Yellowfin Tuna on fly

Capt. Dave with a 42kg yellow taken on 10kg tippet December 2011!

Fly fishermen from around the world have fished with us in pursuit of yellowfin tuna. Collectively they have caught most species of trophy fish to be taken on fly. This includes tarpon, sailfish, giant trevalley and albacore amongst a suit of other species. After landing a yellowfin tuna with us their opinions have all been unanimous - they never expected the sustained power yellowfin tuna are capable of.

“It was absolutely mind blowing, I cannot believe that a fish can be so strong and last to the very end with such a never say die attitude. I can honestly say if we see yellowfin tuna of this size again I will definitely put my rod away … even though we landed the fish, we left as broken men. This was an unbelievable experience… …the experience is a once in a lifetime that has to be done.”

Comments from Andrew Lewis (right). Andrew landed a 54kg yellowfin tuna on the 13 May 2006 with us, after 3 hours. His brother Rob landed a 59kg yellowfin on the same day with us after 4 and a half hours.

Many fly fishermen do not believe me when I show them photographs of yellowfin tuna we have caught on fly rod. Others say that tackling yellowfin tuna in excess of 50 kgs on fly fishing tackle is crazy and is just not possible. How could anyone stand any chance of landing such behemoth tuna on fly fishing tackle.

5 May 2007. Frikkie (left) poses with his double yellowfin haul. Both these fish were taken on the same day by Frikkie, the smaller fish weighed in at 45kgs while the bigger weighed in at 80kgs! and was landed after a 3 hour fight. Congrats Frikkie this is the largest yellowfin taken on fly rod by us!

“Right, Michael poses with his 43.6kg yellowfin taken on 10kg tippet. His outfit and leader were rigged according to IGFA regulations as we aimed to break the WR. The fish fell only a few kilograms short. Michael landed this fish after just one hour - an exceptional performance. He was fishing his Albright rod with a Tibor Pacific reel with 50lbs spectra backing.”

This in essence is what Extreme Fly Fishing for yellowfin tuna is all about. Yellowfin tuna are, in my opinion, the ultimate quarry for saltwater fly fishing and present the greatest challenge to be taken on fly. Correct technique, endurance and the will to succeed are all essential to success.

In order to join us to tackle a yellowfin tuna on fly rod, you will need to book the boat for yourself, or for a maximum of two people fly fishing. It is not possible to fight more than one yellowfin tuna at once on fly rod. This is because the fish has to be chased by boat in order to land it. It can take longer than 3 hours to land a yellowfin. It is not easy to land more than one yellowfin on a trip out on fly tackle, and although we have done it, exceptional to land two. Friends and family are welcome to join the charter to share the experience, but not more than two anglers will get a chance to land a yellowfin tuna on fly on one day.

“Left, Ken poses with his 50 kg yellowfin landed in one hour 45 minutes on 25kg tippet. This was one of six yellowfin we put Ken into over the two days he fished with us. Ken was fishing one of my own custom rods with his own Tibor reel. Well Done!

On the 25th March 07, Cindy Mitchell joined us for an inshore fly fishing trip, but due to conditions not being suitable inshore for yellowtail and with gorgious weather we opted to run offshore and go in search of some yellowfin tuna on fly instead. Cindy was looking for an IGFA record and her outfit was rigged according to IGFA rules. The current Womens world record for yellowfin tuna on 20lb tippet is 24.15 kgs and I suggested to her that we try for this record as our small tuna are around the 35 -40 kg mark. We had a very slow start to the day and I spotted one fish under the boat about mid morning, but this was brief as one of the large recreational boats out of Hout Bay roared past us putting any fish within range of us down. Around mid day, the Tibor Pacific Fly reel that Cindy was using started screaming as a yellowfin took the fly. After a mamoth fight lasting 3 hours and 20 minutes Cindy finally managed to bring the tuna up and we boated it. What an achievement on 20 lb tippet. After weighing the fish on the official certified club scale we were ecstatic with a weight of 47.00 kgs. Congratulations Cindy on a very hard fought and well deserved catch.

On the 2nd may 2007, left Capt. Dave landed a 43kg yellow on 10 kg tippet on fly tackle. This catch was just short of a new WR by 5 kgs. Great Catch!

Copyright - Two Oceans Sport Fishing - all rights reserved