It was a yellowfin. Pulled another bigger one from the same school.
Had the yellowfin dots and stripes on it's belly but the damn lense had a smudge so it hasn't come out well plus the fish moved during the shot (from the pic you can't really see them so hence why it looks a bit like a longtail). Looked exactly like mine but a little smaller.
Yeah, yeah, i know it looks like a longtail. It is possible it is a longtail, however, it did have the characteristic yft dots stripes on belly (damn you camera smudge), and the body shape is more like a yft than a longtail. However, it could be that really small longtails have a slightly different shape, i'm no tuna expert. Keep in mind, its a pretty poor photo for an ID though :p
Yeah, I did call a SBT for a YFT a while ago, but having actually seen a YFT, and caught quite a few this year, I know theres a bit of a difference :p.
Cause it was so small, the thing i was going with was the pattern of belly stripes. Not all YFT's i've caught have had the ultra-vivid yellow on them (though all have yellow) and my camera has a penchant for not showing yellow (even the turtle dove YFTs didnt come out as yellow as they were IRL).
The longtails have kinda dots on their bellys sometimes, but they run like this whereas the YFT's seem to have vertical stripes and dots. This fish had the latter, not the dots, so hence why calling it a YFT. Now, I dont know just how reliable the dot pattern is (when its showing of course) though. Being small, it could be that its much harder to distinguish?
Of course, there had to be a damn smudge on the lense where the belly is, and in the other shot the tuna had to move dammit.
Everytime i seem to take a picture of a tuna, unless I use flash, the yellow is always washed out. The tuna we got at the Abrolhos/Turtle dove werent always neon yellow (though you could still see if you looked). E.g. the one here wasnt super yellow. The one in the above shots had about as yellow fins as the one I just linked (but didnt come up well). Though some yellow in fins doesnt mean a YFT, so hence why I went with the belly markings. It would be good to confirm how reliable this is (obviously its only reliable if they're visible, and like sambo splotches they arent always)
Also, the one in the above shot was only about 2-3kg so pretty small.
Just not sure what that tuna could be if it wasnt a yellowfin, because the belly markings (again, damn smudge) were not like a longtail, they were like a YFT. It might not be a YFT, but if not, i'm not sure what it was. Either juvenile longtails have different belly markings than adults, or its not a YFT, but another species? (nothern bluefin, bigeye, something else?)
SandGroper84
Posts: 329
Date Joined: 06/02/10
is that really a yft?
is that really a yft?
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Brody
Posts: 1025
Date Joined: 06/02/07
looks kinda longtailish,
looks kinda longtailish, good little fish on fly but.
SandGroper84
Posts: 329
Date Joined: 06/02/10
thats wat i thought, not my
thats wat i thought, not my place to say though
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hlokk
Posts: 4290
Date Joined: 04/04/08
It was a yellowfin. Pulled
It was a yellowfin. Pulled another bigger one from the same school.
Had the yellowfin dots and stripes on it's belly but the damn lense had a smudge so it hasn't come out well plus the fish moved during the shot (from the pic you can't really see them so hence why it looks a bit like a longtail). Looked exactly like mine but a little smaller.
SandGroper84
Posts: 329
Date Joined: 06/02/10
ahh cool! that explains
ahh cool! that explains
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DazSamFishing
Posts: 1518
Date Joined: 19/08/09
not a YFT Matt, thought u
not a YFT Matt, thought u knew better?
hlokk
Posts: 4290
Date Joined: 04/04/08
Yeah, yeah, i know it looks
Yeah, yeah, i know it looks like a longtail. It is possible it is a longtail, however, it did have the characteristic yft dots stripes on belly (damn you camera smudge), and the body shape is more like a yft than a longtail. However, it could be that really small longtails have a slightly different shape, i'm no tuna expert.
Keep in mind, its a pretty poor photo for an ID though :p
DazSamFishing
Posts: 1518
Date Joined: 19/08/09
Lol. Trust me, you'll know a
Lol. Trust me, you'll know a YFT when you see one. The yellow in them stands out even in a black & white shot.
I noticed you got into some recently though. Noice.
hlokk
Posts: 4290
Date Joined: 04/04/08
Yeah, I did call a SBT for a
Yeah, I did call a SBT for a YFT a while ago, but having actually seen a YFT, and caught quite a few this year, I know theres a bit of a difference :p.
Cause it was so small, the thing i was going with was the pattern of belly stripes. Not all YFT's i've caught have had the ultra-vivid yellow on them (though all have yellow) and my camera has a penchant for not showing yellow (even the turtle dove YFTs didnt come out as yellow as they were IRL).
The longtails have kinda dots on their bellys sometimes, but they run like this whereas the YFT's seem to have vertical stripes and dots. This fish had the latter, not the dots, so hence why calling it a YFT. Now, I dont know just how reliable the dot pattern is (when its showing of course) though. Being small, it could be that its much harder to distinguish?
Of course, there had to be a damn smudge on the lense where the belly is, and in the other shot the tuna had to move dammit.
Rick
Posts: 1112
Date Joined: 22/12/06
Taste
They all taste good thats for sure
PGFC Member
hlokk
Posts: 4290
Date Joined: 04/04/08
Nah, longtails suck. SBT,
Nah, longtails suck. SBT, YFT and bigeye are where its at :) (having had all three less than one hour out fo the water :p)
crasny1
Posts: 7003
Date Joined: 16/10/08
I am with matt this time
Its a YFT more likely than a long tail IMO.
Neels
"I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact!!" _ Elon Musk
jay_burgess
Posts: 4648
Date Joined: 18/08/05
I'm pretty sure it's not a
I'm pretty sure it's not a yellowfin. All the small YFT we've caught have yellow that's so vivid it's almost impossible to confuse the ID.
hlokk
Posts: 4290
Date Joined: 04/04/08
Everytime i seem to take a
Everytime i seem to take a picture of a tuna, unless I use flash, the yellow is always washed out. The tuna we got at the Abrolhos/Turtle dove werent always neon yellow (though you could still see if you looked). E.g. the one here wasnt super yellow. The one in the above shots had about as yellow fins as the one I just linked (but didnt come up well). Though some yellow in fins doesnt mean a YFT, so hence why I went with the belly markings. It would be good to confirm how reliable this is (obviously its only reliable if they're visible, and like sambo splotches they arent always)
Also, the one in the above shot was only about 2-3kg so pretty small.
Just not sure what that tuna could be if it wasnt a yellowfin, because the belly markings (again, damn smudge) were not like a longtail, they were like a YFT. It might not be a YFT, but if not, i'm not sure what it was. Either juvenile longtails have different belly markings than adults, or its not a YFT, but another species? (nothern bluefin, bigeye, something else?)
crasny1
Posts: 7003
Date Joined: 16/10/08
Its a Tuna
Lets all get on with it I think and any tuna on fly is great fun.
Neels
"I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact!!" _ Elon Musk
hlokk
Posts: 4290
Date Joined: 04/04/08
Yeah, they're all fun
Yeah, they're all fun regardless
. Though, I like learning about the differences so I can ID them properly, so a bit of discussion is good 
alfred
Posts: 3097
Date Joined: 12/01/07
Matt, agreed, any tuna on a
Matt, agreed, any tuna on a fly is good.
Check the length of the pecs.