Trolling for Tuna, One Line or Two?

[conachair]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

, but really, I didn't expect to catch my first tuna only four hours into my very first attempt at fishing in over 40 years.

Don't get too excited, might have been the last one in the med you caught ..

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by conachair

Don't get too excited, might have been the last one in the med you caught ..

I'm not so sure about that. I've recently had two friends tell me that they no longer bother to fish off their sailboat in the Med because they hadn't caught anything in years. One of the two then went on to tell me that she'd recently had a charter guest onboard who was a serious fisherman, and that he caught two tuna on his first day chartering her boat near Northern Sardinia. He fed the crew for most of the week.

One person, no fish caught in years. Another person, two caught in one day. Same boat, same area.

[bruce v]

As an avid tuna fisherman first and a sailor second, here are my thoughts. When you are trolling on a sports fisher, there are normally more people trying to hook fish and, therefore, more lines in the water. The extra offerings of bait/lures does entice more bites in some cases but most pelagic fishes are more prone to look for baitfish near debris, patties or cover. When they find a school of baitfish, the bite is wide open. So the simple answer to your question would be 'more bait, more bites'. However, that also becomes complicated by the number of persons able to handle the bite. More often than not, getting in extra equipment prior to fighting the hooked fish will allow the fish to throw the hook if it takes too long to clear the excess lines. If you are fishing alone, two lines is counterproductive. As an alternative, try using a spreader with multiple lures. I have seen and used them with as many as 12 separate hooks. It tends to mimic a small school of baitfish and does attract more bites (more often than not it is not multiple bites on a single set up but... The reality is you want to attract more bites but not all at once. Keeping it under control will lead to more fish landed. Success with your efforts and kudos for combining the two.

[Kreef]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

I recently had some beginner's luck catching my first tuna trolling one line off the back of our sailboat. I used a Penn 80stw and a trolling rod.

Question: Will adding a second rig increase the odds of catching a fish, or will it just complicate things when we hook onto a tuna? As in tangled lines and potential lost equipment like loures etc.? Usually, it's just the two of us onboard.

I was thinking about adding a second reel and rod next season.

HI Kenomac congrats on finding out about how much fun it is to catch fresh fish .I am just sorry it took you so long to find out .You have missed out on many a meal and much excitement.I started catching tuna at 15 when I fished with one of South Africa's greatest fishermen for Bluefin tuna and thereafter many a long and yellowfin.One of my favorite meals has to be yellowfin on the braai (barbecue) with garlic butter sauce and pink in the middle.Oh too nice !!!
As far as lines out the back go. One about 20 meters out and a couple of short bungees one on either side off the stern .That way you can have multiple strikes and not foul your rod line .
Happy hooking and eating!!!

[conachair]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

I'm not so sure about that. I've recently had two friends tell me that they no longer bother to fish off their sailboat in the Med because they hadn't caught anything in years. One of the two then went on to tell me that she'd recently had a charter guest onboard who was a serious fisherman, and that he caught two tuna on his first day chartering her boat near Northern Sardinia. He fed the crew for most of the week.

One person, no fish caught in years. Another person, two caught in one day. Same boat, same area.

Hmm, doesn't look too hopeful. Apart from some friends who've been down there long term saying the fishing is nothing like it used to be a quick Google came up with this...


Fish stock levels in the Mediterranean Sea are alarmingly low. The European Environment Agency says that over 65% of all fish stocks in the region are outside safe biological limits and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, that some of the most important fisheries—such as albacore and bluefin tuna, hake, marlin, swordfish, red mullet and sea bream—are threatened.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medi...ea#Overfishing

[a64pilot]

Well, I am one that will cruise with rigged Ballyhoo in the freezer, surprisingly it didn't bother the Mrs either.


Sent from my iPad Pro using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Just when I would start to think the Blue/white is best, the Green/yellow would start producing better. Fish are colorblind right? They probably see various colors as different shades of grey though.

Many fish see colour - some even in the UV range.

OceanLink | Biodviersity - Ask a Marine Scientist
To explain how colour vision operates in fish, it is important to understand how light is transferred through the water column. Radiant energy from the sun comes in varying wavelengths. Visible colours are in the electromagnetic spectrum between 400 to 700 nanometers (1 nanometer = 10-9 m). This spectrum includes all visible colours from red (400 nm) to violet (700 nm). Water absorbs light as it penetrates the water column and different wavelengths of light are absorbed more readily than others. Red and violet light components are absorbed rapidly, and penetrate only shallow waters. Green (530 nm) and blue (460 nm) light are absorbed more slowly, and therefore penetrate the seawater more deeply. Red and violet light are completely absorbed within the first few metres, whereas blue light can penetrate up to 100 metres in the same conditions.

Fish have eyes that that are similar to all vertebrates, including humans. There are two types of sensory cells in fish retina, cones and rods. Rods are sensitive to low light levels. Fish species that are active during dawn and dusk have more rods than cones, and nocturnal and deep-sea species have only rods. Rods are sensitive to deep-penetrating short-wavelength light which allows vision in the water column where little light is available. Some cartilaginous fish and most bony fish have cones, which are responsible for photoreception in bright light. There four different types of cone pigments found in the eyes of fish, and each is sensitive to different wavelengths of light. Different types of fish may have two to three different types of cones depending on where they live in the water column. Shallow water fish species usually have three types of cones (red, blue, green) which allows them to see the wide spectrum range that available in shallow waters. Marine fish living at moderate depths have cone pigments that are sensitive to blue and green light. Finally, deep-sea fish have only rod pigments which are sensitive to the short wavelength light that is able to penetrate great depths.

To make a long story short, yes some fish see in colour. It is the shallow water fish species that see the greatest range of colour because it is only at shallower depths that the entire range of visible colour wavelengths are not yet absorbed by the water.


It was suggested to me by a keen fisherman that a lure with a splash of red near the front can be very effective because it resembles the flared gills of a fish in distress.

[44'cruisingcat]

We always troll two lures. Never had a tangle, but we're a cat, so the lines are about 20' apart. (Another advantage?)


We troll 2 different types of lure, quite often fish are feeding on a very specific size/type of fish/squid etc, and if the lure you have out isn't similar to that you won't get strikes.


So IMO having two lures out really does double your chances of hooking a fish.

[marlin driver]

Originally Posted by fallingeggs

This has become very apparent to me with my new-ish 25' diving plug. It either pulls like there is a fish on or it is skipping across the surface. I'm going to try running it with some weight to see if it will at least consistently stay under. Still have to figure out how to tell when there is a fish on rather than just the "normal" pulling action... I have to put my drag setting at around 10 to 15 pounds to get the line to stop letting out.

Go to a tackle shop that knows saltwater fishing and ask them for jigs that you can pull fast. If yours needs that much drag set, it's made for pulling slower than you are going.

[Lepke]

I was a commercial albacore fisherman. Lure color is everything. Also speed is critical. I normally ran about 10 lines on outriggers. Each line shorter/closer to the boat. Two very short lines on each side of the stern and one very long line off the boom. Lures on the surface. When the sun goes up the tuna go down. Sometimes I used homemade planers when the tuna went deep. In the morning several different colors were used until a pattern could be recognized. Tuna may bite a range of colors - blue and white, blue and green, blue and yellow - but one will be the big attraction. Tuna hit hard, often traveling in the opposite direction, and my only experience is commercial using commercial gear. We set our trolling speed to be as fast as possible without pulling out the jaw when hooked. Guessing about 5-6 knots. Also water temperature. 62°F off the US West Coast was the magic number.
When I fish albacore now, I still use a commercial setup.

[autumnbreeze27]

We pull 2 lures, a trolling rod mounted on the rail and a hand line on the same side on the stern.

Both run pretty close to the boat, the hand line is probably in the first wake and the trolling rod is on the 3rd or 4th wave. We seem to catch more fish when we sail vs motor, and when we get way more bites with both out versus just running one or the other.

We put something on our throttle (like a glove) to remind us to bring the gear in before going in to anchor mode.

Fishing has sucked in San Carlos, MX this year.

[Kenomac]

Can anyone provide some ideas on how to store two to four large big game rods onboard our 53ft sailboat? Presently, the one we have resides on our forward bunk when not in use.

[Bulawayo]

Unferside of your bimini? Just try tying it with cord before making a decision. High level inside one of the cabins?

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Can anyone provide some ideas on how to store two to four large big game rods onboard our 53ft sailboat? Presently, the one we have resides on our forward bunk when not in use.

[weavis]

I run two lines...
Short and long..(Not really too long)

[bruce v]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Can anyone provide some ideas on how to store two to four large big game rods onboard our 53ft sailboat? Presently, the one we have resides on our forward bunk when not in use.

Go to Walmart or a tackle store. They will have simple rod storage clips that can be appropriately placed in overheads or lockers. The rod tip is secured in an eyelet and the butt in a clip. I liked to hang mine over the settee as one normally does not stand there (left reels on too so not fun to bump head). With a little Yankee ingenuity, you can build wooden racks by making holes large enough to accommodate rod tips in a 1/4 inch piece of ply (cut it about 3" x18") and spaced about 3" apart. Build a perpendicular "holder" out of 1" x3" hardwood the same length as your ply. Router a fit for the ply and glue the length in perpendicular. Cut another pieces of hard wood of similar length and create knoches to fit the butts of your rods. Space the two pieces where you want to hang the rods testing the fit. Obviously, you'll need to secure the rod butts as the tips can be slid into the holes. I have used bungee cords an Velcro with success. I can remove a rod, mount a reel if not already there, string and attach a lure and be trolling in under a minute (sometimes that is all you might have to keep from missing the bite, especially when sailing). Oh, by the way, you can make the homemade versions just get the job done (out of sight, out of mind) or a conversation piece that shows you are a master craftsman and proud of your vessel. If you're not, stick with the Walmart plan. Cheap and functional!