Offshore Dynamite – Tuna Patrol
Few saltwater fish have the allure, raw power, and sheer fun factor of the tuna species. These pelagic fish are a worthy opponent for anglers worldwide, including along the American coastlines. Fishermen on both coasts and along the Gulf look forward to tuna season each year, which begins now and will last well into early fall.
Southern California's Captain Billy Keleman and Rhode Island's Captain Robbie Taylor may live nearly as far away as possible within the United States, but both share a true love of tuna. Each spends the season chasing tuna species, primarily bluefin, with a variety of techniques, including live-bait fishing, kite fishing, deep jigging, and topwater lures.
The two Captains shared some insight into their local bite and how they consistently put their clients on the best tuna action early in the year.
Giants Versus Schooling Tuna
The bluefin can reach massive sizes, especially the Atlantic species, which can weigh well over 1,000 pounds. While they swim in the waters off Newport, RI, Capt. Taylor says the schooling-sized fish that start in the 45-pound range are a common target for his clients.
"Some guys just want to get a giant, and with that, it's mostly live bait," he began. "With the school-sized fish, there are a lot of ways to catch them, and we do a lot of vertical jigging, and we're big on large topwater poppers. The nice thing about the smaller schooler-sized fish, the "football tuna," is that you can take those home to eat, so that's always a bonus."
Locating these large schools of fish, which are constantly moving and feeding within 60 miles of shore, requires staying on top of their migration and using the clues nature provides.
"The first thing is looking for some evidence of feeding activity, either a slick on the surface or presence of mammals like porpoises, two-tone dolphins, or whales," Taylor said. "Birds are also a good indicator of what's going on, and sometimes we may not have all the ingredients, but if we start seeing some of them, we'll do some blind casting until we locate them. Where you find them varies and moves, you'll get on them good, and then the moon will shuffle the deck, and you have to relocate them after a full moon again."
Once the fish have been located, one of the most exciting ways to catch them is with a large tuna popper over 7 inches long and more than 5 ounces. If they’re not on the surface, vertically jigging a 180 to 250-gram tuna jig is one of the most fun ways to catch them.
"Vertical jigging is probably my favorite way to do it; it's so much fun marking them on the sonar and watching them come streaking up to smash your jig," he said. "It's very visual, and we could be doing it as shallow as 90-feet below the surface or all the way down to over 200-feet deep. As a Captain, it's also fun. I'm like a conductor of an orchestra watching everyone's jigs on the graph, telling them to speed up or slow down. Then someone's line is tight, and they’re hooked up."
Taylor and his clients will adjust their jig size based on depth, wind, and tide, but fish them on surprisingly light gear for even more fun fighting the fish. "I know it's crazy, but I'm a 30 lb braid guy and really like Seaguar TactX," he said. "Then I'll use a leader of 80 lb Gold Label fluorocarbon. If we're around bigger fish, I'll bump it up to 50 or 65 lb braid and 100 lb Big Game Gold Label."
His setup of choice for jigs is a Jigging World Silver Bullet jigging rod rated for lures up to 350 grams, paired with a Shimano Ocea Jigger 2000 reel. It's not a massive setup for fish of this size, but it adds to the fun. The lighter line he prefers also serves a big purpose in how his jigs perform deep under the surface.
"I go with Gold Label leader because it's the highest strength for the lowest diameter you can get," he said. "The thin diameter of the braid is also a big part of jigging because you can keep your presentation more vertical without a bow in your line. You can also then go with a lighter jig because the line cuts through the water better, which lets you stall the jig and keep it in the strike zone a little bit longer."
Early Season West Coast Tuna
Every year, California anglers await the tuna getting closer to shore. That time is now, and Captain Keleman says that things are progressing quickly this year.
"The season is a little early, and what we’re seeing already is the fish responding to live bait and topwater lures,” he said. “Normally, it would be spreader bars and trolling, but we’re seeing more ways to catch them with live bait and topwater lures, and it's causing a stir in our area, for the better, of course."
The switch from kite fishing and trolling lures to lighter tackle is also a necessary shift due to the tuna in the area. The early fish are running smaller, between 20 and 40 pounds, as opposed to the 150-pound and larger fish of recent years.
"Ten years ago, it was all big fish, and we wouldn't leave the dock with small stuff," he said. "I'm not saying it's good or bad, just different, and we as fishermen have to be open and adapt to what's available as the fishery changes. Right now, we are seeing schools of smaller bluefin. But again, it's very early season for us, and the prime time from July to October is our main season for the bigger bluefin."
Fishing primarily out of Orange County and Huntington Harbor, Keleman typically runs 50 to 60 miles offshore, with trips up to 120 miles possible each direction on a day trip, all depending on where the fish are. Like Captain Taylor in the Northeast, Keleman is always searching for activity to locate the tuna.
"For the early scene, it's going to be the birds we’re looking for, and we also look for spots of fish," he said. "What I mean by spots of fish is 'breezers' or tuna swimming just below the surface, making a little ripple or 'foamers' where they’re actively feeding. We do a lot of looking with binoculars to find them, and we'll also troll lures until we find them."
Once the fish are located, a live sardine on a ringed circle hook or topwater popper like the Tuna Riot OG150 gets the nod and produces some fun action on relatively light gear—an 8-foot Daiwa Saltiga Dogfight rod and 14,000-sized Daiwa Certate reel spooled with 65 lb braided line.
He goes with a leader of approximately 4 feet and 30 lb Gold Label fluorocarbon for the sardine, and 80 lb for the topwaters.
"Once we get into bigger fish, we start looking into the 2-speed reels and bigger gear, but these work just fine for the smaller fish," he said. "Gold Label is my choice for my leader just because of the strength and thin diameter."
Keleman also takes time to pick the perfect sardine when live bait fishing. "I pick out the healthiest-looking one that is most lively," he said. "If the fish are a little deeper, you can hook the sardine right on their butt and get them to dive down a little more. The thinner diameter of Gold Label also allows the fish to swim better and faster than they would on heavier line."
The tuna is a worldwide favorite, and there are many ways to catch these aggressive predators. Light tackle is a fun way to catch schooling fish that put up an excellent fight. It's something both captains do to maximize the fun of the fight of the hard-pulling tuna.
Seaguar TactX Camo Braid is available from 10 to 80 lb test in 150- and 300-yard spools.
Seaguar Threadlock 16-strand hollow-core braid is available from 50 to 200 lb tests in 600- and 2500-yard spools in blue and white.
Seaguar Gold Label Fluorocarbon leader is available in 25- and 50-yard spools from 2 to 80 lb test leaders available for saltwater and freshwater.
Seaguar Big Game Gold Label Leader is available in 25-yard coils in 100 to 200 lb test.