What tackle to use
9 - 10wt outfit, large arbour reels with plenty of backing.
What flies to use
Surf candies; Clousers; Crease flies; Poppers; Polar Fibre Minows; Baitfish Patterns
Fishing strategy
Use baitfish imitations that match the size of the bait the tuna are feeding on. Sub-surface flies like candies and clousers mainly but floating flies can amd do work in spectacular surface crashing fashion. Size 1/0 to 4/0 depending on the bait they are eating.
Pink over white, all white and olive over white are favoured colours for flies.
Most fish are caught close inshore and are usually located by the presence of birds hovering above. When the tuna chase bait to the surface the birds will follow them and dive down revealing the tuna's location. Longtails can be infuriating at times only popping up for an instant and refusing everything thrown at them - other times they stay up and feed heavily on the surface creating awesome surface action and will take anything that is thrown at them.
Their feeding behaviour will determine their direction of travel and allow for correct positioning and interception of the boat - long, accurate and fast casts with minimal false casts are necessary when the fish come into range.
