The Dogtooth Tuna is one of the best fights at Kaiji No Ri, and it is caught in a way nothing else on the map is: by casting a topwater popper near the reefs and working the surface. Despite the name it is not actually a tuna, but it hits like an apex predator and it fights dirty, diving for the rocks to try to cut you off. My Trophy went 80.952 kg and 214.0 cm for 31,244 coins and 12,831 XP. This guide covers the reef spot, the popper rig, and how to stop this fish from breaking you off in the structure.
Why Target the Dogtooth Tuna?
My Trophy paid 31,244 coins and 12,831 XP. That puts it in the middle of the Kaiji No Ri pack: well above the Albacore and the squid, and below the open-water Yellowfin Tuna and Striped Marlin. It reaches up to 130 kg, so a Unique would pay more than my Trophy. As a coin earner it is a solid, dependable catch rather than a jackpot.
But the real reason to fish it is the fight and the style. Casting poppers at the surface for a hard-hitting reef predator is a different, more active kind of fishing than dragging lures behind the boat, and the Dogtooth puts up one of the most stubborn fights on the map. If you want engagement rather than just income, this is a great target.
It sits in my Kaiji No Ri cluster with my Yellowfin Tuna, Striped Marlin, Albacore, Bigfin Reef Squid, Giant Trevally, and Giant Grouper guides.
About the Dogtooth Tuna
Here is a fun fact to open with: despite its name, the Dogtooth Tuna is not actually a tuna. It only resembles one. It is a large Indo-Pacific pelagic that lives at depths of 10 to 300 metres and prefers to hide near reefs, underwater rocks, and steep cliffs. It reaches up to 2.5 metres and 130 kg, and it is a genuine apex predator that competes for food with other fish, even sharks and groupers. It hunts alone or in small groups, feeding on small schooling fish and squid.
The most important line in its description is about the fight. The game warns that the Dogtooth resists very strongly and makes sharp dives to the depths, where it will try to rub your line against bottom objects to break free. That single behaviour shapes everything about how you play it, and I will come back to it when we get to landing the fish.
Where to Catch Dogtooth Tuna at Kaiji No Ri
I marked and caught mine near coordinates -3335, -174, in the reef water west of Green Harbor. This matters, because the Dogtooth is a structure fish, not an open-water roamer. Where you troll the open sea for tuna and marlin, you fish the Dogtooth near the rocks, reefs, and cliffs where it hides and ambushes prey. On this map that groups it with the squid ground rather than the open-water trolling lanes.
Look for the rocky islands and reef edges, and cast your popper around that structure. The catch screenshots show the rocky outcrops in the background for a reason: that is exactly the kind of water this fish holds in. Work the surface near the rocks rather than heading out to open sea.
Timing
I caught mine at 13:29, Midday, under clear sun at 21°C air and 23°C water with a light north westerly around 6.5 m/s. The map activity chart around that time showed strong bite rate in the early afternoon, tailing off later, with the usual separate rise overnight.
As always the chart is generalised bite rate for the water rather than a Dogtooth specific graph, so use it loosely. Midday clearly produced for me. If the daytime bite goes quiet, use Forward Time to try the overnight rise, and avoid Next Day, which sells your storage.
The Rig: Heavy Spinning and a Topwater Popper
This is the exact rig that landed the fish:
- Rod: MizuJigu 170 SE
- Reel: JigokuTen 16000 SE
- Main line: Kaigen Fluoro 1.05 mm, 324 m spooled
- Lure: Stealth Popper 170 g, #8/0
If the rod and reel look familiar, they should. This is the same MizuJigu 170 SE and JigokuTen 16000 SE spinning outfit I use for Bigfin Reef Squid, which tells you how versatile that rod is. The difference is what you hang off it. For the squid I run a light 0.28 mm line and a small jig. For the Dogtooth I step up to a heavy 1.05 mm fluorocarbon and a big topwater popper, because this is a far bigger, harder fish that lives in line-cutting structure. Same rod, completely different job.
The heavy line is not optional here. Given that the Dogtooth actively tries to saw your line off on the rocks, the thicker fluorocarbon is your defence against exactly that. Do not fish this on light line and expect to land the big ones.
The Stealth Popper
The Stealth Popper is a floating topwater lure built for surface hunters. Worked across the top, it creates strong water movement that triggers aggressive strikes, and it carries two treble hooks for a firm hold. This is what makes Dogtooth fishing feel so different from the rest of the map: you are watching a lure chug across the surface and waiting for a violent take, rather than sitting on a bottom rig or trailing lures behind the boat.
The Dogtooth also lists Plugs, Trolling Octopuses, Pilkers, Crankbaits, Minnows, and Medium Spoon among its preferred lures, plus baitfish like Finger Mullets, Scaled Sardines, and Japanese Flying Squid. So you can troll or jig for it too. But the popper is the most fun way to catch it, and it is what worked for me.
Landing a Fish That Dives for the Rocks
This is the part that matters most. The Dogtooth resists hard and makes sharp, powerful dives toward the bottom, specifically to rub your line against rocks and reef and break itself off. So the whole battle is about keeping it up and away from structure. When it dives, do not give it slack line to work with; keep steady pressure and try to turn its head before it reaches the rocks. The heavy fluorocarbon buys you a margin if it does reach structure, but the goal is to stop it getting there at all. At around 81 kg mine came up to hand once I had it away from the reef, no crane needed.
Common Mistakes
Letting it reach the rocks. The Dogtooth dives into structure to cut your line. Keep steady pressure and turn its head early. This is the mistake that loses the big ones.
Fishing light line. Against a fish that saws line on rocks, thin line is asking to be broken off. Run the heavy fluorocarbon.
Fishing open water. This is a reef and rock fish, not an open-water roamer like the tuna and marlin. Cast your popper around structure.
Ignoring the popper style. The topwater take is the whole appeal. Work the popper across the surface near the reefs rather than defaulting to trolling.
Pressing Next Day. It sells your whole storage. Use Forward Time instead.