Yellowfin Tuna
Warm-water speedsters that run with the porpoise — the classic late-summer tuna of the SoCal blue.
- Type
- Yellowfin tuna
- Scientific name
- Thunnus albacares
- Typical size
- 15–40 lb (some 60 lb+)
- Likes water
- Warm blue, 70°F+
- Travels with
- Porpoise & bird schools
- Best months
- Aug – Nov
Thunnus albacares
Meet the yellowfin
Yellowfin are the golden-finned cousins of the bluefin — a little leaner, a little flashier, and every bit as fast. They light up bright yellow along the back and fins, and when a school gets fired up they’ll boil on the surface chasing bait. They show up when the ocean warms in late summer.
Where they hang out
In the warm blue water, usually well offshore. Yellowfin famously run with pods of porpoise — find the spinning, splashing dolphins and the tuna are often right underneath. They also stack on kelp paddies and dive on the same bird schools as bluefin.
How big they get
Most SoCal yellowfin are “footballs” in the 15–40 pound range — perfect eating size and a blast on light gear. In a strong warm-water year, fish over 60 pounds move in and give you a real arm-burner of a fight.
How to get bit
Yellowfin love a lively bait. Fly-line a live sardine or anchovy, throw a surface iron or popper into a foamer, or bounce a small jig. They can be line-shy, so many anglers drop to lighter fluorocarbon when the fish get picky.
Yellowfin are one of the fastest fish in the ocean and grow incredibly quickly — a yellowfin can pack on 20+ pounds in a single year.
Is it a yellowfin tuna day?
Load Yellowfin Tuna into the live Bite Score and see where the water’s worth the run right now.