Newbie: Lure help for Tuna - I'm going insane. (Moreton bay)

[dyseac]

Hey guys,

Kinda new to fishing (and this forum lol), bought my first boat at the start of the year and since going out a few times the tuna boils have popped up right next to the boat(pretty sure its yellowfin?). First couple of times was in the winter then just Yesterday we were at Tangalooma wrecks and they popped up 3x.

I bought a dedicated rig for when this happens so I don't have to spend time swapping lures etc.. I've got a 6'11 Berkly 6-8kg graphite with 6500 penn spin reel. Anyway I have tried 2x different types of metal lures now and out of 10+ casts directly into the boils and spinning like mad I've had 0 takers.

The two lures I have tried are.

1. 40g gillies
128399.jpg
2. 65g surecatch
312522.jpg

Just wondering if I'm doing something wrong or if I should be using something in particular.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm desperate to catch one of these beasts especially when they just pop up out of no where

[mattooty]

My first thought is go smaller, MUCH smaller with your lure choice. As in down to 10-20g. Harder to cast but most likely closer to the size of bait they're feeding on. I'd say if they were there through winter that they'd be mac tuna or bonito however at this stage of the season it could be longtails or even school or spotty macs. Could you visibly see the fish jumping out of the water after the baitfish or did they just "slash" the surface?

There's a lot of info online about boat positioning, how to approach feeding schools and lure sizes/techniques. Mostly tuna will feed into the wind as a general rule (but they'll break the rule if you follow them, guaranteed) and often they're feeding on tiny whitebait.
Both the lures you're using are good lures, just probably need to be smaller and have a subtle approach. Sometimes vary the retrieve, not always a flat out retrieve, sometimes let it sink below the school and wind, sometimes wind from the wides in a stop/start, sometimes slow and other times just at warp speed.
They're a prick to chase because they will frustrate you 99 times out of 100. Goodluck though!

[lbger]

Also cast in front of the school, this can be hard to determine sometimes.. you need to have a fish spot your lure fleeing the scene, if you can imagine seeing a little baitfish charging into a school of tuna it just wouldn't look right. They are frustrating at times and other days they will eat anything.. But as Mat said get some smaller slugs, i like the 20g halco slices..

[fishychrissy]

As Mat and lbger said Mate they can be real difficult at the best of times
My slug favourites are the Spanyid variety, generally a Raider in about 20g. We used to spin for pelagics off the breakwall in Coffs and the 20g seemed the way to go on most occasions. Just gotta try and match the hatch, to work out what they're chasing in that instance.
Some days as the other guys will tell you, they will hit anything but on other days we had to resort to painting tiny barrel sinkers white, and having the one treble below them. Frigate Mackerel or "Friggin" Mackerel as they became known to us were the most temperamental little bastards.
Generally when you didn't know the school was there was when you were onto a good thing. It's when you can see them but they are just out of casting distance that is the frustrating part.
Guess the old adage of trying different lures, retrieves, depths and so on is the only way to really get a feel for what they are doing. Some days they were feeding about 5m deep and you had to let the lure almost hit the bottom to get a hit, and others, they'd hit it as it splashed down and sank through that first 1m of the water column.
If you hook up or don't, this has to be my favourite way of fishing, just waiting for that immediate feeling of running that lure into a brick wall.
Sure gets the ole ticker pumpin'

[davo]

Ron Moles trick is to use a much longer rod ( 3 metres ) and get a far longer cast. I tried it and nailed an absolute horse sized longtail. This mackerel season will be long rods only.

[dyseac]

Ok great, Thanks for the replies guys. I'll definitely get another smaller lure and perhaps try letting it sink a bit first before winding like crazy!

Cheers

[Triple]

Winding like crazy is too fast sometimes... And winding steady is too slow sometimes..


It can be sooo frustrating and so enjoyable all at once.

What reel / retrieve ratio you using?

[banshee]

About all I can add is never use wire for Tuna.

[Tangles]

You could also use a suitable small bait sized plastic on a jighead as well if they don't take the small slugs

[Jeremy]

Another couple of tips for lure casting for tuna - never use a snap swivel and keep your leader as light as possible. Moreton bay tuna can be very finicky. I use 10 or 20 g slugs in Moreton Bay, and to get a decent cast with such light lures, you need to keep your mainline and leader light also. Also, some days they just won't take a lure no matter what you do.

[Still_Dreamin]

A mate swears by duel adagio lures. yet to catch a tuna on one myself but they accounted for two spanish mac on the weekend and with no wire trace either just mono leader straight onto the lure

[SummerTrance]

Some good info here thanks guys.

I used to chase these buggers around the bay with no luck, so gave up and just chased fish I know I can catch. Might give it another crack over the holiday's.

15lb braid and 20lb flouro leader sound ok ?

[tunaticer]

Try to get to an unmolested school before the race and kill mob arrive in a flurry of lures and noise.

Longtails are not that hard to get onto if you are quiet......engine noise, stomping about on the deck in a hurry to get a lure out....wave slap on the hull all will send them down and sometimes shut them down.

Longtails are pretty predictable.....they hunt into the wind, they select a current line to work for schools of bait and they move quickly when hunting. What might look like one or two pods of them can be half a dozen schools each working thier way into the wind and popping up for attention when they bust some bait.Generally if you position a good 200m upwind from a pod that is working and stay upwind, they will usually cross your path.......watch your sounder as you can see when they have stayed down as they go past you.

I like metals from 40mm to 70mm long for longtails, 8lb braid and 12lb leader on a spin setup for longies.

[lampuki]

All the advice above should be considered.

Upwind, keep quiet etc. 20 - 40gm 8 - 12lbs. Being able to cast a long distance. Only other tip, dont be afraid to blind cast, if a gull is hovering a fixed distance, throw! The other thing, the height of the bird is usually an indication of the depth of the fish.

After fighting a long tail for + 3hours on 12 lbs on Sat arvo, and making absolutely no indent into him at all, i am increasing breaking strain of my slugging gear. It was an XL model. Just my opinion in case you are lucky enough to hook a large model. I may lose out on a few hooks up, but i am willing to do that given i have landed a few normal sized long tails and am chasing some more like the thing i lost. This thing looked like a dolphin! I have a greater appreciation for longtails intelligence and raw power. The way this fished used the current line to reoxygenate was impressive. Eventually, my daiwa crapped out and the drag siezed. In the end, i am not sure if it would have mattered. I got beaten, well and truly.

Hooked on a 40 gm raider. Best of luck.

[Tangles]

I use 20 lb mono straight through, no wire, only thing i do is tie with a surgeons knot about 4 to 6 inches of 40 to 60lb fluro to which i attach the lure.