on when I re-rigged the rods. I said, ‘We’ve got some old mackerel; it’s not the freshest, but it should be fine for shark.’”

He baited a 6.5-foot 30- to 80-pound-class standup rod with a Talica 50 reel spooled with Diamond Braid Hollow Core and dropped it about 30 feet directly under the boat. He was headed for the cabin when he saw the rod bend over and spring back. Thinking one of the anglers might have bumped it accidentally, he asked if anyone had touched the rod. No one had.

“I picked up the line in my hand and pulled some slack in,” Alsop recalls. “All of a sudden it pulled straight out of my hand, and the line was just screaming off the reel.”

A Seasoned Bluefin Tuna Captain Comes in Clutch

In 2017 Alsop caught a 500-pound bluefin, then thought to be the largest ever taken in Wales, and he has battled bluefin as big as 700 pounds.

“Usually you fight them for a while and then they go into that predictable pinwheel,” he says. “But this fish just kept coming at the boat from out of the darkness and then running. As it was smashing the surface and going berserk. I thought, ‘Well, that’s good, because it will tire the fish.’ Then I realized how big this thing was. I shot down the ladder and said, ‘This is a monster, guys. Take your time now.’ Eventually we were able to get it to the side of the boat and realized what we were dealing with.”

Measured from nose to tail fork, the bluefin stretched 9 feet, 3 inches long. The 900-pound estimated weight is based on a formula. The fish was never removed from the water. The crew recorded a video while reviving the tuna and released it quickly.

“It was just an unreal capture,” Alsop says. “The fight was explosive. The only thing we didn’t get, because it was such a high-speed fight with the gear we had, we just didn’t have time to film the speed the line was coming off the reel. But it’s the biggest thing I’ve ever seen and just proves that we’ve got very, very big bluefins off the coast of Wales.”

The post Biggest Bluefin Ever Caught in the UK appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

A southern bluefin tuna reeled in by an Australian teenager after an epic four-hour battle off Western Australia has set a national record for the longest time between tagging and recapture. The 298-pound fish, boated by Ryan Gazzola on Sept. 3, carried a tag that researchers with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency, attached in 1993, 29-and-a-half years ago.

Oldest Bluefin Tuna Recapture On Record

“The catch is the ‘longest time at liberty’ for a tuna tagged by CSIRO,” says Dr. Campbell Davies, senior principal research scientist with the organization. “It means this recapture is the record for the longest period that a fish has been in the wild following tag and release.”

The bluefin was 1 year old and measured 20 inches long when researchers captured it on February 24, 1993, off the same coast where Gazzola hooked it three decades later. By then the 30-year-old fish stretched 6 feet, 4 inches long and weighed 298 pounds.

Gazzola, 17, and two friends were fishing off Esperance when they spotted “a zoo of birds, seals and dolphins” feeding near Gunnamatta, on the Bass Strait side of the Mornington Peninsula near Cape Schanck. The bluefin struck about 30 seconds after they got the last rod of their spread in the water, ripping off 325 yards of line in its first run.

It took four hours to get the tuna in the boat—and less than a minute after that to realize there was something unique about the catch.

“Once it hit the deck, that’s when I spotted the tag,” Gazzola told Salt Water Sportsman. “I looked down and there was this orange tag hanging out just above its pectoral fin.”

Gazzola, who works as a deckhand for Sharkmen Charters says he’s caught tagged fish before and even tagged a few himself, but he’d never seen an orange tag. This one had a phone number, and ‘Hobart Reward’ written on it.

He got in touch with a fisheries officer in Hobart, who asked what color the tag was. “I said, ‘It’s orange,’” Gazzola says, “and the fisheries officer is just going ballistic, because of how rare they are. There hasn’t been one of them caught in a few years, I think.”

Bluefin Tuna Aging Methods Verified

Campbell says the catch is indeed “very special” because the orange tag signifies that the bluefin was injected with a strontium chloride solution at the time it was tagged and released as part of a large-scale research program run by CSIRO. Strontium chloride is a non-toxic salt that occurs naturally in seawater and results in a “mark” being laid down on the otoliths (ear bones) of the fish.

When scientists cut the otoliths in half and view them under an electron microscope, they can count the bands seen in the bony structures to tell how old a fish is, much like counting annual growth rings in wood to age a tree.

“If there are 29 bands after the strontium mark, then the scientists know their method for aging southern bluefin tuna is correct,” Campbell says of the research value of this recovery. “So not only is this fish the ‘longest time at liberty,’ if the mark from the strontium chloride has been successfully incorporated into the otolith it will provide the longest number of years for the validation of the periodicity of the rings in the otoliths of the tuna. This information is used to calculate how fast the fish grow, how big they are at different ages, when they mature, and what their rate of mortality is.”

Scientists were able to recover the bluefin’s head for examination, but not without a scramble. The head had been left in a dockside trash bin after the fish had been butchered and the meat distributed among the anglers, and it was retrieved just as a truck arrived to empty the bin.

Although the fish was recaptured near where it was tagged in 1993, it likely roamed great distances during its lifetime, according to Campbell.

“We expect this fish made migrations into the Indian Ocean,” he says. “From electronic tagging data, we know young southern bluefin tuna migrate annually across the southern Indian Ocean to feed, while adults migrate from southern foraging areas—such as around southeast Australia—into tropical spawning areas south of Indonesia.”

Long Distance Bluefin

In January 2021, a western bluefin tuna that had been tagged off Long Beach, New Jersey, in 2012 by Steve Matthews and Bob Matthews on the Low Bid was recaptured 4,000 miles away in Mahdia, Tunisia, according to The Billfish Foundation, which posted about the recovery on its Facebook page earlier this month. In nine years the fish had more than doubled in size, from approximately 40 inches to 95 inches, and its weight, which was not recorded during tagging, was more than 560 pounds at recapture.

Editor’s Note: Got an interesting catch? We’d love to hear about it! Drop us a line with all the details at catches@saltwatersportsman.com.

The post Massive Bluefin Recaptured After Nearly Three Decades appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

It was a true Marblehead, Massachusetts, fishing expedition as Capt. Scott Edwards took off from the Boston Yacht Club with crew members Dan Drabkin and Gavin Dowley on August 10. Edwards wanted to get an early start to the last day of commercial tuna fishing before the quota season closed until September, so they departed the dock at 4 a.m.

This was only the second time that Drabkin and Dowley joined Edwards on his 27-foot Southport, the Keeper. Both juniors in college, they spend their summers working for Tomo’s Tackle, the saltwater specialty tackle shop in Salem, Massachusetts, a popular hangout for tuna and striped bass fishermen.

Storied Stellwagen Bank Tuna Fishing

The Keeper steamed 26 miles northeast to the Stellwagen Bank. The federally protected marine sanctuary between Cape Cod and Cape Anne is a popular feeding ground for many marine species, especially tuna and whales. They arrived before sunrise, which Edwards says is often the best time to get a hookup. After anchoring, three lines were baited with mackerel and deployed at three different depths, to no avail. Instead, they kept busy unhooking blue sharks and spiny dogfish from the lines.

“It was a constant battle to keep the lines clear,” Edwards said. “The sharks and dogfish kept eating the baits.”

The first encouraging news came when a boat nearby hooked up at about 9 a.m. They took off, traveling about two miles in pursuit of the fish, returning victorious with a boated tuna two and a half hours later.

Then at noon, one of the Keeper’s lines went screaming off. With an initial run of 300 to 400 yards, Edwards knew they hooked a big one. They reeled in the other two lines, and took the fish up to the bow. Drabkin and Dowley got to work, taking turns reeling for the next two hours, doing 15-minute intervals.

“We probably could have gone longer.” Dowley said. “But it was a good way to save energy, as you never know how long they are going to fight for.”

The fish had taken them two miles from their starting point before they could get it close enough to harpoon. Then they put a gaff hook in the jaw and swam it around on a dock line.

“This calms the fish down,” explained Edwards. “And it gets rid of the lactic acid which has built up during the fight.”

Shipping Bluefin Tuna to Japan

After the boat-side swim, the gills were sliced and the blood drained. Because of its length, which turned out to be 110 inches, the giant bluefin tuna was really difficult to get on board.

“We got it as high as we could on the block and tackle, but it still took the three of us to get the tail over the rail and flop it into the boat,” Edwards said.

Then it was time to process the fish. The crew used a reciprocating saw to clean it and packed the tuna in ice before hauling anchor and taking off for Gloucester. Once in port, the fish was hauled off the boat, weighed and measured. Then, the head and tail were removed, with the rest of the tuna “dressed” for sale.

The dressed bluefin (without the head and tail) weighed 513 pounds. Those 513 pounds of tuna are extremely valuable to sushi lovers in Japan, so that’s where this fish was headed. The fish was packed in salt water ice in a coffin box, and then taken to Logan International Airport for a flight to Tokyo. Less than 24 hours after it was caught, the tuna was already at a Tokyo fish market. Known as “Boston tuna,” and prized for its high fat content, the tasty red meat can sell for as much as $20 a pound.

“This is certainly the longest tuna I have caught in the past 44 years,” Edwards said. “At 110 inches, it’s about as big as they get around here. You’d have to go to Prince Edward Island in Canada to get something bigger.”

A Lifetime of Fishing on the Massachusetts’ Coast

Edwards grew up on Summer Street in Marblehead and started fishing on Redds Pond when he was 6 years old. He began fishing the ocean at age of 13 with his dad, former Boston Yacht Club Commodore Bill Edwards (1991-1992). Edwards got his charter captain license at the age of 21, which is when he caught his first tuna.

The heaviest tuna Edwards managed to land was a 985-pound beast of a bluefin when he was 22, and a 750-pound bluefin in the fall of 2019. Despite the weight difference, that one only measured 108 inches.

Editor’s Note: Got an interesting catch? We’d love to hear about it! Drop us a line with all the details at catches@saltwatersportsman.com.

The post 110-Inch Bluefin Tuna Takes Trip to Japan appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

It was midnight aboard the 92-foot party boat Royal Star when the captain’s voice crackled good news over the PA. He had detected a school of bluefins swimming about 200 to 250 feet under the boat.

While most anglers had sacked out in the bunk room, two brothers—Ron and Steve Ballanti—remained on deck with a handful of other anglers and crew. As the diesels throttled down, the duo grabbed their rods and quickly dropped flat-fall jigs to intercept the fish.

“My jig stopped sinking about 200 feet below the surface,” Ron says. “I felt a tick in the line, as if it had hit the bottom.” But it was not the bottom. The tick was the jig hitting the back of the throat of a 60-pound bluefin. “I wound down, set the hook and got solid on the fish.”

Bluefins are brutally strong, but Ballanti applied heavy pressure. After about 15 minutes, the fish was close enough to flash color, illuminated by the glow of Royal Star’s floodlights. Moments later, crewmembers gaffed the tuna and it hit the deck.

Both Ballanti brothers went back to work, each landing two chunky Pacific bluefins and filling their daily bag limits within 40 minutes of the new day before any other anglers even woke up.

Night Fishing for Tuna

Over the past six years, bluefin tuna fishing has exploded off the coast of Southern California. Anglers fishing from private and party boats have landed fish weighing more than 300 pounds. With a steady supply of forage, including massive schools of pelagic red crabs, anchovies and squid, and influxes of less-mature school tuna in the 40- to 80-pound range every season, there’s every indication that the bluefin numbers will remain strong as long as the food holds.

A number of effective techniques have emerged for targeting SoCal bluefins, including run-and-gun fishing when tuna feed at the surface, slow-trolling with live baits, and kite-fishing with rigged flying fish. Yet for anglers willing to sacrifice some sleep, jigging at night can be the most effective method of all.

Party Boat Fishing for Bluefin Tuna

Finding the right area to fish for bluefins represents the first step to success. Party boats such as the San Diego-based Royal Star and others have a leg up on private boaters in this particular regard.

Members of the tight-knit party-boat community constantly share information. This allows them to focus on the last-known coordinates of nomadic schools of bluefins, and then, if necessary, expand the search. Many times, the fish are found relating to undersea ridges and seamounts, such as Desperation Reef south of the lower end of San Clemente Island or the 43-fathom spot to the southeast of the island.

Ocean-satellite-imaging websites, like tempbreak.com, and on-water satellite services such as SiriusXM Fish Mapping can offer more clues, particularly sea-surface temperature and chlorophyll breaks. Bluefins often hunt along these edges for schools of anchovies, squid and other forage. When the chlorophyll and temp fronts align, fishing can turn spectacular, both day and night.

Bluefin Tuna Movement at Night

The quest to find bluefin tuna at night often starts where they were discovered when the sun was up. It’s not unusual for bluefins to be frustratingly hard to catch during daylight hours. Some blame boat traffic. Others point to the predominant forage, such as tiny anchovies. Tuna might be spotted whipping the surface to a froth as they feed on the minuscule morsels. But once bluefins fixate on these, matching the hatch and coaxing a bite turn difficult.

At night, however, bluefins tend to retreat to the depths, some believe to intercept schools of squid and other forage rising from the abyss each night with the marine biomass known as the deep scattering layer. It is at this time when bluefins become especially susceptible to deep jigging.

Locating Tuna in Deep Water

There’s no magic bullet to locating deep-dwelling schools of bluefin tuna. It takes turns on the props and sometimes hours of scanning the depths with a fish finder. But there is a prime depth zone in which to search, says San Diego-based angler Capt. Barry Brightenburg.

“Thirty to 60 fathoms (180 to 360 feet) is the prime zone at night,” Brightenburg says. “Tuna found above 50 fathoms tend to bite better than those found below that depth.”

If you mark just a few fish, say from four to 10 tuna, they are usually big ones—of 150 pounds or more—that travel in wolf packs, Brightenburg says. “Those can be tough to stay on top of, so you really want to see a lot of fish on the screen. They might be smaller, but they will be more eager and easier to catch.”

Jig Fishing for Bluefin Tuna

Anglers need to drop their jigs as soon as possible once tuna are located. The jig of choice for nighttime bluefins was first popularized by Shimano with its Butterfly Flat-Fall series, but the success of these lures has spawned a host of imitators.

Shimano’s Flat-Fall jigs, ranging from 130 to 300 grams, prove the most popular in shades such as Super Glow, Purple Silver and Blue Sardine. In a mild drift, lighter weights work, but as the drift speed increases, so does the need for heavy jigs.

The fluttering action as the lure descends is often what triggers a strike, and the theory is that it mimics a squid darting downward. “Seventy to 80 percent of the bites come during the sink,” Brightenburg says.

Working the lure up and down once it is in the strike zone also can be effective. “I like to wind up with 10 to 15 turns of the reel handle and let it drop again,” Ron Ballanti says. “But it is usually when I drop back down that it gets bit.”

Fishing the Best Depth for Tuna

Knowing the approximate depth of the jig is critical to success with this technique. To ensure that it’s not too far above or below the fish, Ballanti marks his white 80-pound braided line with a black Sharpie marker at 100 feet, and then at 50-foot intervals after that.

“If the fish are showing on the fish finder at 200 feet, I’ll drop down about 250 feet of line before I start working the lure back upward,” he explains.

Brightenburg also uses 80-pound line, but prefers a multicolored braid such as PowerPro Depth Hunter, which changes color every 25 feet. “If I want to let out 250 feet of line, it’s simple, counting 10 colors,” he explains.

Dead Sticking for Bluefin Tuna

When preceded by a long day of hard fishing, spending the night trying to catch fish might not appeal to all anglers. “Some people think night is for sleeping,” Brightenburg jokes.

“When we overnight offshore, I put out a couple of sticks in the rod holders, drop jigs to the approximate strike zone, and let them bounce with the wave action,” he says.

“This kind of fishing is not feasible on a party boat, but on a private boat we hook a fair number of bluefins using dead sticks,” Brightenburg reveals. He suggests loosening the drag a little and keeping the clicker on to alert everyone to a strike.

Bluefin Tuna Feeding Frenzy

Curiously, hooking one bluefin tuna at night frequently leads to many more. “The more people hook fish, the better the fishing gets,” Brightenburg says.

He theorizes that a hooked fish activates others through its panicky vibrations and by spitting up food as it fights in the deep, which chums other bluefins into a feeding frenzy.

During these times, the school might also ascend in the water column. “Make sure you’re paying attention to the captain or the fish finder,” Ballanti says, “so that you’re keeping the jig in the strike zone all of the time, especially if the school of tuna is coming up closer.”

Pacific bluefin tuna ranks as one of the most skittish of all pelagic gamefish during daylight hours, but that changes considerably after dark. If you want the best chance of success, just head to the dark side and get ready to work the night shift.

Flat-Fall Jigging for Bluefin Tuna

Most flat-fall jigs come standard with two assist hooks at the bottom, but SoCal bluefin anglers often transfer the assist hooks to the top and add a single hook, such as a 9/0 Owner Offshore or Mustad 7691, to the bottom of the jig with a heavy-duty split ring. This adds a hook, and also provides some insurance in case a big bluefin tuna chews through the cords (used to attach the assist hooks) during a prolonged fight. To further prevent biteoffs, anglers use 150- to 200-pound fluorocarbon leaders ranging between 4 and 5 feet in length, crimped (with chafe protection) to the jig and a heavy-duty swivel at the top of the leader. The main line (80-pound-test braid) is tied to the swivel with a knot such as the San Diego jam.

SWS Planner: Bluefin Tuna from 40 to 300 Pounds

• Where: Offshore banks and ridges along the coasts of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties
• When: At night, from May to November
• Who: Anglers with boats of 25 feet and up. Looking for a charter? Here are three choices:
  • Lucky B. Sportfishing (private charter), 760-445-4834, luckybsportfishing.com
  • Royal Star Sportfishing (party boat), 619-224-4764, royalstar.net
  • Pacific Dawn Sportfishing (party boat), 619-269-2186, pacificdawn.com

SWS Tackle Box

• Rods: 7-foot heavy-action jig rods rated for 40- to 60-pound-test
• Reels: Medium-size, two-speed lever-drag reels such as an Okuma Makaira MK 20II or a Shimano Talica TAC20II
• Line: 80-pound braid, white or multicolored
• Terminal Rigs: 4 to 5 feet of 150- to 200-pound fluorocarbon leader
• Lures: Jigs such as the Shimano Butterfly Flat- Fall in 130- to 300-gram models in colors including Super Glow, Purple Silver and Blue Sardine

The post Southern California Bluefin Tuna Fishing at Night appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

They were targeting giant blue marlin off Grand Isle in the Louisiana Gulf Coast Billfish Classic in early May, 2021. But a massive 683.5-pound bluefin tuna earned the most attention at the Hurricane Hole Marina weigh in.

The tuna didn’t even win a prize, because all the marbles were for billfish.

The crew of the “Devotion” boat out of Orange Beach, Ala. boated the big fish, which took angler and boat owner Josh Tice just under two hours to catch. Tice’s boat also caught the most blue marlin (4) during the 3-day event, winning the tourney.

Sixty-five anglers on 13 boats competed in the tournament. They caught 18 blue marlin and one white marlin. All were released. Fifteen yellowfin tuna were caught, including four weighing over 100 pounds, one a 155-pounder.

Yellowfins are far more common in the Gulf than the much larger bluefins, making the 683.5-pound behemoth all the more impressive.

“Bluefin tuna don’t count in the tournament,” said event director Robbie Carter, reported Louisiana Sportsman’s website. “They are weighed for the spectators, especially kids, who love it. Bluefins are absolutely enormous.”

The “Devotion” was using live bait for blue marlin. After one tuna hit and made a blistering run, a second bluefin took another live bait.

“We decided to go after the one that had the most line on the reel still,” said Jason Hallmark of Destin, Fla., “Devotion” captain. “The owner hooked it and got it in all by himself.”

Eventually, the second fish broke off.

“It was probably for the best,” Hallmark said. “Trying to deal with two of those things of that size is almost impossible, so it worked out for us.”

The post Giant Gulf Bluefin Steals The Show at Louisiana Billfish Tournament appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

Early starts are relative, based on geography. For example, clearing a dark South Florida inlet at 5 a.m. is extremely aggressive, whereas off the Northeast, you’d be arriving late to the party—and likely leaving without so much as a parting gift. 

When Capt. Cory Crochetiere said to meet at Rhode Island’s Avondale Boat Yard at 2:30 a.m. to prep for a 3 a.m. departure, my initial thought was, Why bother sleeping? Our goal was to be at a 25-fathom hole along a 15- to 20-fathom contour line prior to first light, well before the fleets of tuna seekers. I had MARC VI up there to film a TV show episode on jig-and-pop bluefin tuna, and Crochetiere would be leading the way. He explained that, if things went as planned, I’d become a card-carrying member of the coveted “Pancake House.” More on this later.

A renowned jig-and-pop expert guiding out of Westport, Connecticut, Crochetiere trailers his 23-foot SeaCraft to Long Island, eastern Connecticut, Rhode Island, and even Cape Cod in pursuit of tuna. We fished together in late July for 30- to 40-pound bluefins, running as close as 25 miles off Watch Hill. “Our bluefin bite starts to heat up during the first half of June and really gets going in July,” Crochetiere says. “The bite lasts into October some years. By comparison, our yellowfin bite doesn’t get consistent until mid- to late July, and it usually spans through September.”

Northeast Tunas Eat Sand Eels 

According to Crochetiere, the bluefin bite is 99 percent based on sand-eel populations; find the heaviest concentrations and the bluefins should abound. “This can occur anywhere from 10 to 70 miles offshore,” he claims. “Our inshore yellowfins inhabit the same areas and also feed on sand eels.” He seeks bottom irregularities along contour lines between 20 and 40 fathoms, highlighted by sharp water-surface-temperature breaks and strong chlorophyll indicators, the latter of which gathers baitfish.  

Whales and Porpoises Often Feed Near Tuna 

Upon reaching our destination, we established a drift. In total darkness, we studied my Simrad screens for sand eels and bluefins. Upon the first hint of soft light, a whale abruptly surfaced close to the boat. Then a dozen or so porpoises charged our way. Soon more whales surfaced and more porpoises arrived, even molas (ocean sunfish) made the scene, and all were aggressively hunting and feeding. Suddenly, it seemed like we were floating in an aquarium. Crochetiere pointed out bluefins on the fish finder and said, “Start jigging!” 

Jigging for Yellowfin and Bluefin Tuna

Given it was still soft light, we focused on jigging for tuna. I brought along Penn 4500 and 5500 spinning reels loaded with 20- and 30-pound braid, and 40- and 50-pound fluorocarbon leaders, and Penn two-speed Torque 15 reels filled with 30-pound braid and 50-pound fluorocarbon leaders; heavier spinning outfits were on hand, should larger bluefins appear. Our irons consisted of Williamson’s Koika and Kensaki jigs.

“Jigging methods vary greatly from one angler to another,” Crochetiere explains. “But my go-to technique consists of pauses and jigging-speed increases. Oftentimes, the pause followed by an acceleration in jigging speed triggers a bite.”

Tuna Fishing Tackle

Crochetiere defines “light tackle” as a reel capable of holding 300 yards of 50- to 65-pound hollow-core or braided line and a 50- to 60-pound fluorocarbon leader. For him, a “heavy” setup will carry the same types of lines in 80- to 100-pound-test, matched with 80- to 100-pound leader. For joining line to leader, he prefers a 20-turn FG knot, with a second FG knot of 12 to 15 turns on top of that one. The same holds true for pitching chuggers.

Catching Your Tuna Limit Early in the Morning

As anticipated, Crochetiere and I boated our allotted two bluefins per vessel per day by 5:30 a.m. (school fish from 27 to less than 47 inches). Anglers limiting out as early as we did boast about the “Pancake House” via VHF and satphone texts. The dig refers to the fact that they can return to land in time to join other successful tuna anglers and friends for pancakes at a local breakfast joint. I opted for an honorary membership in this semi-fictitious club, preferring to remain offshore to catch and release more fish. 

Topwater Tuna Fishing

We pursued bluefins primarily with jigs because they remained deep. But Crochetiere predicted our best popping opportunities would occur around midday, when bluefins occasionally rise to the surface. Sure enough, that’s when our sonar showed fish within 10 feet of the surface, and I began pitching a Rapala X-Rap Magnum Xplode, model 130. The blowups behind the chugger were breathtaking, surpassed only by the thrill of the actual hookups.

For topwater poppers, Crochetiere suggests casting as far as you can, then taking up slack before imparting a few short, aggressive pops, with one- to two-second intervals between the pops. “I often do two or three pops and then a pause,” he says. “Frequently, they’ll crush the lure on the pause.” He and I scored eight bluefins that day, two hooked on topwater poppers.

New Jersey Tuna Fishing

Jig-and-pop is also the craze off New Jersey. Ryan DeGraw considers it his favorite way to take both bluefins and yellowfins. Pretty much mirroring that midsummer to early-fall peak for consistency, he also plays his hand early once he learns of tunas migrating off his home port of Manasquan.

“As long as they’re here, you can do this,” DeGraw says. “We usually hear reports of tuna around mid-May. The challenge then is that they’re scattered and not committed to their honey holes. But you can catch them on the jig-and-pop with some hard searching. Our bluefins get pretty decent around mid-June, and yellowfin tuna begin settling in early to mid-July.”  

Sand eels dictate the fishery, and bird-dogging mammals is a big part of the game, as is focusing on specific bottom contours and water-surface-temperature gradients; pretty much the same drill as throughout the Northeast.

Oil Slicks at the Surface Signal Tuna Feeding

When he wants to jig for yellowfins, DeGraw also looks for slicks and birds. “Tuna chicks over oil-like slicks always warrant a drift. The slicks are from feeding fish, so the yellowfins should be nearby,” he says.

“We explore these slicks by splitting the effort, having two anglers cast poppers and two anglers jig until we figure out where the fish are holding and their preference. 

“As far as prime conditions, I love calm water for topwater popping; fish see the poppers better. In rough water, they’ll sometimes strike at it three or four times because they can’t see it as well. On the other hand, I like jigging when it’s a bit choppy, like in 2- to 4-footers.”

Chumming for Yellowfin Tuna

Live-chumming with peanut bunker gets the yellowfins up and feeding aggressively. Once attracted, the chumming stokes up prime popping opportunities. “Sometimes, poppers outclass the liveys,” DeGraw says. 

“Recently, we live-chummed up the yellowfins, but they were reluctant to eat our pinned baits. However, we ended up catching the first six or so yellowfins on poppers before they finally warmed up to our live baits.”

How-To Jig for Tuna

For jigging, DeGraw prefers to drop his iron to the bottom and work it back. “A lot depends on the marks on the sonar,” he says. “For yellowfins, I like a fast retrieve with aggressive, short pumps. For bluefins, I enjoy success by snap-jigging—ripping the jig straight up and letting it fall a little prior to taking up the slack from a broad rod sweep.”

When targeting yellowfins with poppers, DeGraw aggressively pops the lure, waits a few seconds for the bubble trail to clear, and repeats the tactic. “By comparison, bluefins seem to react better to longer pauses approaching 10 seconds or so,” he says. “They don’t appear to want to chase down a topwater as aggressively as yellowfins.”

Read Next: Tuna Fishing with Topwater Lures

When Jigs and Topwaters Are Better Than Trolling

When asked why he’s addicted to jig-and-pop tuna fishing, DeGraw sums it up perfectly: “Besides the fact that it is a lot more fun than trolling or bait-fishing, there are numerous situations where these tactics prove more effective. Whether it’s for more accurately matching what the fish are feeding on, or when they become finicky and spooked by boats trolling entire spreads, jigging and popping flat out puts tuna in the boat.” 

Recent Bluefin Size Classes

“Every year is different, but oftentimes the same year-class of bluefins returns year after year, they just get larger each season,” Crochetiere says. “In 2019, we had two separate year-classes: fish measuring from the mid-20 inches to the low 30s, and from 50 to the low 60s. In 2020, we had the same year-classes return, but the younger tuna had reached the mid-30s, and the older ranged from 60 to 70 inches. Another year-class of 20-inchers and high 30- to low 40-inchers joined the mix in 2021. This was in addition to some large 65- to 80-inch bluefins, and giants measuring 95 to 115. I do not specifically target the giants on jig-and-pop tackle, but they are occasionally hooked on such gear. And that usually ends in the fish’s favor,” Crochetiere says.

The post Fishing Jigs and Topwater Poppers for Tuna appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

At the Triple Wrecks, 60 miles off the Jersey coast, the bow of Defiance, Capt. Brian Keating’s 36 Valhalla, was pointed toward total mayhem, an area where hundreds of bluefin tuna frantically trashed and splashed while pounding a baitball on the surface. Engines in neutral, the boat drifted toward the madness. I picked a spot on the outskirts of the feeding frenzy to cast a Savage Gear 3D Mack Stick. One, two, three twitches, then bam! The drag on my reel whined as line started ripping off the spool, and the rod arched downward, coming painfully close to its breaking limit. The fight was on.

Three bluefin tuna of 75 to 150 pounds hit the deck in 45 minutes, all hooked on poppers and slide baits, before we swung around for another pass at the school, then another and another, all yielding similar success. The question is, would the results have been even better if we dropped jigs instead of chucking poppers? What determines the right times to throw plugs or drop jigs is a study in tuna feeding habits.

Up Top

Visuals of tuna crashing mackerel schools on the surface gave up the obvious clue to choose a popper. But should poppers always be the first weapon out of your quiver?

Legendary tuna hound Sami Ghandour of Saltywater Tackle offered insights on feeding tuna from North Carolina to Cape Cod.

“Poppers have their place and time. In Cape Cod, they don’t really work, as they push fish down,” Ghandour says. “In New Jersey, however, those fish seem more aggressive and active, and you can get them frustrated easily with a surface popper.”

In Jersey waters, the trend is that tuna usually come up and feed during the afternoon. You might not see the fish coming up, but there are other telltale signs that pinpoint the proper time to toss a popper. “Breaching whales gulping down bait, porpoises corralling a baitball, and the evident V-shaped wakes of tuna schools are all indicators that the fish are ready and willing to feed on top,” Ghandour says. “Conversely, there are times when poppers can be cast randomly to explore and incite tuna down in the water column to come up and investigate.”

A popper with a large, concave face, like the Madd Mantis or Nomad Chug Norris, should be worked with a long draw to spout out substantial spray, then a pause for a second or two before repeating the process. It’s during that brief pause that tuna usually pounce on the popper because it appears that the bait is tired and resting..

Subsurface

“When marking tuna 10 to 30 feet below the surface, or when tuna are pushing water, they are on the move. That’s when I pull out subsurface slide baits and stickbaits,” Ghandour says.

Because bluefin and yellowfin schools move rapidly, you might only have a split second of opportunity to make the perfect cast. “Tuna cruise around subsurface with their eyes facing upward, and that’s when I throw floating stickbaits. The only time I use sinking stickbaits is when birds are picking up the lure and I need to get it down before one snatches it.” Ghandour will cast out a stickbait about 50 yards in front of a moving tuna school and count to 30 or 40 to let the lure sink enough. “For stickbaits, cast, put the rod tip down, keeping a belly in the line. Then twitch it to create a bubble trail behind the lure to trigger a bite. Always twitch to the right, making sure the lure darts under the surface to create a trail of bubbles.”

All Ghandour’s stickbaits are fitted with single inline hooks for a better hookup ratio than treble hooks provide. For Jersey tuna in the 30- to 100-pound range, Ghandour opts for a 4½-inch (120 to 125 mm) lure in a squid color pattern or solid white. When going for larger fish—100- to 200-pounders—in Cape Cod, he steps up to a Tackle House Britt 170 mm pencil in sardine color. And for tuna over 100 inches, Ghandour pulls out the big guns, like the CB One Zorro, Hammerhead Cherry Pai 240, and Rave 220 to 260.

Quick reactions are in order when using stickbaits for tuna. The fish tend to hit when the lure pauses before the next twitch, so be prepared to immediately reel up any slack to set the hook.

Down Low

“Tons of boat traffic lately on the tuna grounds means fish are feeding deeper, and that trend may continue with the growing popularity,” Ghandour says. “Many times, Jersey tuna key on sand eels, so they feed down in the water column. When you mark them deep on the screen, it’s time to drop jigs.” Deep-trolling ballyhoo on planer boards yields strikes from fish you mark in midwater, or even near the bottom, but jigging metals sparks takes from hungry bluefins and yellowfins down deep that bite with conviction.

“That is not speed jigging. I drop down, reel up four to five cranks, then pause. The rod tip should be whipping up and down. Tuck the rod under your arm, lift, and crank once going up. If one guy on the boat hooks up, chances are everyone will get hit on the jig.”

Ghandour believes in CB One F1, G2 and C1 jigs, and fishes them in 80 to 250 grams for 30- to 80-pound-class fish. In Jersey, he prefers 100- to 150-gram versions in red-and-gold or green-and-gold. His jigging rod is an El Maestro 82m 710MH spinning model matched with an 8000-size reel loaded with white, hollow-core Power Pro in 40- to 60-pound-test. That outfit, he claims, serves him well for New Jersey tuna up to 100 pounds.

For Cape Cod or North Carolina bluefins in the 100- to 250-pound range, Ghandour goes heavier, using a Race Point or Monster Ledge 150 or 220ST with a Shimano 14000 Stella spinning reel, or a 300 or 350 model of the same rods matched with a conventional Talica 12 or O’Shea Jigger 4000. His jigging line then is Shimano’s O’Shea EX8 braid in 60- to 80-pound-test.

Factor It In

Many contributing factors go into deciding whether to jig, pop or throw stickbaits for tuna. Learn to read the movements of the schools, and take notice of where the fish hold in the water column and how they interact with the available forage. Adding up all that will point to the right choice of weapon when the tuna come calling.

SWS Tackle Box

Rods: Spinning and conventional 50- to 200-pound models, including Shimano Grappler GRPCS82H, El Maestro 82m 710MH, and Race Point or Monster Ledge 150 to 350, depending on tuna size and location

Reels: Shimano 14000 Stella, Twin Power, Saragosa SG or equivalent for spinning, Shimano Talica 12 or similar option for conventional

Lures: CB One F1, G2 or C1 jigs in 80 to 250 grams, CB One Zorro and Ryan 200 stickbait, Savage Gear 3D Mack Stick, Hammerhead Cherry Pai 200, Nomad Chug Norris 150, and Madd Mantis Popper

SWS PLANNER

What: Bluefin and yellowfin tuna

Where: Massachusetts to North Carolina

When: Year-round

Who: Boating anglers with stout casting and jigging tackle, and the will and stamina to battle some of the strongest fish in the ocean. For specialized gear, visit saltywatertackle.com.

The post How to Catch Tuna appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

Wings splayed wide with a wooden skewer, a rigged flying fish glides across the surface like a zombie returning from the dead as captains Barry Brightenburg and Brandon Nelson sail it from a kite—buoyed by a helium-filled balloon—over Southern California’s fabled Cortes Bank.

Within two minutes, a hungry Pacific bluefin tuna rockets upward, exploding at the surface and inhaling the bait. “We’re bit!” Brightenburg yells while winding line quickly to get tight with the fish. With 130-pound-test braid and a 300-pound leader, Brightenburg applies maximum pressure and, within 20 minutes, battles the fish to a deep color. Five minutes later, Nelson sinks the first gaff. I sink the second, and together we hoist the plump 125-pound bluefin aboard.

Bank Withdrawal

This was the first of four bluefins, capped off with a 250-pounder, brought aboard Lucky B, Nelson’s 36-foot center-console, on that day in October. Such stellar fishing points to the potential of Southern California’s most distant offshore bank—Cortes—as well as Tanner Bank. While bluefin tuna sometimes move closer to the coast, last season’s fishing around these banks proved epic at times, with many tuna over 200 pounds and some in excess of 300.

Rich ocean currents sweep the remote Pacific seamounts, generating nutrient- and plankton-laden upwellings that feed schools of anchovies, flying fish, mackerel, sardines and sauries. These, in turn, attract a host of gamefish, including bluefin tuna. During our trip, the fish finder confirmed the presence of tuna even before we started fishing, with schools marked clearly on the display at 100 feet.

Go the Distance

The distance, roughly 112 miles west of San Diego’s iconic Point Loma, increases the difficulty in getting here, but also decreases fishing pressure. “You have to pick good weather days and have the right boat to make the trip,” Brightenburg says. “Even on good days, you need to have the fuel capacity to make it out there and back safely.”

Traditionally, party boats and large sport-fishers have served as the vessels of choice for fishing Cortes and Tanner banks. But these days, fast, seaworthy center-console fishing machines, such as Nelson’s 36-footer, also fish the banks. “With triple Mercury 300 Verados, 477 gallons of fuel and speed over 50 mph on Lucky B, a 36-foot Yellowfin, I easily reach Cortes Bank and return to San Diego the same day,” Nelson says.

Preparation Matters

Research helps make the most of a tuna expedition. Brightenburg and Nelson diligently network with fellow anglers to find out if and where the bluefins are biting. This paid off big time on our trip. Though the action had been hot at Tanner Bank in the days leading up to our trip, new intel indicated the bluefin schools had shifted to Cortes.

Pacific bluefin tuna can become notoriously line-shy. Anglers who scale down their leaders might hook a fish, but a prolonged battle and the tuna’s sharp teeth usually lead to a high attrition rate on lighter lines, especially with fish over 100 pounds. That’s why kite-fishing for bluefins has skyrocketed in popularity off the California coast.

Dangling a bait from a kite line keeps the fishing line out of the water and unseen by the fish, enabling the use of heavier leaders that hold up during long fights. In addition, bluefins can grow wary of boats, and kites keep the baits at a distance.

Winging It

While live mackerel and rigged squid entice a bite, rigged flying fish prove most effective when kite-fishing for Pacific bluefins. For our trip, the skippers purchased about a dozen frozen flying fish from a tackle shop and put them on ice until rigging them with their wings spread to look as natural as possible.

Kites from brands such as AFTCO and SFE work well for this style of fishing. However, a good weather day, while providing a comfortable and safe passage, has a downside—a lack of wind to fly a kite. Still days require a large balloon filled with helium to keep the kite aloft. Brightenburg secures the balloon with rigging floss behind it and tapes over the floss to keep it from slipping.

Flying Lessons

With an electric reel on a kite rod, the captains deploy the kite about 75 feet before attaching the fishing line with the rigged flying fish to the release clip. Then one skipper lets out the kite while the other free-spools the fishing reel to deploy the flyer about 100 yards from the boat.

This deployment technique works with a mild breeze, but in the absence of wind, it might be necessary to idle the boat ahead to put distance between the boat and bait. The same applies while actually fishing: A mild breeze will allow for drift-fishing, but slow-trolling might be in order to maintain the proper angle and separation between the boat and the kite.

In either case, pay close attention to the bait to ensure it glides on or close to the surface. The idea is to replicate the behavior of a live flying fish. This requires attention and constant adjustment, reeling in or free-spooling to keep the bait in the strike zone. Keeping eyes on the bait also ensures that you see the strike and jump into action.

Heavyweights

Not all the fish on Cortes and Tanner banks are cows, the local nickname for tuna over 200 pounds. Many Pacific bluefins fall in the 50- to 80-pound range, but you never know when a big one will show up. Stout tackle is the order of the day. This means two-speed lever-drag reels such as an Okuma Makaira MK 50II, Penn International 50 VISX or Shimano Talica TAC50II spooled with 130-pound-test braid and a 25-foot-long, 300-pound-test -wind-on leader.

Most private-boat anglers use locally sourced, custom-built rods from Southern California brands such as Calstar and Seeker. Typically, these rods feature a short curved butt on a 5-foot blank rated for 80- to 130-pound line. The Winthrop Terminator Adjusta-Butt has become popular for its ability to quickly change from a curved to a straight butt at the press of a button.

Read Next: Side Tracker Spreader Bars for Bluefin Tuna

Once you hook a powerful Pacific bluefin tuna, you’ll be glad you came well-armed and ready to make an impressive withdrawal from Southern California’s bank of riches.

SWS Tackle Box

• Rods: Curved-butt 5-foot rod rated for 80- to 130-pound line
• Reels: Two-speed lever-drag reel such as Okuma Makaira MK 50II, Penn International 50 VISX or Shimano Talica TAC50II
• Line: 130-pound-test braid
• Terminal Rigs: 25-foot, 300-pound wind-on mono leader

SWS Planner

• What: Bluefin tuna from 50 to 300 pounds
• Where: Cortes and Tanner banks
• When: May to early November

Looking for a charter? Here are three choices:

Lucky B Sportfishing

Capt. Brandon Nelson

760-445-4834, luckybsportfishing.com

Pinnacle Sportfishing

Capt. Duane Mellor

619-850-7575, pinnaclesportfishing.com

Seasons Sportfishing

Capt. Jaime Thinnes

714-206-6146, seasonssportfishing.com

The post How to Catch California Bluefin Tuna appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.