It has been mentioned before but the recent unseasonal catches of LTs had me going back here to look for reasons why the fish are about this time of year unlike previous years. I still dont have any answers but did pick up a few more snippets of note for use in the hunt for these majestic creatures.
CSIRO did a study of longtails in 2009/10. http://www.longtailtuna.com.au/Info.aspx
Some really interesting stuff here including satellite maps of one fish's migratory pattern. Their preference for deeper cooler water at night and 22-26 deg during the day suggests it would be pointless targeting them at night where we fish and also goes toward explaining why you can catch one any time of the day and not just at first light.
The world record is 142cm and 35.6kg. The fish we have been catching lately are all around the 20 year old mark and getting towards the top end of size. Once these fish get over the 20kg mark they are in a completely different class to the school fish we catch here in April\May and can take hours to subdue from the yak. I battled one off Fraser one year for 1hr and 45 and still got dusted at the boat. I had no control at all for the first 30 mins whist that thing dragged me round like a rag doll.
Imagine if all of the species we chased were 'Recreational Only'. Then think how few there would be if this fish were commercially targeted given how close to shore they come. Ignoring man-made or natural disaster the fate of this species rests with us.
CSIRO did a study of longtails in 2009/10. http://www.longtailtuna.com.au/Info.aspx
Some really interesting stuff here including satellite maps of one fish's migratory pattern. Their preference for deeper cooler water at night and 22-26 deg during the day suggests it would be pointless targeting them at night where we fish and also goes toward explaining why you can catch one any time of the day and not just at first light.
The world record is 142cm and 35.6kg. The fish we have been catching lately are all around the 20 year old mark and getting towards the top end of size. Once these fish get over the 20kg mark they are in a completely different class to the school fish we catch here in April\May and can take hours to subdue from the yak. I battled one off Fraser one year for 1hr and 45 and still got dusted at the boat. I had no control at all for the first 30 mins whist that thing dragged me round like a rag doll.
Imagine if all of the species we chased were 'Recreational Only'. Then think how few there would be if this fish were commercially targeted given how close to shore they come. Ignoring man-made or natural disaster the fate of this species rests with us.