My local waterway of Moreton Bay becomes home to a variety of tuna from the end of summer through until winter. These fish are fun to target as they are big and put up a great battle. They can also be extremely frustrating to chase, which makes it all the more rewarding when you do boat one! Generally, tuna will move in schools and work to concentrate the bait schools and push them to the surface. Once they have achieved this, they will start feeding and this often results in explosive hits and general carnage all round! Of course it can be very difficult to get near the fish and they are often very spooky and fussy (Hence the frustration!)
I have had a successful season this year and have found some important secrets to staying on the fish and giving yourself a chance of catching one. Finding bait is the number one factor to finding these fish. If there’s no bait for them to feed on, they can be very hard to find. Some days, you will spot the surface action and you won’t have much trouble finding the fish, but other days it can take a lot of searching and guessing where the fish may turn up.
If the fish aren’t busting up on the surface, I look to the sounder and search for bait. Quite often, a change of tide will bring them on and you will know exactly where that bait was sitting. Driving around the areas where you have previously seen tuna and other potential areas will also help you find those bait schools.
