Difference between a Yellowtail and
a Yellowfin Tuna
Yellowtail off San Diego and Baja often get confused with
Tuna. The main difference between the two fish is the California
Yellowtail is a Jack and a cousin to the Amber Jack on the East
Coast and Gulf of Mexico and the Yellowfin Tuna is a Tuna.
The Yellowfin Tuna is just one of many tuna's targeted from San
Diego based sport boats. Bluefin, Big Eye, Albacore and Skipjack
are all species of tuna in the same family as the Yellowfin (locally
called "Ahi" in Hawaii) targeted from late Spring to Fall with
best action usually from July to Sept. Large Yellowfin Tuna 200+lbs
are referred to as "Cows" by the long range community and are
usually caught as far north as Magdelena "Mag" Bay off the Baja
Coast between Fall and Spring.
The explosive fighting Yellowtail peak season is summer months but early Spring Yellowtail from Southern California boats is not uncommon.
1/2 day and 3/4 day sportfishing party
boats and start targeting these fish as soon as the sportfishing boats start seeing signs of surface action big game fish as just happened in early April 2011. Both
Yellowfin Tuna and Yellowtail are excellent eating both as Sashimi
as Wasabi or Hamachi. For more
info on Yellowtail Catching Tips I wrote a article about them here-
Rob -
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