Catching the Bluefin: 7 Bluefin Fishing Tips

Bluefin fishing takes strength, endurance, and of course, patience, but there’s nothing quite like landing one of these amazing fish. We might even say it’s a truly natural thrill – bluefin tend to be fighters, either running like the devil and taking your line with them or doing a circular dance that makes them difficult to reel in. That being the case, bluefin fishing isn’t the easiest way for an angler to get his or her fishing fix, but the rewards are well worth the effort expended. With that in mind, here are 7 bluefin fishing tips to make your experience a little bit easier.

1. When you’re fishing for bluefin tuna in the summertime, you’ll have better luck fishing closer to the surface. That’s when these so-called warm-blooded fish are basking in the sun’s rays, right up near the air. In the winter, bluefin fishing gets more difficult, with the fish hunkering down in depths that make landing them difficult.

2. Bluefin tuna have great eyesight and are easily spooked. Sometimes a single strand wire trace will outperform a multi strand trace, just because it’s less visible and so less likely to scare off a tuna that is otherwise interested in the lure.

3. Pay attention to nature when you’re out there hunting for bluefin tuna. See a whole bunch of sea birds circling the water, skimming the surface? Go check out what’s got them all fired up. Where there are schools of baitfish, there may very well be bluefin tuna looking for a snack.

4. There are so many places to enjoy bluefin fishing, from Australia to the Atlantic coast of the U.S. As long as you’re not inland, there’s a chance that there are bluefin tuna right in your backyard, and that a charter boat captain can take you on an amazing bluefin fishing adventure.

5. Bluefin tuna are strictly regulated, so if you’re doing the fishing on your own, you need to have a permit that specifically allows you to engage in bluefin fishing. However, if you’re fishing as part of a charter excursion, your captain should have the necessary permits already in place. In either case, if you do not have a commercial license, you can keep, but not sell, your catch.

6. Fresh bait is where it’s at when it comes to bluefin fishing! Fresh bait will give you a definite advantage over artificial lures, but tuna more often than not prefer the real stuff. We recommend: squid, mackerel, herring, or skipjack.

7. Bluefin tuna don’t spend a lot of time near the coast, so the right way to approach bluefin fishing is offshore. Way offshore. The benefit – other than, of course, the fish being there – is that it’s easier to spot bluefin tuna activity in open waters.