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The Ultimate Guide to Yellowfin Tuna Fishing

Yellowtail tuna fishing isn’t just some of the most exhilarating sports fishing in the world. When you catch tuna it can include a great day on the water and a huge payday.

Some tournaments cash in at $750,000 in prizes for a yellowfin! But before you get your record payday you need to know how to find these creatures.

Amateur and experienced anglers alike can have better luck if they follow our guide. Use these tips and let us know how many big fish you’re reeling in.

Start with locals:

1. Talk To Locals

Your first stop on the hunt for yellowfin should always be a local shop. You want to talk to locals and find out when and where and how the yellowfin are biting.

Amateurs may need to hire a guide. Those great spots are well-kept secrets in fishing towns.

2. Find a Food Source

If you want to find out where the yellowfin are, you need to find their food source. Doing some research on the internet before you head out can make your day go faster.

You’ll have better luck if you head for the temperature breaks in the water where which are more likely to hold higher phytoplankton percentages.

And when you do catch your first yellowfin of the day, open them up. Find out what they have been eating lately to use this as bait.

3. Plan Around Tides and Weather

The weather in Venice can change fast. No one wants to be out there looking for tuna when the weather isn’t cooperating.

Plus, it will be difficult to watch for bird life and other telltale signs the tuna are close. Watch the weather closely and plan accordingly.

Yellowfin are like other fish. They are more active when the tides are shifting too. If you look for the right weather and plan around the shifting tides, you will increase your chances.

4. Watch For Bird Life

When you are out looking for yellowtail keep an eye peeled for bird activity on the surface. It isn’t just the temperature breaks that signal feeding activity.

The birds on the surface are often a signal that the yellowfins are near. You’ll have a better idea of where to troll or drop a line if you are constantly on the watch for bird life activity.

5. Think About Sunrise and Sunset

A few of the best times to go out yellowtail fishing are near sunrise and sunset. Fish are affected by the change in times and the lunar calendar.

6. Lures

Tuna respond to a wide range of lures. And combining a baiting strategy with lures can bring more fish close by.

Cedar plugs, plastic skirted lures, and tuna feathers all work well. Trolling plugs have the benefit of working with faster speeds to attract the fish as well.

Using a pop-pop-pause technique when dragging the lure is a rhythm yellowfin respond to.

7. Use a Light Leader

Remember, yellowfin don’t have the same mouth types as some of the other large game fish. Unlike marlins, yellowfin have less jaw and scales to content with.

Using a lighter leader will make landing them more enjoyable.

8. Temperature Breaks

Just like looking for food sources before you leave the dock with the help of research, watching for temperature breaks out on the water will help you find yellowfin.

9. Using Tuna Bait

Bait balls, cubing, chumming, and live bait are all ways to get those tuna into your boat.

Witch cubing or chunking you can constantly drop a trail of bait from the back of your boat. A good idea is to drop the next chunk as soon as the last one is out of site.

You will start a line of fish headed for your boat.

10. Going Deep

Using leaders and rigs to get your line deeper down into the water is a good strategy. You will have your bait or lures away from the boat and in the deeper, cooler water where yellowfin prefer to feed.

11. Go Back

More than other fish, tuna seem to have an uncanny knack for avoiding bait when they sense boats are around. A simple way to avoid scaring off the fish is to go long from the back of your boat.

Whether you are using yellowfin tuna lures or tuna bait you can increase your chances of landing a fish with a long distance between the end of your line and your boat.

But while you can increase your strikes from tuna it is important to beware. You may lose a lot of your fish as you try to land them.

Sharks and barracuda may see the yellowfin you have on your line as a great lunch. You need to bring them in quickly with this method.

12. Live Baiting From Kites

Live bait works to well to lure in yellowfin. The natural movement and energy of live bait is unmistakable to the yellowfin and they prefer it over all else.

But live baiting can be a challenge when you are trying to remain distant from the boat. Avoiding the action of the boat is difficult with live bait.

One solution is to try kiting. Dropping live bait in from a line attached to a kite behind your boat can increase the odds with live bait.

Get The Edge in Yellowfin Tuna Fishing

For anyone looking for the true thrill and exhilaration of yellowfin tuna fishing, we can help. Intensity Offshore Outfitters has the experience and knowledge to help you find and land those beautiful yellowfins.

Even though the fishing in and around Venice, Louisianna, is the best anywhere, you can still get the benefit of expert help. And no one is better than Captain Josh Bodenheimer at helping clients catch the fish they are looking for.

Intensity Offshore Outfitters is located in Venice, LA, just 60 miles south of New Orleans. Our top of the line vessel will take you to where the fish are and we will help you catch tuna like no other charter can.

Contact Intensity Offshore Outfitters to schedule your trip today.