Fly Fishing Yellowfin Tuna - The Catch, Facts, Flies, Rods & More

Yellowfin Tuna
Key Facts
The Search
Best Flies & Rods
Tides & Tips

Yellowfin Tuna on Fly

Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) are torpedo-shaped with a silver belly, inky-metallic blue back, and yellow sides. Both their dorsal fins and finlets are bright yellow. This fish species can be spotted in the (sub) tropical regions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

Anglers are spoilt to be able to catch yellowfin tuna throughout the year in the Indian Ocean and particularly around the Seychelles Islands. The yellowfin tuna is not an easy catch, known to be aggressive, with explosive runs far into the backing, only skilled anglers manage to land one!

KEY FACTS ABOUT YELLOWFIN TUNA

Yellowfin tuna Diet Carnivore
Yellowfin tuna Max Speed 50 km/h
Yellowfin tuna avg. Length 1.2 m
Yellowfin tuna Max Weight 180 kg
Yellowfin tuna Age 12-14 years

The Search For Yellowfin Tuna

Spotting a yellowfin can sometimes be difficult as they don’t like to play with their food. There will most probably be a boil on the teaser or a splash, and your guide will urge you, often in an elevated tone, to drop your fly. There are also times when you will see the obvious feeding frenzy with birds dipping into the water to pick up bait; a sight like this may also produce breaching fish, and that’s where you will want to make your shot.

BEST FLIES & RODS FOR YELLOWFIN TUNA

Now, when going up against a yellowfin tuna, you will want to have as much rod-bend as possible as they are notorious for sounding or swimming deep when hooked. Big flies and poppers are generally used when targeting tuna off-shore. Thus a heavier rod is also needed to turn over the fly and make a decent shot. A 12-weight rod is perfect for this task as it has enough bending capacity to not break and to ensure you have enough fun, whilst at the same time having enough stiffness to keep that fish in close proximity and away from any luring predators. That being said, if you were to commit to just fishing for yellowfin tuna on the fly, stepping up to the larger sizes like your 14-16 weight range, one could turn this fish around a bit quicker.

Here are 2 flies that will always be in our guides’ boxes when on the hunt for a yellowfin tuna.

Not Your Average Popper

This popper is tied on an 8/0 Gamakatsu hook and resembles most baitfish, but most importantly makes some noise when stripped through the water. Hook quality has a lot to do with the fly chosen for this job, as tuna fish are very quick to bend out or break poor-quality designs.
Tandem Tube Fly

A Tandem Tube Fly not bigger than 20 cm in length with lots of flash will work great. These flies work well because, like most others, they appeal to a fish’s carnal instinct, causing it not to think twice and eat. Flies that have a lot of flash seem to work well with enticing these fish.

Best Tides For Yellowfin Tuna

The best tides for targeting these beautiful saltwater fish would be on a spring pushing tide and an hour before the drop on a neap tide fishing right into the high tide. The main reason for this is because the areas where we fish for the tuna are more than likely affected by dirty water leaving the flats of nearby atolls, which in turn affects the visibility for these fish to feed.

Making The Catch

Now, if the yellowfin that you are trying to catch has come up on a teaser and your fly is in the water, then give it a couple of strips to try and create some disturbance. More often than not, these fish travel in a shoal, and there will be more fish around. Alternatively, if you’ve spotted your fish in a feeding frenzy, your guide will position you in the spot where, even if you think you’re casting in the wrong direction, those fish will circle back round to where your fly is. In both cases, constant contact with your line is a must, and we suggest popping your fly to create the most disturbance and strip setting once the fish has grabbed the fly. Absolutely no rod setting as this will pull the fly away from the fish.