JIGGING & BAIT GEAR FOR PARTY BOAT FISHING>
Weaser...that Penn GTI310 was never ment for party boat tuna fishing... Tuna jigging requires reels with excellent freespool for casting and smooth and powerful drags for fighting fish. KILSONG gave you a great set of jigging outfits you can start with on these jigging trips. You have to remember that when you are jigging or baiting tuna on a party boat, tangles abound, especially when a few fish are hooked up at the same time. That requires backups for your main setups...it also requires you bringing extra topshots in both flurocarbon and standard monofilament, which are changed when:
1)Chaffing due to rubbing on the hull of the boat...
2)Cutoffs which are more frequent then you think...
3)Switch from heavier to lighter or vice versea on your topshots due to the both the size of the fish, or by the way the fish are biting.
Get yourself, fluro in size from 50, 60 and 80 for when you are baitfishing...Seaguar is one of the best and the most commonly used. You can also buy premade topshots and wind-on leaders of different sizes and specificed lengths. Topshots by Basil are excellent...his website <ifish42na.com> which is BHP tackle, gives you a description on what wind on
leaders and top shots are, and what you might need for your fishing trip. You can also bring a assortment of swivels from 150 and upto 300...Spros are the best due to their construction, and size for rated strength...Rosco, Sampo and Coastlock are also good, so you have a choice depending on what you want to spend. For line, have a number of setups with power pro gelspun line starting from 65lb test which you use as your backing on your reels...80lb test is the standard and you can have a outfit with 100. For monofilament setups, the best is Jinkai, with Momoi another excellent choice...these are ultra thin copolymer monofilaments which have great strength when compared to their line diameters...smoked blue is the preferred color. If you are baiting, their are a number or choices for hooks, from Owners Super Mutu circle hooks, Gamakatsus heavy duty live bait hooks, Mustads Hoodlums, and Eagle Claws Live bait 116 and 118 series, and their 2004G circle hook series. If you grab a assortment of Mustad and Eagle Claw hooks in sizes from 3/0 to 10/0, you should have your bases covered. You can bring a package or two or live bait hooks in smaller sizes. Get a few squid jigs for making bait if warranted. Grab a few egg sinkers in size 1,2,4,6 and 8 and a few rubber bands and you are all set with your baiting outfits. For jigs, there are many choices, from yo-zuri and megabait, but for a great all around jig, get the hammered DB diamond jigs in sizes from 6,8,10 and if you want a 12, with the 8oz being the best all around size. You can switch off the bluefish hooks #3407 which usually come on these jigs to one of a number different sized tuna hooks. Vike jigs in 6,9 and 12oz size also work well.
For jigging reels, on most trips you can getaway with a Trinidad 30. If you start seeing larger fish of over 100lbs a Trinidad 40 will withstand the abuse much better. These reels can cast jigs as well as any other reels on the market. Again if you are seeing smaller fish in the 40-80lb class you can use reels like the Accurate Boss Magnum 665, or Penn red 4/0s with a YTS kit on it. A Pro Gear 454, Wahoo Special, or Albacore special reels are great other choices. One or two heavy duty spinning outfits would also be a good idea, especially when you have to cast out to breaking fish.... A Shimano Thunnus reel, would give you a idea on what type of spinner you would use. If you are baitfishing get at a minimum one two speed reel such as the standard TLD 30 filled with 60lb test. A Penn formula 10kg is a good choice for the price. Usually you would bring along at least one 30 wide sized and one 50 sized outfit depending on the size of the fish....for star drag reels you cannot go wrong with a Diawa Sealine 400,450,600 and 900H or a Penn Senator 6/0 regular or wide with either a tiburon or accurate kit on it. One great all around reel is a Penn 6/0 with a narrow aluminun kit which can be fished with 80lb spectra backing and can be used for both baiting or jigging.
For rods, their are a number of off the rack rods you can get. Now if we are looking for a lightweight jigging rod in the 7 foot class, the Loomis Pelagic series is a decent choice, that is very popular. A much better rod would be the Calstar 700H and the 700XH if you like rods that with extra fast tapers that shut off quickly when loaded. Seekers 670H and 670XH are rods with slightly more progressive action. If you are looking for to build a jigging stick, contact Capt. Neil on this board or Al the Rod professor for their recommended choices.
Finally it also good to have at least a rod belt for your comfort in fighting fish...if you do not like holding your rod under your arm while fighting a big fish, get a belt...a harness is optional here. Braid belts are very popular and reasonably priced.
Well good luck and catch em up....
EC NEWELL MAN>>>>>
