[bilellaant]

My wife purchased a Viking tuna trip for me for my Birthday and she coming with me . This is my first time tuna fishing .I did some research at the beggining of the year and im just asking for some advice on the equiptment im bringin.The trip is sept 27 and 28 .

Im goin to purchase a 100qt cooler .That should be large enough right??

Im bringin a Dawia Saltist 40h loaded with 50#power pro on a Shimano trevala tvc-66mh2 6'6' rated for 50-100lbs . I plan on using that for jiggin and tile fishing .

Im also bringing a Shimano Triton Trolling 50w on a Lamiglas bfc5610rt 5'6' rated at 50-100# . The reel has 80# powerpro with 50yd top shot of mono .Iplan on using this for chunking .

Also bringing a Tsunami tsawbs701mh 7'0' rated at 20-40 # with a Penn 460 Slammer with 25# power pro (as you can see i love this stuff) I plan to use this for mahi.

Im also bringing a 9 inch trolling bird with a green machine daisy chain and also a purple sqid daisy chain . I have a small assortment of butterfly jigs and a couple squid jigs . I made 10 wind on leaders 5 with 80# flouro and 5 with 60# mono .

Do you guys notice anything im missing that i should be bringing . Thanks very much for your help. Anthony

 

[DandJfish]

Viking Tuna

Having gone on many offshore trips with steve, i have the following suggestions. You do not need a giant cooler as they bleed and ice the Tuna down in their own Giant ice box. We just mark our Tuna as we catch them, the crew takes care of the rest. The only whole fish that you need to put in your cooler would be Mahi, and Tilefish, 100 qt will do fine. As far as Jigging/Tile i would up it to 80lb Braid with a topshot of 80lb for Tuna and 60lb for the Tiles. Don't forget you will need to bring a few 2,3,4 lb sinkers for the Tile. You might want to check with Steve first just to see "if" he is going to try for the Tiles. As far as your Bait (Tuna) setup, Switch it to 100lb Mono as the Braid will be frowned upon when chunking/trolling. All of us troll/chunk with mono, and the braid would create havoc. Definately include a few 6-8-10 oz hammered jigs as well, and don't forget the Fluro in 20-130 lb test. Think that should just about do it. Diane and i are booked on the 3 day Tuna on Sept 19th, should be a blast.

 

[dhoperos]

jigging set-up

do some searches on the Jigging & Popping thread for suggestions on tackle.

you'll probably land fish with the jigging rod/reel you have, but there are other comb's that will make it easier and improve your odds.

This post edited by dhoperos 03:14 PM 08/19/2008

 

[653758]

I fish with 80 mono when tuna fishing so you dont need to 100lb mono also your rods are fine for the trip no need to buy more. just bring some heavier weight include some 6oz or 8oz just incase the current is really strong. Make sure you bring some extra mono with you because if the line gets slid against the hull while fighting a fish it could cause a good amount of fray. also i would bring 60lb floro for your leaders when chunking. For chunking I use a 250lb spro windon swivel and a 9ft 60lb floro leader with a 7/0 or 8/0 circle hook. Hope you have a great time catch em up

 

[leftjammer]

Dont forget a light fishing pole and squid jigs...

A BIG plus when the squid is around

 

[NanbayFluker]

I would definitely switch to mono on the chunk/troll reel. If anything, you do not want to cut another fisherman's line while he is in a battle, which is the main reason I say switch to mono. I would bring a bucket to hold squid in, as they do become more scarce as the night goes on. I have been caught before without fresh squid as the last ones are diving out of the boat's lights. For mahi, I stick to swimming plugs and/or large kastmasters. If the mahi seem to be eating of the chunks being tossed in the water, 30 or 40 lb flourocarbon and a 4/0 circle work. I am going on the frances fleet those same two days, the 27th and 28th...

Good Luck
NanbayFluker

 

[nealchick]

trip stuff

you (might) want to bring a light stick to try for swordies, and you (might) want to bring some balloons to get your bait out away from the group. Just a couple mentions.

 

[DandJfish]

Trust me

Your trolling/chunking reel should be filled with 100lb mono. We may try for bigeyes early in the morning, and on the few trips that i have been on where bigeyes were landed on the troll none were landed on less than 100lb test. It's not like your trolling on a private boat. You along with 3-4 other patrons may be hooked up at the same time. 100 lb test gives you that slight extra advantage.

 

[bilellaant]

thanks guys for your help but I got a couple more questions . Mono it dosent matter what brand or color correct?? And the flouro from 20- 120# is in case the fish get leader shy , do i make a couple of wind ons out of each size or crimp a loop onto each leader .This is one of the wind on leaders I made . To me these seem peerfect but again I have never been tuna fishing before . These things seem easy to tie on a rocky boat when the action is hot . They seem easy enough to change out when they get leader shy . I made them all about 15 feet long . The dacron slides onto the flouro about 3 -5 feet and is wipped there with power pro and krazy glue. To me they just seem easier to work with . any suggestions . Thank you guys agin for your help Anthony

 

[DandJfish]

Viking Tuna

The light fluro is for the mahi. I have had nights when they were extremely leader shy. Had to use 20-25lb fluro to get them to bite. Also, had to avoid using swivels, had to uni-to-uni in order to get hits. Those wind ons look good to me

. But most of us just use a good quality barrel swivel at the end of the mono and tie our leaders on from there. As for mono brands, it's really up to you. I like Momi Diamond myself

.

 

[carlynewlondon]

As far as the brand of mono: I like Momoi in smoke grey. Low visibility and ties nice knots. My test preferance is 70's=130lb, 50's=100lb, 30's & 16's=80lb. These are over hollow core spectra but I'm not sure those are party boat friendly. If you have to go all mono drop down one size so you don't loose too much capacity.

 

[Boonebird]

Momi Diamond Is what we use. Never had a problem with it. We there have been a few tangler problems but that human error. You might want to call ahead to find out about using a braid. If you only do a couple trips a year I would go with a high quailty mono.Change it out every year.My 2 cents.

 

[653758]

i dont know about you guys but usually 3-4rods go off on my private boat and anyone that goes tuna fishing knows not to stop the boat after one fish is hooked and 80 is plenty strong i do it for igfa reasons

 

[wetsuitnmtk]

private boat fishing and party boat fishing are two entirely different things.

i tried getting away with 80lb last year and as was previously stated you will be fine untill/unless you hook a bigeye or nice swoard.

on a boat as large as the viking backing down, spinning the boat, etc. is impractical and hence you need to be prepared to have a large fish run your line against the hull. i lost atleast two swoards last year due to fresh 80 snapping on the hull and have no intentions of doing the same this season

braid is frowned upon for jigging but often accepted. however, for chunking you will piss someone includeing the crew if your braid causes even the slightest issue.

other tips, NEVER fish more then one rod at a time.
bring extra line
bring snacks
bring your own lead for chunking

 

[bilellaant]

when jigging do you use a leader or tie directly onto main line ??? And when if the do tile fishing around how deep will we be fishing in cause my saltist only has like 300 yds of 50# and I think a 50yd backing of mono . From what some guys have told me they normaly fish in like close to 900ft of water for tile . If that is the case I barely have enough line ( I dont know how hard they fight but if they run im screwed) . Well Thank you guys again for the help and info Anthony .

 

[raregroove]

Several have recommended 100 lb test. They're right on the money, especially on the troll.

I use Izor but Big Game 100lb was also tough. Although I like Momoi Diamond in general, however I've seen it sawed off on the Viking before when multiple Big Eyes were being fought. Avoid Jinkai or smaller diameter 100lb test. Your weak spot is abrasion resistence.

Another issue is people not checking their drags with a scale. Do yourself a favor and recheck your drags before setting your line out.
It kills me to see people pulling line out by hand to check their drag settings.

Using correct amt of drag, 100lb test and knowing how to use the rail give you a much better shot at landing a big fish.

I bring a 2nd lighter outfit with 60lb test on a TLD50II (mainly for floating baits with no weight in the early am) but the last trip it just Sat in the upper deck.

300 yards of 50lb test is marginal for tiles. I use 400 yards and there have been some drops where I didn't have much line left on the spool after letting my line out! If there's current you have to account for the diag lay of the line plus the depth.

On jigging: if you can't tie a good knot (like a mid knot or a PR knot) you can use a 5' length of 80lb flouro and a small barrel swivel tied to your braided line.

Good luck.


This post edited by raregroove 08:58 PM 08/20/2008

 

[Jigalow]

On a tuna head boat you're going to see some of the biggest tangles you've ever dreamed of. I guess everyone has an opinion on bait setups but IMO forget about wind-on leaders and power pro, keep it as simple as possible. The tangles are the worst during a hot bight so the quicker you can get re-rigged and back in the water after a major tangle (or fish) the better your chances are to hook up.

For line everyone has an opinion and personal preference, I suggest you spool the reel with 80# momoi diamond in clear, it has a breaking strength of 122LBs with only .90 diameter so you can fit a lot of it on the reel. I also like Berkley Big Game 80#, it's not quite as strong but it's cheaper. 100# is fine but your capacity on that reel will be limited and you won't be able to crank your drag tight enough to make a difference in how much pressure you can put on a fish. Plus 90% of the time I'm fishing with 40# to 60# leader so the only real advantage is protection from the keel rub and other lines in a tangle. Lately I've been spooling my reels with 60# Momoi Diamond and haven't had any issues.

For the terminal rig, thread on a 6 to 12 oz egg sinker (depending on current) onto the main line, then tie on a 220 - 300 spro barrel swivel (not "power swivel", they suck). From there use whatever leader material and test you need to get a bight. I start with about 8' of 60# floro and go from there. The leader length has to be short enough so you can wind the sinker up to the tip of your rod and the fish will be within range of the gaff, too short hurts the bight. If the bight is on and they're not leader shy I'll go up to 80# floro or use the same 80# as my main line (I'm cheap). If the bight is slow or non existent I'll drop down to 40# floro to try to get a bight, no lighter than that or you'll cause a huge tangle because you can't control the fish. If it's rough and the fish are really line shy you may want to keep your bait further away from the sinker, to do this you can attach a bank sinker with a rubber band 10' or more up from your swivel, you're more prone to tangles with others with this setup but it might help get a bight. With that setup you just reel the sinker up to the tip, break off the sinker and reel in the rest of the way.

For the hook I like the standard Gamakatsu J style tuna hook, bring a range of sizes from 4/0 to 8/0. I like 4/0 - 6/0 for sardines, and 6/0 to 8/0 for butters and squid.

Remember to reel in and let out your bait very slow, you'll get less tangles and you'll be surprised how many bights you get while reeling in or letting it out.

Don't forget to bring a few squid jigs!, your mahi rod should be fine for that.

Hope that helps.

This post edited by Jigalow 09:38 PM 08/20/2008

 

[NanbayFluker]

Jigalow wrote:
The leader length has to be short enough so you can wind the sinker up to the tip of your rod and the fish will be within range of the gaff, too short hurts the bight.


If the leader is too short, you are right in saying that is a bad thing. But if the leader is too long, can't a mate leader the fish the last several feet? If so, I would go on to think that to be safe rather than sorry, I should use a leader that is several feet longer rather than shorter.

NanbayFluker

 

[Jigalow]

It takes two hands to gaff a tuna so you'll need two mates or hope one of the other fisherman will hold the leader, in a hot bight that might not happen and it's prone to get tangled on something and snap if the fish takes a run. Best bet is like I said above, attach a bank sinker to the main line above the swivel with a rubber band so you can break it off when it comes up to the tip, the only down side to this approach is you'll loose a few sinkers and it's more prone to tangles than just an egg sinker on the main line.

On a headboat where the rail is a little higher than a sport fisher 8' is about right.

This post edited by Jigalow 10:37 PM 08/20/2008

 

[reelman945]

most important

Bring a bottle of soy sauce, some wasabi, and a small tuber ware with the lid. Add fresh tuna into tuberware w/ soy, wasabi and shake. UM UM GOOD. You'll be the true hero of the trip with fresh sashimi for the ride home