South Australian Angler – June 2018

10’s were also devoured with unbridled
enthusiasm, especially in the Bonito
pattern. These were even closer to the
size of the bait the tuna were praying on.
As explained before, these lures were
only diving to a maximum of ten feet,
which meant that the little lures were
always using their seductive wriggle to
tempt fish, on or just below the surface.
These were my go-to lures on every
trip this year after that impressive
start, and they never failed to impress.
Similarly, the Zerek Speed Donkeys
also did quite well. They are also fairly

small and, with their narrow bib, can be

trolled up to 15 knots. We also caught a

few tuna on small skirts, especially in an

aquamarine colour and the old favourite

red and white.

As previously explained, the tuna this

year seemed to be very gun shy and a

little extra thought had to go into placing

your lures in the optimum position to

get smacked. It can be chaos at times,

especially in rougher conditions. This

entailed watching the schools intently,

noting their direction, speed and size,

and allowing us to present the lures

at the head of the school rather than

ploughing through them.

Working terns and gulls are the dead

give-away as to the locations of schools

as they hover, dive and plunge into the

water as hapless baitfish are forced to

the surface. This is not always the case

though at Victor Harbor, unlike places

like Port MacDonnell, and many fish are

taken while blind trolling. Tuna jumping

from the water, rippling baitfish schools

and an oily sheen on the surface also

reveal schools.

STEALTH FISHING

Another useful tactic we and many

other switched on fisho’s use when

the tuna are skittish is to position the

boat ahead of the mobile school, stop

the motor and allow the fish to swim to

you. This is stealth fishing at its finest

and can produce the most fun you will

ever have while tuna fishing as you cast

lures into the midst of the completely

unaware school.

This technique is particularly

effective on an actively feeding school,

as the fish are already hyped up and

zipping around at 60 kilometres an hour,

looking to chase down anything that

moves. Skinny hooked one on our last

trip that inhaled his 70gm Raider metal

before he even had the chance to flip

the bail arm over and begin his retrieve.

Instantaneous hook ups – it doesn’t get

any better than that!

With such keen eyesight, I swear

they must see lures flying through the

air, as I have had a Rapala Skitter Walk

snatched off the surface as soon as it

touched down! If the fish are going off,

most top-water lures will work in this

situation. Some of my favourites are the

Zerek Zappelin, Saltiga Dorado Slider

and Rapala X Rap Subwalks. It is such

a visually stimulating form of fishing; I

simply love it!

Sinking stickbaits are also dynamite

when cast into this explosive situation,

and provide the added advantage of

Sun-up usually signals the

first bites wide of Victor

Most bluefin were in the

12-16kg range this season

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