One of our absolute favorite species to fish for is Yellowfin Tuna. The Yellowfin season typically starts sometime in August and then runs through early to mid January. Peak season is usually September, October and November.
Remember fishing seasons vary from one year to the next due to factors like water temperature and availability and location of baitfish.
Yellowfin tuna enjoy pretty specific water conditions and the conditions hugely effect their behavior. Some of the most critical water conditions for yellowfin tuna are:
- Temperature: Yellowfin tuna are found in warm water, both tropical and subtropical. Optimal water temperature for yellowfin tuna seems to be 70º to 85ºF or 21º to 29ºC. They will be found in waters outside those temperatures, but they tend to stack up more in waters in their preferred temperature range.
- Clarity: Yellowfin tuna are sight oriented predators. They will often feed in the upper water column during daylight hours and really prefer as clear of water as they can find.
- Depth: Yellowfin tuna are usually found in the surface layer of the open ocean, that is the upper 300 feet, and above the thermocline. Although they spend most of their time in this zone, they can dive to over 3,000 feet.
- Structure: Yellowfin tuna will also often hang out near floating objects such as boats or seaweed and natural structures such as underwater ridges. Baitfish have a tendency to congregate in these areas and that will draw the tuna to them as well.
