02-12-2007, 02:16 PM
If you're fishing tuna, make sure you've got plenty of Cedar Plugs. Any serious Tuna angler carries a few. Alot of times, you'll find the "natural" color to be the most productive. If there are small dorado in the area, match the color accordingly. Dark colors work well too, blue and black or purple and black. I have a large assortment that I carry on board.
Make sure and keep plenty of flourocarbon in your box too. Tuna are one of the most "line shy" species of fish there is. Every lure you rig should be attached to atleast a 4ft piece of quality flourocarbon.
Targeting tuna, you may find yourself in the midst of other game fish, like Wahoo. If you start getting cut off, chances are you're sitting on a school of Wahoo as well. When you get bit off, mark the spot on your GPS with the "man overboard" function. Now it's time to reel in those cedar plugs and live bait and drop down a few black and purple diving lures and pick up the speed a bit. I prefer Braid flash dancers and Yo Zuri Bonito's in black and purple. I'd pick it up to about 8 to 9 knotts, what ever your lures can handle and still track correctly. You can't go too fast for wahoo. Keep hitting the same spot over and over. Wahoo school around structure, and where there's one, chances are there are enough to fill your fish boxes. [cool] Generally speaking, Wahoo like water between 100 to 500 feet. So if you start getting cut off in water deeper than that, then chances are it's not a Wahoo. But if it is, it's a loner, and you're probably not going to catch another one. In that case, there's no telling, Sharks, kings, or what ever other toothy cridder is local to that area.
You can isolate a species based on the area. Like amberjacks for instance. Amberjacks and large grouper like pretty much the same depth and water column. 50-120 ft of water and on or near the bottom. But, amberjacks in our area prefer wrecks, where as grouper prefer rocks and ledges. Water depth is key when targeting most species. Now King Mackerel for instance, are an acception to that rule. They can be found along the beaches in 15 feet of water to offshore in 75 feet of water. All the way from on the surface to near the bottom. So, make sure your tackle selection can cator to all depth and situations.
For your tackle box:
1. Flourocarbon Leader: #25, # 50, #80, # 120
2. 7 Strand wire and crimps: #25, #50, # 150
3. Assortment of 4X Trebble hooks: #6 - 2/0
4. Cedar plugs: 2 of each color
5. Swim lures: Braid flash dancer/ Yo Zuri Bonito
(black and purple, Blue and white, Dorado colors)
6. Deep Divers: Yo Zuri Magnums/ Rapala Stretch
(flashy colors and blue and black or purple and black)
7. Drone spoons: 3 1/2 and 5" 2 silver and 2 gold
8. Planers: 2 #2 and 2 #4
9. Sabiki rigs: 6
10. Tiny swivels: Spro super heavy swivels
Remember, you can never have too much of an assortment. Fishing conditions can change in a matter of minutes, and you need to be able to adjust to those changes. You need tackle to cover the entire water column and fishing conditions. You'd be surprised the difference a change in color or leader size can make. Use tiny swivels like the "spro" heavy swivels. They are really small, but super strong. The smaller and more stealty you can make your rig, no matter what species of fish you are targeting, the better your chances of catching fish. [cool]
[signature]
Make sure and keep plenty of flourocarbon in your box too. Tuna are one of the most "line shy" species of fish there is. Every lure you rig should be attached to atleast a 4ft piece of quality flourocarbon.
Targeting tuna, you may find yourself in the midst of other game fish, like Wahoo. If you start getting cut off, chances are you're sitting on a school of Wahoo as well. When you get bit off, mark the spot on your GPS with the "man overboard" function. Now it's time to reel in those cedar plugs and live bait and drop down a few black and purple diving lures and pick up the speed a bit. I prefer Braid flash dancers and Yo Zuri Bonito's in black and purple. I'd pick it up to about 8 to 9 knotts, what ever your lures can handle and still track correctly. You can't go too fast for wahoo. Keep hitting the same spot over and over. Wahoo school around structure, and where there's one, chances are there are enough to fill your fish boxes. [cool] Generally speaking, Wahoo like water between 100 to 500 feet. So if you start getting cut off in water deeper than that, then chances are it's not a Wahoo. But if it is, it's a loner, and you're probably not going to catch another one. In that case, there's no telling, Sharks, kings, or what ever other toothy cridder is local to that area.
You can isolate a species based on the area. Like amberjacks for instance. Amberjacks and large grouper like pretty much the same depth and water column. 50-120 ft of water and on or near the bottom. But, amberjacks in our area prefer wrecks, where as grouper prefer rocks and ledges. Water depth is key when targeting most species. Now King Mackerel for instance, are an acception to that rule. They can be found along the beaches in 15 feet of water to offshore in 75 feet of water. All the way from on the surface to near the bottom. So, make sure your tackle selection can cator to all depth and situations.
For your tackle box:
1. Flourocarbon Leader: #25, # 50, #80, # 120
2. 7 Strand wire and crimps: #25, #50, # 150
3. Assortment of 4X Trebble hooks: #6 - 2/0
4. Cedar plugs: 2 of each color
5. Swim lures: Braid flash dancer/ Yo Zuri Bonito
(black and purple, Blue and white, Dorado colors)
6. Deep Divers: Yo Zuri Magnums/ Rapala Stretch
(flashy colors and blue and black or purple and black)
7. Drone spoons: 3 1/2 and 5" 2 silver and 2 gold
8. Planers: 2 #2 and 2 #4
9. Sabiki rigs: 6
10. Tiny swivels: Spro super heavy swivels
Remember, you can never have too much of an assortment. Fishing conditions can change in a matter of minutes, and you need to be able to adjust to those changes. You need tackle to cover the entire water column and fishing conditions. You'd be surprised the difference a change in color or leader size can make. Use tiny swivels like the "spro" heavy swivels. They are really small, but super strong. The smaller and more stealty you can make your rig, no matter what species of fish you are targeting, the better your chances of catching fish. [cool]
[signature]