Yellowfin Tuna

I'm not sure what it is about this game fish that drives people crazy, but "tuna fever" is not uncommon amongst many of the Godspeed faithful. Yellowfin can be found year round off of Hatteras, but water temperature has a great deal to do with the abundance of the species. Typically the spring and fall are our peak tuna seasons. It's during these cooler months that the fish seem to be "dumb and hungry".

When I was a teenager, we really didn't get going until the first of May, and we always caught plenty of tuna, but over the years, our fishing season has lengthened, and April has become our most popular month for yellowfin, in the spring. The typical pattern that I've noticed is that the tunas are smaller, but more abundant, early on, but as the season progresses; the fish tend to get larger. In the summer, we don't normally catch as many tunas, but the ones we catch are nice size. The average size of the fish we catch may vary from day to day, but our typical winter/early spring fish are usually 20-30 pounders. It's certainly not unusual to catch a forty or fifty pounder mixed in, or sometimes larger. It's also not unusual to catch a limit of yellowfin, which is three per person. As the spring wears on, 40 pounders are common, and an occasional 60-70 can be expected. I have caught a handful over 100, but it's not the norm.

As the water temperatures rise, the tunas don't necessarily disappear, but they tend to be more frustrating to get a bite out of. This, over the years, has forced us to switch from wire to monofilament leaders, and now from mono to fluorocarbon, which is supposed to be virtually invisible in the water. Some of the guys have even gone as far as fishing their baits from a kite, to take the leader out of the water completely.

Tunas usually travel in schools; often they can be spotted feeding on the surface, sometimes on flying fish, sometimes on minnows, in the grass. It's pretty exciting to see tunas "airing it out" when they feed. Multiple strikes from a school of tuna are common. As long as it's reasonably calm, we try to pull ten or eleven rods, hoping for a "cover up".

Tunas fight unlike any other fish, in that they usually stay deep. After the sudden explosion on the strike, you don't ever see one again until the mate grabs the leader. They are known for their extremely hard fight, which is one reason that they are so popular. Never count out the fall for good tuna action. October and November are usually great, and that leads right into the winter where you will usually find pretty good tuna action as well.

Cleaning a yellowfin is pretty simple. Once the skin has been pulled back, you will find a dark strip right down the middle. You make a cut on each side of the dark strip, and filet off what is on either side of it. This leaves you with four beautiful loins, and several options. The loins are easily cut in to steaks, which are boneless. Once steaked, you can prepare them any way that you enjoy seafood. My favorite, Italian dressing is a popular marinade, before grilling. Fried tuna is a hit at my house as well. Of course, everybody loves fresh tuna salad, just chunk up some of the meat, and boil until it's white all the way through. Cool it down and mix it however you like. Sometimes I take what's leftover from the grill and mix it up as salad. The Italian dressing gives it a little zip.

You are gonna have to see for yourself!

• Blue Marlin
• Bluefin Tuna
• Dolphin
• King Mackerel
• Sailfish
• Striped Bass
• Yellowfin Tuna
• Wahoo
• White Marlin