Yellowfin tuna are a prized catch off every Florida port.

A participant in the Great Bahamas Tuna Wars of the 1960s insisted that every giant bluefin tuna felt fully confident it could pull a man’s arms out by the roots.

The fact that none had ever actually performed the extraction was, he figured, attributable more to fast boats and smooth reels than to misplaced confidence on the part of the tuna.

As a matter of fact, all tunas seem to brim with the same confidence. It’s just that smaller species, lacking the heft of the giant bluefin, must be content to simply wear down the angler’s arms until they turn to jelly and feel ready to fall off on their own.

Yes, it’s pretty safe to say that tunas are the strongest and most determined brawlers in all of fishdom. Even billfishes, their closest challengers, don’t quite match them in pound-for-pound pulling power, simply because those long-nosed showboats waste too much of their energy jumping and thrashing. By contrast, a tuna—any tuna, large or small—simply flexes his considerable muscle and executes the one tactic in his playbook, which is Full Speed Ahead (or, more frighteningly, Full Speed Down).

So anglers beware! Most species of Atlantic tuna are found in our waters, meaning that you might run afoul of one at any time, even if you do all your fishing in little boats or from piers.

Note contrasting fin colors between yellowfin, bottom, and blackfin, top.

The common tunas of Florida and The Bahamas, in ascending order of size, are the little tunny, skipjack tuna, (Florida veterans call both of those “bonito”), blackfin tuna, and yellowfin tuna. Less common is the Atlantic bonito, and downright rare are the albacore, the bigeye tuna, and—sadly, because it wasn’t always so—the giant bluefin tuna.

In all, the tuna tally comes to eight. Separating the species can be confusing but after a novice has glanced at any one of them he’ll be able to recognize any of the others as a tuna. All are built with bullet-shaped heads, crescent tails reinforced by bony plates, and, in between, an exorbitant mass of red-meated muscle. A glance will tell you theirs is an anatomy designed for speed, power and stamina. And to prove the observation you have only to hook any of the tunas with tackle of appropriate size...

To Florida anglers on both coasts, the one really familiar member of the group is the little tunny, which we usually call bonito and typically pronounce “bonita.” Like a jack crevalle (but in spades), the bonito is looked upon as no more than an exhausting nuisance by most fishermen, who are generally angling for something more prestigious, or at least more edible. But all that’s necessary here is a change of attitude. While it’s true that a bonito on 20-pound or 30-pound trolling line means nothing but a strenuous workout for no applause, that same little bundle of energy takes on a starring role when you challenge it with fly or light spinning tackle.

In size and habit, the skipjack tuna—which we tend to label “oceanic bonito”—is virtually a carbon copy of the little tunny. Both are common in sizes from a pound or so up to about 15 pounds, with rare individuals topping 30 pounds. Similar as they are, however, they are easily distinguished. For one thing, the skipjack generally sticks to blue water, whereas the little tunny doesn’t mind chasing bait in much shallower areas—sometimes all the way to the beach. That’s the reason why little tunny are familiar to many weekend boaters along our West Coast, whereas skipjacks are seldom seen in the Gulf except by those wandering far from shore in search of blue water. Of course, the two species also have slightly different looks. The skipjack wears a series of stripes below the lateral line, while the little tunny shows only spots below that line, and a mottled pattern above it.

The true Atlantic bonito is essentially a temperate species that seldom ventures into Florida’s warmer climes but is no stranger to our northern waters, both Atlantic and Gulf. Usually under five pounds and seldom topping 10, this one also has stripes, but unlike the skipjack, it keeps them above the lateral line.