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Welcome to the site and pretty much an entire other world of fishing. California tuna fishing actually kinda varies depending on what particular species you're after. Our main staple as far as tuna go, at least most years, is the albacore. These guys don't really fight very hard compared to other tunas, but they can go absolutely bite-anything-because-i-wanna-die stupid. Now, with the albacore come the bluefin tuna, the biggest of the three main species that are targeted in CA. They usually run with the albies but sit deeper or further away from the boat. These fish can go dumb also, but to me it seems like they are a lot more wary than the albies. Later in the season with warmer water temps off shore we catch yellowfin tuna.
As far as technique goes, it's really not all that hard. The tuna can usually be found in the summer months anywhere from 20 to 100 miles from San Diego, with the ocassional runs of yellowfin within just a couple miles of the beach, all depending on the year with changing water temps, currents, and bait movements. You mentioned feathers so I'm guessing you guys troll quite a bit in Florida. The same is true in Cali. You usually troll until a fish bites something in the spread and then start chumming live bait like there is no tomorrow. As far as trolling lure go, your usual feathers will work, jet heads, any of that kind of stuff in the zuchinni, Mexican flag, and purple and black colors. Rapalas in the CD-12 and CD-14 size can be the trick some days. Cedar plugs in the natural color can be absolutely deadly sometimes also. Some guys will cast out a swimbait like a Big Hammer or Fish Trap in a sardine or anchovy pattern rigged on a lead head on what is called "the slide." The slide is the time frame where the boat has been put out of gear but is still sliding forward because of the built up forward momentum. This can be a deadly technique. When the boat starts to drift, most people start fly lining live baits. Dropping down a heavy iron like a Salas 6x Jr. can often get you bigger fish or if you're fishing albacore you might get a bluefin using this technique. You can also throw a surface iron like a Tady 45 or Salas 7x doing what is called skip jigging, which is casting out the jig as far as possible and reeling it at a high speed to make it skip across the surface of the water, if the fish are really chewing. Other than trolling, the other technique for locating tuna is finding meter marks. The guy running the boat will find what he thinks is a decent meter mark of tuna and just put the boat out of gear and start a drift. This usually means a long soak with a live bait, sometimes with some weight, or dropping the heavy iron down and using the yo-yo technique. Other than that, you might end up looking for kelp paddies, floating pieces of the kelp forest that have drifted off shore. I'm sure you guys do plenty of paddy hopping in Florida for dorado and other stuff.
Aside from all of this, no matter what, pick the absolute liveliest, hottest, hardest to catch, green backed bait that you can find. No red marks, no missing scales, and no red noses. If you plan on fishing on one of the many awesome charter boats on our coast, make sure you are standing by the bait tank waiting for that jig strike. Being the first bait in the water can take your count from 1 or 2 fish per stop to 3 or 4 fish per stop.
Hope all of this helps. Get ready to have more fun fishing than you ever had. Jake
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