How to catch trevalla

Blue-eye trevalla, or blue-eye as they are commonly known, are a bottom-dwelling deep water oceanic fish usually found on the continental slope or deeper.

This means fishers wanting to catch them should plan around good weather, low winds and minimal swell.

Given this involves long journeys into open ocean, boats must be seaworthy for such a trip with quality marine electronics including a sounder and charts to identify blue-eye ground.

Circle hooks are essential for targeting blue-eye and cut fish or squid are perfect for bait. It’s best to run only one or two rods as deep-water tangles are common if you get overzealous!

On these wider grounds it’s impossible to set anchor so fishing is done on the drift. This allows you to cover a lot more distance and present your baits to more fish, but there are a few factors to consider for best results.

Dropping baits down deep, even with heavy sinkers, takes time which means it’s very easy to drift away from your intended mark.

Deep drop fishers often slowly reverse their boat into the wind so the drift speed is slowed to less than 1.5 knots, allowing lines to get to the bottom and close to vertical for bite detection.

If there is any current, your drift should start well up current from where you intend to fish, factoring in the long time it can take for the sinker to reach the bottom.

Electric reels are also an option and often run from a separate battery in order to preserve the operating batteries on the boat.