To increase your tuna catch, I will be doing this as a series in depth covering the body of a tuna, it’s capabilities, limits and habits. Once we have established its character, we will talk in depth about finding them, what triggers the bite and how to get the bite.
To begin we must understand tuna inside and out in order for us to find them, fool them, and feed them. Tuna are one of the most powerful, speedy, and most importantly migratory fish of the ocean. Tuna are a dinstinctive fish that use Ram Ventilation to move oxygenated water over their gills to remove oxygen from the water, therefore they must swim constantly. Lots of other fish use a pumping motion to move water across their gills and these fish are always shaped differently, not hydrodynamically. The characteristics of a tunas body opens a lot of doors into understanding its habits. Tuna’s bodies are shaped in order to have the lowest drag coefficient possible, this can be seen when looking closely at the fish. The fish is covered in miniature scales that are hard and allow water to flow over as if it is a solid surface, each pectoral fin lays intrically into a pocket to tuck tight to the body and be steamlined. If you examine the finlets you will see they are able to turn independently. The tuna is a mass-bearing fish which is why they are shaped as they are, with a long narrow tail for that short,high frequency stroke which takes a lot of energy but also a lot of muscle. Proportionally speaking a tuna’s body is on average 3/4 of their body weight. Unbeknownst to many tuna have a very high metabolism which allows them to produce energy very quickly, but they also have a very small stomach in order to save weight and be able to achieve the speed needed. This is why they feed often, you just need to be there when they do. During stalled feeding times or while migrating, tuna will conserve energy by creating lift with their pectoral fins as their swim bladder is not sufficient enough to allow them to simply float and move with the curr
Head East, WAY East to other side of stream. Definitly spot on about migratory patterns there.
How bout a blurb about not “burning” a tuna up fighting them for a long time and proper care once they hit the deck. I find that that a big aspect of tuna fishing is that a lot of folks don’t realize about the difference between tuna and other fish when it comes to proper handling of it.
You write a lot better then I do!
Good info for all!
Russ B. www.joinrfa.org
God is great, Beer is good, People are crazy
Russ are you referring to swimming the fish on a swim hook until it regains color and dissipates the lactic acid built up in the muscles, bringing it on board and making your three bleed out cuts, then spining the fish with 600# mono and then cutting the up side gill plate off, removing gills and rakers, cutting the anal tendons, removing the guts through the gill plate and then packing the body cavity with ice? LOL…
quote:Originally posted by RussB
Head East, WAY East to other side of stream. Definitly spot on about migratory patterns there.
How bout a blurb about not “burning” a tuna up fighting them for a long time and proper care once they hit the deck. I find that that a big aspect of tuna fishing is that a lot of folks don’t realize about the difference between tuna and other fish when it comes to proper handling of it.
You write a lot better then I do!
Good info for all!
Russ B. www.joinrfa.org
God is great, Beer is good, People are crazy
Also remember every time that tuna thumps and beats the deck the loin quadrants are getting bruised. This makes for a poor quality fish, especially during the summer months when the fish are less worthy of table fare in the hot water.
Wanna kill fish, then let’s go! Always ready, always willing to teach the ways.
I am glad you are reading it, prepare for a mind-numbing education of the ocean, and it’s ways as well as the habits of the creatures that dwell in it.
Wanna kill fish, then let’s go! Always ready, always willing to teach the ways.
I am recovering from knee surgery, waiting for the fog in my head to lift and then I will finish writing part two. Thanks guys for the warm welcome of prt one. Once again I cannot tress the importance of The Fishermans Ocean as a greaat book to read for understanding fish nature and also to gain knowledge of how the oceans life cycle work.
Wanna kill fish, then let’s go! Always ready, always willing to teach the ways.
