# Fish of the Month - Longtail Tuna



## paulo (Nov 1, 2007)

Longtail tuna are one of the most challenging fish to land in a kayak. They never give an inch from the explosive strike to the moment they break the surface and surrender. 
They are a recreational only species and there is no bag or size limit in Queensland. http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/fisheries/sp ... gtail-tuna
I find them extremely tasty, cooked or raw. One fish equals a whole lot of food.

Here is a link to a study done a few years back (courtesy of Paulsod) http://www.longtailtuna.com.au/Info.aspx.
Season begins around the end of Feb through until the end of June. Though you can catch a longtail anytime of the year if the conditions are right, they are thickest on the Sunshine Coast in April\May. 
Season is about to start in South East Queensland. Here's a few things I have learnt over the years of targeting them from the yak.

Rod, Reels, Line and Leader
IMO you need a 20lb (6-8kg) casting stick and a 30lb trolling stick. I carry additional casting rods when they are thick but two rods keeps things nice and simple when the brown comes to town cos your tangled in your second line with 15kgs of angry longtail on the end of the other line.
The 20lb outfit is a 3500-4000 reel (higher gear ratio the better), 20lb braid and 25-40lb leader. 7' rod to give you casting distance.(eg Daiwa Seagate Light 3500 on a Nitro Viper)
The 30lb outfit is a 4500\5000 reel, 30lb braid on a 10-15kg jig stick, 40lb leader. I find any stick heavier than 10-15kg starts to put more hurt on me than on the fish. The shorter jig stick makes the battle much easier and gives you a better situation for trolling two lures. (eg. Van Staal VM150 on a Daiwa Monster Mesh\ SHimano TCurve 200 jig stick.)

Hooks
Longtails will straighten light guage hooks.
Laser Pro 120s need their hooks upgraded.
Jigheads, I use 3/8oz to 1/2oz in 1/0 and 2/0 heavy duty hooks. I prefer the shorter hook so the rear end of the shad has the maximum amount of movement when jigged. Longtail dont snip at the tail similar to mackerel, tailor, etc but rather inhale the bait, turn and run. 
I have always used the Nitro Saltwater Pro range and in general the fish are hooked in the corner of the mouth. Whatever you use make sure they have a hefty guage hook. I stopped using some brands after deforming them. 








As you can see in the photo, spreading the gape of the TTs was the most common deformation. The SW Pro twisted. I even got one fish on the #1 size SW Pro when I used it by mistake.

Lures\Bait
Longtail will take a variety of baits, live baits, trolled lures, slugs, poppers and plastics.

They can be caught on slimies, yakas and even live pike.

Smaller hardbodies around the 100mm mark with a slim profile and upgraded hooks either trolled or just drifted out the back whilst casting, will entice strikes. Halco laser pro 120, smaller rapala xraps, predatek Spoonbills, etc. 
Floating means you dont have to worry about snagging it up when concentrating on casting or drifting, sinking means you will cover more of the water column when moving in non reefy areas. Both types work.

Smaller thin profile slugs around the 20-25g mark are the go if the predominate bait is white bait\anchovies. TT make one, Gillies and a few others. I find less than 20g is difficult to get any distance on a 20lb casting stick.

Plastics in the 3-4" range with a thick enough body to take a decent hook guage are the go. Again I have found the ones that match the white bait go the best. These are some that work.








Each of these paddletail plastics caught multiple fish. All drifted\trolled out the back. I used 1\0 hooks in the ZMans and 2\0 hooks in the Lucky Crafts.
Paddletails like ZMans went well drifted out the back








Flick baits and shad style plastics went best casting into boils








On days when the whitebait is thick and there are fewer fish, plastics close to the whitebait size and profile will prosper. Other offerings will be passed over with indifference. Why eat anything other than your favourite food when there is acres of it and not much competition.
On days when there is little bait and few fish they will take a wider range of plastics but still shied away from hardbodies.
On days when there is little bait and lots of fish they hit anything that moves.

Casting 
LTs will usually feed into the wind so try to position yourself in front of the moving boils with the fish coming towards you. If the fish are feeding all around you but sound whenever you get into range, conserve energy and sit still in the vicinity of the last boil if bait is still evident on the sounder. They will be back.

LTs will ball up the bait and work it to the surface. Once there, its a free for all with metre long fish leaving the water and charging six abreast, through the bait ball, along the top of the water column. If there is no current top water activity, look for birds circling without diving. As bird numbers increase and get lower to the water the boil is about to erupt on the surface. When a bird stops circling, hovers and changes posture to dive, this is the time to cast.

When casting small metals\slugs, you don't want them to have too long a look at it so aim to land it 5m in front of the boil in the direction they are feeding, close the bail arm as it hits the water and wind as fast as you can, simulating a bait fish fleeing the top of the boil. I generally stop slug casting if mac tuna are mixed in with the longies. Guaranteed the macs will hit a slug before a LT 9 times out of 10.

When using soft plastics, aim for the middle of the boil, count to three and jig, repeating this process four or five times before retrieving. In this scenario you are simulating an injured bait fish falling back through the bait ball.
Here's a video of sightcasting longtails.




See you on the water.


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

Man... you're beginning with the best!

Who's gonna top that?

Jimbo


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

Got to admit, Lazy... she certainly leaves him a bit in the shade,eh?

Onya Lynette!

Jimbo


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## paulsod (Dec 28, 2008)

The only thing I can add is, take a towel with you to put under the Tuna when you bleed it.
I only used a hand towel last time and there was bugger all blood in my Stealth afterwards.
A plastic bag to put the towel in afterwards would be handy as well.
You can wash the towel on the beach when you get back. :twisted: Only kidding, don't do that. :lol: :lol: 
Also why I am on the subject, DON'T gut your fish just off the beach, as I have seen someone do/does at Kings!
Cheers
Paul


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## Paulos (Nov 7, 2012)

Opinions on a lighter slug/plastic chucker combo that can be used for tuna? I've caught a few but all have been trolling on a heavy 6-10kg combo with 30lb mono.

I'd like to go lighter so it can be used for snapper, mack tuna and spots. I am prepared to be smoked on occasion to have more fun in general and am all about a screaming drag..

Will be fairly cheap for rod/reel/braid, maybe $300 max. Thinking of 3-6kg or 4-7kg 7ft rod like a Trion or Mexican Fire raider. Reels would be either 3000 Symetre or 3000 Daiwa lexa or 4000 Daiwa aird. 14lb braid.

Only concern is retrieve rate on the reels. the 4000 Daiwa's have 6.2.1 and 110cm per turn but i'm not sure this is needed?


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

See if you can find the original shimano stradic ci4 (the new one's the ci4+). Now that it's been superceded you should be able to get it cheap. Anything around $200 is a bargain. They are corrosion resistant being a carbon frame and have a nice quick retrieve rate which you definitely want when throwing slugs for pelagics. Should leave room in the budget for a raider, which makes a great spin stick. I like the 762 snapper model.


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## Paulos (Nov 7, 2012)

Ended up cheaping out. Went a 4-6kg shimano sonic rod for around $55 and a 4000 symetre for $135 along with some 15lb power pro. Should be a good compromise between snapper/macks/tuna. Rod has a short butt and felt good to use on the yak, even though its a cheapy. Cant justify expensive gear when its going to get dunked and chucked into a sandy hatch full of fish guts.


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## bigalex (Mar 16, 2008)

I picked up three LTs last year, and dropped three. The ones I dropped were the result of trying to over muscle the fish in the first 15 minutes - I got busted off each time. I found it helpful to look at my watch upon hookup and to wait 15 minutes before trying to get any substantial line back.
I use an 8kg stick. It does mean the fish plays "round and round the kayak" for 20 minutes, but i have found that I get a better hookup rate than my heavy rod, which I now don't take out. 
I learned the hard way two years ago not to chase the fish when they are finnicky. Instead drop your plastic down mid way in the water column and sit there as the fish will find you.


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

The one I just got at SWR took a live slimie on a 2 hook wire rig with a 40lb leader.
The stinger hook was deep in the mouth but the front hook was free so I presume he took the bait tail first.
Great fighting fish but when he did the circles my kayak spun until I was dizzy.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

bigalex said:


> I picked up three LTs last year, and dropped three. The ones I dropped were the result of trying to over muscle the fish in the first 15 minutes - I got busted off each time. I found it helpful to look at my watch upon hookup and to wait 15 minutes before trying to get any substantial line back.
> I use an 8kg stick. It does mean the fish plays "round and round the kayak" for 20 minutes, but i have found that I get a better hookup rate than my heavy rod, which I now don't take out.
> I learned the hard way two years ago not to chase the fish when they are finnicky. Instead drop your plastic down mid way in the water column and sit there as the fish will find you.


I'm surprised you dropped tuna Alex while trying to muscle them. Your line is not heavy enough if you are busting off, plus IMO your rod is too light. Also, "waiting 15 minutes before applying pressure", and having "the fish play 'round and round the kayak' for 20 minutes", is increasing your chance of a shark attack.



salticrak said:


> A light stick is all well and good but you have to lift the bastards head otherwise he can make you life a misery with his circle work. I use a shimano Terez 7'2'' medium heavy stick with a fast action. A shimano stradic 5000 with 20lbs braid and 40lbs black magic leader. This rig can be used for any yakfishing techniques we do up here on the sunshinecoast.


I go even heavier on the braid (30 - 50 lb), but Salti's leader is spot on. I also use 40 lb mono, which allows you to put massive pressure on a fish from the strike to a very short landing time (best is 8 minutes for a 12 kg).....no circles!  I learned from Sprocket to set the strike drag fairly high, as this seems to help both the hook-up rate and shorten the fight time, but be careful as this does destabilize the yak on the strike.

Salti's rod is a good one but I won't touch graphite because of the breakage risk. I started with Gold Ugly Sticks at 6' and 6 - 10 kg, but found the fish still told you what it was going to do. I upped to a 7'6" Bluewater Ugly stick 8 - 15 kg. The rod is unbreakable, and the gain in control is amazing. You can turn it anytime and lift it's head, and importantly, close to the yak, you can keep good control and stop it going under the yak, then lift it.

And as for this arsy bastard:


nezevic said:


> I am gunning for this season. I fully plan to get one on fly from the yak. Those circles are gunna kill me. It will be awesome.


Jon, why don't you use a sabiki rig on a 3 kg rod? :lol:


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

You should be able to break him with propulsion. Just concentrate on keeping the line across the top of his head and youll break him down.
I can't wait to see the report.


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## bigalex (Mar 16, 2008)

I confess that the 20lb leader is not heavy enough, but it can double as a snapper outfit if the tuna are elsewhere. Given the LTs don't play dirty, and with the exception of the shipping channel, and the sharks (both of which I encountered last year) lighter gear isn't too bad on balance.
Maybe I'll go back to taking my heavier stick out though.
See you all soon at Caloundra.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

bigalex said:


> I confess that the 20lb leader is not heavy enough, but it can double as a snapper outfit if the tuna are elsewhere. Given the LTs don't play dirty, and with the exception of the shipping channel, and the sharks (both of which I encountered last year) lighter gear isn't too bad on balance.
> Maybe I'll go back to taking my heavier stick out though.
> See you all soon at Caloundra.


Bring it on Alex. BTW, they are _not_ spooked by 40 lb mono to the jighead, nor 40 lb FC. Well not so far. Bring the heavy stick and leave it dangling.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

keza said:


> The one I just got at SWR took a live slimie on a 2 hook wire rig with a 40lb leader.
> The stinger hook was deep in the mouth but the front hook was free so I presume he took the bait tail first.
> Great fighting fish but when he did the circles my kayak spun until I was dizzy.


OMG, another dizzy kiwi!  

Are you coming up for the festive season Kerry? Just book a flight and you're on - you can even drive a Barrastealth/Stealthcuda. Accomodation can be arranged, no probs.


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

kayakone said:


> keza said:
> 
> 
> > The one I just got at SWR took a live slimie on a 2 hook wire rig with a 40lb leader.
> ...


I have chains on me until I earn some money unfortunately Trev.
Anywhere but Sydney is looking bloody good at the moment, the kings had shut down and now we have day after day of rain. I'm sure others need it more than us.


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