quote:Originally posted by TenMile
What are the conditions like out that far in our waters. Is a 19' Striper enough boat or is that a trip better suited to a bigger boat?
Went out a couple of times on tuna last season as a couple noted above.
IMHO, I believe I'd pass on a 19' boat. Too far out there, to much possibility of something going not quite as right as it should, and anything over 20 miles out needs a rig with a tad more substance.
We went out in modified 24 foot Sea Rays (pod addition makes them actually almost 27') with newer, fully serviced 4 stroke mains, and kickers. Guess you could say I had a decided advantage: I also work with the troll fleet when it is engaged on salmon (as well as guiding). Many of the folks that commercially fish tuna are involved in the salmon troll as well, so I have become Buddies with many of them. In both occasions last year, I was forwarded up-to-the-minute reports from the grounds, knew what the catch rate was and was provided explicit GPS coordinates.
Extra precautions included a fair amount of water and foodstuffs, fuel maxed out, and of course several folks knowing exactly where we were headed (and the routes both ways). Didn't hurt to know I would be well within radio range of the commercial boats before I lost that from the coast.
First time out was to Grandfather Charles Canyon. A couple of boats working that area relayed news of decent catches, so 3 of us roared out. I closely monitored the water temperature along the way, and about 32 miles offshore, ran into a plume of 62 degree water. Time to drop the gear methinks, and troll towards the coordinates I had been given. Shut down the main, revved up the kicker, and got the gear ready. That was my first time, but I had some excellent advice from Ken Myers who had been there before. The technique was interesting. It seems tuna just love lots of bubbles, surface disturbance and lots of flash. So, we set flashers on 10 foot tethers just subsurface (they actually came close to topping out on each roll, creating a lot of disturbance) on each side. Then, the hali rods (standard 6 or 7 foot rods with heavy Shimao levelwinds loaded with 80lb braid) were rigged. 6 foot leaders of 50 pound test, swivel to mainline, standard tandem rig behind (but using huge 5/0 commercial beak hooks) behind a tuna clone. These were dropped back about 15 or 20 feet behind and off each side of the flashers. Then, revved the kicker to the max, and we were soon skipping along nicely at 5 knots. The clones running along just subsurface had me sort of questioning my sanity, but we hadn't made 100 yards when the first "
finners" were observed, directly ahead!!
As we passed over where they had just surfaced, we were amazed to actually witness several tuna scream toward each of the lures in the super clear water (could see down about 75 feet!)! This was very much a race, and both rods engaged at almost the same millisecond with an explosion of spray! The initial run from these buggers is
BLISTERING, often ripping 100 yards off the reels in mere seconds!! The battle that followed, once I'd cleared the downriggers, was excellent, feisty and long freight-train bursts. They eventually tired, and were gaffed into the boat. Bleeding them is critical, but a word to the wise here, cover everything you don't want splattered with blood prior to bringing them onboard!!
The next couple of hours the action was furious and non-stop! We eventually encountered a fairly large school, and they were more than cooperative. It was amazing to see them drawn up from the depths, as far down as 30 or so fathoms, by the surface disturbance we were creating. And the speed of that reaction was nearly unbelievable! We'd see them downstairs a fair ways, then almost without exception witness them streaking en masse towards the surface like missiles fired from a sub!! And with the clones running so close to the surface, we got to witness the vast majority of the takes! Sweet!
I toyed briefly with the idea of launching more than 2 rods, but the action was so damn fast, that soon fled from my mind!
One thing to keep in mind here, you MUST get the drags set just right before they hit! Too loose, and they'll spool you before you can think to react. Too tight, and they'll rip rod holders right off the boat! That happened to us twice. On one occasion, the rod went over the rail, but hung up on the downrigger wire. I leaned over the side, and gingerly retrieved it to discover the fish still peeling off line like no tomorrow. Handed him off just as the other went off. Sweet! On the second occasion, I was standing right next to the rod, saw a larger fish (~ 27-28 pounds) smoking up behind the lure, and was reaching for the rod when it hit. The rod holder base literally exploded, but I had the handle firmly in my grasp, and so saved both the set-up and the fish.
By the end of that day, we were all battle weary, damn tired from fighting so many strong and hot fish, but wearing grins a wire brush couldn't remove! The boat was spray-painted red from stem to stern, and blood poured constantly from the holds' pumps.
It is very much a different world out there. The water is extremely clear, and it is something of a funny feeling fishing with thousands of feet of water below you! The life out there is interesting too. On one occasion, a huge blue shark, attracted by the blood being pumped overboard, settled in just where the bilge hit the surface and tagged along with us for 20 minutes. One of the Ladz wanted to hook it, could have been done easily enough, but I didn't want to bring him on board, nor give up the potential hook-ups with tuna. So, he had to content himself with a handful of pictures. Loads of huge sunfish out there, always passing sluggishly by. Albatross galore, and whales of many different species. We actually sat for almost an hour, watching a small group of orcas attempting to separate a calf humpback from its mother and a few other adults. Never did see the conclusion of that, but damn interesting to watch!
The second trip out wasn't quite as successful as the first, but we did manage to find a handful. One of the highlights of that run was to run across an absolutely monstrous sea turtle (leatherback) of near 15 feet in diameter! It's head and neck were the size of a man's entire torso!! Too Cool!
Would I do it again?
You Betcha! That was some of the most
FUN I've had out on the chuck in a few years! Ca be super fast, and always an exciting fishery!!
For those thinking about doing this, a few suggestions:
- If at all possible, try to cultivate a working relationship with a few of the commercial Gentz. They are an excellent source of information, and may well prove to be your saviour should anything go wrong.
- Great idea to make the run with a couple of boats. The
Buddy System works well out there to ensure you both make it home intact.
- Recently serviced and absolutely reliable power is required. You gotta have a back-up engine, and carry the usual spare parts (and more). Self reliance is the name of the game, the service center, or even another boat to help, are generally way to far away to be of any assistance.
- Good electronics, radar, sounders, radios (redundant), satellite phone even better, and of course informing a few folks as to your routes of travel and when to hit the panic button should you not re-appear back at the dock.
- These are looong runs. Extra food, extra water, and sufficient fuel must be considered.
- And of course, watch the weather. I wouldn't have gone on either run had there been even a sniff of an ugly on the horizon. We were lucky, both days it was as flat as a pancake out there. But it ain't always like that by any means. So the caveat "
Know your limit, Play within it" very much applies.
Once all of that has been addressed, get ready for some of the most Fun you can have with your clothes on! As good as they taste, they're even better to hunt and fight!!
Cheers,
Nog
Editted to ad:
- Some very good advice on this thread!
- The water temp as SushiHunter noted is CRITICAL! The temp gradient charts you can get online very much help. Also another reason to try and have a contact with the fleet that is working them.
- Bleeding is critical to maintain quality. Do that the instant it comes onboard.
- These are warmed blooded (really) fish. They MUST be cooled and cooled down fast to maintain quality. Salt ice offers a quick heat sink and cold storage, good idea to have lots. If the fishing is not too fast, I prefer to loin them out right then and there. Cools even faster, and less effort when you get to the dock at the end of a long day.
- Run as many rods as you have holders. When one hooks up, a slight turn will usually engage one or two more for some madcap action.
ENJOY!!