Rayner on Bluefin by Lee Rayner

Just like animals migrating in the wild know when its time to head off to various destinations, it's just the same for us as anglers.

This was rammed home to me when in early March I was drawn towards the tackle cupboard and suddenly found myself dragging out lure wraps full of skirts aimed at tuna. Right next to them sat boxes of hardbodied minnows in preparation for the onset of what will hopefully be another thumper of a year on the southern bluefin tuna as they move within catching distance for anglers on the south west of Victoria.

What was once just thought of as a small spasmodic run of southern bluefin tuna (SBT) through our waters has now become an annual and much anticipated part of anglers yearly fishing calendar. This is great for Victorian anglers as we can drive for 2-4 hours down the road and find yourself getting your arm stretched by tuna that can range from jelly beans to beer barrels.

You know your fishery is good when anglers from NSW and Qld are now heading this way to fish in 'Mexican' waters each autumn.

GETTING STARTED

Heading to big waters of the south west of the state in locations such as Portland and Port Fairy, or just over the South Australian border to Port MacDonnell can be (and is) a bit of a daunting affair if you haven't done it before. However these days it is made so much easier due to technology which ranges from the seaworthiness of the boats, marine electronics, right up to the websites that you can now check to get everything from fishing reports to weather and sea conditions.

In saying that however, if you are heading down to these areas for the first time it's a great idea to get a mate who has fished the area before to jump onboard. Another great option and probably one of the smartest ways to fast track the catching of a SBT is to book with one of the many great charter boats that operate mainly out of Portland.

With these guys you are in safe and experienced hands, automatically making you feel more at ease dealing with the often-big swells and the long distances travelled, especially when the fish are out along the edge of the Continental Shelf.

As mentioned before the best thing about charter boats is that they can help you fast track y