• Like most other fish, current is important to angling success. Ideally, the current will take any bait or chum back toward the structure you’re fishing. Regardless of the structure, you’ll want to anchor up current of the structure. When attempting to get set up correctly, keep wind direction and intensity in mind so you can best deliver your baits to the fish. Most inshore structure is relatively shallow, 150 feet or less.

• Baits: Yellowtail will take a variety of live baits including squid, anchovies, sardines, mackerel, smelt, butterfish, and others. There are also times when they will take a well-presented strip of mackerel or bonito.

• Technique: When the fish are suspended or feeding on the surface, flylining your bait (without a sinker) is the best method. If the fish remain deep, fishing a bait with an egg sinker above the hook or a dropper loop isthe preferred method. To tie a dropper loop, use a bimini, spider hitch, or Roy Rose knot to form the loop. When fishing live baits, match the hook size to the baits and use line ranging from 15-pound test for smaller baits to 40-pound or more when fishing large baits or near structure to maximize your opportunities. Yellowtail also respond well to baits trolled slowly (2 knots) around and over structure.

• Lures: Being a predator, yellowtail will take a wide variety of artificial lures. If the fish are on or near the surface, light iron jigs like the Salas 7x, Tady 45, Kicker 25, and others will take their share of yellows. When the fish are deeper in the water column, using heavy iron jigs like the Salas 6X Jr., Tady 4/0 and 9, Megabait Live Jigs, and others fished vertically or near vertically can be very productive. Yellows also respond to large (5- to 6-inch) plastic swimbaits like those made by Fish Trap, Big Hammer, and MC Swimbaits.

• Techinque: Fish jigs on 30- to 50-pound line and a high-speed reel as yellows often prefer fast-moving jigs. Fish swimbaits at a moderate pace.  Yellowtail respond well to live chum though they will also respond to chunks of baits like mackerel.

• Hook Setting/Fighting: Yellowtail have tough mouths but not bony mouths. Getting a good hook set is not difficult. That’s a good thing as yellowtail are great fighters and battle hard all the way to gaff. They will also use structure to their advantage, swimming around and through the cover.

• Yellowtail can often be located boiling on the surface while feeding on baits. Watching for bird activity is another way to locate feeding yellows. You may also encounter yellowtail “puddling” or swimming just under the surface. In many of these situations, a jig cast in the path of the roving school will often draw a strike. You can also run ahead of the fish, keeping a safe distance from the fish, and bait them.  When approaching a school of fish on the surface, stay wide of the school to keep from spooking them and try to anticipate the direction the school is moving.

• Yellows can be found on floating kelp paddies within just a few mile from shore out to hundreds of miles.  Kelp paddies often hold fish because bait orient to the structure which in turn attracts predators. Yellows may also use these paddies as rest stops as they migrate up and down the coast.  To set up on a paddy, be sure you have a good idea of wind direction and maintain a fair distance from the paddy. Don’t be afraid to drift away from the paddy as the fish may not be directly under the structure. If you don’t get bit drifting down one side of the paddy, make a drift down the other side.  Don’t give up too easily on paddies. After making a few drifts, try slow-trolling/boxing the paddy with live baits. Yellows and other fish often attack slow-trolled baits when other methods fail.

• You can also locate schools of yellowtail by trolling plugs like those manufactured by Rapala, Yozuri, and a number of other companies, as well as swimbaits. Offshore, they’ll also bite trolled tuna feathers and cedar plugs.

Limits • 10 fish in US waters. Only five of which can be shorter than the 24 inch fork length.  5 fish per day and up to three days of limits in possession in Mexico. Be sure to read the regulations for total number of fish particularly if you have dorado/mahi mahi included in your limits.

• Like any fish, yellowtail are best bled and kept on ice immediately after boating them. The flesh is firm and pink. When preparing your catch, be sure to cut the dark meat out.  Yellowtail is very meaty in texture with enough natural flavor to support strong flavors when cooked. The most common error in cooking yellowtail is overcooking the fish, drying it out.  Keep it medium rare and enjoy.

• Yellowtail (hamachi) is also excellent served raw either as sashimi or sushi when properly taken care of.