Bluefin Tuna
The freight train of the blue water — a warm-blooded rocket that lives on the temperature break.
- Type
- Bluefin tuna
- Scientific name
- Thunnus orientalis
- Typical size
- 20–100 lb (cows 200 lb+)
- Likes water
- 62–68°F, deep & blue
- Top speed
- Bursts near 40 mph
- Best months
- Jun – Nov
Thunnus orientalis
Meet the bluefin
Bluefin are the muscle cars of the tuna world — thick, fast, and built to swim forever. They’re one of the only fish that are warm-blooded, so they can keep their body hotter than the ocean around them. That’s their superpower: they cruise cold, deep water and then blitz a bait faster than almost anything that swims.
Where they hang out
Out in the deep blue, away from the beach. Bluefin love a temperature break — the invisible line where warm water meets cool — and they’ll stack under floating kelp paddies, bird schools, and even hang around whales. Find the clean blue water and the life, and you’ve found the tuna.
How big they get
This is why people lose sleep. A “schoolie” might be 20–40 pounds. A good one is triple digits. And in warm years, giant “cows” over 200 pounds show up and absolutely smoke tackle. Hooking one is a workout you’ll remember.
How to get bit
Sneaky and picky. Anglers fly-line live sardines, drop sinker rigs deep, fly kites, and throw big poppers and stickbaits when the fish are “foaming” on the surface. Bring heavy gear — bluefin pull like a truck and don’t quit.
Bluefin can dive over 1,500 feet and cross the entire Pacific Ocean. The fish you catch off San Diego may have hatched near Japan.
Is it a bluefin tuna day?
Load Bluefin Tuna into the live Bite Score and see where the water’s worth the run right now.