Yellowfin off SoCal: warm water, porpoise and paddies

Yellowfin are the other tuna of a Southern California summer. They don’t show every year, but when warm water pushes up from Mexico they can be thick, and they’re usually far more willing to bite than bluefin.

When they show

Yellowfin like warmer water than bluefin, generally around 70 °F and up. They’re most likely in late summer and early fall, and in years when warm water comes up the coast early they can arrive sooner and stay longer. In cool years you may have to run well south into Mexican waters to find them.

What to look for

Yellowfin are often found with other things:

• Porpoise. Schools of common dolphin, sometimes with yellowfin underneath. Look for birds working over the porpoise.
• Kelp paddies. Floating kelp attracts bait and fish. Yellowtail are the usual residents, but a paddy in warm offshore water can hold yellowfin too.
• Birds. Diving terns and boobies, often far from anything else.
• Jumpers and breaking fish. Yellowfin crash bait on the surface in short bursts.

How to fish them

Troll to find them. Cedar plugs, feathers and small diving plugs at 6 to 8 knots cover water. When one rod goes off, keep the boat moving for a moment to let more fish find the other lures.

Then stop on the bite. Get live bait in the water right away. A hot school will often stay with the boat while you chum. Fly-lined sardines on fluorocarbon work, and yellowfin are usually less leader-shy than bluefin.

Throw at porpoise and paddies. Approach slowly, stay off to the side, and cast baits or lures toward the edge rather than driving through.

Gear

Most SoCal yellowfin run 15 to 40 lb, with bigger fish in good years and farther south. The same rods you’d use for school bluefin are fine. Bring a couple of trolling rods even if you mostly fish bait.

Crossing the line

A lot of yellowfin fishing happens south of the border. Mexico requires a fishing license for everyone on board a boat with fishing gear in Mexican waters. Get them from CONAPESCA before you leave, and know exactly where the line is. Rules change, so check before every trip.

In the cooler

Bleed it, then ice slurry. Yellowfin is excellent raw if it’s handled well from the moment it hits the deck.