Favourite Tuna Lures

Hi all,

What are the best lures for tuna between 10-20kg and the occasional bigger one when either casting or trolling? I've heard small metal lures when chasing bait schools and small skirts when trolling have had some good success. Anyone got anything to add?

Cheers


Posts: 478

Date Joined: 27/02/08

Have a look at the Bluewater

Tue, 2008-12-16 08:56

Have a look at the Bluewater F18's. They troll well and stay in the water at 10kn or so. We did well with them on the Southern Blues and bonito earlier this year.

WODF's picture

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Thnx Steve, yeah had a good

Tue, 2008-12-16 09:35

Thnx Steve, yeah had a good look at these. Were you using the smaller(160mm) or bigger ones(200mm)? Any specific colours?

 

"holy sh!t, did you see that?" haha 

Posts: 478

Date Joined: 27/02/08

I have the larger size and

Tue, 2008-12-16 10:03

I have the larger size and got most hits on the green and gold coloured one, Dorado is the colour name (Maybe). The other lure is in the red head which didn't seem to get hit as often.

Mick's picture

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Date Joined: 28/08/06

Williamsons & Richter

Tue, 2008-12-16 09:10

Hey WODF

Been using Williamsons ( got them with a subscription to Bluewater Mag) and they have been working extremely well here ( Kalbarri ) and also in Exxy. Also the one on the left is a Richter which has accounted for good size YFT in Perth as well. Twisties in 40 -50 g range work well on bait schools as well as the Raiders. Hope that helps.

Cheers Mick

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WODF's picture

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Cheers Mick, how big are

Tue, 2008-12-16 09:32

Cheers Mick, how big are they? what lb mono they rigged on?

 

"holy sh!t, did you see that?" haha 

Tony Halliday's picture

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Date Joined: 14/06/07

some of my fav's

Tue, 2008-12-16 09:54

these are mostly Ritcher lures, Ceda plugs and I use Halco deep divers.
I'm a firm believer in old fashion feather lures and trolling lead heads.

[img=http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/8307/tunastuffyx0.th.jpg]

[img=http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/6826/tunaspreadyh1.th.jpg]

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewstrikeprospplug.html
I'm a believer in these Cedar plugs and always have a few in my kure box!

Tony

Full-time piscatorial-idiot, in The Vines. "It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC) Greek poet.
Supporter of Meals on Reels & The Wally Weight

____________________________________________________________________________

Tony Halliday: ~Meals on Reels ~

 It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it

"It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC)

"In a mad world only the mad are sane." Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)

damo6230's picture

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tuna lures

Tue, 2008-12-16 09:49

always caught fish on Halco's; 190's mostly with DD best so far.

can always throw some SP into bait schools and wind like hell.

baitschool lures = match the hatch

Mick's picture

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Date Joined: 28/08/06

Thats a packet of rollie

Tue, 2008-12-16 10:11

Thats a packet of rollie papers on the left. They're all rigged on 150lb black magic

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If the lord did not mean for us to eat fish and game, he wouldn't have made them outta meat

The speed of light is faster than the speed of sound. That's why so many people appear bright...until they speak.

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Zukers

Tue, 2008-12-16 10:57

Zuker Colour Chart

 

Zukers for trolling are hard to go by.

Most other tuna feathers available these days are just clones of Zukers. 6" models are available locally but for the 8" lures suitable for good size YFT you may need to look offshore.

John

I head a little FURTHER NORTH each year, Leave the cities behind, out of sight of mind, .......

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uncle's picture

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zukers

Tue, 2008-12-16 15:09

very good for covering ground on the way to the fads etc,will hang in in 15 knots,the game fishos use them
Fast fish rule!

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all aggressive fish love bigjohnsjigs

Nealez's picture

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Macky Baits are the bomb, in

Tue, 2008-12-16 15:24

Macky Baits are the bomb, in the pink is my Fav. the halco max's go well too 

 

Tackle Dangler

WODF's picture

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Are they the Mac Baits from

Tue, 2008-12-16 15:27

Are they the Mac Baits from Lively Lures? Will get a couple, aswell as the Halco Max.

 

"holy sh!t, did you see that?" haha 

WODF's picture

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Rigging Skirts?

Tue, 2008-12-16 15:26

Thnx everyone

A little off topic but is it allright to rig skirts with wire? Will it effect the action or strike rate?

Cheers

 

"holy sh!t, did you see that?" haha 

Nealez's picture

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For tuna i wouldnt use it

Tue, 2008-12-16 15:33

For tuna i wouldnt use it depending where you fishing of course

 

Tackle Dangler

WODF's picture

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Was thinking of rigging the

Tue, 2008-12-16 16:08

Was thinking of rigging the 8" Richter Soft Grassy's with either 60 or 80lb wire due to the macks that are about and also the wahoo when heading out to the islands..? Less chance of losing them i would think.They tend to have a go at these lures eh?

 

"holy sh!t, did you see that?" haha 

SamC's picture

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Date Joined: 30/08/06

another vote for Zukers

Tue, 2008-12-16 17:23

the best tuna high speed skirt on the market.

Also when rigging you skirts mate, make sure you have the point of the hook well into the skirt as tuna and dolphinfish will attack head first.

Thats why you always get tuna on the front treble on divers...

Cheers,
Sam

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Cheers,

Sam

uncle's picture

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Date Joined: 10/02/07

xwraps

Tue, 2008-12-16 17:37

caught a few stripies and yellow tail kings of west end while looking for salmon
Fast fish rule!

____________________________________________________________________________

all aggressive fish love bigjohnsjigs

hlokk's picture

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I caught a tuna drifting a

Tue, 2008-12-16 22:45

I caught a tuna drifting a xrap once :p (was a 2 knot drift). Only a small blue, so no idea on bigger ones. I do have a zukers I want to try though (it may have even been Sam who sold me it :p)

 

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wrassinator's picture

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I hit em up @ Gnaraloo in

Tue, 2008-12-16 19:21

I hit em up @ Gnaraloo in June. Used some cheapo feather numbers with 80lb trace. The mack tuna and long tails loved em trolled round up to 15kn easy. There were massive balls of about 2-300m across up there absolutely frothing. So, I think they would have had a crack at almost anything. FYI good article about YFT @ Gnaraloo on light spin tackle in Western Angler Dec/Jan current edition - A read that will get YOU frothin.

WODF's picture

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haha yeah mate, it is an

Tue, 2008-12-16 20:33

haha yeah mate, it is an awesome read! will have to give those stickbaits a try one day.

 

"holy sh!t, did you see that?" haha 

catchalittle's picture

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Black Bart 6'-8' in the

Tue, 2008-12-16 20:55

Black Bart 6'-8' in the black and purple or the green and red never fails

 

 

Life is short so live it fast

Nathan

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Adam Gallash's picture

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with BJ

Wed, 2008-12-17 13:50

I'm with BJ, the tuna feathers are gold, just dont run them enough as we looking for larger stuff generally and fin will still hit skirts.

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Date Joined: 27/02/08

What sort of speed can the

Wed, 2008-12-17 13:58

What sort of speed can the feathers be trolled at Adam? Do they hold in the water if there is a bit of chop around?

Tony Halliday's picture

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Date Joined: 14/06/07

trolling feathers

Wed, 2008-12-17 14:31

point of interest,

back in SAFFA land we always trolled feathers with rods laying flat and pointing out back on trolling boards. This kept the line very close to the surface of the water and stopped feathers jumping out at 8~10knots max.
Most of our trolling was done in choppy water and big swells as well.
I'll try and find a pic of a trolling board and rods set up.

cheers
Tony

Full-time piscatorial-idiot, in The Vines. "It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC) Greek poet.
Supporter of Meals on Reels & The Wally Weight

____________________________________________________________________________

Tony Halliday: ~Meals on Reels ~

 It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it

"It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC)

"In a mad world only the mad are sane." Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)

wrassinator's picture

Posts: 554

Date Joined: 26/11/08

We were trolling the

Wed, 2008-12-17 15:10

We were trolling the feathers up to 15kn no worries, mind you most days were like glass, and we had no problems spotting the schools in those conditions. They pull like little trains. We found that 2 lines in the water was one too many at times ;-)

WODF's picture

Posts: 553

Date Joined: 16/10/08

Zukers?

Wed, 2008-12-17 15:17

Zukers, is that the brand name? where could i pick some up from? and colours on surface lures, does it make a difference?

 

"holy sh!t, did you see that?" haha