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Victoria’s west coast has been a destination where dreams are made, year after year. 100kg-plus southern bluefin tuna totally destroying anglers, nine-hour long battles and 80W Tiagras fully spooled in mere seconds are just some stories you here every year. There is no doubting that this is the drawcard to the west coast, and while the tuna fishery in Victoria is becoming healthier each season, these super beasts are becoming more in abundance, stretching from the far west coast to the edge of the east.

Southern bluefin tuna along Victoria’s rugged coast in the peak of the season are so prolific nowadays, they can be seen bubbling and busting the surface in huge schools not far off the shore.

Southern Bluefin Tuna are now a staple catch for anglers year round along the Victoria’s southern peninsula.

As recent as within the past year, the stocks of bluefin seem to be not slowing; in fact, when you have bluefin in the 130+kg range being hooked and landed just outside Port Phillip Bay Heads, you know that this fishery is just getting better and better.

Now, if I go back just over ten years ago when anglers were introduced to this fishery due to larger boats, bigger motors with better fuel capacity, it became a whole new and exciting species to target for recreational anglers.

This was mainly confined to the waters of Portland on Victoria’s west coast, and while the school of fish were huge, the size ranged 5-25kg for the majority and were mixed in the odd mahi mahi and albacore upwards of 20kg.

Then, as if someone flicked a switch, 100kg-plus bluefin were emptying Tiagra 80Ws running 37kg and for the brave to tackle them on lighter gear, 50Ws were coming back to shore totally stripped. Fast forward to today, and while the Portland fishery is still bountiful, it seems that within the past two or three years a spill-over of tuna is coming right up to Port Phillip Heads to Phillip Island and Western Port, around the coast to Cape Liptrap, past Wilsons Prom’ and then dissipate out into Bass Strait.

It has been amazing for trailer boat anglers to be able to access fish not far from a boat ramp, and so much so that anglers fishing in 4m tinnie’s and jet skis have also been able to target these fish.

What’s more exciting is being able to catch them on Melbourne’s backdoor in 3040m of water, where the days of being spooled are totally thrown out the window….

//THE SEASON

From as far back as I can remember, the southern bluefin fishery has been textbook in the months that the tuna show up. That said, more and more anglers heading wide for a deep drop at other times of the year and leisurely tossing a skirted lure off the side while heading out, have hooked and landed tuna in every month of the year.

Despite that being a common occurrence, we anglers do like the fishing to be easy; maybe this is to ensure that after all the costs of going out, you can almost be certain of coming back in with fish. Well, at least your chances are higher when fishing in the “peak” months.

Southern bluefin tuna are more prolific in the cooler months, and with that comes nasty ocean swells and currents. This leads us to fishing late April, May, June and July, which is when you’ll see most action. However, it is no not uncommon to be catching tuna from late December through to March in Melbourne before venturing west to targeting them.

Keep in mind, even throughout the April to July period tuna have been appearing from Torquay right across to Phillip Island and beyond. So, if you not one for travelling west, providing you get a few days of clear weather, working your home town waters can be just as productive.

//GETTING THE GEAR

There are no two ways around it — targeting bluefin requires the use of high-end gear. While the most common technique used is trolling hard-body and skirted lures, you never know what sized fish will take your offering, so it is always important that you are set up in case “the big one” decides to take the bait.

I am sure there isn’t anyone on the planet that would say “I only want to catch the small to medium ones”. The sole reason of putting a lure into the water is to hook a “beauty”, so it’s better to be set up to catch that big one rather than be telling the story about the one that got away.

Fishing rods ranging 15-24kg or 24-37kg with Tiagra, Talica, Penn International or Makaira in 30, 50 or 80 sizes are mainly used. Spin tackle is also effective, but the fight of a large fish can take a lot of time and potentially the fish will win if the fight is too drawn out.

Set

the spread and cover all bases using both skirted lures and diving hard bodies.

Braid is not as forgiving as mono, and even with an extra-long leader, longer fights put too much pressure on the hook, in turn causing the penetration hole to grow, which subsequently can cause the hook to pull. On smaller fish the battle can be more enjoyable on light spin tackle, but as I mentioned earlier, you never know the size of the fish that will take the lure.

A typical spin outfit typically consists of a jig rod in the PE 6-8 bracket with a Saltiga or Stella 18,000 - 20,000. This is about the minimum size and strength that you’d want to tangle tuna with. That is unless you’re experienced in tuna fishing and just want a more entertaining fight in which dropping back to a PE 2-4 rod with Twinpower or Stella 5000 and 50lb braid should make things interesting.

The ultimate spread for catching tuna consists of five assorted lures — two diving hard bodies such as Zerek Speed Donkies retro-fitted with either two single hooks, or just a single rear hook running 8m behind the boat in either side of the wake. With these we run two skirted lures in anything from 5” to 6” staggered 10m and 12m and then a shotgun lure running out from the roof-mounted rod holders at about 20m. This lure tends to be a 10” in lumo or a black/purple colour combination in my experience.

With that said, fish are fish, and while one day that could be crunching redbait, the next day they could be on pilchards or anchovies, or maybe even small squid. This is where being adaptable and having the ability to change lure colours and sizes can pay off. Many times throughout the season it is not uncommon to catch sizeable tuna on 3” skirts; in fact, even having one of these amongst the spread of larger lures can be a huge advantage.

The waters of Bass Strait are relatively shallow allowing anglers to fish lighter tackle than what they would along the shelf at Portland.

//TROLLING TACTICS

Before catching tuna you first need to find them. This can be by a recommendation from a friend with GPS marks to give you a rough location to begin, or just from a fishing report that you might have read “John caught a tuna on the 50m line”.

There is a good old saying “don’t follow sheep”, and while this is truthful in its meaning, following other boats is not always good practice, as the group of boats you might be heading towards could be just as new to the game as you, and you’ll be trolling an area potentially where the fish aren’t.

If you do have the heads up on a location, once there, deploy the spread and begin to work the area, always keeping an eye on the water’s surface for any bird activity or busting/jumping tuna.

Trolling speeds can differ, but in most cases it is best to stick to around seven knots, where you’ll find that the combination of different lures should all swim in conjunction with one another.

In working an area, refrain from just driving in one direction. Baitfish don’t do it, so make your lures move in a zig zag pattern. Then after a few kilometres, go back next to the line you just took and keep doing so until you find fish.

Sometimes locating fish can be a challenge, and if you should see another angler hook up, wait until they begin trolling again, then continue your driveline, slowly working in a similar direction until you get a hook-up. When you do, mark a waypoint on your GPS and then work that area, as you’ll continue to catch fish. Don’t get desperate and head over to the other boat, as that’s not fishing etiquette. Keep your line. If there is tuna 100m away, you’ll soon discover they are where you are too.

If you don’t, then just continue on your way, following a contour line or just head in the direction you originally were zig-zagging along the way to once again get a hook up. When you do, mark the position and work the area until you move off again.

//CARE FOR YOUR TUNA

Catching tuna is one thing, but eating them is another, and like all fish you catch as an angler, you want to make sure you’re getting the best from them. Spending potentially hundreds of dollars to go fishing, only to have your fish lay on the deck all day, is not going to make an enticing meal after breaking the fish down back at the ramp.

Depending on the lengths you want to go to, today anglers have so many options in keep their catch in pristine condition. Without complicating the issue, the easiest method is to despatch the fish within seconds of it coming on-board. This can be done by brain spiking on the top of the head in the soft spot between the eyes at a 45 degree angle. Just insert a spiking tool into the brain until the fish gives one last shudder. Then, with a sharp knife, just behind the pectoral fins, make a quick incision that slices through the arteries in the mid-line of the fish. If you like, from here you can take things even further by slicing the tail wrist in order to further bleed and also by coring the fish by cutting around the anus and gills to remove all the fish’s internals.

It’s moments like this that you must be patient and take your time, if that fish gets its head down, it could be all over.

Depending on how far you want to bleed/clean your fish, after all is done, it is vital that the fish be put into an ice slurry. If you do not have a “kill tank” large enough, a purpose-bought fish bag filled with ice and salt water will prevent further breakdown of the flesh, keeping it in prime eating quality.

Southern bluefin tuna are a staple in a Victorian anglers’ list of species to target, and if you haven’t caught one before, now is the time to do so.