Big Tuna Out There! Options

[catchnrelease]

I've seen 50kg YFT and 70kg BFT weighed, and Ivan from Ambition lost what he called an 80kg YFT at the boat. He'd be pretty on the money as it was considerably larger than the 50kg one he weighed a few days ago. Also reports of a 100kg+ Big Eye/BFT being weighed? Yet to confirm it though.

Some very big fish out there!

[Jumpus GooDarus]

Can ewe draw me a Map ??

Cause now that all ewe mere mortals go back to school & workys 2morro I'm going Fushing

Also reports of a 100kg+ Big Eye/

Twas around the 80 kg mark

[Fed]

2morro I'm going Fushing

Looking for your lost mojo mate?
Good luck with that.

[Spudly]

Also reports of a 100kg+ Big Eye/BFT being weighed?

Was caught near browns and went 75kg...

http://ausvarmint.kjd84.com/forum/download...id=3482&t=1

[catchnrelease]

There was a BFT caught around the 70kg mark, but there was a bigger one caught too. That one I was talking about, JG, was over 100kg (101.5kg to be exact) but I don't know whether it's a BFT or Big-Eye? Can you verify?

The 70kg BFT:

 tuna2.jpg ( 28.11K ) Number of downloads: 30


The 101.5kg fish:

 tuna1.jpg ( 145.51K ) Number of downloads: 37

[Jumpus GooDarus]

Looking for your lost mojo mate?

Fat chance of that happening it seems, Having a shocker of a season cant seem to do anything right.

Last fished about 2 weeks back, went sth to the hump looking for reds & ended up losing a whole heap of gear & plastics to leather jackets got the shits by lunch & headed out wide didn't turn a reel out there & had giant toads knocking off the baits.

Today was nice out there stopped off & got some liveys plenty of pilleys + burley, 1st drift nut ting so headed out wider to 500 fathoms where we were braining them last year, same water & temp so I dont know how peeps are saying it's blue water out there it is blue but not that blue.

No good out wider so decided to come back in to my canyon marks B4 the sun came down, nut ting caught on the VHF exept fot the odd Alby, 10 minutes into our last drift my rod went off just a short burst , bait was gone suspected Alby, this happened a few more times no solid runs.

On dark back of the boat was alive with slimy macks biggest I've seen in ages these wittle big fish's were over 1 kg each bastards were cleaning out our cube trail so I dropped one of those Yoshikara jigs to them & was hooking them up @ will decided to call it a day/night hr after dark cause allthough slimmy's were a burley trail rest of our cubes were doing us no good.

High light of the day was the Jelly Bean caught up & saddened by the Micheal Jackson death, anyways peeps salty was showing me his Moon Walk Dance

Now watching the Jelly Bean Moon Walk was like watching a Milk Crate roll backwards down a HILL

I was pissing myself

On another note got a ling ling ph call when we got in boys in that big boat I went out on the other month did a tip down to stanwell on saturday & ended up with 22 snapper 1 - 2 kg each.

Like I said I cant buy a trick this season

but I don't know whether it's a BFT or Big-Eye? Can you verify?

Bit hard to tell from pic + I've never caught a Sth BFT plenty of Ntherns aka Longtails

I have however caught a Big Eye held the National Record on wun for 25 + years back then I thought it was a YFT tillclub secretary pointed it out here's a pic of a Big Eye dont think to many peeps can call them correctly.

@ a good guess I'd say fish in pick is a Big Eye only cause of the orangy coloured flutes bear in mind I've not caught a BFT so cant verying that they dont have the same colouration

Attached File(s)

 big_eye.jpg ( 126.11K ) Number of downloads: 25

 

[nimrod]

There was a BFT caught around the 70kg mark, but there was a bigger one caught too. That one I was talking about, JG, was over 100kg (101.5kg to be exact) but I don't know whether it's a BFT or Big-Eye? Can you verify?

The 70kg BFT:

 tuna2.jpg ( 28.11K ) Number of downloads: 30


The 101.5kg fish:

 tuna1.jpg ( 145.51K ) Number of downloads: 37

Very hard to tell exactly what it is.
The longish slender style of the pectoral fin would have me leaning toward the " big eye "
yet the coloration of the dorsal fin would lead toward the " southern bluefin ", the bigeye
are usually yellowish, similiar to the YFT.
Now here's where it gets really confusing.
the 2nd dorsal fin lobes, or finettes ( for a detter name ) there appears to be 8 lobes
on this fish where the SBT ( as far as I know ) have 7.
I think I would have to have some better photos to know what it was.

I have caught both species and just go with whatever anyone else wants to call them,
If SBT are the target then that's what they are, and catching them south of Bermagui I call them SBT
whereas the Bigeye I have caught have been up north so wouldn't call them a southern anything.
Never seen the 2 species together at the same time so couldn't tell the difference.

[catchnrelease]

The fact that there are BFT being caught all up and down the coast ATM would have you think it's a BFT. Also, according to some US fisheries website Big Eye have pectoral fins that extend past the dorsal fin. The fish in the pic seems to have pretty stubby pecs, although you can't make out the dorsal fin.

I'm with nimrod in saying it's a BFT because the fins aren't yellow.

This post has been edited by catchnrelease: Jun 29 2009, 05:36 PM

[Jumpus GooDarus]

The fact that there are BFT being caught all up and down the coast ATM would have you think it's a BFT

And thats why I get stroppy @ times with peeps cause they ASS U ME make an ASS out of U but not ME

Ewe get peeps calling Stripes BLUES , yakkas KUNGY'S etc etc only cause they want them to be

Like I said haven't caught a Sth Blue Fin so cant be certain & pics do fish no justice

I'm with nimrod in saying it's a BFT because the fins aren't yellow.

That's where I believe the pair of ewes are incorrect & the reason I called it as a Big Eye

Both YFT & Big Eye have Orange runing in their finsnot plain yellow & from wot I saw in the pic there was alot of orange.

Had a shite load of visitors 2day & wun of my mates brought up this fish weighed @ SGC those who have seen it have called it as a Big Eye

On a brighter note looks like the good water is moving in from out wide Live SST showed it only a few miles outside browns this morn like allways we've got sum crappy weather for next 4 - 5 days

[Bees Knees]

Big Eye or SBT... I'll take either, but Jumpus.... We need some blood on that pretty boat of yours again

[Fed]

In my old fishing book it looks like a BFT due to the short pectoral fin.

[Jumpus GooDarus]

Geez ewe guys I've had to do sum ting I rarely ever do.

I've googlefushy'd up fush ID

Just for my peace of mind if any ting cause I believed it twas a Big Eye from the start here's the data on a Big Eye ID

One of the most difficult fish identification jobs is distinguishing between a Bigeye Tuna (Thunnus obesus) and a Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares).

There are two methods of examining these fish, exterior and interior. Only the interior examination is 100 percent foolproof. The smaller the size of the tuna, the less effective the exterior examination becomes. The easiest method is to look for first for the characteristics of the Bigeye Tuna first, and by the process of elimination, wind up by concluding you are holding a Yellowfin Tuna.

Exterior Characteristics of a Bigeye Tuna (Thunnus obesus):

1. The Bigeye Tuna's pectoral fins may reach to the second dorsal fin, but are shorter than the Yellowfin Tuna's. A very short pectoral fin indicates that the fish more than likely is a Bluefin Tuna. A very long pectoral fin that reaches beyond the anal fin belongs to an Albacore.

2. There are 18 to 22 gill rakers on the first gill arch of a Bigeye Tuna. There will be 24 to 28 gill rakers on a Bluefin Tuna, and 27 to 33 gill rakers on a Yellowfin Tuna.

3. On a Bigeye Tuna, two dorsal fins are closer together and shorter than on a Yellowfin Tuna. The forward dorsal fin of a Bigeye Tuna has 13 to 14 spines and the rear dorsal fin has 14 to 16 rays.

4. The Bigeye Tuna has a strong lateral keel, between two small keels, located slightly farther back on the tail, on either side of the caudal peduncle.

5. Except for the anterior corselet, the scales of a Bigeye Tuna are small.

6. The Bigeye Tuna's rear dorsal fin is dark brown and edged in black, lacking any yellow.

7. The finlets of the Bigeye Tuna are bright yellow with narrow black edges.

8. Upon expiring, the body of a Bigeye Tuna loses most of its coloration, including the disappearance of its yellow coloration. The dorsal and anal finlets' yellow coloration turns brown after death.

9. The Bigeye Tuna's anal fin is wider and shorter than the Yellowfin Tuna's, and it is colored all silver, with a fringe of yellow and 11 to 15 rays. In a yellowfin tuna the anal fin is long and narrow and only silver in the middle.

10. The corselet (the front area of enlarged scales) of a Bigeye Tuna extends further back than on a Yellowfin Tuna. These front scales are larger up front on both tunas and become smaller along the flanks, which make these tuna appear darker up front. These larger scales cover the fish from the first dorsal fin down around the pectoral fins, and to the ventral fins and then takes a sharp angle backwards. This front area of scales extends further back on a Bigeye Tuna than on a Yellowfin Tuna, all the way to the end of the second dorsal fin. The pectoral fin of a Bigeye Tuna will not cover this extension of scales, while on a Yellowfin Tuna these scales extend barely as far as the second dorsal fin and the pectoral fin will completely cover these scales.

11. The tail of a Bigeye Tuna does not have a white trailing edge. An Albacore's tail has a white trailing edge.

12. The white spots prevalent in small Bigeye Tuna elongate as the fish becomes older.

Interior Characteristics of a Bigeye Tuna (Thunnus obesus):

1. Without a doubt, positive identification of a Bigeye Tuna can be completed by examining its liver. The Bigeye Tuna has a grooved liver with clearly visible striations (fine lines looking like streaks), or dark blood vessels on the margins of the lobes. There are two lobes that are both of the same size. However in the yellowfin tuna these smooth lobes are devoid of these striations and the right lobe is clearly longer than the left lobe or the middle lobe.

Draw your own conclusions I still think it's a big eye no 8 has convinced me but like I said earlier I've not seen or caught a sth blue fin.

Pics googlefushy posted tells me it's a Big Eye & B4 any wun comes back & starts arguing that the pic of the Big Eye posted by me has yellow in it's fins that fushy had not died when pic was taken so it hadn't lost it's colouration

[catchnrelease]

Point No.1 proves it's a BFT. There's no way the pectoral fin reaches the second dorsal fin. I googled it as well (surprise surprise ) and all the Big Eye have pecs that reach, or go past the second dorsal fin.

[Jumpus GooDarus]

Shouldn't Jumpus the gun there Googlefishy

Point No.1 does not prove that @ all it says may reach to the second dorsal fin

I'm not saying the fushy is 100% a big eye but if you can get me a hold of the gill rakers I'll clarify it 4 sure

I'm sure you'll find them if ewe don googles & go 4 a dip were they turfed the carcass

[Fed]

Geez ewe guys I've had to do sum ting I rarely ever do.

I've googlefushy'd up fush ID

Jumpus GoogleDarus?