Deep-Drop/Chunking Reel

[mcgolfer]

uncle russ
my fish on the twinspin didn't take any more time that with the heavier outfits. i was fishing 23lbs of drag and the rod was a 50/80 spinner that had plenty of backbone for puting the pressure on the fish. the 50/80 rod doesn't cast as well as the 30/60 spinners but i had it built for bigger tuna and shorter fights. i would have no problems fishing the 50/80 rod as a chunk rod on the party boats. i can use my harness and fish more drag if needed. i have the accurate loaded with straight 80lb spectre...rick

[Gunsmoke]

Russ,
Here's my two cents. Don't worry about it. Just hook up on a tuna and have fun. You seem to know what you are talking about so just out there enjoy the tug. You can talk about it all you want, but just like anything else in life, experience is the best thing.

I've fished with Mrbill many times. Mrbill is a very serious pressure fisherman. Some people like to take their time and use lighter tackle. He likes to put the hammer down on the drag and go for it. I'm also a pressure fisherman when it comes to big fish. We also break a lot of rods in the process. It also seems that McGolfer doesn't like to fiddle around with light drag settings. I don't like fishing with people that waste valuable time by taking forever to land a fish. When it comes to billfish and tuna, pressure is the answer.

[jig]

Mr Bill, there was also a time when real men didn't use 2 speeds. But we cave to progress and technology. I would have never used a girly 2 speed, harness or the rail in my younger days. But now, esp. on a party boat, I guess I am not a real man because I now use not only two speeds but the rail. I may not be a real man anymore, but I am older and wiser today than I was yesterday. :-)

Use a 2spd and the rail. I just dont see the logic in chunking with a spinner, using a harness on a party boat (with some exceptions), or fishing with a single speed if you can have a two speed and it is warrented (YFT warrents a 2spd). Can you do it? Yes, but why? However, I use a harness on a spinner when I get a big one casting topwaters or swimbaits, since the rail is not an option. JMHO.

[MrBill]

Jig,
I'm no spring chicken myself. Everybody has their limits. I also love 2 speed reels. I really don't fish party boats. I've only been on one trip on a head boat in the last couple of decades. Therefore, I don't have a rail to use. There have been times when I wish a rail was present. If you don't have a rail, you have your manhood.

I dread the day when I have to give up offshore fishing. It will happen but until then I will keep sliding the drag lever past the strike position until I win or the fish wins.

[SkeeterRonnie]

Mr Bill... I think I can fabricate something that will attach to a wheelchair...no worries my friend...hehe.

[MrBill]

Originally Posted by SkeeterRonnie

Mr Bill... I think I can fabricate something that will attach to a wheelchair...no worries my friend...hehe.

I'm not at the wheelchair stage yet. I can still pick up a 162 Qt igloo full of ice, put it on my shoulder, and carry it up a flight of stairs by myself. I can still kick a three digit YF's ass under 5 minutes and bring a 400 pound blue to the leader under 30 minutes.

I guess what I am trying to say is you never know when your downfall will happen. One of my best fishing buddies of all times got cancer. He went from hardcore offshore fishing every weekend to a walker in three months. So, enjoy your time on the water before you're laying 6 feet under a pile of dirt.

[Uncle Russ]

Thanks for the comments, everybody. I agree I need to get out on the deep water, and trust me, I will soon (although it does look like by that time Oso be putting that 160 quart ice chest up on his shoulder!) Right now a combination of work, taking care of Mama who can't drive for a while, and some family business is keeping me even off the bay. So I am collecting tackle for retirement, and learning the theory of a side of the sport I have never known well--with all your help.

Jig: I have been using spinning tackle since the mid-fifties, and made the stupid mistake a couple of months back of asking Kil why you couldn't use the rail with a spinning rig. He told methe reason why very politely, but you just know he had to be thinking: "That stupid old #$^& is too dumb to live." At least I consoled myself that I wasn't the dude (may have been on another board) who told him he didn't know how to pick a jigging rod.

Russ

[TeamOso]

A guy on the boat was using a penn 30W, and it seemed like the best of both worlds for a chunking setup.

[SkeeterRonnie]

just razzin ya Mr Bill.... My bass tourney partner/stepdad may be having some magery surgery on his ticker in the next month... so you are SO RIGHT! Ya never know, live life like today is your last. Thats what Carol and I have decided.. we will live life to the absolute fullest we can. If my bass tourney partner has to go under the knife, I will only fish a few bass tourneys on one lake.. and spend more time offshore.

BTW~ (MrBill) we still have a bet ya know... lol. a C-note to the one who lands the tuna the fastest on the Big E Cinco Tuna-dos attempt. hehe.

Oso. My last bottom reel was a Penn International 30- 2 speed. I picked it up off ebay for $300. It was way cool. I upgraded the handle to the T-Bar one, it rocked! Made theat reel come to life! My next one is an AVET 50 sds.....ona custom TxSeaDog Super Seeker..... I am gonna be standing on the apartment balcony ripping the little gas saver cars when they pass by!!! FISH ON!!! Get that drag buttoned down! I SEE COLOR!!!!

[Uncle Russ]

Just curious, Kevin--What did you end up using as a chunking outfit and what did you land the YFT on? By the way, congratulations! That was a pretty good first trip.

Russ