World Class Tuna Fishing off Victorian Coast
by Jarrod Day on 12 May 2011
Fresh out of the water, Southern Blue fin are a lot of fun. Jarrod Day
www.jarrodday.com
In Part one of this two part feature series, well known Victorian fishing writer Jarrod Day, provides the low down on time, place, rod and reels.
‘ Oh how the times have changed. For many years Victorian anglers skipped the border in search of busty tuna but in recent times, such highly prized fish are now an annual target in Victoria.
A short three and a half hours drive west of Melbourne’s CBD, anglers can experience tuna fishing at its best. In recent seasons, the fishery has gone from excellent to downright sensational and with the passing of each year it is seemingly getting better and better.
Portland in Victoria’s west is undoubtedly the tuna capital of the state providing anglers with easy access to the shelf for undoubtedly world class fishing.
The season begins just after summer as the water temperature begins to drop. By April to June it hovers around sixteen to seventeen degrees, the prime tuna temperature. Tuna can be caught from as early as February by those willing to put in the hours to get a few fish but for those wanting to wait until the peak times, then scheduling a week’s annual leave in April or May will see better catches coming in.
The average fish caught may fluctuate in weight but most of the tuna range in size from 12 to 30kg’s depending on the schools that have been trolled over. As mentioned earlier that Portland can deliver world class fishing, imagine seeing an acre of 100kg Southern Blue fin tuna busting the surface on bait balls. Though this may be hard to fathom, it is a normal occurrence for this section of the coast and while they may not show up at Portland, just 30 minutes back towards Melbourne at Port Fairy and further East at Apollo Bay they do.
These fish are totally in a league of their own and while many anglers are content with the school sized models, the die hards head out in droves to search for that true beast.
These larger models often appear for only a week or so at the most, so as soon as the latest reports begin flooding in, it is worth heading down immediately to get your chance at hooking the tuna of a life time.
Whether it is schoolies or barrels that are the target, trolling lures is the main and most successful technique. While there are many different trolling methods, often the simplest is the most effective.
Getting ready for battle
Fishing for tuna doesn’t always warrant the elite in fishing tackle, reels that support a high drag curve and can support holding up to 800 meters of adequate fishing line, you’re on the money.
Keeping in mind that a monster tuna is a high possibility, your tackle should be suited to being able to land one if hooked, even if by accident. Standard tuna tackle consists of a TLD 50 or Tiagra 50w depending on your budget along with rods from the Wilson Texalium range or if on a tight budget, Shimano Backbone or Tiagra.
In today’s modern era, many anglers are turning to spin tackle for their battles and with plenty of options available,
the fight from a tuna can be far more intense. In saying that, many of the low end spin reels may not have the drag strength or spool capacity to cope with a high speed run which will have many an angler looking to the mid to higher end quality reels. Shimano’s Stella 20,000 or 18,000 models are the elite and can easily knock over the standard tuna. Still, they have the drag pressure to put the hurt on the bigger models.
Although these 'higher quality' reels may have a deep spool, when spooled with monofilament they only hold about 300 meters of 50lb. In this instance, braided lines are chosen as the reels can hold up to 700 meters of 50lb or 300 meters of 80lb. Regardless of spin reel brand chosen, one thing to note is that spin reels even at this elite level aren’t designed for lengthy battle times. These reels have stronger drags even to that of a Tiagra 50w and due to this are designed to lock up on fish adding the maximum pressure possible to get them to the boat in a short amount of time. Doing this prevents fish from spooling anglers or busting them off on underwater reefs or bommies.
Tuna have quite a soft mouth and too much pressure will cause the hooks to tear out so adding the right amount of pressure is paramount causing the battle to take quite some time in most cases. In these instances, braided lines being constantly ripped from the reels spool will heat up when running over the rod guides and over a period of time may wear through. Not to say that catching a monster tuna on spin tackle is out of the question, because it is not; you just need to be aware that longevity of a battle with spin tackle could have reverse outcomes.
If a Stella is just out of the price range, mid range reels like the Saragosa and Spheros 18,000 models with an upgraded drag will suit the average fisho. For those with a little less budget, the new 'Dogtooth' that is about to hit the market has an extremely strong drag strength along with adequate spool capacity.
Spin reels are often mounted on jig rods being the equivalent to that of a short stroker and have no problem in tiring out a big brute. There are hundreds of brands available and those chosen should have a line rating of 80lb as a minimum. The reason being, you want as much butt strength in the rod as possible to be able to dead lift a tuna towards the boat. Once the fish is along side of the boat but down deep, they tend to pulsate in large circles. Often you’re only getting a wind on the reel at a time and any rod lacking in strength will cause excruciating pain on the angler and most often will be lost.
The ideal outfit suited to tune fishing is a Shimano Tiagra 30w or 50w mounted on an overhead rod with an equivalent line rating. It is detrimental that these reels are loaded with monofilament line which will benefit in the long run should a larger model tuna be hooked. IGFA monofilament lines support great breaking strains depending on their line strength. Mono also stretches unlike braid which is an added benefit when a tuna is being fought as the stretch will act like a shock absorber unlike the braid which will cause the hook to tear through the mouth of fish.
In Part 2 Jarrod will take you through the rationale of his Lure selection and Trolling tactics.
Jarrod Day is a co-host of the 97.7fm 3SER radio program 'The Fishing Show', He contributes a weekly fishing report on 3AW, Friday's @ 7.10pm and 3 MDR Wednesday morning’s.
He also writes regularly for Victorian Fishing Monthly, Go-Fishing, Saltwater Fishing Australia, Fishing Tips and Techniques, South East and West Fishing, TrailerBoat Fisherman, Bream, bass and Barra and NAFA.
He co-wrote 'The Western Port and Phillip Island Land Based Fishing Guide' and has re-written the updated version and 'The Western Port, Phillip Island and surrounding ocean beaches Land Based Fishing Guide along with editing 'The South Coast New South Wales Land Based Fishing Guide.
His website can be found at
www.jarrodday.com
Jarrod will be providing a story each week for FishingBoating-World.com
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