Marine Fishing For Yellowtail

Marine fishing

Yellowtail Fishing

Yellowtail (seriola lalandi dorsalis) is a rugged member of the jack family and is a tough customers on rod and reel. There are two kind's of yellowtail; the California yellowtail and the southern emisfere yellowtail. An alltime records are 91#9oz for the California yellowtail and 114#10oz for the southern yellowtail. Found from central California south into tropical waters it has been a mainstay of the pacific deep sea fishery for many years. There are a number of ways to fish yellowtail, as with most fish. They will take a variety of baits and lures, with squid, sardine, mackerel and anchovy preferred. Jig fishing for yellowtail can be very productive and a lot of fun. To Yo-Yo jig you use a 4 to 12 ounce candy bar type jig. Drop the jig to the bottom witch is normally not deeper than 200 feet. When you hit the bottom lift the jig off the bottom 4or 5 feet several times followed by a fast retrieve all the way to the surface. Remember that no matter how fast you are cranking the yellowtail is much faster. When you are bit there is no mistaking it and when it happens do not set the hook just continue to reel, wait to set the hook until you are sure the yellowtail is swimming away from you,. Jig fishing allows you to fish with much heavier line than bait and 30 to 50 lb.test works well. When the yellowtail are feeding on or near the surface they sometimes will take surface iron. These are jigs usually not more than 4 ounces and retrieved at a much slower speed. The proffered bait when available is live squid and when the yellowtail are feeding on squid they may ignore all other baits. Fishing squid is fairly simple you will either tie your hook directly to the line or use a sliding sinker that is right down on the bait. The size of the weight will be dictated by conditions such as current and depth. Put the hook once through the pointed end of the squid, when fishing squid even smaller yellowtail will swallow a squid quickly so do not let them run far before setting the hook. When fishing sardine use the same rig only put your hook through the nose or on the bottom behind the vent. The bait tends to swim deeper when hooked on the bottom. Anchovy either hook through the nose or behind the gill in the bony collar. Anchovy are week swimmers so you will need to use smaller hooks and line; I prefer #4 hook and 12# test.Some of the the best baits for yellowtail when available are mackerel. When you are using mackerel you are able to use heavier line and larger hooks because mackerel are larger and stronger swimmers. With this bait you have to give the yellowtail more time to eat as this is a large bait. As with the sardines hook the bait through the nose or the bottom. You need to remember that wich ever way you fish for yellowtail always be aware of structure because you can be sure they will know its location. A lot of fish are lost behind some rocks. Hope this was useful for some of you. Please leave any comments or maybe you have something to add.
Myke Novak for Marine fishing