◈ Welcome back
CHAPTER ONE

The one that
bent the rod in half.

A yellowfin like this doesn't happen by accident. It happens because someone read the sounder for the temperature break, ran the boat to where the birds were working, and had thirty kilos of drag ready before the reel ever screamed.

41kg Yellowfin TunaPort Stephens Canyon, NSW5:15am · Glass-out, birds working bait
Where it starts
CHAPTER TWO

Know what
you're chasing.

Thunnus albacares

Hard-fighting, blue-water, and they don't sit still — you find yellowfin by finding the conditions, not the spot.

Best conditions
26°C isotherm, blue-to-green colour change
Time of day
Dawn through mid-morning
Structure
FADs, temperature breaks, current lines
THE WATERBLUE WATER
CHAPTER THREE

Learn the
technique.

Research becomes skill. This is where the fish stops being an idea and starts being something you know how to actually catch.

01
Troll the temp break, not the middle of nowhere. Work skirted lures along the colour change where bait actually stacks up.
02
When the birds work, kill the engine. A diving flock means tuna are balling bait at the surface — cast metal slices or poppers straight into the wash.
03
Set the drag light, then hang on. Around 30% of breaking strain — yellowfin run hard and deep on the first burst, and over-tightening on the strike snaps leaders instantly.
🎣 PE4–8 spin or 20–30lb overhead, 60–100lb fluoro leader — enough runway for the first dive
THE STRIKELINE TIGHT
CHAPTER FOUR

Pick your
water.

Same species, completely different water depending on where you go. Here's where the bite is best right now.

Port Douglas, QLD50% — FairCairns, QLD50% — FairCooktown, QLD50% — Fair
THE CANYONSPICK YOUR SPOT
CHAPTER FIVE

Get the
crew together.

A tuna morning needs a spotter as much as an angler — someone runs the boat and reads the sounder, someone else calls the birds.

Skipper's in, already checked the swell forecast. Deckie's in, sharpening every hook in the box. Still working out who's on burley duty.

THE RUNBEFORE DAWN
CHAPTER SIX

The days
before.

6
Days until the trip

Gear checked. Bags packed. The last few things that matter before you leave.

Overhead reel drag serviced, 50–80lb braid spooled — checked
Skirted lures and spare leader stocked — checked
Ice/kill bags sorted for the esky — pending
Crew confirmed on the weather window — pending
READY TO GOT-MINUS 6 DAYS
CHAPTER SEVEN

That was someone's trip.
Every part of it — the birds working, the drag screaming, the six-hour run to find the break — started the same way yours can.

How will you write chapter 2?

CHAPTER EIGHT

Your yellowfin
is still out there.

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