Tuna rigs and gear

[Mr. Fisherman]

Pilar,

Yer the greatest! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Thanks for everything. I'm looking forward to a field test [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Later,

Ray

[Tanner]

I have caught these albacore on salmon gear before and they are an absolute blast. The handlining thing just does not appeal to me. I don't see any sport in it. I have always wanted to go after them with a fly rod. They would be a blast on a 12 weight.
Does anyone know of any charters that only fish rods for these things.

[Bait O' Eggs]

John
Thanks I think I could almost go catch a little tuna with that description of rigging and equipment. [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

Question #1. You are trolling 2 handlines and 2 poles, each appear to have a pair of hooks on them with a feather jig. Does the rule pertain to one line per person, no more than 3 hooks per line when out in the ocean tuna fishing? Unless there is a special clause somewhere I would think you would have to have 4 people on board to fish the method you describe, (or nobody around for quite a ways [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] )

Question #2. I assume you are not putting any weight on this rigging, or did I miss something? They must be right near the surface if not on the surface if you are trolling that fast.

[Tinman]

Tanner: I'm with you on the handline issue. Handline fishing does not appeal to me personally, although others enjoy it. Albacore rank among the hardest-fighting gamefish in the world, pound for pound, but they are by no means invincible. In fact, an albacore will fight in a very predictible manner. A 20 pound albacore on 20 pound line will make one or two long (80 to 150 foot) runs, then several smaller dashes as they tire. Inevitably, they end up straight down and circling, and you have to work them to the surface. They are actually fairly easy to beat if you keep your head about you through the first screaming runs. There are no obstructions out there to foul the line, so it is just a matter of wearing them down. They are a thrill to catch on light gear. As for a flyrod, I'm sure they would take a streamer fast-stripped on a sink-tip line. I've not tried that, but I think 7 or 9 weight with a 10 pound leader would be fine sport if you have plenty of backing.

Albacore can also be picky and line-shy. When fishing with live anchovies, as they do in Southern California, the best fishermen often slay 'em on 12 or 15 pound line while those that are using 25 pound line get blanked.

As for rod, almost any stick designed for 20 pound line will work, matched to a conventional reel. The Penn #500 Jigmaster reel was the standard in San Diego for at least three decades, altough a smaller reel will suffice. A smooth drag is essential, and I don't think the Abu levelwinds have an adequate drag for tuna. One of my favorites is the Daiwa SL20SH reel.

If the Oregon charters allowed me to troll with 15 or 20 pound line, I would be out there every week. As it is, they troll with handlines, except for the Irish, which uses 60 pound class stand up tackle. Even that is way too heavy for my taste. Best of luck to all of you.

[Pilar]

Bait, the gear skips across the water. The speed where it hops about once a second or so is it.

There are no rules about Tuna specifically mentioned in the fishing regs other than a limit of 25 per fisher. You may be right about one line per fisher. The boat I learned on had 4 handlines and 2 standup rods for 3 fishers. It was a handful. The deal on 'Shamrock' was to fill the fishbox with the handlines and then have some fun on the standup rods at the end.

[Pilar]

Here's a primer for anyone wanting to set up for the Albacore tuna off the Oregon coast.

You'll need;

Handlines (2), 100ft with a rubber snubber.
These are homemade.

Stand up rods (2), Ugly Stick BWB1120, 8' heavy action. Or the one piece Ugly Stick, yellow Tiger, BWC/AO 2201, 7'. Penn makes a 'Peer Stick' and the lamiglass sturgeon rods work good too.

The Penn senator 4/0 or a Diawa 50H for reels. It has to hold 300 yards or more of 80# toughline. Mono works too but the stretch combined with the speed of the tuna can put a huge belly in your line.

You can use bait or a feather jig. The leader for the jig is 200# or 300# mono. Ande, Momoi and Berkely all make leader in these weights. It is hard to believe but these fish can snap 200# leader and 150# easily. The jig is made by Sevenstrand and is about $7 ea. The hook is a double 8/0, at $2.50 ea or 10/0 at $3.25 ea. This hook looks like a treble with the welded on third hook missing. Fishermans has all of this stuff but they probably are still out of the right color jigs. The hooks are cheaper by the box of 10.

The Delta park store has a few people that can show you how to tie the rigs. Use a 7' (finished) length of mono a hook and a jig. The hook is tied on using a 'perfect loop' knot. Check this out at the knot site.
http://www.marinews.com/fishing/Knot...k_perfloop.htm

This site has a number of html's that demo how to tie some less common knots.

The 'perfect loop' on one end of the leader goes onto a locking snap swivel on the end of a handline or standup rod. the jig is threaded on to the leader and a perfect loop holds the hook on the other end. The hook knot should have enough loop to it to space the hook points back the the tips of the feathers in the jig.


OK back to handlines. These are very useful in tuna fishing as they allow you to hit several fish at once. A tuna on a standup rod will keep you busy for a while. The handline can be quickly reset and may catch several fish to just one on a rod. The material is available at Fishermans. The line is called Tuna Cord. It is blue braided nylon and comes in 400 ft spools. It is rated at 400# test. You will also need a ball bearing, spiral swivel. These are rated at 400# as well. They are spendy at $8 ea. This swivel has a twist of wire instead of a snap section. The last thing is a truckers solid rubber bungee cord. the 22" length works good.

To make the handlines cut the cord into 4 section. On one end make a surgeons loop big enough to put through a cleat on the back of your boat. Tie in the rubber bungee about 3 ft from the looped end. The bungee will stretch to about twice its relaxed length. So make the cord up on one end of the bungee and leave about 40" slack to the other end. The slack will hang until the fish hits it. Then the slack will pull tight against the bungee as it stretches. Tie the swivel on at the far end. For the entire length between, put on a simple overhand knot about every 18". This will give you some grip when pulling on a heavy fish. It also creates wakes as the line drags through the water.
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Fishing. It's easy! Just drive at 7 to 10 miles an hour. Make as big a wake as you can by trimming your bow up. Let the handlines out one at a time. I wind them into a bucket as I bring them in. Then just toss the jig over and let the line pay out of the bucket. When its all set the bungee should behind the boat so it wont foul on anything.

Then set your standup rods. Turn towards the side you are setting so it will clear the handlines. Let it out until it is on the 5th or 6th wake wave behind the boat. Adjust until the jig is falling down the side of that 6th wave towards the boat. Turn the boat the other way and set your last line.

When you get hit, Dont Stop!

Turn towards the fish but keep going. You will get more strikes as you circle. If a handline goes off, pull to get the fishes head up out of the water. Then water ski him to the boat pulling as fast as you can. Dont stop pulling or the tuna will dig in and take the line back.

Bleed the fish completely. Ice the fish as soon as you can. We cool ours in salt water/ice before packing the fish box with ice and tuna. The fish will be hot when it comes aboard so cooling is important to prevent spoiling.

[ 07-25-2001: Message edited by: Pilar ]