If you're going to be dragging a live baitfish down the side of a cliff, at least make sure you've packed your reel with some heavy duty components. This article is all about how to pick the right reel for tuna fishing.
Choose Right Fishing Reel For Yellowfin Tuna
My Crew and I were chasing yellowfin tuna off the coast of Western Australia recently when we hooked up with this big boy. We had to physically hold onto the rods as there was so much drag being applied by the tuna on the other end, which is why our technique was to drop down to around 40 or 50 feet and just hang on.
Every now and then he'd run hard for a little bit but usually he just stayed at mid depth, so we had to just put a constant pressure on him. Eventually he tired after about 3 or 4 hours and with a bit of teamwork we were able to get the fish close enough for one of us to jump in and grab it with a gaff.
Whilst going through the photos from this trip I noticed that my Abu Garcia 5000 was pretty knackered, and considering we were protecting the livebait from some pretty good size barra, it's no surprise.
Heavy Duty Drag & Durable Components
This is what you want to look at when considering which reel to buy for fishing for yellowfin tuna - heavy duty drag components that are designed to take a beating, and components that are going to hold up to a lot of use.
Baitrunners & Big Game Reels
When picking a reel, you're going to need a baitrunner or big game style set up with at least 40lbs drag capacity. You'll definitely tear any regular high speed baitcasting reels apart if you apply too much drag, which is definitely going to happen when fighting a tuna.
Another reason you want this style of reel is because you're not likely to be casting with it, and you need something that's going to hold up in the saltwater environment. Spinning reels are perfect for this type of work as they don't have any internal moving parts.
The best reels I've used are the Abu Garcia Vendetta, Daiwa Sealine MGL's, Shimano Stradic FK & Calcutta 400 for freshwater or open water fishing.
There are probably better big game reels out there - if you have any suggestions please leave them in the comments section at the bottom of this article.
Drag Systems & Drag Pressure
Another thing to look out for when considering which tuna fishing reel to buy is how you are going to change the drag pressure. I've found that it's pretty hard to do this being in a small boat with rod holders everywhere, so this is another reason why big game style reels are great - they are quick & easy to change.
One thing I always do though is set my drag pressure much lighter than what I'm actually dragging with the livebait, then bring it up gradually as the fish tires. Dragging heavier is much more effective in getting them to strike, but also makes it a hell of a lot harder on your arms - if you have a fight on your hands, I'd suggest using lighter drag pressure so that you can manage the fish a little bit better.
Leaders & Rigs
If you're fishing from a boat, use as big of leader as possible - around 240lb mono. If you're in shallower water where it's only around 10 feet deep, you may need to use wire to stop the tuna getting away with your livebait.
If you're chasing these fish in an ocean or in deeper water, there's no point in using wire leaders because they'll just get shredded by rocks and reef - I'd suggest around 220lb mono leader instead.
Lastly, I always like to keep a thicker length of leader at the tuna end so that if I miss a strike it doesn't go straight to the livebait and snag up.
You can set your leaders up really any way you like, but as far as I know there's no such thing as a "best rig for yellowfin tuna fishing" - just make sure you get a decent amount of hook exposed to get into that tuna's mouth.
Super Stick Baits - Tunakrill
Ok, so this is an article about best reels for yellowfin tuna, but I think it'd be silly not to mention the super stick bait tunakrill at this stage too. In my experience they are by far the best livebait you can use for tuna on any style of fishing setup.
They're tough as nails and keep their colour like no tomorrow, even if it's only a couple minutes before the tuna strikes and they go straight into the water - always worth that little bit extra when considering which brand to buy.
Now because tunakrill are so small, you can set them up with lighter drag pressure than normal. This means that the tuna get hooked better, and it also reduces the chances of them throwing it because they're not feeling any resistance at all.
As long as your drag is tight enough to hold them up on the surface for a bit while they pick at it, it's a pretty much a done deal. I'd recommend a minimum of 10lb mono when using tunakrill for tuna, but if you have the choice go with 20lb.
