Scott Gray takes a look at the rise of Victoria’s bluefin tuna fishery and shares some top tips to ensure you get amongst the action this tuna season.
This year marks a decade since that run of solid bluefin tuna off Portland in south western Victoria where anglers flocked to the state’s southwest during the autumn months with the hope of landing a ‘barrel’ tuna. At the time this appeared to be a once in a lifetime experience for Victorian anglers, but now the bluefin tuna run has seemingly developed into one of the state’s most popular fisheries with the recreational catch in Victoria being around 300 tonnes annually.
It’s not about the ‘season’ anymore either as over the past decade the fishery has developed significantly and talk of tuna season has become a very broad generalisation. Ten years ago the run of juvenile school sized bluefin tuna usually began in early autumn and ran through until July as the harshness of winter weather set in, but now, for at least the past three years, there has continually been school fish available to anglers on a year round basis.
It is not uncommon to now see tuna in Victorian waters all year round and there hasn’t been a month of the year where school fish haven’t been caught or seen, particularly on the southwest coast. In the state’s southwest it has become common to catch tuna and yellowtail kingfish together in the summer months, sometimes mixed up in the same schools in water over 20°C, which is getting pretty warm for a southern bluefin tuna.
A double hook up on school sized bluefin. At this size they are great fun on light tackle either casting or trolling.
Many of the ‘old timers’ I have spoken to have recounted stories of how they used to catch kingfish and tuna at the same time in the summer months back in the late ’70s and early ’80s and a few years ago this was hard to believe, but now I can see exactly what they were talking about. Last year anglers fishing in Warrnambool harbour caught bluefin tuna in three metres of water just cruising off the beach. Once upon a time you would have headed to the continental shelf for results, whereas now you can venture fewer than several kilometres offshore.
One of the increases in the abundance of tuna inshore throughout the year can likely be attributed to the proliferation of juvenile fish as the fishery continues to recover from overfishing in the 1980s. The current strict commercial management of this fishery is part of an international consortium of countries which, for now, appears to be working effectively. While this is a very good sign, it is important to note that the fishery is still classified as overfished commercially with adult biomass of fish estimated to be around 10% of the mid 1980s levels. The fishery is continuing to recover though so hopefully things can only get better.
Certainly the juvenile fish appear to be most abundant in the autumn and winter months, but last year’s run of barrel tuna from late August to October was the best that the state has ever seen with fish to over 150 kg landed over a couple of months, and not just in the state’s southwest. This came at the end of yet another excellent run of school sized fish lasting several months.
These fish made their way well east of Apollo Bay, spreading out throughout central Bass Strait, eventually being caught as Far East as the waters off Phillip Island. This gave central zone anglers the opportunity to target large fish close to the entrance of Port Phillip Bay. This run of fish also came with an abundance of bait and clear blue water.
It’s not just Victoria that has seen the resurgence of the fishery either. South Australia also had the best run of large barrel tuna last season which were caught during the same period all the way from the SA/VIC border to Beachport further north. Tasmania has seen good runs of school fish early this year and the seasons just appear to be getting longer and longer.
It is yet to be determined whether this can be associated with normal cyclic seasonal weather events, climate change, more people fishing, or the proliferation of the species; however, one thing we can be sure of is the fact that it’s very exciting for recreational anglers to have access to one of the best tuna fisheries in the world right on their doorstep. There aren’t many places across the globe where you can target 100 kg-plus tuna out of a 5 m trailer boat, often only 10 km from the coast.
With the diversity of habitats and the varied diet of the fish and the changing ocean conditions, there are a number of techniques you can use to target bluefin tuna.
It used to be unusual to find tuna in shallow water in the summer months. Here is a screenshot of plenty of tuna from Portland’s north shore in January 2016 in just 16m of water with a water temperature of over 18 degrees.
TECHNIQUES
Trolling is the most popular technique, and enables anglers to cover large expanses of water. It is very practical when the ocean conditions are rough and enables anglers to run multiple rods at one time. It is also a suitable technique for school and barrel bluefin tuna from inshore waters to the continental shelf.
A 10 to 15 kg line class is a good selection for school fish, but sometimes it’s difficult to choose the best line class to fish. Both 24 kg and 37 kg outfits aren’t very sporting when chasing school fish, but there is always the chance of a large fish turning up at any time and you can bet that it will be on your lightest outfit!
Last year there were some magnificent fish caught on the 15 kg line class, with records broken, however, if you are serious about your ‘barrel’ tuna fishing then 24 and 37 kg outfits are preferred. These heavier outfits allow angler to get the fish in as quickly as possible, particularly if releasing them in on the cards. Combinations of skirted and diving lures are preferred to cover all bases.
Surface fishing with stickbaits, poppers and soft plastics has risen in popularity over the past few seasons, particularly with the prevalence of inshore fish often seen feeding on the surface throughout the years. Often these fish become fixated on small baitfish and because of the boat traffic during the busier months they can become flighty, so casting provides a great way of targeting flighty fish that are otherwise hard to catch while trolling.
This is a very visual and exciting method and can be done with very light spin tackle which makes for explosive surface strikes and line ripping runs. Most 3000 to 4000 sized threadlines loaded with 15 kg braid are perfect for this style of fishing. You can fish lighter, but this can really draw out the fight time which isn’t good if you are planning to release the fish.
Personally, my favourite technique is chasing the inshore fish with stickbaits and poppers. Often you need to downsize your leader and gear to get a bite and even then it can still be a matter of persistence, but this is a very rewarding method of fishing. The best approach is to position the boat upwind of the fish and fire long casts into the feeding schools before watching the explosion as a fish eats the lure. Some of my favourite lures for this style of fishing include the Rapala X-Rap Long Cast minnows, Storm So-run sinking pencil minnows, metal slugs and small poppers.
Mitch Bertacchini at the tail of a ‘Barrel’ taken at Portland
The size of your lure is important and at times the fish will eat food items around 10 to 15 cm in length, but you may need to downsize to lures in the 6 to 8 cm size range. A 60 lb monofilament leader is a good all round selection, but if the fish are being shy you can downsize to 40 lb fluorocarbon quite comfortably.
Jigging has also become a popular technique in recent years and while larger knife style jigs work well offshore when the fish are deep and aren’t coming up to more conventional methods, microjigging has become popular for anglers fishing inshore.
Microjigging tackle is strong and light which means you don’t need to work up a sweat to get a bite and you can still comfortably land fish to over 20 kg, which is usually much larger than the fish you encounter in inshore waters. When the fish are holding deep, under bait balls, jigging is very effective. Usually the fish are feeding on small baitfish when they are inshore so 40 to 80 g jigs are ideal. I really enjoy using the slow-jigging ‘leaf style’ flutter jigs, such as the Storm Koika jigs and fish them on a 60 lb monofilament leader. They are easy to work which means you spend more time jigging and less time resting. Find the bait balls; mark the fish, and bombs away!
Here’s a few preferred methods, lure selections and techniques from other anglers to give help you get connected to a tuna this season!
Dan Hoey from Salty Dog charters with a barrel tuna caught only metres from Julia Percy Island in the state’s southwest. Larger ‘barrel’ tuna are also becoming more common in shallow water, sometimes even less than 30m deep, which provides unique opportunities to target these fish from smaller trailer boats.
Simon Rinaldi from Red Hot fishing charters with one of the many large tuna often encountered throughout the year off the southwest Victorian coast.
TIPS FROM THE PROFESSIONALS
Dan Hoey
Salty Dog Charters
www.facebook.com/saltydogcharters
http://www.saltydogcharters.com.au/
Location: Port Fairy, Portland
Method: Trolling
Line Class: 10 to 15 kg for the school fish, 24 kg for the barrel tuna
Leader: 100 lb preferred, as light as 60 lb on small skirts for school fish
Lures:
School tuna: Richter Jelly Baby, Black Magic Jetsetter
Barrel tuna: Bonze D-shackle lumo, Tuna Terrors
Mitch Bertacchini
Online Fishing Charters
www.onlinefishingcharters.com
www.facebook.com/onlinefishingcharters
Location: Portland
Method: Trolling, casting
Line Class: I generally run 24 kg outfits when chartering, 24 kg and 37 kg for the larger fish and switch down to 10 to 15 kg outfits when the fish are finicky
Leader: 100 lb for school fish, 150 lb for larger fish
Lures:
School tuna: Trolling lures – Pakula Uzi (illusion, blue cona), Revolver Squirts (clear crystal), X-Rap 20 (bonito, mackerel patterns), Samiki Pacemakers 140. Casting stickbaits – Sebille 114 stick shads, Tackle House Britt 145, Maria Duplex and soft plastics
Barrel tuna: Pakula Medium Sprocket in lumo, Pakula Mouse, Revolver Smokes, Meridian Demon no.3, Black Bart Tuna XXX blue/pink, Rapala X-Rap 30 in purple mackerel, Samiki Pacemakers 160, Black Magic African Warriors
Simon Rinaldi
Red Hot Charters (Portland Tuna and Port Phillip Bay snapper)
www.redhotfishingcharters.com.au
www.facebook.com/Red-Hot-Fishing-Charters-Portland-Tuna-Port-Phillip-Bay-Snapper
Location: Portland, Bermagui
Method: Trolling
Line class: 24 kg for general use when chartering, 24 kg and 37 kg for chasing the larger fish. Always be prepared to downsize if the fish are fickle
Leader: 80 lb for school fish, but up to 120 lb for ‘barrel’ tuna
Lures:
School tuna: Richter Soft Grassy (UV blue), Richter Dorado, Richter Junior Oscar (blue silver, chartreuse), Rapala X-Rap 30 LUU with a single 7/0 Jobu hook on the back
Barrel tuna: Richter Lumo Splash, Richter Junior Oscar (UV blue), Richter soft grassy (black), Rapala X-Rap 30 LUU
Lee Rayner
Fishing Fever, Fishing Edge TV
www.fishingfever.com.au
www.fishingedge.com.au
www.facebook.com/fishingedge
Location: Portland, Bermagui
Method: Trolling, casting, cubing
Line class: 15 kg for the school fish, 24 kg for the ‘barrel’ tuna. Prefers not to use 37 kg on the larger fish
Leader: 130 lb Black Magic tough trace. Lighter 50 to 60 lb for casting small stickbaits
Lures:
Southern Bluefin Tuna
in water
Tuna on Furuno Sounder
School tuna: Marlin Magic Big Dog, Black Bart Pelagic Breakfast in petro squid, Rapala X-Rap 20 & 30 bonito, SB. Also prefers darker colours including purple, blue and gold. Casting – Rapala X-Rap Long Cast 12 and 14 cm stickbaits and bibbed minnows, Storm So-run sinking pencil minnow 8 cm
Barrel tuna: Marlin Magic Baby Hardhead, Otto (short corner) and lumo on the rigger. JB Dingo in evil on the rigger
Scott Gray is located in south-west Victoria, but spends plenty of time chasing fish across Australia and the South Pacific. While he enjoys all forms of fishing you will often find him spinning for big brown trout in the region’s rivers and lakes or stickbaiting for kingfish or tuna along the coast. He has a rich background in fisheries science and education and is currently sponsored by Rapala VMC Australia, Garmin, Spotters and Richardson Marine’s ‘Seacruiser’ aluminium boats.
