frigate tuna
Auxis thazard · Scombridae · predator
Small, abundant tuna that hunts in surface schools. It fights well on light tackle and is widely used as live bait or as cut bait for larger fish.
Also called: bonito-cachorro, cachorro, judeu, bonito, frigate tuna
- common size
- 30–45 cm
- maximum
- 65 cm
- common weight
- 0.4–1.5 kg
- record/max.
- 1.7 kg
- depth
- 0–50 m
- ideal water
- 25–28 °C
the right time
to be on the water
Choose the place and the species. The index, from 0 to 100, combines weather, sun, moon and tide with each fish's habits. Up to 28 days, with each day's confidence.
Reading the weather across 3 global models and 31 simulations…
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hour by hour
slide your finger or mouse over the chart to see each hoursee hour-by-hour table
why this index at —?
choose the day
Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
the fishing month at a glance
what's the best window for the crew?
Choose how many fishing days. We compare each stretch by its average index, discount days with a warning or closed season, and show the 3 best.
trend for the coming weeks
Line: the middle value of 31 simulations of the American GEFS model. Band: where 8 out of 10 fall. Narrow, firm trend; wide, high uncertainty.
everything about the frigate tuna
who is the frigate tuna
The frigate tuna (bonito cachorro) is the smallest of the tuna relatives an angler usually sees: rarely over 50 cm. It lives in tropical and subtropical seas worldwide, over the shelf and around oceanic islands, almost always in the top 50 m. It forms large schools that hunt anchovies, sardines, squid and crustacean larvae at the surface and, being so abundant, it is food for larger tunas, dorado, billfish and sharks. It spawns in warm water, peaking between 25 and 28 °C. In recreational fishing it is caught on trolling and by casting spoons and small jigs over the schools, and it is widely used as bait. The flesh is dark and strong.
fun facts
- It is prey for larger tunas, dorado, billfish and sharks, an important part of the open-sea food chain.
- The eastern Pacific population is treated as a separate subspecies.
identification
Robust, rounded body, with no scales outside the corselet, which is narrow at the back. The two dorsal fins are well separated. Dark blue back, almost black on the head, with 15 or more dark, wavy, nearly horizontal lines on the scaleless area; white belly with no spots. The little tunny has its dorsal fins close together and black spots below the pectoral fin; the Atlantic bonito is fully scaled. The sister species Auxis rochei, also called bonito cachorro, has a wider corselet.
where found
All along the Brazilian coast, on the shelf and around oceanic islands, in warm water.
Habitat: Surface and midwater of the shelf and of oceanic waters near islands, in schools.
coast
states
Amapá, Pará, Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul
when to fish
best season
Present year-round in warm waters; in the Southeast and South it is more common in the warm water of summer.
best time of day
Daytime, with peaks at dawn and dusk. Hunts by day, with peaks at dawn and at dusk, when bait schools rise.
what affects the frigate tuna
sensitivity The little bars show how much each factor affects this species. Five full: it feels it a lot.
cold and cold fronts
Warm-water fish: it disappears when the temperature drops below about 21 °C.
atmospheric pressure
A rough sea after a cold front scatters the schools.
moon
Small effect.
rain
Little effect in open sea.
water level
Not applicable at sea. The equivalent is the presence of bait on the surface.
noise
An engine over the school makes it sink; approach from the edge.
wind
Strong wind makes it hard to see the feeding and the birds.
tide
Near islands and points, the current concentrates bait.
depth
Almost always in the top 50 m.
how to fish
- rod
- 6'6" to 7', 10 to 20 lb
- spinning / baitcasting reel
- spinning reel 2500 to 4000
- line
- braided 15 to 20 lb
- leader
- fluorocarbon 20 to 30 lb, 1 m
- hook
- single hook 1/0 to 2/0 or the treble hooks of the baits
lures
- spoon and jig 15 to 40 g
- small trolling feather
- small mid-water plug
natural baits
- sardine strips
accessories
- alicate
- cooler with ice, if using it as bait
tip from an angler
When the school rises, cast ahead and reel in fast: a small, shiny bait works better than a large one.
rules for the frigate tuna
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
Conservation: Not on the national list (Portaria GM/MMA 1.667/2026). ICCAT tracks the species among the small tunas of the Atlantic. We did not find a specific federal rule for this species.
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
catch and release
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
Dies easily if handled too much. If you are going to release it, do it quickly and do not keep it out of the water for long.
in the kitchen
Dark, strong-flavored flesh; bleed and chill it quickly. Good canned, smoked or grilled, but it is mostly used as bait.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.00955, b = 3.07; FishBase (estimativa bayesiana, comprimento total)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
The season weights (months), the time of day and the sensitivities (cold, pressure, moon, wind, rain, tide, strong light, murky water and noise) are the app's editorial estimates, based on the literature below and on the field experience of anglers and guides. They are not official data nor a measurement made for this species, and they may vary by region and year. Closed seasons and legal rules appear in the rules section, with the norm and a link.
- scientific FishBase — Auxis thazard (ficha da espécie)Names, distribution, biology, length-weight relationship, country list and references. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- official Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.667, de 27 de abril de 2026 — Lista Nacional Oficial de Espécies da Fauna Ameaçadas de Extinção (peixes e invertebrados aquáticos)Most recent national list. The species is not on it (search by scientific name in the text published in the DOU, checked on October 13, 2026).
- official ICMBio/SALVE — Ficha de Auxis thazard (avaliação nacional do risco de extinção)ICMBio national assessment, published in 2026. DOI checked on Crossref.
- scientific IUCN Red List — Auxis thazard (avaliação global: Pouco Preocupante, LC, 01/03/2022)Global assessment. Link given on the FishBase entry (Red List, version 2025-2).
- technical ICCAT Manual, cap. 2.1.10.3 — Frigate tuna (Auxis thazard). International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas.Chapter by Mourato, B.; Barreto, T.; Lucena-Frédou, F., updated June 2021.
- scientific Collette, B. B.; Nauen, C. E. (1983). FAO species catalogue. Vol. 2. Scombrids of the world. FAO Fisheries Synopsis 125(2). Roma: FAO.
similar species
where each number comes from
The weather comes from three independent global models, cross-checked hour by hour: when they agree, confidence goes up; when they diverge, the band between them shows on the chart. Beyond 16 days, we use the GEFS ensemble of 31 simulations: if 20 of the 31 predict rain, the chance of rain is 65%. Sun and moon are calculated astronomically, with no uncertainty.
The index adds up, weighted for each species: time of day (species curve anchored to real sunrise and sunset), moon (transits, rise and set, phase), pressure (3 h trend and 24 h swing), water temperature (in rivers, estimated from air temperature; at sea, estimated by an ocean model), wind, rain, clouds, tide and the month in the species' cycle.
sources for this lookup
how accurate the forecast is
Accuracy measured in the reference project (4 regions, 93 days, forecast vs. observed): maximum temperature is off by 0.6 °C on average the next day and 1.7 °C at 7 days; rain of 5 mm or more is detected 76% of the time the next day and 57% at 7 days. Detection isn't everything: the false alarm rate isn't published here yet, and 93 days in 4 regions is still a small sample. We now also measure every day, at the app's destinations: