Longtail tuna

Longtail tuna size and bag limit in QLD

Not listed on the tidal limits page, so the general possession limit of 20 applies. No size limit, no closed season.

Checked 8 Oct 2026 against the Queensland Government pages: size and possession limits and closed seasons.

Limits are possession limits: they count everything you hold, including any at home in the freezer. In yellow (conservation park) zones: max 2 lines and 2 hooks in total per angler. Green zones: no fishing. All QLD fishing rules

When to catch longtail tuna in South East Queensland

• P peak season
• S in season
• – off season
• C closed season for at least part of the month

Tide: Not tide-driven: follow bait and birds; use wind and tide to drift up to a school quietly.

Time of day: Early morning before sunrise and again at sunset; calm glassed-out days.

Weather: calm or offshore wind and clear water suit them; rain makes little difference.

Seasons partly come from Coastwatch report mentions, not catch numbers.

Longtail tuna by area

Not in our guide for Brisbane River, Moreton Island and Offshore Moreton.

Around Scarborough and the Redcliffe Peninsula

Our local Redcliffe Peninsula notes come from local fishing columns and reports, and for longtail tuna they differ from the South East Queensland picture. Around Scarborough the best months are April, May, June and July, with March and August to November also worth a try.

By boat on bait balls: off the Redcliffe eastern beaches, the northern bay from the top of the Pearl Channel through the Spitfire Channel, and Hope Banks to Goat Island and north to Cowan Cowan.

When: Early morning before sunrise and again at sunset; calm, glassed-out days.

Where to catch longtail tuna in SEQ

On bait schools: northern Moreton Bay (Pearl and Spitfire channels, Hope Banks to Cowan Cowan), off the Redcliffe eastern beaches, Mooloolaba bay and Old Woman Island, Noosa North and Sunshine reefs, the Gold Coast (Gravel Patch off Burleigh, outside and inside the Seaway).

Longtail tuna is mostly a boat fishery in South East Queensland.

Catch Signal forecast areas that rate longtail tuna: Noosa River & Noosa Heads, Laguna Bay & Noosa offshore, Maroochy, Mooloolaba & Coolum, Caloundra & northern Pumicestone Passage, Bribie Island & southern Pumicestone Passage, Redcliffe Peninsula & Deception Bay, Bramble Bay, Pine River & Sandgate, Central bay & Moreton Island west, Wynnum, Manly & Wellington Point, Cleveland, Peel & Straddie west, Victoria Point, Redland Bay & bay islands, Jumpinpin, Jacobs Well & Pimpama, Gold Coast Broadwater, Seaway & Nerang River, Burleigh to Point Danger, Ocean side of Straddie & Moreton, Offshore: Mooloolaba to Caloundra, Offshore: Gold Coast.

Spots to try for longtail tuna

Picked because the water each spot reaches suits longtail tuna (our habitat match), not from catch reports. Each spot links to its place on the area page; tide times are for the place our forecast reads for that spot.

How to catch longtail tuna: best baits, lures and rig

Baits

• Mostly a lure fishery; live slimy mackerel or pilchards work near the boat

Lures

• Stickbaits (about 120-160 mm) with a slow twitch-twitch-pause
• Metal slugs 30-60 g
• Soft plastic jerkbaits

Longtail tuna rig

Braid with an FG-knotted 30-50 lb leader, loop knot to the lure, single hooks on stickbaits.

Good to know about longtail tuna

Approach from the side and cast past the school; never drive over it. The bay run is strongest in autumn; the Gold Coast run peaks later (Jun-Sep).

Open in the forecast

See longtail tuna in the Catch Signal app: seasons for the area you fish, closed-season warnings and the best days this week.