When Does Tuna Fishing Season Start in the USA
Tuna is a game fish with tasty flesh that is often used in making sandwich. If you have eaten canned tuna before, you know what is a tuna fish. If you are into fishing, you may be interested in catching your own tuna and cooking it yourself. There are seasons when tuna come roaming around the sea waters in your place. So, if you want to catch tuna successfully, you need to know when does the tuna fishing season start and ends. In the USA, the tuna fishing season starts in June and ends in November. However, the actual length of the fishing season varies in different places.
Tuna Fishing by State
Florida – Florida, also known as Sunshine State, is the sunniest state in USA. The fishing capital offers year round tuna fishing season but the prime time is from May to September.
Louisiana – Louisiana has many bodies of waters in the Pelican state so it is able to offer year round tuna fishing. You can catch yellowfin, blackfin, and bluefin tuna in Lousiana.
California – California is one of the best places for catching tuna in the USA which is why it attracts a lot of tourists in the first place. The fishing charters often get fully booked from July to September. However, you don’t have to worry if you don’t get to book any fishing charter in these months as you still have the opportunity to catch some tuna a early as April and as late as November.
Hawaii – Hawaii is a favorite spot for anglers especially during the tuna fishing season. Usually, tourists will go to the Aloha State when they want to catch tuna. The best time to catch tuna in Aloha is from June to August. If you want to catch yellowfin tuna, you should visit in between May and September.
Texas – Texas is a well known saltwater fishing destination in the USA. You should visit in between July to November if you want to catch some tuna.
Oregon – Oregon is another place where you can catch some tuna during the season. The first school of tuna arrive in Oregon in the middle of July and will linger on until October.
Delaware – Delaware is the best fishing spot for people who are interested in angling for yellowfin tuna instead of bluefin tuna. In Delaware, you can spot yellowfin tuna in the waters year round.
New England – New England has a lot of bluefin tuna in its waters during the tuna fishing season. You can expect to catch a lot of tuna from June to November.
Massachusetts – Massachusetts has a tuna fishing season that runs from June to November but the best time to catch tuna is from August to September.
Bahamas – Bahamas is famous for its white sandy beach and recreational activities including fishing. You can expect to catch some tuna from May to August in the Bahamas.
Mallorca – As the largest island in the Balearic Islands, you can expect to find lots of large tunas in the waters of Mallorca. The tuna fishing season in Mallorca occurs from March to May.
Tenerife – Another place where you can catch tuna in Spain is Tenerife. The months between February and May are the best time for tuna fishing in Tenerife.
Cape Town – Cape Town in South Africa attracts a lot of serious anglers for tuna every year. The waters in Cape Town are filled with various types of tuna including yellowfin, longfin, skipjack and bigeye tuna.
Tips on Angling for Tuna
Follow the Birds
If you want to catch tuna, you must first know where to catch it. You can get clues from where the seabirds are flying about. Usually, the seabirds will circle above the waters because of the baitfish that the school of tuna is feeding on. While following the birds, you will also want to keep an eye on the fish finder device.
Match the Bait
You need to have the right bait if you want to attract tuna. Tuna feed on a variety of baits. If you don’t have the right bait, you are going to have difficulties in catching the tuna. You must first work out what target fish the tuna feed on, and the size. After that, you can get a bait that is similar to trick the tuna fish to get near to your hook. Halco’s Brown Bomber is a popular lure often used to catch large tuna.
Catching Big Tuna in the Deep Water
Large tuna is always in the deeper part of the ocean. So, if you want to catch big tuna, you must monitor the depth sounder to ensure that the lure sinks to the correct depth beneath the ocean. The tuna is less afraid when it sees a lure on the ocean floor and more likely to bite it.
Chum the Waters
One way to attract a large school of tuna is to chum the waters. To get the tuna close to your boat, you should turn off the engine. When there is no sound, the tuna will be less afraid and voluntarily come near to fight for free meal. If sharks arrive, you can move your boat to another spot.