Yellowfin depth/temp/distance

[fishmtb]

Hey guys,

Well we are taking the boat outside port stephens heads for it's maiden voyage this weekend. We will either fish the closer reefs for snapper or if our mate brings his boat too we will head to broughton. If the snapper are quiet, I was thinking of switching tactics and trying for a tuna (i hate doing this half way through the day, but sometimes if the bite isn't there, then the bites just not there)

So, yellowfin, can anyone answer a few basic questions for me without giving away there trade secrets. When cubing, do you drfit or anchor. How deep a water do you need to be in to find yellowfin? I just assumed you would have to go to the shelf 40km off shore which is too far for a maiden voyage. Any advice on what water temp to target for yellowfin?

If the yellows are too far out, we might just troll/cube for some bluefin in closer and try our luck. Can't wait till saturday, sure is going to be a good day.

Thanks in advance

Fishmtb

[Noelm]

OK, first off, drifting and cubing is by far the most productive, unless the Fish are close to shore and the depth is OK, the anchoring would be fine, to be successful you will need plenty of Pilchards (cubes) and you want to drop one over every 10 to 20 seconds (depending on drift) when you are putting out a bait, do not use very heavy leaders and swivels and stuff, if the Fish are being fussy (they usually are) then you will improve your chances with as light a trace as you feel comfortable with, I prefer 24KG main line and no trace at all, but some prefer a heavier trace, it is a personal thing. Feed out your line making sure it does not come tight and in doing so, move up out of the cube trail, it is quite hard work, and pretty boring when nothing is doing, but when you get a "bite" you will certainly know it, as soon as you get a hit, up the drag straight away and your on!!! (hopefully) There is a bit of a problem with line twist if you pull in your baits after a strip back, I usually yank the line a bit to try to make the bait fall off and not spin on the way back in, not too sure this is the right time of the year for you, but it can't hurt I guess, the next big Snapper caught cubing will not be the last!

[Noelm]

I forgot to add, the distance offshore is not so important, remember they are caught off the rocks at times, but the most productive areas are usually well out, away from the ever increasing hoards of Boats and noise.

[fishmtb]

OK, first off, drifting and cubing is by far the most productive, unless the Fish are close to shore and the depth is OK, the anchoring would be fine, to be successful you will need plenty of Pilchards (cubes) and you want to drop one over every 10 to 20 seconds (depending on drift) when you are putting out a bait, do not use very heavy leaders and swivels and stuff, if the Fish are being fussy (they usually are) then you will improve your chances with as light a trace as you feel comfortable with, I prefer 24KG main line and no trace at all, but some prefer a heavier trace, it is a personal thing. Feed out your line making sure it does not come tight and in doing so, move up out of the cube trail, it is quite hard work, and pretty boring when nothing is doing, but when you get a "bite" you will certainly know it, as soon as you get a hit, up the drag straight away and your on!!! (hopefully) There is a bit of a problem with line twist if you pull in your baits after a strip back, I usually yank the line a bit to try to make the bait fall off and not spin on the way back in, not too sure this is the right time of the year for you, but it can't hurt I guess, the next big Snapper caught cubing will not be the last!

Thanks for the info. So drifting is the go, not anchoring.

Apparenty there are tuna off port stephens at the moment but I've struggled to find any info on them on the net. i guess the best way is with a fishing line, not a keyboard.....

[Noelm]

drifting will cover more ground than anchoring, also pretty tricky to anchor at the shelf!!, if the Fish are there, try to find out where, the local tackle shop would probably be a good place to start, any info will be of benefit rather than just a blind start.

[coucho]

if your gunna though the anchour over out there make sure you have the loose end tied off its a deep hole.
have a look on google earth if you want to chase tuna look for canyons, mountains or other interesting formations on the shelf or ocean floor off the shelf. Drift around them. You do get yellow fin tuna in close but but they hang out wide most of the time. also look for where the water temperature changes. best of luck

[Jeremy]

join a local gamefishing club if you plan to do this regularly. You will get the good oil and find some mates to hook up with out there.

Jeremy