A good post from the ifish forum.........
"At this time of year we're all fired up about tuna, and there's a lot of chatter about all the gear needed for a successful trip - outriggers, bait tanks, lever-drag reels, multiple copies of lures, iron...the list goes on.
But if you're just starting out, you don't need all this stuff. In fact you can probably use much of what you already have. And you can get what you don't have on the cheap. Don't let the lack of gear keep you from tuna!
Here is a list of things you DON'T really need.
* Live bait tank
* Dead bait
* Outriggers
* Expensive rods and reels
* Iron
Bait, live or dead, is not at all necessary, nor is it especially advisable for newcomers. In fact, bait has only become fashionable in the last few years in Oregon. Many (if not most) boats don't use bait of any sort.
You do need at least 3 trolling outfits (total for the boat) capable of handling 30, 40 or 60 pound line, with decent drags. Sturgeon outfits generally work fine. If you have to buy these, get Penn 113H reels ($60 used
on ebay, twice that new) or Penn 500s ($30 used
on ebay, twice that new) and fill with 40# or 30# mono respectively. You might have to replace the drag washers on used reels. Daiwa Sealines are also good. Small levelwind salmon reels - not so much.
If you're using existing reels, put a 150 foot mono topshot on top of your braid, 30 or 40#. Lots of guys use 50 to 80 pound line, which is fine too.
Rods can be almost any medium-heavy stick in the 7 foot range. You can use salmon rods in a pinch, but they are too long and too whippy. Garage-sale sticks capable of handlng 30, 40, or 60# line work fine. One of my favorites is a 1950s vintage solid-glass stick with a wooden handle...cheap and indescructible. If you're buying new, consider the Ugly Stick Tigers for $60 a copy.
If you have heavy spinning tackle (30 pound class or above), that works fine for trolling as well. Stay away from the 10 foot surf rods, but any stout 7 or 8 foot stick will work.
For trolling lures, a hundred dollar bill gets you started.
* one cedar plug, 7", natural color.....$12
* two Rapala Xrap magnum diving plugs, size 20, bonito, spotted minnow, blue sardine, green mackerel color (or any color mostly blue or green).....$20 each
* three clone-type lures. These are the classic lead-head trolling lures made by Zuker, Sevenstrand, Sumo and others. Get the smaller sizes, around 6 inches long. Get one Zuchinni color, one Mexican Flag color, and one purple/black color.....$12 each rigged
* Swimbaits, a half-dozen 1.5 ounce heads, and a dozen tails in Channel Island Chovy, green/white, black white
That's it!
Troll this stuff at 5 to 7 knots, about 30 to 60 feet behind the boat. Run some lures closer, some farther. Don't worry about fancy spread patterns. Experiment with trolling speed and distance behind the boat.
If you find the fish (which is 90% of the battle), you're likely to catch a few on the troll with this gear. You might also catch a lot.
This stuff will work well in July and August. After that tuna can get finicky and trollng doesn't work as well. That's a whole other discussion. So is boating safety and navigation.
Don't let fishing gear be a barrier...you don't need much and it isn't rocket science".
......anyway thought it was a good post for those just starting out and don't want to invest a ton of money into this fishery unlike some of us


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