Kayak fishing - trolling for tuna

Fishing lures from kayaks is a perfect fit. Our quiet craft allow us to sneak around and find our quarry before presenting them with artificial offerings – all well before they even suspect there’s another predator hunting them down. 

Then, once hooked up, kayak anglers can give chase like no other vessel; light on the water we can easily stay in contact and track where no boat could hope to follow. In fact, being dragged amongst the stones and structure soon becomes an exciting part of the kayaking adventure.

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Kayak fishing - trolling for tuna
Another equally addictive aspect of working lures involves trolling from kayaks. Again, our lightweight, shallow-draft craft heighten the adventure, this time by allowing us to fish lighter gear. With so little hull in the water we’re easily towed, taking pressure off gear and allowing us to (hopefully) stay in close contact. This eliminates big bellies of line in the water, and in turn allows us to enjoy the challenges of lighter line classes. Fine lines also enhance lure performance by reducing the effects of line drag, so in addition to all the fun, we also achieve greater productivity. 

One of my favourite summertime kayak-trolling addictions is targeting albacore and skipjack. It’s amazing how this aspect of our sport has grown in the last 10 years, principally as a result of the excellent albacore fishery off Taranaki. Here the challenge is paddling off an open coast full of anticipation as the depth contours slip by, waiting for the scream of a ratchet on strike. Then, for the adventurous running a pattern of lures, there are the challenges of regular multiple hook-ups to add spice to the day.

As we move through autumn and into early winter, it is often surprising how long tuna will stick around, especially in the Far North. Doubtless Bay and Great Exhibition Bay can host excellent skipjack fishing, and several times I’ve enjoyed mixed-species double strikes of snapper on deep-divers and a fat rampaging skippy on the sub-surface lure.

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Targeting tuna

Kayak fishing - trolling for tuna
So, given the tuna will be with us for a while yet, let’s look at some of the anecdotal observations I have from the last several years targeting them from kayaks (this will also provide building blocks to work with when looking to target big snapper and trevally later in the year). The key point here is that while tuna can be less fussy than some species, a little attention to detail will deliver worthwhile results.

A great example occurred after meeting up with paddling buddy Milkey and heading off to the annual Tuna Hunt organized by the Taranaki Kayak Fishing Club. A one-day kayak-only event with a shotgun start from Ngamotu Beach inside the Port, the goal is simple: catch the biggest tuna. This year Milkey excelled in first place with a 10.5kg albacore, while I managed a 6.8kg specimen for second. Kevin Pilcher kept me honest with a 6.5kg albie snapping at my heels.

What was interesting with this event was listening to the radio chatter amongst the 19 anglers participating and hearing how much paddling some had before hooking up, and how many fish were dropped in the midst of battle. To put this into perspective, Milkey and I rarely drop tuna, even in multiple hook-ups. In addition we ended up cutting our hunt short as there was no room left in the Chill-Pods, despite releasing some of the catch.

Here are a few tips I’ve found have made a big difference when targeting albacore and skipjack. These have been tested by running multiple lures, swapping their positions behind the kayak, and swapping them between rods to cancel out as many variables as possible.

Lure colours

While the general rule is that almost any colour will work provided it’s bright and reflective, I’ve found tuna will often have a preference on any given day. Interestingly, it’s not always the most reflective that catches the better fish; I regularly get my best results from pale ‘ghost’ patterns or darker shades (especially purples or black fades), neither of which has the reflective flash and sparkle typically associated with tuna lures.

Kayak fishing - trolling for tuna
The key here is to try trolling two lures with quite different colours, making it easier to begin homing in on the flavour of the day. If I’m not catching fish, I also change lures every half an hour or so (not just colours, but sizes and styles, too – more on this later). At each stop I have a brief rest and a drink to stay hydrated, but also keep cycling through my lure selection until I find what’s working. So, if paddling with mates, coordinate your lure swaps to cover the spectrum on hand.

This year I do have one observation I’ll be pursuing further with other species as we change seasons: some of the StrikePro lures I’ve been running have been moulded in a UV-enhanced plastic. Basically this is an additive in the plastic that makes it glow an electric blue when in direct sunlight, brightening the lure and making it much more visible, appearing to be ‘lit up’.

The results I’ve had with this enhancement have been startling. During one session all five of the biggest albacore fell to UV-enhanced lure patterns. During the same session I ended up releasing several kingfish in the 1–1.2m class, all of which were taken on a bright UV StrikePro. This is something I’ll follow up, trialling suitable lures for kings, snapper and big Northland trevs as soon as possible.

Lure size

The change to bibbed lures for targeting albacore and skipjack has meant seriously readjusting some of my preconceptions. When trolling feathers, occy skirts, and saltwater flies from kayaks, I had my best success on smaller patterns up to around 60mm in length. While I’ve caught the same fish on bigger lures from larger and faster boats, I never enjoyed any success from kayaks. 

As a result, I initially focused my attention on bibbed lures up to around 70mm in length. It wasn’t until I started trolling for kings and other species while chasing tuna that I discovered they would eat much bigger lures. I now get many of my best tuna on 120–150mm lures, and have caught them on some as big as 200mm. Again, there can be a lot of day-to-day variation on what will be the preferred lure colour, size and style, so the key is to mix it up. 

Lure style – shallow or deep diver?

This is the third leg of the ‘mix it up’ message when swapping lures around. Again, I have to confess to strong preconceptions before discovering what actually works. Initially, all my bibbed lures for targeting albacore and skippies were shallow designs, rarely running deeper than 0.5m below the surface. However, trying to target kings has given me an education on tuna, and I’ve caught big examples on some of my deepest divers.

Kayak fishing - trolling for tuna
I’ve found deep divers are often the most productive style when there are bait balls in the water column. In these situations I’m often catching smaller tuna on the surface lures, and it’s the lures down near where all the action is that attract the biggest fish – makes sense really, and I gave myself a slap on the back of head for not realizing that!

Deep divers take a lot of effort to drag through the water. Unless particularly paddle fit, this makes them a better option for albacore. If using these lures to target skippies, I pay close attention to my GPS to ensure I’m maintaining enough speed. If necessary, I’ll swap them out for upwind runs, then put them back in the lure pattern when heading downwind, where I’m getting a good push from behind to make paddling easier.

A note on braid lines

I use braid when trolling from kayaks for two primary reasons. The first is that the finer diameter reduces drag, the reduced water pressure allowing lures to swim with a better action (particularly those that wiggle their heads) at more predictable depths. 

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The second reason is to make use of the lack of stretch to help with proper hook sets. Many tuna strikes – especially from albacore hooking up on the middle treble – seem to be as the fish slashes in from the side. Since we are travelling slower on kayaks, can’t really accelerate, and since the rod is in a holder (because we’re paddling), we need every advantage to get a secure hook-up. The lack of stretch in braid means we can use the impact of the tuna’s strike and the speed of its first run to dive those trebles home.


April - 2015 - Steve Tapp

New Zealand Fishing News Magazine.
Copyright: NZ Fishing Media Ltd.
Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited

 

 

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