How To Catch Bluefin Tuna Fish On Deep Sea Key West Fishing Charters

The bluefin tuna that can be found around Key West is known as the atlantic bluefin tuna or the northern bluefin tuna. They are very large fish, normally 6' to 8' long, weighing a bit over 750 lbs. They can be found anywhere in the Atlantic Ocean and can travel thousands of miles in a year.

Bluefin tuna rival swordfish and blue marlin for size and speed. They can travel over 40 mph. so they're great fighters. They're very deep water fish and can go more than a thousand feet down. Bluefin tuna are rarely found closer to shore than 5 miles out. They travel in schools, often a hundred fish or more.

If you intend to catch a bluefin tuna with a rod and reel, realize that this is not a sport for the faint of heart. You can spend days looking for a school of bluefin tuna, and not find any. You can spend hours and even days trying to reel one of these monsters to the boat. They're very big and very strong. You'll need the equipment, including the boat that can handle a war like this. You also need to know the laws pertaining to bluefin tuna fishing. You need a special permit to catch them. The easiest way to handle all the needs of a quest like this is to book a private charter on one of the Key West fishing charters and specify that you're after big game fish, especially bluefin tuna. They'll be able to set you up at the right time of year, with the proper licenses and permits and the proper gear. They'll also have the boat you need.

Bluefin tuna come to the Gulf of Mexico to spawn between April and June. This is the best time of year to fish off Key West for bluefin tuna. You can generally find them off the deeper reefs and ship wrecks, around oil rigs or anywhere there are structures between 120' and 300' feet deep, especially where bait fish can be found.

Bluefin tuna eat herring, whiting, mackerel, pilchers, flying fish and mullet. They'll also eat squid, eels, and crabs. You can attract the tuna with free chunks of bait (not on hooks). Just throw a bunch of fish chunks out there. Watch how fast they sink. You want your bait to mimick the free chunks. Frozen chunks will sink slower. Tuna bite pretty easily so it shouldn't be too difficult to convince them that its feeding time. They'll bite on cut bait pretty readily.

For tackle you're going to need a real big glass rod and a heavy reel, a 80# to a 130#. On smaller boats you'll want to keep your tackle a little smaller. You'll use 100 to 200 lb. test line (use about a 200' 200 lb. wind on leader at the end of your line) and a 4' to 8' 600 lb. leader on a 400 lb. (+/-) ball bearing swivel. Make sure you've got at least 500 yards of line on the reel. You'll use a 10/0 to 12/0 hook. The bigger hook will sink the bait quicker so you might want to use some tricks to keep it floating. Some people will stuff styrofoam into the bait fish to help float it a bit. You'll want to set the drag somewhere between 35 and 50 lbs. Usually, keep it lighter until you're in the fight, then tighten it down some.

When the fish strikes he'll hit it pretty hard. Make sure you're harnessed into a high quality fighting chair. You can try to pull the rod and if you can, you missed. Back up and try again. This fish can be as big as a thousand pounds and swim as fast as 40 mph. The best way to set the hook is to floor the boat! When you hook him, he'll dive as deep as a thousand feet. He can pull you right out of the chair, into the deep and drown you; and he'll do it so fast you won't know what hit you! He'll burn 200 yards or more of line off your reel the first couple times he runs. After that just back the boat up right over top of him.

You can tighten down your drag and prepare for about a 2 hour hard fight or let him run and prepare to fight him all day. You may think the 2 hour option is better but pay attention to the phrase 'hard fight'.

Use the boat to fight the fish, not your back. Don't try to position the boat to put the fish at a 45 degree angle to the stern and pull him to tucker him out, it won't work. He'll just point his fins down to create a kind of planer and ride you out. When he's done running, usually 2 good runs, just drive the boat right over top of him, put the reel in low gear and pull his nose straight up. He'll start spinning. The boat captain needs to make sure he doesn't spin under the boat or snag the line up in the props. You should be able to pull him right up to the boat a lot easier with this technique.

Getting him to shore is another battle altogether. If he's less than 300 lb. you can probably gaff him and drag him into the boat. If he's bigger you're gonna need a winch.

If you're not an experienced big game fisherman with the right equipment but you're hankering to try your wits against one of these monsters, save yourself a lot of expense, pain and maybe even your life. Hire one of the top Key West fishing charters for a private charter and take advantage of their experience and equipment. Be sure to tell them you're after big game fish, 300 pounds or more.