queensland mackeral/tuna fishing

[mzaakir]

Hey guys, im after some advice, for chasing tuna and mackeral with metals what length do you find best? I've been using 70mm but want to know what everyone else uses as well, im thinking to get a couple 90mm but don't know.

Thanks

[mzaakir]

Just realised im using 90mm at the moment, so thinking of getting some 68mm/70mm and maybe a 100mm or 110mm

[Tuna are fish]

Not to sure on the length but i find the halco twisty in the 30g with a snap swivel on the split ring to work great for macs, the snap swivel just adds an extra bit of protection from the teeth.  As for tuna assuming your fishing for longtails you might need a broad range of metals and stick baits, sometimes they are just not eating what you throw at them.

[mzaakir]

yeah

[Hweebe]

Nothing truer than "Matching the hatch" when it comes to slug selection.

However my default is: 

Start small: If I know the mac or tuna are around (a bust up) I'm going with a weight that allows me to cast / reach the bust up before they spook and head underwater.

There is no point going smaller if the metal slug is not heavy enough to reach the fish. On the flipside I don't go larger because I'm a lazy fisherman and larger slugs take more effort

Upsize: If I find that i'm landing the slug in the strike zone but no hits, I'll change it up and try some different sizes/colours.

Match the hatch: Once you have landed a feeding mac/tuna - They quite often regurgitate what they are eating onto the boat. Then I match my slug with that bait size. This is by far your best bet at landing another fish. Matching the hatch is a game changer.

On days where the water clarity is good and bait is hanging around bust ups, just look over the side with the polarised glasses and scope out what size bait is swimming around and match that.

Other lures: I would also have some other non-metal lure options as well. Stickbaits or plastics (bubblegum colour being my fav) if you are chasing Tuna. For macs i tend to stick to metals as a solid option

 

 

 

 

 

[mzaakir]

On 06/02/2024 at 7:48 AM, Hweebe said:

Nothing truer than "Matching the hatch" when it comes to slug selection.

However my default is: 

Start small: If I know the mac or tuna are around (a bust up) I'm going with a weight that allows me to cast / reach the bust up before they spook and head underwater.

There is no point going smaller if the metal slug is not heavy enough to reach the fish. On the flipside I don't go larger because I'm a lazy fisherman and larger slugs take more effort

Upsize: If I find that i'm landing the slug in the strike zone but no hits, I'll change it up and try some different sizes/colours.

Match the hatch: Once you have landed a feeding mac/tuna - They quite often regurgitate what they are eating onto the boat. Then I match my slug with that bait size. This is by far your best bet at landing another fish. Matching the hatch is a game changer.

On days where the water clarity is good and bait is hanging around bust ups, just look over the side with the polarised glasses and scope out what size bait is swimming around and match that.

Other lures: I would also have some other non-metal lure options as well. Stickbaits or plastics (bubblegum colour being my fav) if you are chasing Tuna. For macs i tend to stick to metals as a solid option

 

 

 

 

 

wow, thanks a lot for that info. i prefer throwing metals for mac, but tuna but been throwing a mixture of stickbais and metals and occassionaly stickbaiting for mac as well, really appreciate the help