Why jigging works on bluefin
Jigging has become one of the most effective ways to catch bluefin tuna. It puts a lure in front of fish holding deep, well out of reach of anything you can throw on the surface, and bluefin eat it as it falls.
That moves the work below the boat. Getting bit comes down to three things: putting the jig at the depth the fish are holding, choosing a weight that gets it there despite the drift, and rigging it to survive a fish with sharp teeth, violent head shakes and a lot of power.
In Southern California a lot of this happens at night, on party boats and private boats working deep schools. It's the fishery our Pro Staff Tristan Tero went after in HOOKED on Blue. Here's how to work it.
Find the depth before you drop
Everything starts with the meter. Captains call depth in fathoms, and one fathom is six feet, so fish marked at 40 fathoms are sitting around 240 feet down. That number is your target. A jig fluttering well below the school is wasted, however good it looks.
To know where your jig is, you have to know how much line is out. Mark your braid at set intervals, or run a metered braid that changes color at a fixed distance, and count on the way down.
Then account for the drift. With no wind and little current, line out is close to your real depth. Once the boat is moving, the line angles away and you need more of it out to reach the same depth. That's why good jiggers drop a little past the marks and work back up through them.
- Know the marks. Ask the captain or read the screen, and convert fathoms to feet before you drop.
- Mark your line. Marker intervals or a metered braid, so you're counting, not guessing.
- Drop past, work up. Get just below the marks and fish back up through them.
- Move with the school. If the marks change or the captain calls a new depth, change with them.
Pick the weight for the drift, the profile for the bait
Weight is about conditions, not about the size of the fish. Our starting point for the STRYKE is about one gram per foot of depth, which puts you at roughly 130 to 200 grams at 150 feet, and then you adjust for current. In a mild drift, lighter jigs get there. As the drift picks up, go heavier until you're reaching the marks and keeping your line close to vertical.
Profile is about the bait. When bluefin are feeding on small forage, a big jig can get ignored, and the reverse happens too, so carry more than one size.
| Jig | Weights | Reach for it when |
|---|---|---|
| STRYKE - TUNA RIGGED | 80, 140, 240 g | Fast and darting, rigged for tuna. Start light and go up until you reach the marks. |
| TUNA BOMB | 250, 350, 450 g | Hard drift, deep fish or big fish. Built for large tuna, with a fast descent. |
TUNA BOMB
- Built for large tuna in demanding conditions.
- TRU-WIRE construction for maximum strength.
- Fast descent and a glow-in-the-dark finish.
- Six colors, including Blue Glow, White Crackle and Sardine.
Both jigs come in glow options, and glow works on bluefin after dark; it's one of the most popular choices for night jigging. Just don't reel up to charge it between drops. Every minute at the surface is a minute out of the zone, so charge between stops instead. For more weights and colors, see our full range of tuna jigs.
Win the drop
Most bluefin eat the jig while it's falling. The flutter on the way down is what triggers the strike, so the drop is the part of the retrieve that deserves your full attention.
The bite rarely feels like a bite. More often the jig simply stops sinking, or you feel a small tick, as if it had touched bottom in open water. That's a fish. Engage the reel, wind down and set the hook.
Once you're in the zone, keep the jig there. Wind up 10 to 20 turns, then let it fall back through the marks. Most of the bites come when the jig drops back down, not on the way up.
Rig it to survive the fight
Bluefin have sharp teeth, big mouths and violent head shakes, and they often take the jig deep. That puts your leader and your assist cords under abrasion for the whole fight.
Leader
Standard practice for jigging bluefin is 4 to 5 feet of 150 to 200 lb fluorocarbon. It earns its place through abrasion resistance against teeth and a long fight.
Assist hooks
Our TUNA ASSIST HOOKS are built for large tuna on 200 lb braided Kevlar, in 3/0 and 7/0. The TUNA ASSIST HOOKS - PINK add glow and a pink feather, in 3/0 and 5/0.
Size the hook to the jig. This is how we pair them when we build our tuna kits:
Check the cords after every fish. A frayed or chewed cord is how you lose the next one. You'll find all our options in tuna hooks.
Rod
Jigging rods are rated by jig weight. Make sure yours covers the heaviest jig you plan to drop, because the drift decides how heavy you go, not the fish. Our options are in tuna rods.
Mistakes that cost bluefin
- Jigging under the school. If you don't know how much line is out, you don't know where your jig is. Mark your line and fish the marks.
- Treating line out as depth in a drift. Scope adds line without adding depth. Drop past the marks and work back up.
- Staying light when the drift picks up. Go heavier until you're reaching the fish again.
- Charging glow between drops. Every trip to the surface is time out of the zone. Charge between stops.
- Running a light leader. Teeth and a long fight will find it. Go to 150 to 200 lb fluorocarbon.
Before you go
Bluefin are closely managed, and the rules depend on where you fish. Check current statuses and limits with NOAA Fisheries for Atlantic bluefin and, in California, the CDFW ocean sport fishing regulations before every trip.
