Lake Fishing

Yellowfin Tuna Fishing-The Basics

By Bill Rollins 09/10/2022 6 mins read

You should be familiar with the following information before you travel to North Carolina for yellowfin tuna fishing. These are some tips to help you choose the right boat and know the season. These tips will allow you to maximize your fishing experience, catch the largest yellowfin anywhere in the world, and make it a great time. Once you are familiar with these basics, you will be well on your path to catching a big yellowfin.

Season

There are many seasons for yellowfin tuna fishing. Even though recreational anglers may catch yellowfins all year, spring is the best season to fish for these dangerous predators. Yellowfins can be caught using topwater plugs or trolled baits. Yellowfins often attack in groups and launch themselves out of water to chase bait. Although these fish look like 50-pound footballs in size, they are fiercely competitive and can run strong.

The Northeast Corner is the best place to find baitfish. It also has the strongest currents. The northeast corner of Big Rock is where yellowfin fishing is most popular during billfish tournaments. However, Dillon recommends fishing elsewhere during the week, when the crowds of small boats can interfere with trolling and fighting. Fishing in Big Rock is not necessary if you can catch the tuna in a calmer, uncrowded ocean.

Yellowfin tuna can also be caught in calmer waters during the summer. Yellowfins prefer water temperatures between 70 and 78 degrees, but they don't like high temperatures. Therefore, it is best not to fish in midsummer. Look for birds that are in large groups and bonitos on the surface to find the best times to catch these fish. You can find them by looking for bonitos and glassminnows.

Spring: Yellowfins are abundant in the Gulf Stream near the North Carolina coast in spring. The thrill of battling an enormous beast while yellowfin tuna fishing is possible in North Carolina. Yellowfins come home with plenty of meat thanks to a generous regulatory allowance. Plan your yellowfin fishing vacation now!

Tackle

Yellowfin tunas are highly migratory and live in deep waters of ocean. Yellowfin tuna will spawn closer to shore than other species of tuna, in order to keep their preferred temperature range. Younger tuna will swim near the surface while larger ones will mix with other species deeper in the ocean. Yellowfin tuna can be a valuable table ingredient, so NC fishing charters primarily focus on this species.

North Carolina's tuna fishing scene is best enjoyed from a large charter boat. While fishing season may vary, recreational anglers often catch tuna in the winter. Yellowfin tuna are commonly caught with artificial lures or ballyhoo/seawitch-rigs. For these fish, a planer can be used. For a more challenging day, try a fishing charter with a larger boat.

Blue/white Ilander skirts and multi-colored spreader bars are common on charter boats. Yellowfin are attracted by pink and other green colors. You can try a black/purple sleeve on cloudy days if time permits. You could also try a naked-rigged bait if your budget is tight. A tuna may be attracted to an unseen bait, and will avoid skirts altogether.

Try rigging a rubber fly or plastic lure to entice yellowfin tuna. These lures will perform well under the right conditions. These lures have a higher chance of attracting a bite compared to rigged natural fish baits. You should adjust the hook length before you bait your lures. This will ensure that it doesn’t bounce off of the water and get scared.

Schooling species

Yellowfin tunas are often called schooling fish for a variety of reasons. They are often found swimming in groups of at minimum two species. Others fish such as sharks, billfish, and other species are also common in these groups. But yellowfin are different in that they frequently school together. Yellowfin can also be found congregating with dead marine mammals, driftwood, and patches of seagrass.

Fish from small schools build strong social-geographic bonds that last many generations. These bonds may result from kin recognition systems and general schoolfidelity. General school fidelity occurs before the larval groups disperse and preserves most of the broodmates. The presence of small yellowfin releasing FADs together with skipjack tuna indicates that species differentiation can be overridden by individual size.

Larger species of yellowfin tuna often form schools with dolphins. Some species of yellowfin tuna are larger and live near oil rigs. Tuna spawning near oil rigs. They make their fins fold into indentations in the waters to allow them to swim faster and more easily. These fish are extremely common in oceans and they account for the majority of canned fish in the U.S. Yellowfin Tuna are among the most popular fish worldwide.

These species are usually found far offshore, but they can be seen occasionally near shore. They eat baitfish found on islands in the middle of the ocean. Under certain conditions, yellowfin tuna from the coast may travel to continental shelves. These fish could migrate between the open ocean and mid-ocean island, according to researchers. Because they can associate with drifting materials, it is important that yellowfin tuna be seen in their natural habitats.

Boats

Many types of fishing boat are used in North Carolina to fish for yellowfin. Charter fishing boats with large sea hulls are king of the game. To catch these fish, boat captains use artificial lures as well as ballyhoo/seawitch-rigs. Planer rigs work well to catch tuna. You can catch tuna fresher than canned tuna so if your next fishing expedition involves a boat trip, you should consider a sea-hulled vessel.

Yellowfins can be found in North Carolina waters and are easily accessible by experienced anglers using a Harris sportfisherman 24-foot. Charterboats have the ability to reach the Gulf Stream, which is a crucial area for catching tuna. Do-it yourself anglers can reach Gulf Stream on calm summer day using a fast boat or a smaller vessel and catch tuna after a few hours.

Offshore fishing enthusiasts will find the mid-season yellowfin to be particularly rewarding. These tuna might settle into a pattern after several weeks, and may respond to repeated chunking. These fish might become regular visitors on fishing boats to the congregated area. Offshore fishermen enjoy the challenge and excitement of trolling for yellowfin. They also love the unique fighting style of yellowfin.

Hatteras Island and the Inlet are two of the most sought-after spots for yellowfin Tuna in North Carolina. These are the areas where boat captains will use topwater plugs and ballyhoo to troll, dangle kite baits and jig vertically. These waters attract bigeyes tuna only once a decade.

NMFC's management of yellowfin tuna

IOTC and NMFC's joint management plan for yellowfin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean are based on the premise that production of the species is concentrated in waters off the Gulf of Guinea, a tuna nursery adjacent to west-central Africa, where a large purse-seine fishery exists. These purse-seine fisheries target small tunas associated with fish-attracting devices.

The Indian Ocean's yellowfin Tuna stock is severely overfished and the number of catches continues to rise. Scientists are warning that the fishery may collapse within five to ten years. Numerous prominent food retailers called for immediate action to save the yellowfin fisheries in the Indian Ocean. South Africa, Kenya, Maldives, and the EU have all proposed a new interim management strategy to help the population recover.

Since 1989, when the United Nations Environmental Program identified DGN as a source of marine mammals bycatch, the DGN fishery was under constant scrutiny. As a result, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission uses an observer system to monitor the fishing business. The data collected from the observer program and other sources, including commercial fishing companies and local government, is entered into the Pacific Fisheries Information Network (PSMFC), administered by the U.S. government. It is shared with the member agencies and individuals.

Monitoring the yellowfin tuna population can be done using both internal and satellite tags. LDWF as well as the NMFC have used the satellite tags to monitor the Gulf of Mexico population of yellowfins tuna. Satellite tags were used to monitor the tuna's life cycles. Despite recent increases in satellite tags, some tags were retained in fish for longer than three years.

FAQ

Is it safe and legal to eat fish caught from another source?

Always ask your seller where you bought your fish. You can eat fish that has not expired if they have no expiration dates. If the fish smells or looks bad, you should not eat it.

How long is the best fishing rod?

The type of fish you are trying to catch will determine the length of your fishing rod. If you're going for smallmouth bass, a 6'6" rod would be ideal. A 7'5" rod is better for largemouth bass fishing.

What happens to me if I'm caught fishing illegally?

You could face penalties, jail time, or even losing your fishing license. Before you start fishing, it is important to be familiar with the rules.

Statistics

It is estimated there are at least 2 million people who go fishing in California each year. (californiayachtsales.com)
For most freshwater species you are most likely to target when first starting out, a reel size of 20 to 30 should be more than enough! (strikeandcatch.com)
You likely have a fish hooked if the bobber moves erratically for over 5 seconds. (tailoredtackle.com)
Coarse fishing is 100% catch and release these days. (linesonthewater.anglingtrust.net)