Are You Yella? Yellowfin Tuna Tactics
Posted by Knowledge Guy in Hobbies and Activities, tags: Baitfish, Blue Runners, Bubbling Water, Costa Rica Fishing, Eminent Experts, Feeder Fish, Fishing Costa Rica, Fishing Line, Fishing Tactics, Less Than Five Years, Life Span, Marlin, Outer Perimeter, Predators, Principal Difference, Protein Intake, Seagulls, Tasty Meat, Tuna Fishing, Tunas, Vantage Point, Yellow Fin Tuna, Yellowfin TunaKnown worldwide as the pre-eminent experts for Fishing in Costa Rica, FishingNosara’s captains and crews have developed some great tactics for catching Costa Rica Tuna and this article offers a peek into their arsenal. Read further by visiting FishingNosara’s Fishing Blog Costa Rica
Yellowfin Tuna are special because they are quite numerous yet also are extremely hard to catch. Sportfishers love Yellowfin tuna for their tasty meat and billfish love the Yellowfin’s high-octane blood.
Like all tunas they have a short life span (less than five years) so their weight is directly related to their protein intake, not their age. Yellowfin tuna has one principal difference from its cousins the Black tuna, White tuna, and the Rainbow Tunney: Speed. Many anglers will tell you that a Yellowfin catch can not be taken for granted, even if the fish is hooked up right next to the boat…in a fluorescent flash they will take back a few hundred feet of your fishing line in and leave the beleaguered fisherman right back where they started.
To properly hunt and catch Yellowfin Tuna, you must understand their behavior and feeding methods. Yellowfins feed on whitefish, blue runners, and a variety of other cigar-sized baitfish that travel the sea in schools. When startled, these baitfish bundle themselves into what is called a “bait ball”. They are attacked from the sky by seagulls and marlin birds, from the sides by dolphins, and from below by Yellowfin Tunas. To make things worse for the bait, billfish will dart right through the middle with terrifying results. The predators will continue until every last feeder fish is gone, then they will proceed to find another school of food.
Keep an eye for a bait ball next time you are at sea; find the bubbling water and the splashing birds, then set your boat to work the area around the outer perimeter of the bait school. From this vantage point tackle selection is the difference between catching Yellowfins and a lesser fish; to ensure a great Yellowfin catch you need to present a tackle spread that is tailored to their appetite.
If you want to catch football-sized Yellowfins, you will want to troll a spoon at between four and seven knots. The unusual shape and strobing blue flash closely mimics the action of a baitfish; A spoon rig is a vital piece of tackle for Yellowfin. Usually I like to leave the spoon out when I have another fish on as it is a killer way to get another fish on!
The bigger Yellowfins are cagey hunters; this means you have to mimic a crippled bait fish. The best way to imitate this hunt is to use a bare wood Cedar plug. An egg-shaped hunk of bare wood may not seem like useful fishing tackle, but when that overgrown splinter is trolled at 8 knots off of a long outrigger line (minimum 250), it begins to tumble and perfectly simulate a tasty meal to large Yellowfin Tunas.
If pulling lures isn’t your thing, Yella fellas can be casted for with the right casting lure. A large topwater plug is definitely the lure of choice because they combine smooth flight path, large splashdown pattern, and authentic popping motion. I prefer to stay ahead of the feeding frenzy by about 50 yards and let the fish come to me. I know that some Captains like to move parallel to the bait school and attack from the broadside.
In summation, Yellowfins provide great action for charter fishing groups looking for a strike-filled day and recreational sportfishers seeking a good meal. They are nifty fighters but not so strong that they break fishing tackle. Plus, their spot in the food chain makes Yellowfin sportfishing relatively low-impact on the fishery.
