Artificials for yellowfin tuna
 

I have confidence in my yellow tail game with irons, waxwings and butterfly jigs... But I was wondering what people use for yellow fin? I'm going out on my first tuna boat and not sure exactly what to bring in terms of lures. Or if I should stick to fly lining live bait...?

Megabait

http://www.meltontackle.com/products...ait-lures.html

Drop straight down to 150 feet and burn in. Repeat. If fish are around you will get bit. Can be much faster than fishing live bait. You are able to stay up in the bow all day without running back and forth because your sardine decided to swim in circles or under the boat.

+1 but be careful if you are on the drift, it will get tangled if you are on a cattle boat. I had a biggins snap my line, I was using the 4oz one. Be sure to take the ring off the lure, and tie your line directly to lure, those rings are notorious for causing a line break (couple of the guys on the boat confirmed).

Also, just like YakDout said stay on the bow, and you should be golden.

Fish bait.....



But if you have to fish lures...megabaits are good but make sure you change the hook out for a better one. The factory hooks suck!!!

Don't forget the point Wilson dart...also an amazing little lure. Got many a early morning Bluefin on those.

Noted. So are most the schools deep or surface right now? What's the standard live bait rig setup for em right now?

Was out Monday on the Malihini, wide open fishing once they found the school. If it is still around its is about 35 miles so a good 3+ hr ride. They were biting everything, live bait but be prepared to lose half your fish to dumbasses around you. One thing new the crew and a couple of us were trying were large popper jigs, looks really cool watching yellowfin crash on them. Landed over a dozen. You should have a great time, bring two coolers!!!!

So they hit surface irons too? And I was planning on using a topshot of 30lb big game. Most the fish I see coming in are in the 20lb range. Or should I up the test? And are most people fly lining them, egg sinkers, dropper loops? Sorry for the bombarding questions I just want to be ultimately prepared. I can handle my own on a crowded party boat with retards but I am feeling I'll be out of my element a bit.

If it's your first trip, I'm on the side that says learning how to pitch bait into the chumline, finessing a flyline bait and working through the tuna shuffle is a must. This is a fundamental skill that's needed for the rest of your tuna fishing existence from larger boats. You will eventually learn the skills and tricks to help you thrive in open party warfare. Lures can also work great, but you have to know when. Use a swimbait for cheater troll or cast a swimbait/megabait/coltsniper/tideminnow on the slide after a jig strike. When the boat settles in for the drift, work the jigs on the way down and on the retrieve while experimenting with retrieve speed depending on the lure. Always keep an eye out for what other jigs/lures are working and switch! Poppers on spinning gear have also been tearing it up.

The flat fall jig for example has been frustrating for me. Thrown into boils and no love. Grind, no love. But a slow wind retrieve, got bit. But then again, the guy next to me tells me he's been hit on the grind. That's fishing...

Either way good luck to you out there and remember to eat the heart! :)

A week ago, I hooked 3 and landed one on an 80g shimano Colt Sniper.they have a really nice swimming action and cast a mile. Besides that, they are inexpensive.
Also poppers are doing well. People killing it on big poppers.
I caught 2 on bait.
Best to fish jigs and lures off the bow. Bait too, some times.
I was throwing the jig at boils on the slide and then switching to bait.
Good times
:D

i got two colt snipers, just rigged em with some heavy duty assist hooks. do they usually hit it on the drop or when you speed jig them up? or do you fish them a different way?

I got hit twice on the drop and once on a med speed retrieve. I was doing a five count in free spool before starting the retrieve.
By YFT, that is.
On the yak, I've only caught Bonito with them.
Hope to snag a YT with it soon.
:D

im wondering if they would be better rigged with the assist hooks or the treble...

Anyone else notice the New Seaforth A.M. half day yesterday got Yellowfin? :eek: Is it possible we will get them within a reasonable yak distance?

ya thats two consecutive days now. the other day was like 82. I wonder if they have come in closer or if the half day boats are just gunning it offshore hoping to hit a school...

I was out on the Islander last week on a day and a half and the yellowfin were plentiful but because all we had were smallish anchovies, we had to drop down to 20 to 25lb test with Number 2 hooks. Most of us had 30 to 40 pound mono and it was too heavy. But for those who had the lighter line, they did really well.

I think that I should have stayed with using the iron instead of the live bait....

I got a few on the Waxwing the other day. I did better with the wing than my buddy did on live bait. If you're confident with it, throw it and stick to it. If the fish are up and feeding they can't resist it on a really fast retrieve.

I've been hearing really good things on Waxwings. How long after the cast are you retrieving? I'm headed out on the Malihini next Wednesday!

I do like those assist hooks and sure they will work. I haven't tried them on a colt sniper and I don't know that they would be any better or worse than the trebles.

I start winding as soon as it hits the water. Wind fast!