7/23 Tuna Grounds - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

pingpangdang · 07-24-2016, 07:15 PM

I'm sure many have seen robntays videos but if not here is a good one pulling up a 114# tuna on his driveless kayak unassisted. Here are the details:
-3 miles towed hit a mile from shore.
-60lb line his reels can hold 500yds
-Penn international 12t converted 2 speed by cal's on 6' penn 30-80# mariner on this catch.
-took a little under an hour.
-tiger shark circling around.

Tips: 200lb+ tuna be familiar on regulations on cutting them up prior to having to do it...and bring ice and the right storage. Towing a bleeding tuna miles out on a kayak is like flylining your kayak...your part of the bait now.
-Yak max cap. For this 114# it maxed out his yak with his other kills and load submerging his yak a noticeable amount.
-Club seems to work
-Strong gaff good grip...not that cheep gaff you bought from amazon for 10 dollars....this ain't no yellow.
-12-15 lbs drag strike is common for tuna in the 100lb+ range. This ain't no yellowtail or grouper. You don't have to worry about structure. Light drag will absorb the hit and lessen pulling a bigger hole. You also won't get towed as fast or far as with heavy drag. Tunas usually run horizontal for the initial runs. The lighter drag setting tires them out faster vs locked down. Think of it like pushing a sled at football practice...what makes you more tired being able to push a sled weighted that you can push for only 200 meters in a few minutes or pushing a brick wall for the same amount of time? The light drag setting will zap the Tunas cardio....150yards of line won't cut it...unless your pulling 30pounders. You can gauge the size of the tuna on the run....let him run this ain't no yellow it's ok. Lever up drag if you he is taking too much but be patient. It will seem like your going to be spooled but stay calm it's only been 5 seconds let him pull. He'll soon tire and slow after long allowable runs. Gain line now. He'll then go straight up and down. When you see deep color you'll notice a pattern with tuna. Slowly spiral them up kind of working them in a figure 8 pattern up. Thanks to the light drag and exhausting the fish you have a better shot at landing him...high drag and muscle f-ing them with heavy tackle will only tow you further and bring him up green increasing the chance of break offs at color and everything else....it's a kayak not a boat so a more fatigued fish is the way to go. Again low drag is important so have it work in your favor...there is no kelp, anchor lines, hard bottom to be concerned with...different tactics so throw those yellowtail tactics out the window....and this ain't no party boat where everyone is waiting on you.

I'm no expert but this worked for me catching tuna in the past so I'm sticking with it.

Here is the video:
https://youtu.be/fU8LbHtAYc8

Also check out aquahunters forums old posts for possible lessons learned from the hawaii boyz

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

07-24-2016, 07:15 PM	#7
pingpangdang Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 228	I'm sure many have seen robntays videos but if not here is a good one pulling up a 114# tuna on his driveless kayak unassisted. Here are the details: -3 miles towed hit a mile from shore. -60lb line his reels can hold 500yds -Penn international 12t converted 2 speed by cal's on 6' penn 30-80# mariner on this catch. -took a little under an hour. -tiger shark circling around. Tips: 200lb+ tuna be familiar on regulations on cutting them up prior to having to do it...and bring ice and the right storage. Towing a bleeding tuna miles out on a kayak is like flylining your kayak...your part of the bait now. -Yak max cap. For this 114# it maxed out his yak with his other kills and load submerging his yak a noticeable amount. -Club seems to work -Strong gaff good grip...not that cheep gaff you bought from amazon for 10 dollars....this ain't no yellow. -12-15 lbs drag strike is common for tuna in the 100lb+ range. This ain't no yellowtail or grouper. You don't have to worry about structure. Light drag will absorb the hit and lessen pulling a bigger hole. You also won't get towed as fast or far as with heavy drag. Tunas usually run horizontal for the initial runs. The lighter drag setting tires them out faster vs locked down. Think of it like pushing a sled at football practice...what makes you more tired being able to push a sled weighted that you can push for only 200 meters in a few minutes or pushing a brick wall for the same amount of time? The light drag setting will zap the Tunas cardio....150yards of line won't cut it...unless your pulling 30pounders. You can gauge the size of the tuna on the run....let him run this ain't no yellow it's ok. Lever up drag if you he is taking too much but be patient. It will seem like your going to be spooled but stay calm it's only been 5 seconds let him pull. He'll soon tire and slow after long allowable runs. Gain line now. He'll then go straight up and down. When you see deep color you'll notice a pattern with tuna. Slowly spiral them up kind of working them in a figure 8 pattern up. Thanks to the light drag and exhausting the fish you have a better shot at landing him...high drag and muscle f-ing them with heavy tackle will only tow you further and bring him up green increasing the chance of break offs at color and everything else....it's a kayak not a boat so a more fatigued fish is the way to go. Again low drag is important so have it work in your favor...there is no kelp, anchor lines, hard bottom to be concerned with...different tactics so throw those yellowtail tactics out the window....and this ain't no party boat where everyone is waiting on you. I'm no expert but this worked for me catching tuna in the past so I'm sticking with it. Here is the video: https://youtu.be/fU8LbHtAYc8 Also check out aquahunters forums old posts for possible lessons learned from the hawaii boyz Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk