Releasing yellowfin tuna

[porgylber]

Just a quick question. Assuming a gaff hasn’t been sunk into the fish boatside: If you bring a 10-15 lb yellowfin up, can it safely be released? I caught 90 lb YFT in the Gulf of Mexico last month, so it wasn’t an issue. However looking at the pictures here, there are some smaller specimens. Thanks guys!

[Capt. Lou]

Smaller yellow fins if mouth hooked , use a dehooker , one with longer handle works well fish can dehooked in water , if fish is not injured or over played should be good to go !
Bigger fish harder to control but procedures can be applied, also u can employ a
the use of a tailer , these will corral fish with loop placed around tail and can control fish for hook removal without injury .
If fish is small nets can be used or lifted into boat quickly and easily dehooked,
Then plunge fish into water head first should be good to go .
These are some release practices I used over the years on small tuna which represent fish under 30#’s or so !
Circumstances and size of fish dictate every release you learn by expierance

[porgylber]

Thanks Capt. Lou!

[Pennsy Guy]

^^^What Capt Lou posted...On the PB I fish, when we stop @ the oyster boats for BF's, mates net them unless it's obvious it's legal; then after the limit on "unders", they're netted hoping for the "over"....

[PortlyRedhead]

Greetings from South Jersey!

When we used to chunk for bluefins on the Delmarva Lumps, we netted a lot of tunas in our big striped bass net. Grab them with the net, gently place them on the deck, and measure with a seamstress tape. Keepers we bled. Throwbacks we launched headfirst into the ocean.

They swam away, not afraid of the tiger sharks.