Tuna Gear
- Thread starter Chuck
- Start date
Birdsnest
Well-Known Member
One guy out of Tofino whom I would dare say one of the best fishers out this town only uses two colours(the one in the left and the middle one). He general catches just as many or more fish than the rest of us. I have found that the blue zuker on the right can be good on the early season(top of july). I have heard that white can be good as well and I have caught some larger fish on the darker colors (black and black and purple) on some days. For the most part if the fish are chompin what matters most is having weedless gear in the water moving. If the fish aren't on the chomp nobody is getting them.
Birdsnest
Well-Known Member
Trolling and jigging can't be done at the same time unless you are running specific gear. What I think does matter is how the school is approached. I am settled on coming up on the school at 10 kn and jamming the boat in reverse to stop right on top of the jumpers and dropping the jigs through the champaign water made from the props. There are really nice jigs on the market these days and I don't think it matters much which one is used. This was my favourite last year I tend to lean towards green but I have only started jigged up tunas last year.
Any of these will do but I am looking forward to using the two bottom ones and trying the tiny one when the fish are picky. It seems that off Tofino the majority of the feed is tiny stuff not bigger than 2 inches.
I highly recommend having two of these splash boats. One left and one right. They plash well and pull out to the sides of the boat and are best fished off rods. The rougher it is the closer they need to be fished to the boat. On the calm days they can be fished up to 100yard from the boat but i find that to be pointless and prefer to keep them close to my spread. This one I painted silver but I have yet to find a reason why all this splash gear is orange other than it is easy to see for the fishers. I have painted these often and never found any color to improve catching.
Any of these will do but I am looking forward to using the two bottom ones and trying the tiny one when the fish are picky. It seems that off Tofino the majority of the feed is tiny stuff not bigger than 2 inches.
I highly recommend having two of these splash boats. One left and one right. They plash well and pull out to the sides of the boat and are best fished off rods. The rougher it is the closer they need to be fished to the boat. On the calm days they can be fished up to 100yard from the boat but i find that to be pointless and prefer to keep them close to my spread. This one I painted silver but I have yet to find a reason why all this splash gear is orange other than it is easy to see for the fishers. I have painted these often and never found any color to improve catching.
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Chuck
Active Member
What is the line/swivel on the back of the splasher for? Do you run it in front of a Zucker??
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Aces
Well-Known Member
To attach your clone to
Chuck
Active Member
What is a clone? An attractor of some sort?
Dogbreath
Well-Known Member
A Tuna Clone is a cheap lure originally made by Sevenstrand they come in a couple different sizes the most common being about 6" long.
Apparently since the sale of the company they are harder to find but there are lots imitators and commercial places usually have a decent selection.
Chuck
Active Member
Thanks, BN.
cj6530
Member
So this is for trolling only
I use 40-50LB, 50-100ft mono topshots on my reels (spool filled with solid or hollow braid). 30lb is on the low end as you can only use 10lb or so of drag setting at that test. Tuna are warm blooded. You really don't want to fight tuna like you would a salmon. Yarding them in as fast as possible and into an ice slurry is key for meat quality. As such 12-15lb of drag with 40lb min mainline is more ideal.
As far as leader on your lures. 6ft of heavier 80-150 lb is the norm. This is so the dude on the gaff can freehand grab the leader and control the fish for a good clean gaff. Of course if you don't mind playing a fish, 30lb is totally cool. Just don't be that guy….on your buddies boat who is under gunned spending 20 minutes to land an Albacore crossing ever ones else's line back and forth.
Albacore fishing is about the fun of the prep, the fishing method and the meat. The actual catching is more of a horse them in as fast as possible kinda deal.
Dogbreath
Well-Known Member
Agreed but from time to time you'll be using a smaller lure and the fish will end up with the whole lure in his mouth and so will be able to close his yap/breathe that much more easily-then he'll really kick your butt.
Derby
Crew Member
Birdsnest
Well-Known Member
Use what ever you like. I like heavier line. I think CJ6530 worded it nicely. I would add that when you break off a fish it will sound and take the rest of the school with it. This is what I have heard anyway. So there are many advantages to get these fish to the boat quickly including keeping the school close to the boat/surface.
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Chuck
Active Member
BN, put those in front of all your lures? And if so how far from the lure?
Chuck
Active Member
So Derby, are you tying or crimping your connections??
Tidal Chaos
Active Member
I wouldn't get too carried away with top shot unless you are running your lures off your main line; most of us just run 65-80 lb braid off the rod to an attractor and then 100-150lb mono from the attractor to the lure; the heavier the mono the more control you have to just throw the fish in the boat or when trying to gaff them. these fish hit at some where around 30 mph and don't slow down until you make them; if your gaff man misses a few times and you are using the double barbless hooks; the fish will keep on swimming right by your boat and off the hook. Some guys like the top shot; some don't; but when you have a quad on and all your rods are crossed and tangled the mono will help with untangling; but when they are all crossed and knotted and chaffed from the fun you just had; the high will go away as you are trying to repair and get your lines back in the water to do it all over again! this fishery is about staying on the school and keeping your gear in the water and getting it back in the water to continue hooking up; the more complex you make it the more issues you may run into staying on the school. These fish will take almost any color lure when they are on the bite; you just need to get them to notice the lure and get them to bite the lure; the rest is up to you. Birdie is the guy most of us have learned a thing or two from; looking at his pics; you will notice he keeps it simple and kills fish.
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Sculpin
Well-Known Member
Great posts guys.
Pacific Net and Twine, Trotac, and Harbour Chandler have all that one needs for this fishery tackle wise.
I find the thrill is in the hunt. Finding them is the hardest part of this fishery. It is a BIG ocean out there. Learning to read the water conditions etc. and trying to make the best guess as to where to start is the challenging part. Catching them is the easy part
. Like others have posted, when they are on the chew they will take anything thrown at them and eat the paint off the bottom of the boat if given a chance lol.
We are just starting to go through all the tackle from last year and get it ready to go for late summer.
Pacific Net and Twine, Trotac, and Harbour Chandler have all that one needs for this fishery tackle wise.
I find the thrill is in the hunt. Finding them is the hardest part of this fishery. It is a BIG ocean out there. Learning to read the water conditions etc. and trying to make the best guess as to where to start is the challenging part. Catching them is the easy part
. Like others have posted, when they are on the chew they will take anything thrown at them and eat the paint off the bottom of the boat if given a chance lol.We are just starting to go through all the tackle from last year and get it ready to go for late summer.
