# Tuna question



## 2020boater (Mar 11, 2008)

Does anybody know if the yellowfin have been out at the ram powell in the last few days? we are thinking about making the run outon saturday.


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## Jetpowered (Feb 18, 2008)

They live there. The tuna migrate but there are thousands that live around each rig over 50 miles out year round 24/7/365. The ones in deep water. The problem with tuna is that they are like squid, they feed at night and live deep during the day for the most part. They are easy to hook, but difficult to reel in. You should try an overnighter trip with a group first time out. You will figure it out quick like. They eat diamond jigs at night near the rigs every night. Butterfly jigs work, but @ 25 bucks each ain't worth it. The tuna swirl between 150-200ft down (you will see them on your sounder) and will hit the diamond jig on the drop or the rise, but usually not both unless they are turned on. Some nights they won't eat, but may at another rig. If you find a rig that they are biting at, stay there and fish till you catch your fill. It is easy to catch 1000+ pounds of the things, but it becomes like work and do you really have enough friends to give that much tuna to? You get my point, fresh tuna is the finest thing from the sea, but you can easily over do it. Have fun and be ready to stay up all night!


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## Travis Gill (Oct 6, 2007)

Night fishing is for those who can't catch them during the day!


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## wanna be tuna slayer (Oct 4, 2007)

You can tell from my "name" that I may not know too much about tuna fishing. I am going to have to disagree with a few of those statements though. I try to research these fish to learn more about them but from what I have read about yellowfin aggregation around offshore FAD's I don't think they actually "live" there. And... I don't think they are always there. From what I have read they use the rigs almost as a place to congregate, and there happens to be a lot of bait around. I just don't think they necessarily live at any one rig. Maybe you could say a tuna spends its life moving between the "Gulf rigs." The time I have spent out there, I've found 2 situations when you don't catch them: they are there but not biting what you have to offer, or they are simply not there. They may be several miles off of it, where you can't see them on the sounder. As for it being easy to hook them... I don't agree with that! But, it may be easier for some people who actually know what they are doing, unlike me. I'm not trying to start an argument but I basically I don't think they live at a rig, and it is not always easy to "catch 1000 lbs" of the things!


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## Captain Woody Woods (Oct 2, 2007)

tuna are at the rigs 24/7/365. whether or not they're biting is a completely different story. the blackies are usually pretty consistent biters, especially at night; but those are puppy tunas and no fun unless on spinning tackle. tuna will often move off the rig during the day; as we have caught yellowfin within a several mile radius around a rig; but they typically will congregate back at the rig at night where the lights generally attract flying fish, hardtails, squid, and other bait which thus attracts the predators. i have found that an open water tuna bite such as off at the double nipple or squiggles, etc. tends to yield consistently larger tuna (140+ pound MAN fish) but it can often be like finding a needle in a haystack. most people don't know what they're doing when they see tuna busting in open water and will troll right thru the schools ultimately (often) driving the fish down. or sometimes, you just cant catch up to them. tuna are not a lethargic sloth-like fish like snappers or groupers. they are VERY fast, much faster than their seemingly fat bodies give them credit for. a tuna is also a ram-powered fish, (i think that's what it's called) meaning they constantly have to be moving to keep water rushing over their gills yielding oxygen. a well prepared fishing team will have about 9 different methods for catching yellowfin once being marked on the bottom finder; be it trolling, chunking, the kite, etc.


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## Tuna Man (Oct 2, 2007)

Tuna can swim as fast as 25MPH, maybe a little more and have to keep moving at the rate of about 2' per second to breathe, if I remember correctly.

I just read that Yellowfins can attain 50MPH by folding their fins back...thats hooking it:banghead:banghead


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## wanna be tuna slayer (Oct 4, 2007)

Blue Hoo,

You have no doubt caught more tuna than me, by a factor of probably 200, but...you say tuna are at the rigs 24/7/365... Do you mean "the rigs" or a specific rig. I know there are tuna at one of those rigs at any given moment but to say tuna are at Petronius 24/7/365, they are at the Marlin 24/7/365, Ram Powell, etc.? I just don't think they are. They are constantly moving around (and yes they are ram VENTILATORS not to be a smart ass)from one rig to another, possibly to open water for a while, etc. I have spent many hours circling some of those rigs when I am POSITIVE there are no tuna on the rig. Anyway, there is an awesome study that should be available within the next year on telemetry of yellowfin tuna around far offshore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico that will shed more light on the movements of these things.


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## HeartofDixie (Oct 3, 2007)

> *The Blue Hoo (6/14/2008)*most people don't know what they're doing when they see tuna busting in open water and will troll right thru the schools ultimately (often) driving the fish down. or sometimes, you just cant catch up to them.


Whats up Woody! Have you got your finger stichedback on yet...that sucks man.

What is the best tactic for getting 'open water' tuna to bite? Last year, some buddies and me had a school of yellowfin (large ones) busting the water at day break near the spur. We trolled through the school, and like you said...nothing. What is a better strategy?


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## the donkey (Jun 3, 2008)

> *The Blue Hoo (6/14/2008)*tuna are at the rigs 24/7/365. .


 if by "tuna are at the rigs 24/7/365" you mean that there "might possibly" be at least one bonita, one blackfin, and/or one straggler yellowfin (any others in the tuna family that i'm forgetting?) hanging around the rig, then you might be right. and blue hoo, i know you've seen no telling how many more fatty yellowfins stuck in the boat than i have. but, after 15 trips to the petronius/beer can/marlin, and only seeing yellowfins (either busting and/or on the sounder) maybe 3 times, I am a firm believer in the fact that those bastards don't hang around the same place for too long. if that bait isn't at the rig, those yellows sure as hell arent either...



if there is one single thing that i have learned about tuna fishing, in my admittedly short (2yr) career, it is that there is no guaranteed locale to find those bastards...


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## Captain Woody Woods (Oct 2, 2007)

> *wanna be tuna slayer (6/14/2008)*Blue Hoo,
> You have no doubt caught more tuna than me, by a factor of probably 200, but...you say tuna are at the rigs 24/7/365... Do you mean "the rigs" or a specific rig.


 between petronius and horn mountain and ram powell and marlin and nakika, etc. etc. etc. there are ALWAYS tuna from one to another.


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## Captain Woody Woods (Oct 2, 2007)

> *HeartofDixie (6/14/2008)*
> 
> 
> > *The Blue Hoo (6/14/2008)*most people don't know what they're doing when they see tuna busting in open water and will troll right thru the schools ultimately (often) driving the fish down. or sometimes, you just cant catch up to them.
> ...


Hell no my thumb is so jacked up dude. Surgery on Monday to repair it, hopefully just in time for ladies tournament. One of the more painful injuriesI have sustained. Really hinders me at work.I can't answer your question on public domain so hit me up on my cell or come see me at live bait and the wharf and i'll tell you everything you wanted to know about tuna.


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## Captain Woody Woods (Oct 2, 2007)

> *the donkey (6/14/2008)*
> 
> 
> > *The Blue Hoo (6/14/2008)*tuna are at the rigs 24/7/365. .
> ...


you nailed it on the head with the bait comment. it's just such a big combination of factors. bait, water conditions, salinity, clarity, temperature, etc. etc. makes for ideal waters for tuna. we have caught yellowfins in muddy water, green, blue, cloudy days, middle of a downpour, etc. but ya, your best bet is finding the bait. it is also a very wise move to check the stomach contents of the tuna you do land. i consider this one of the more exciting parts of running a cockpit because it really does give you an edge when you can "match the hatch." sometimes i'll find flying fish in the stomachs; other times it's these little 4 inch tinker mackerel. sometimes it's hardtails and sometimes it's these little 4-6" squids. you get bait on a rig and the blackies and usually yellerfins are gonna show up. when you got smaller tunas like blackies around, then the marlin are usually not far behind. we were out at an anonymous rig a couple weekends ago and while my dumbass was searching for lead to send a couple willing and able hardtails down to the 300 foot range where big tuna were showing up on our bottom machine, a rat blue starts crashin hardtails 15 feet from the transom. my boss starts hollering at me to get the lines out and screw the weights. we didnt get the bill but it was an awesome sight. middle of the night and a blue is free jumping right by the boat. we were probably less than 50 feet from the base of the rig.


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## flynurse (Oct 9, 2007)

i would love to go out and prove somebody wrong or right for that matter. would love to catch a tuna, whether yellow or black. looks like hella lot of fun


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## wanna be tuna slayer (Oct 4, 2007)

Blue Hoo,

I do agree that they are at one of the rigs! I thought you guys were saying go to this rig and you will find them 24/7/365!


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## gmblnfool (Jun 10, 2008)

What would be the closest rigs to run to for blackfin. Not necessarily specific rig but distance (from Dauphin Island). And would you have to fish at night.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

> *gmblnfool (6/15/2008)*What would be the closest rigs to run to for blackfin. Not necessarily specific rig but distance (from Dauphin Island). And would you have to fish at night.


There were blackfin at the MP-255A wed. night. This rig is approximately 55 miles from dauphin island.


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## gmblnfool (Jun 10, 2008)

Thanks


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## Captain Woody Woods (Oct 2, 2007)

255 will have them occasionally, as will the double yellow rig. but it seems petronius is crawling with them, and yes night tends to bring many of your best results. diamond jigs on 36" wire leader (wont lose as many to the sharks).


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