Yellowtail Fishing Tips Fishing for Yellowtail, wahoo,tuna, Anglers, anglers, fish, deer, hunt, Hunting, hunting, fishing, Fishing"

Yellowtail Fishing Tips

By Dave Braun?

Yellowtail are my favorite saltwater fish. They are fierce battler and make excellent meals. They take considerable angling skill to master . Once hooked Yellowtail will make many drag scorching runs and can test tackle to their limits. Angling tactics greatly vary with size, conditions and location.

I have many notable catches in my scrap book . My biggest "tail" just missed an I.F.G.A line class record . It was a 71 pound 8 oz. "toad" tail. It just missed the 80 pound line class record by 7 ounces. I have also won a yellowtail tournament and many Jackpots. One year I won 6 consecutive jackpots on sport boats that had between 20 and 50 anglers on each trip. I truly believe that 10 percent of the anglers catch 90 percent of the fish.

Long Range Fishing at Alijos Rocks

The summer months are the best time to jump on a 7 - 8 day trip out of San Diego. I t takes about a day and a half to get to "The Rocks". It has always paid off for me. It is absolutely my favorite place to fish for Yellowtail. Most all the records are set within sight of the three main guardians (Rocks) of yellowtail heaven. These three main rocks protrude out of the ocean like Obelisks collecting all the giant tails in the northern hemisphere.

On my best trip I limited out with the three biggest ones weighing : 71.5 , 59.7, 59.3 pounds and the rest averaged 25 pounds each. It takes a determined angler to keep up the pace and capitalize on every opportunity. Let me highlight some of my secrets.

Your tackle MUST be in top condition and you need to have a rod set-up for each different situation. Fresh line and drag washers are a MUST. Bring replacement drag washer sets and plenty of fresh line. I use Berkley Big Game and Maxima because they are durable and strong. For Yellowtail I always use black Gamakatsu heavy duty live bait hooks. They cost a bunch but they are the best. OWNER hooks are great too. Never skimp on hooks, line or drag washers they are the only thing keeping you connected with your trophy.

Minimum Requirements

25 pound light-Bait outfit: 7-8 ft rod
40 pound medium Bait/Jig outfit: 7-8 ft rod
60 pound heavy bait/ yo-yo outfit: 6 ft rod (roller guides)
80 pound trolling/dropper outfit: 5.5-6 ft rod

All Rods are one piece and of premium quality. I use Fenwick, Sabre, Calstar blanks. All Reels are conventional Penn, Shimano or Newell. I'll get to the details later on each outfit and how to use them.

Terminal tackle

GAMAKATSU black Live Bait H.D. hooks sizes 2,1/0,3/0,6/0,9/0
Assorted Split shot, rubber core, Slider sinkers
6 each, torpedo sinkers 4 oz. , 16 oz.
6 Salas 6X jr. blue/white, chrome, dorado color jigs
5 assorted size premium Mackerel rigs: Yo Zuri, Owner, Hayubusa brand
2 tuna feathers black/purple, Mexican flag
Rod belt and kidney harness
cutting pliers
trolling strap

The Game Plan While in Transit to the "ROCKS"

During the ride down you should be prepared and ready for action at all times. You will be trolling all day long on a rotation. Each group of anglers will take turns running their trolling outfits. Troll the dark colors early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Troll the brighter colors when the sun is bright. I always strap my trolling outfit to the rail in a horizontal position with the drag set to one third of the line rating and the clicker on. I suggest having your 40 pound jig stick rigged with a blue/white 6X jr. . This is used when ever a Hookup occurs as a drop back slider. Try and conserve your energy for when the action gets HOT. It is important to anticipate what is about to happen and have your strategy set. Sit down and relax and keep alert for any of the following.

Some one yelling "HOOKUP"
Change in boat direction
Change in boat speed
Floating Kelp Paddies
Birds working bait
Deck hands getting prepared

Observing these events will give you an advance notice of a possible opportunity. A change in boat direction could indicate that the Captain has found a kelp paddy or birds "Working". A change in boat speed could mean he spotted something on the fish finder or he is coming up on a kelp paddy. Kelp paddies are often fish magnets and if you spot one first let a deck hand or skipper know. Birds diving in the water means that predators are driving the bait to the surface. Deck hands jumping up on the bait tank means he might be getting ready to throw a chum line on a paddy or meter mark.

If you are trolling , stay with your rod, fight your fish. If someone else is hooked up, unclip your rod and watch the lines. Keep the feather in the water a few seconds while the boat glides to a stop. Reel up line when the boat stops or are instructed to do so.

If you are not trolling get your 40 pound jig stick and head to the stern immediately. You should drop the 6X jr. just off the stern while the boat is gliding to a stop. Don't cast it because the fish will be right behind the boat. You also don't want to get in a tangle or backlash at this critical time. Allow your jig to flutter back in free spool. You should be the first one in the water besides the trolling team. Most boats don't count any fish caught trolling in the jackpot. If you get one on "The slide" it does count and it usually is a bigger fish because you are fishing farther down in the water column. Once the boat stops and the jig starts to sink keep alert for a biter. When your jig has sunk 100 feet or so reel in the jig as fast as you can. This is where a high speed reel pays off. My favorite reel for this is a Newell 338 high speed model.

If you are coming up on a kelp paddy and you're not trolling then get tour jig stick and head to the bow. Keep an eye on the paddy as you approach it. If the skipper is going to stop on it he will slow down before he gets to it. If the boat slows down then cast the jig behind the kelp after it gets in range. Don't cast in front or you will get tangled in the kelp. It is important that you know the skipper is stopping before you cast. Some skippers like to troll around a paddy first or they might be just metering it. Don't get concerned if the Captain doesn't pay much attention to kelp paddies on the first day of a week long trip he may just want to get to where the action is.

If after three or four minutes during the stop you don't get bit then. Consider switching to a lighter bait outfit and soak a live bait. By know everyone will have gotten out of the galley or bunk and is fumbling around looking for their rods. The deck hands have put out the fresh baits in the hand wells and they have started chumming.

Alijos Rocks

Dropper loop fishing

While at the rocks there are may tactics that work well in the proper situation. Most of the time you will be fishing at anchor. Tides, Time of day, bird activity can give you a clue as to what will work the best. Keep a sharp eye on what other successful anglers are doing. An hour or two before dawn can be excellent on the dropper loop bottom fishing rig. You fish the bottom using your 80 pound rod with a 6/0 or 9/0 hook rigged in a dropper loop (I like the surgeon's knot better) with a 16 ounce torpedo sinker on the bottom. Your drag should be set heavy and you MUST pull hard quickly to keep from being cut off on the rocks. You are fishing the biggest mackerel you can find in the tank. Big bait means Big fish. Expect big fish at gray light. I like to hook the Mackerel by the back of the neck just under the tendons in front of the dorsal fin.

Heavy Bait fishing

If you have Big bait don't be afraid to use them at the rocks. I have found them to be the most important ammo for trophy sized yellows. They work best when fly lined on a 60 pound rod with a 6/0 - 9/0 hook in the mackerel's neck just in front of the dorsal fin. You MUST soak them for about a half hour way back in the chum slick. The bigger tails seem to be boat wary and all my biggest ones were caught with more than 100 yards of line out. While everyone else will be getting the smaller tails and tuna you will be targeting the Jackpot. I don't fish the heavy bait all the time only when I see birds hanging way back in the chum slick. I will usually fish heavy bait an hour after the sun is above the horizon.

Southern California Yellowtail

The strategy for fishing local yellowtail is dramatically different than on long range trips. Your main objective is just to get bit. There are usually more anglers on the boat and many more boats fishing the same area. There is not as much room to store all your long-range outfits. I bring three matched conventional bait outfits for 15 lb., 20-25 lb., 30-40 lb. line. If the trip is during the prime summer months I'll bring a trolling rod too.

The prime bait for tails locally is live squid. Either fly lined with a 3/0 Live bait hook (heavy duty) or with a half ounce sliding sinker is the best method. Hook the squid once about a hooks length back from the pointy end of the squid. On a one day trip I start fishing with 25 lb mono on an 8 ft. rod rated 15-40. I love my old Shimano TSM-III (speed master) conventional reels. I haven't seen any for sale for years, but I keep my eyes open for them at swap meets. If live squid is not available then the next choice would be a fly lined green backed sardine nose hooked with a 1/0 hook. If the bite is very picky then I will go down to 20 lb. line but rarely will I use 15 lb. unless I am targeting another type of fish or using pin head anchovies in open water. There are a few times when you can use the heavier tackle for the tails. It is important to use 40-60 lb. when fishing structure for the home guard yellows at the "Rigs", "Farnsworth" or any rocky structure. In the summer months when kelp patty hopping I always have a jig stick at hand with a heavy blue / white jig. My favorites are Salas 6X Jr., UFO , and Tady jigs.

My tackle box is filled with jigs of every type and color but if I had to pick one single jig to fish for yellowtail it would surely be a blue / white jig. The hooks I use are either Gamakatsu or Owner black live bait hooks (heavy duty). It's a good idea to have a few squid jigs. Sometimes anglers have to jig their own squid at night if it doesn't float under the lights. An assortment of sinkers are needed. Sometimes the bite is down deep and the current can be strong at times. You should have a few sizes of split shot around buck shot size. I don't like the kind of split shot with ears because it tends to get into more tangles. Rubber core sinkers from 3/4 oz. to 2 oz. are used when you are not sure if you need a sinker because they can easily be removed without cutting the line. Sliding egg sinkers are used when fishing live bait you should have an assortment from 1/4 oz. to 2 oz. Torpedo sinkers from 3 oz. to 16 oz are used for making bait and fishing the dropper loop.

I use various premium brands of line for different reasons but the most important thing to remember is to have fresh line tied to your spool at all times. You never know when that jackpot fish comes along, you don't ever want to hear "Zing-Pow" there goes my jackpot. That reminds me your reels should be in good working order too. Don't skimp on drags either, make sure your drags are smooth and set to about a third of line breaking strength. There are times to fish tighter and looser drags but I stick to about a third measured on a full spool. Remember that the drag increases when more line is out. This is because the spool diameter is getting smaller and there is more line resistance going through the water. Don't forget to loosen your drags when your done fishing. Some drag washers will adhere together if they are stored for a long time with the drags tight. Then the reel must be serviced and the stack of drag washers sometimes can be separated by dropping them on concrete floor.