Yellowfin Tuna
Yellowfin Tuna are a warmer water Tuna species, with larger fish found primarily offshore and smaller fish foundinshore, right close to the beach on occasion. Fights are long and hard and can take hours to land one, depending on the size of the fish. The Yellowfin spends a fair bit of time between 300 and 400 feet but will surface to feed. Their diet consists primarily of Flying Fish and squid which they snare using their great speed, sometimes moving at speeds in excess of 50 mph. They are voracious feeders, continuously eating and growing very quickly. 15 to 30 pounders common year around, 40 to 80 pounders common during their primary season with fish getting to over 300 pounds at times.
When alive, Yellowfin Tuna are one of the most beautiful of all fishes, with its iridescent, neon-like yellows and blues radiating from it. Like most offshore fish however, its colors fade away quickly upon death, with the fish becoming a rather dull dark blue up top with silver sides. Its differentiating feature from other Tunas is its second dorsal fin, finlets, and anal fins, which are all a deep golden yellow. Furthermore, the rear dorsal and rear anal fins are very long and extend to at least the base of the tail.
If you are blind-fishing for them, without any visual signs of them being there, you likely won’t catch any, unless you are in an area that has been real productive of late. If this is the case, troll typical Tuna feathers and small jet-heads at 8 or 9 knots and good luck! Blue/white, red/white and green/yellow are typical colors. If you have located a school of Tuna, troll feathers, jet-heads and cedar plugs and regular big game lures (size of which depending on the fish's size), as well as hard-baits such as Rapalas and Marauders. You can also cast lures, irons, or candy-bar jigs, spoons, assorted plastics and even top-water lures in amongst them. Live-bait will also work in these conditions.
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