Typically tropical tuna

DAVE LEWIS explains the tactics and tackle for offshore yellowfin tuna

Imagine hooking a passing jet ski and you'll start to get the picture - it's difficult to describe the sheer power of the first long, searing run of a fly hooked yellowfin tuna. Many of you will have caught bonefish on fly, and a fine and sporting fish the bonefish is, but in terms of speed, stamina and simple unadulterated power, comparing a tuna to a bonefish is akin to comparing a salmon to a roach! Just a few years ago the thought of fly fishing miles offshore in the inky blue waters of the tropics, casting a fly to powerful pelagic species would have been dismissed as nonsense by even experienced anglers. Today, however, it's difficult to think of a species of game fish that is not routinely targeted by fly fishers, including all nine species of billfish, the tunas along with other high-speed oceanic predators such as wahoo, dorado and, of course, sharks.I've fished for all of the above over many years and have successfully caught most of the billfish species, many of the tunas and sharks and pretty much all of the other usual species. But, despite a passionate interest in saltwater fly fishing that started around a decade ago, and a growing personal portfolio of saltwater game fish species caught on fly, it was only last year that I first carried a fly rod on a blue water trip. This was during one of my regular visits to a place I think of as the ultimate destination for European anglers looking for a taste of true big game fishing; the idyllic Swahili town of Malindi in Kenya. That day I was fishing aboard Neptune, one of the world famous Kingfisher fleet of boats. We set out to fish for sailfish on the fly, but that is a different story.

The technique
For those of you who don't know, the technique for catching sailfish on fly means hookless baits fished off rods are fished alongside artificial teasers, which are trolled through the water. This attracts or 'raises' a billfish, which is duped into thinking the commotion is caused by fleeing baitfish, flying fish for example.

When the excited predator attacks the hookless bait a crewman pulls it in and gradually draws the fish to within casting range, say 20-30ft behind the boat. At this point the angler calls for the boat to be thrown into neutral, which is the signal for the crewman to snatch the bait out of the water. If everything goes to plan the angler casts his fly a few feet to the side of the now enraged billfish, which turns and snatches it. The angler then attempts to set the hook in the corner of the fishes jaw by smartly stripping the line - at which point the fish generally runs and boy does a hooked sailfish run!

First on the fly
On this particular day off Malindi, there was an abundance of kawa kawa, or little tuna, and these were soon eagerly snapping at our teasers and baits. Eventually I could stand it no longer and rigged my second rod, an 8ft 6in 9-weight, with a green and white Deceiver tied on a 3/0 hook. The next time fish appeared in our spread I quickly stripped off some line, worked it back towards the fish and starting stripping the fly back towards the boat. Success was instantaneous, followed by a spirited fight during which well in excess of 100 yards of line was ripped from my reel. About ten minutes later a crewman hoisted aboard a plump 'football' sized fish, weighing about 8lb.

During the morning I caught several more kawa kawa using a similar technique, but it was during the afternoon that my tackle and I were given a more demanding work-out. Ahead of us an area of water about the size of a football pitch was being thrashed to foam and the air above was full of diving terns. Angus Paul, skipper of the Neptune, altered course towards the melee as I stood by with my 9wt. We had passed the area of greatest commotion when suddenly half a dozen big fish appeared in our wake, violently slashing and tearing at our teasers and baits. Once again I put my fly to work, and once again it was taken instantly.

This time I knew I was connected to a much more powerful fish and watched in fascination as first one hundred, then two hundred and finally over three hundred yards of backing melted from my spool, even against a stiff drag setting. I honestly thought, for the first time, I was going to get spooled on a fly outfit. Thankfully, eventually, the fish slowed then stopped, allowing me to start the now somewhat daunting task of recovering line and, hopefully, boating the fish.

After two or three shorter but equally powerful runs the fish sounded, which I now know is characteristic of tuna. I also now know that it is at this stage that your tackle, strength and skill are really put to the test, because the fish, still fighting powerfully, has to be physically lifted towards the surface. Quite clearly any inadequate knots, splices or other flaws in your tackle are very quickly exposed; indeed at this stage it is all too easy to smash your rod. That first yellowfin tuna weighed a tad over 20lb - during the remainder of the day I added four others, up to a rather respectable 30lb 12oz.

Since then I've fly fished for yellowfin tuna on numerous occasions, successfully taking fish up to 37lb 12oz, albeit on a 12-weight, which I concede is far more suited to this style of fishing than a 9-weight. With experience my confidence at hooking and fighting these formidable fish has grown, and following the advice of far more experienced salt water fly fishers, I have now honed my tackle and techniques to the where I now actually expect to land the fish!
I now know that it is essential to fish with the reel clutch set at pretty much the maximum the tippet will take. This helps ensure a solid hook up and that the fish is put under the maximum possible pressure during its initial runs. During this stage the rod should be more or less pointed directly at the fish so the reel takes the majority of the punishment.

When the fish sounds it will start to swim in circles beneath the boat. The trick then is to regain as much line as possible when the fish is on the inward leg of its circle, then hold on to as much as possible as it swims back out on the outward leg. Eventually the circumference of the circles reduces as you draw the fish closer to the boat.
During the final stage of the fight - be extremely careful - the fish may well try to dive under the boat and there is a high risk of snagging the propeller with your line, or, worse still, snapping your rod as it will be drawn in an acute angle beneath the water.
During the last stages of the fight it is a good idea to slacken the drag slightly so that if a fish does make a sudden dive for freedom, as it often will, it will not snap the rod. I recently smashed a very expensive 12-weight right at the end of a long fight when the gaffed fish was pulled towards the boat, and the additional strain on an already fully compressed rod proved too much; thank goodness for 'all breakages/no quibble guarantees! '

Locations
There are many species of tuna distributed throughout the oceans, though if its yellowfin youÕre after you'll do best by concentrating your efforts within the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

Kenya is an excellent destination for fly-rod size tuna and my own favourite dectination. That said, fish weighing upwards of 100lb are regularly caught there - suddenly that Thomas & Thomas 8ft 14-16-weight doesn't seem such a bad idea!

The Baja peninsula on the Pacific coast of Mexico is a highly productive venue, with plenty of boats used to catering specifically for the needs of fly-fishers.

Florida is a popular and potentially productive destination with good numbers of blackfin tuna usually on offer. Which is also the case throughout most of the the Caribbean.

Yellowfin tuna are also prolific throughout the South Pacific and in Southern Africa from Mozambique round to Cape Town.

Excerpt from an article which appeared in the October 2003 issue of Fly Fishing and Fly Tying. The full article features rods, reels, lines, backing, tippets and flies.