Trolling for YFT vs Albacore

[Yutaka]

Stan, here's my two centavos on your original question.

Yellowfin are more structure oriented than Albies. When you're on the anchor at the Lupe, Alijos, or wherever, you will catch Yellow Fin Tuna but not Albies. Tuna on the porpoise are almost always Yellowfin.

So if it's Yellowfin you're looking for, look for the ponies, or a line of kelps, or anything that provides a reference point for them.

As for what to troll, your rig tends to not make much of a commotion, being a cat and all. So I'd go with a daisy chain, spreader rig, or even a bird. I also like dragging a Little Speedy to get more vibration going in the water. And those Bigeye love them speedy's too.

Bluefin rarely come up and hit trolled lures, partly because they travel down at 20 fathoms or more, typically. But also because their feeding habits differ from Yellowfin. The Blues tend to work together more and corral schools of bait fish. They will push the school to the surface and then go crashing thru them. While Yellow Fin Tuna also do this, from my experience, when you see a spot of foamers it's typically Bluefin. The spots of feeding Yellowfin I've seen tend not to be as coordinated, and don't last as long, unless they are feeding amongst the porpoise.

Of course, I could be totally wrong, and full of shit. Take it or leave it.

[Fishin Fool74]

When trolling for Big Eye I've always heard that the jigs should be trolled real close to the boat. Bigeye will come right up into the Prop wash.

[Aleta]

If there is anything of decent size, especially Yellow Fin Tuna, around I always run a stinger - same lure whether i'm up here or down south. Just in the past six months the same lure has caught as follows - blue marlin, striped marlin, sailfish, dodo, Yellow Fin Tuna, albie, yellowtail. In the past its actually caught a couple of smaller bluefin too.

It's a Melton 9" medium hollowpoint jet in black/purple w/ single hook. I've lost a couple of them to various fish and the next one runs as good as the previous. Draw backs - expensive ($32+) and they work best trolled faster 8kts+. The stinger is not as good to get bait stops going because the hooked fish is a ways back, tougher to draw the shool in.

[Papa "J"]

Everyone has great info....but the key to catching fish is EXPERIMENT!!!!!

How many time have you changed rigs, slowed to 5-6 kts or gone up to 9+ kts....it all depends on the day...find something that works & stick with it as long as you can...