How to Fish a Spreader Bar for Tuna - Rigging, Speed, and Spread Position

If you already know what a spreader bar is and how the basic rigging works, good. Go read our general spreader bar guide if you need that foundation. This article assumes you are past the basics and want to know how to fish a bar specifically for tuna - the color and skirt combinations that work, where the bar sits in a tuna spread versus a dredge, how fast to troll it, what happens with the back bait when a bluefin charges, and what to do when a 200 lb fish blows up on a bar and somehow misses.

Spreader bars catch tuna because tuna are school feeders. A single lure trolled through the water is one bait swimming alone. A spreader bar is 9 to 15 squid or flying fish shapes swimming in tight formation, mimicking a pod of fleeing baitfish. That silhouette is what triggers tuna to commit. A lone lure might get a follow. A spreader bar gets a bite.

Why tuna hit spreader bars when they ignore lures

Tuna think in schools. Bluefin, yellowfin, and bigeye spend their lives chasing organized pods of squid, flying fish, herring, and mackerel. Their feeding instinct is wired for density - they drive into a bait pod, isolate something on the edge, and eat it. A single trolling lure does not trigger that response as strongly as a formation does.

A spreader bar solves this. The arm frame holds 6 to 12 teasers in a grid pattern that mimics a small baitfish school swimming just below the surface. The tuna see the formation from below, lock onto the trailing bait (the one that looks slightly separated from the pack), and hit it. That trailing bait - the back bait or "money bait" - is the only one with a hook. Every other squid on the bar is a hookless teaser.

The combination of a dredge running deep (10 to 15 feet below the surface), a spreader bar running on or just below the surface, and individual trolling lures creates a three-dimensional bait spread that mimics an entire ecosystem of fleeing prey. This dredge-plus-bar-plus-lure teaser system is what tournament boats run because it compresses tuna feeding behavior into a narrow kill zone behind the boat where every position has a hook.

How to rig a spreader bar for tuna: hook placement and back bait

The Epic Flying Fish Spreader Bar is purpose-built for this. The frame holds multiple flying fish shapes on droppers, with a longer center dropper for the back bait. The critical rigging decisions for tuna are hook placement, hook style, and skirt color.

Hook placement. The hook goes in the back bait only - the trailing center squid or flying fish that hangs 12 to 18 inches behind the last row of teasers. Rig the hook so the point faces up and sits just behind the skirt head. For tuna, the hook should be partially exposed, not buried inside the skirt. Tuna hit hard and fast. A buried hook delays penetration and costs you fish.

Stinger hook vs single hook. This is the biggest rigging debate in tuna spreader bar fishing.

A single 7/0 to 9/0 J-hook or circle hook through the back bait is the standard setup. It is simple, reliable, and works on all tuna species. Circle hooks in the 8/0 to 10/0 range are preferred when targeting larger bluefin because they set in the corner of the mouth and reduce gut hooks - which matters when you are releasing fish under NOAA regulations.

A stinger rig adds a second smaller hook (5/0 to 7/0) trailing 2 to 4 inches behind the primary hook on a short piece of cable or heavy fluoro. The theory is that tuna often bite short on spreader bars, grabbing the tail end of the back bait and missing the primary hook. The stinger catches those short biters. On yellowfin in the 40 to 80 lb class, stinger rigs increase hookup rates noticeably. On bluefin over 100 lb, stinger rigs add complexity and another potential failure point.

My recommendation: single hook for bluefin, stinger for yellowfin. If you are fishing a mixed area where both species are present, run a single circle hook and accept the occasional missed yellowfin in exchange for simpler rigging.

Leader. Run 150 to 250 lb Diamond Wind-On Leader from the snap swivel to the bar frame. For the back bait dropper, use 100 to 150 lb fluorocarbon. Tuna have excellent eyesight in clear water, and the dropper leader is the only piece of terminal tackle the fish actually inspects before eating. The bar frame itself can be heavier - 200 to 300 lb - because the teasers mask it.

Connect the bar to your mainline with a heavy-duty Ball Bearing Snap Swivel or Fast Clips Dredge Snap. The fast clip makes deploying and retrieving the bar faster when you need to clear lines during a bite.

Skirt colors for tuna. Color selection differs between bluefin and yellowfin.

Bluefin: Dark colors. Black/purple, black/red, and dark blue/black squid patterns are the standard in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic canyon fishery. Bluefin feed heavily on squid and mackerel, and those dark profiles match the bait they are already eating. When bluefin are keyed on herring, a green/silver or blue/silver skirt combination produces. 9-inch Octopus Skirts in dark purple or black give you the right profile.

Yellowfin: Brighter colors. Pink/white, blue/white, and chartreuse/green skirt combinations work across the Gulf and Southeast. Yellowfin chase flying fish and smaller schooling bait, and brighter profiles mimic that forage better in blue water. If you are fishing near rigs in the Gulf, natural squid color (pink/clear) is hard to beat.

Where does the spreader bar go in your spread?

Spread position matters more for tuna than for any other species. Tuna approach a trolling spread from specific angles, and where the bar sits determines whether it catches the fish's attention or gets ignored.

A typical tuna trolling spread runs 5 to 7 lines. Here is where the spreader bar fits:

Long rigger or flat line position, 75 to 150 feet back. The bar runs on or just under the surface, either on a flat line from a rod holder or off a rigger clip set low. You want the bar swimming in clean water behind the prop wash, not tumbling through the wake turbulence. Most tuna crews run the bar from a flat line because rigger clips can cause the bar to skip and lose its swimming action.

Relationship to the dredge. If you are running a dredge (and you should be for tuna), the dredge runs 40 to 60 feet back, 10 to 15 feet below the surface, on each side of the spread. The dredge is the deep attractor - it mimics a subsurface bait school and pulls tuna up from depth. The spreader bar runs further back and higher in the water column. The visual effect from below is a deep bait school (dredge) with a separated surface pod (spreader bar) and individual fleeing bait (your trolling lures). Tuna see all of it, rise on the dredge, and commit to the bar or a trailing lure.

Relationship to trolling lures. Your individual lures - wahoo bullets, skirted ballyhoo, cedar plugs - run in the close positions: short rigger (25-40 feet back), shotgun (center, 50-75 feet back). The spreader bar should be the longest line in the spread. Tuna often follow the dredge and lures for hundreds of yards before committing. The bar, running furthest back, is what finally converts the follow into a strike because it looks most like natural bait.

If you are building a wahoo-plus-tuna spread, check our wahoo trolling spread guide for how the lure positions layer with teaser systems. And for yellowfin-specific strategies including tackle specs and techniques beyond trolling, see our yellowfin tuna fishing guide.

Trolling speed for spreader bars: slow enough to swim, fast enough to stay on top

Spreader bars have a narrower speed window than individual lures. Too fast and the bar skips out of the water and tumbles. Too slow and the squid shapes lose their swimming action and go limp.

The sweet spot: 5 to 7 knots. This is slower than high-speed wahoo trolling (10-14 knots) and overlaps with the low end of typical tuna trolling speed. At 5 knots, the bar swims with a natural undulating rhythm. At 7 knots, it stays on the surface with more aggressive movement. Over 8 knots, most bars become unstable.

Speed adjustments by conditions. In calm seas, you can push toward 7 knots without the bar skipping. In 3 to 5 foot seas, drop to 5 to 5.5 knots because the wave action adds vertical movement that compounds with speed. In a following sea, the bar rides up on waves and can porpoise - reduce speed or let out more line to keep it swimming in the wave trough.

Speed for specific tuna. Yellowfin are comfortable eating at slightly higher trolling speeds. You can troll a bar at 6.5 to 7.5 knots for yellowfin in the Gulf without losing bites. Bluefin, particularly large fish over 200 lb, respond better to slower presentations - 5 to 6 knots. Giant bluefin are not chasing fast-moving surface bait as aggressively as yellowfin. They approach a spread methodically, following the dredge and teasers before committing.

The rest of your spread needs to work at bar speed, too. If your wahoo lures are designed for 12 knots, they will not perform at 5. Build a tuna spread with lures that are designed for 5 to 8 knot trolling. Skirted ballyhoo, daisy chains, cedar plugs, and small jet heads all perform well in this speed range.

Pro tip: vary your speed. Tuna react to speed changes. A slow bump from 5.5 to 7 knots for 30 seconds, then back down, mimics a bait school accelerating in fear. That speed change triggers strikes more often than holding a constant speed. Experienced captains "bump" the throttle every 10 to 15 minutes.

What to do when a tuna blows up on a spreader bar and misses

This happens more than anyone admits. A tuna charges the bar, detonates on the back bait, and somehow does not hook up. The splash is massive, your crew is screaming, and the rod never loads. Now what?

Do not pull the bar. Your first instinct is to reel in and check the bait. Resist it. The tuna is still there. It missed because it struck at the edge of the bait school (the teaser squid) instead of the back bait. Leave the bar in the water and keep trolling at the same speed.

Drop a pitch bait. This is the single most important technique for converting missed spreader bar strikes. The instant a tuna blows up on the bar, your designated pitch man grabs a pre-rigged spinning rod loaded with Diamond Hollow Core Braid Gen III and pitches a live bait or a rigged ballyhoo back to where the strike happened. The tuna is hot, it is circling the bar trying to re-engage, and a free-swimming bait dropping into its face almost always gets eaten. Some boats keep a pitch rod rigged with a 3 to 5 oz Piano Wire leader and a skirted ballyhoo for exactly this situation.

Circle back. If the pitch bait does not connect, mark the GPS waypoint and circle back within 2 to 3 minutes. Tuna that commit to a spread and miss usually stay in the area for a few minutes, feeding on whatever real bait is in the water column. Running back over the waypoint with the full spread puts the bar right back in front of the same fish.

Check your back bait after the pass. If the hook is straightened, the leader is chafed, or the skirt is shredded, that fish did hit the right bait - you just had a rigging failure. Replace the hook, check the leader, and get the bar back out. Stainless steel hooks are standard for spreader bars because they resist corrosion and do not need replacement due to rust between trips.

Adjust your dropper length. If you get repeated blowups without hookups, your back bait may be too close to the teaser pack. Extend the center dropper by 6 to 12 inches so the back bait separates more clearly from the hookless squid. Tuna need to distinguish the money bait from the crowd.

Some boats also run a Clarkspoon Mini Spreader Bar as a secondary bar on the opposite flat line. The smaller profile works well for school yellowfin in the 30 to 60 lb range and gives you a second spreader bar position without the drag of a full-size frame.

The conversion rate on spreader bar strikes is lower than on individual trolling lures because the tuna has 12+ targets to choose from and only one has a hook. That is the trade-off. The bar generates more strikes than a single lure, but a smaller percentage connect. The pitch bait system exists to close that gap.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many hooks should a tuna spreader bar have?

One. The back bait (center trailing squid or flying fish) carries the only hook. Every other bait shape on the bar is a hookless teaser. Multiple hooks cause tangles, reduce the bar's natural swimming action, and in many tournament rules, disqualify the rig.

What size spreader bar do I need for bluefin tuna?

A 36 to 48 inch arm frame with 9 to 15 squid or flying fish shapes is standard for bluefin. Larger bars with 13 to 15 shapes create a bigger silhouette that attracts bigger fish. For yellowfin and smaller tuna, a 24 to 36 inch frame with 9 shapes is sufficient.

Can I troll a spreader bar and wahoo lures at the same time?

Yes, but you need to compromise on speed. Wahoo lures run best at 10 to 14 knots. Spreader bars max out around 7 to 8 knots. Set your trolling speed at 7 to 8 knots and use wahoo lures that perform at that speed, or run the bar on a separate rod that can be deployed and retrieved independently when you shift to higher-speed wahoo trolling.

Do I need a dredge if I am running a spreader bar?

A dredge is not required, but the combination of dredge plus spreader bar dramatically increases tuna activity behind the boat. The dredge pulls fish up from depth while the bar gives them a target on or near the surface. Running both creates the three-dimensional bait simulation that tournament-level spreads are built around.

What is the best trolling speed for a tuna spreader bar?

5 to 7 knots for most conditions. Yellowfin tolerate the higher end (6.5-7.5 knots). Bluefin, especially large fish, respond better to the lower end (5-6 knots). Adjust down in rough seas to prevent the bar from skipping, and vary speed periodically to trigger reaction strikes.