Morning guys…
I’ve made mention in the past of an idea of how to target Yellowfin Tuna on Vertical Jigs here in the Cape.
As yet, unfortunately these ideas are pure speculation as they have yet to be tested… but as soon as the opportunity arises, they will hopefully be plumbing the depths…
Having had extensive discussions firstly with Miles and since a whole bunch with Hammertime, a few points were raised by these two, who thankfully and very generously shared a wealth of their knowledge and insight.
There has been very little/no evidence of Vertical Jiggers having success on Yellowfin in our waters. And one of the main reasons stated was that these fish are not feeding on actively shoaling baitfish in the Canyons, but rather have developed a Pavlovian response to the Longliner and Stern Trawler bycatch.
So these fish are feeding mainly on bycatch off these vessels during the day, and possibly at night on Squid which rise up from the depths.
Miles in particular made mention that of all the tuna he and his crew clean, all that is ever found in the bellies is bycatch and Squid. So this got me thinking that this could be part of the problem in getting the YFT to eat jigs.
A huge part of the success in Vertical Jigging is that these jigs, when worked properly, illicit a “Reaction Strike†from your target species. I don’t know any baitfish species that swims vertically in rapid jerks, so there most be something true in this idea.
But success does depend on getting your jig infront of the fish successfully, and something about the jig must illicit that response in them to attack/eat…
So as these Tuna may be feeding actively on Squid during the night, my thought was to put down jigs to fish holding at 40 – 60 metre depths that are being marked on the sounders during the day.
My thought too was to present them with a jig that has the look of a squid which would fall slower than a regular jig, but still hit the depths mark quickly, and with glow in the dark features too. From all the reports of Yellowfin on Jigs I have read, tuna generally prefer a slower moving jig with a fluttering action which often gets hit on the drop, so this is what I tried to do too… and hopefully draw some of those reaction strikes from the Tuna.
Here is what I came up with:
I added squid skirts to a few of my favourite jigs by cutting the tip off the squidie, then spraying the jig with a bit of Q8 Silicone Spray I slid the skirt down to fit snugly over the tail end of the jig. Then rig jig as normal.
Left to Right:
Zest Super Deep 300gram Jig
Generic Squid Skirt
Gamakatsu Tuned Jigging Hook #30
Kevlar Assist Cord – with “Anti Snoek†protective tubing ( Still needs Heat Shrinking to cover knot )
Jigstar Chain Solid ring
Owner Spilt Ring
Zest Cuttlefish 300gram Jig
Yamashita Glow Squid
Gamakatsu Tuned Jigging Hook #30 dressed with Small Yamashita Squid
Kevlar Assist Cord
Jigstar Chain Solid ring
Owner Spilt Ring
Surecatch 300gram Flatside Jig
Generic Squid Skirt
Gamakatsu Tuned Jigging Hook #35 ( Still needs Heat Shrinking to cover knot )
Kevlar Assist Cord
Jigstar Chain Solid ring
Owner Spilt Ring
Here is a pic showing the glow in the dark features of the Zest Cuttlefish with Yamashita Skirt.
All three jigs have strong Glow in the Dark properties.
So whats your thoughts guys? Miles? HT? Thing these might get the YFT moving onto the jigs?
Hopefully sometime in the next few months these can be put to test on some deep hanging YFT.
Nepps
I’ve made mention in the past of an idea of how to target Yellowfin Tuna on Vertical Jigs here in the Cape.
As yet, unfortunately these ideas are pure speculation as they have yet to be tested… but as soon as the opportunity arises, they will hopefully be plumbing the depths…
Having had extensive discussions firstly with Miles and since a whole bunch with Hammertime, a few points were raised by these two, who thankfully and very generously shared a wealth of their knowledge and insight.
There has been very little/no evidence of Vertical Jiggers having success on Yellowfin in our waters. And one of the main reasons stated was that these fish are not feeding on actively shoaling baitfish in the Canyons, but rather have developed a Pavlovian response to the Longliner and Stern Trawler bycatch.
So these fish are feeding mainly on bycatch off these vessels during the day, and possibly at night on Squid which rise up from the depths.
Miles in particular made mention that of all the tuna he and his crew clean, all that is ever found in the bellies is bycatch and Squid. So this got me thinking that this could be part of the problem in getting the YFT to eat jigs.
A huge part of the success in Vertical Jigging is that these jigs, when worked properly, illicit a “Reaction Strike†from your target species. I don’t know any baitfish species that swims vertically in rapid jerks, so there most be something true in this idea.
But success does depend on getting your jig infront of the fish successfully, and something about the jig must illicit that response in them to attack/eat…
So as these Tuna may be feeding actively on Squid during the night, my thought was to put down jigs to fish holding at 40 – 60 metre depths that are being marked on the sounders during the day.
My thought too was to present them with a jig that has the look of a squid which would fall slower than a regular jig, but still hit the depths mark quickly, and with glow in the dark features too. From all the reports of Yellowfin on Jigs I have read, tuna generally prefer a slower moving jig with a fluttering action which often gets hit on the drop, so this is what I tried to do too… and hopefully draw some of those reaction strikes from the Tuna.
Here is what I came up with:
I added squid skirts to a few of my favourite jigs by cutting the tip off the squidie, then spraying the jig with a bit of Q8 Silicone Spray I slid the skirt down to fit snugly over the tail end of the jig. Then rig jig as normal.
Left to Right:
Zest Super Deep 300gram Jig
Generic Squid Skirt
Gamakatsu Tuned Jigging Hook #30
Kevlar Assist Cord – with “Anti Snoek†protective tubing ( Still needs Heat Shrinking to cover knot )
Jigstar Chain Solid ring
Owner Spilt Ring
Zest Cuttlefish 300gram Jig
Yamashita Glow Squid
Gamakatsu Tuned Jigging Hook #30 dressed with Small Yamashita Squid
Kevlar Assist Cord
Jigstar Chain Solid ring
Owner Spilt Ring
Surecatch 300gram Flatside Jig
Generic Squid Skirt
Gamakatsu Tuned Jigging Hook #35 ( Still needs Heat Shrinking to cover knot )
Kevlar Assist Cord
Jigstar Chain Solid ring
Owner Spilt Ring
Here is a pic showing the glow in the dark features of the Zest Cuttlefish with Yamashita Skirt.
All three jigs have strong Glow in the Dark properties.
So whats your thoughts guys? Miles? HT? Thing these might get the YFT moving onto the jigs?
Hopefully sometime in the next few months these can be put to test on some deep hanging YFT.
Nepps
