necesary lures, tools, etc...

[thenewkid]

ok finnaly what lures tools and other things are necesary or good to have on a 3 1/2 day offshore tuna trip assume i have nothing but rods reels and line no lures or anything else

[bighead]

Here's an article from TJ here on the site. This is where I started for my first trip. It's good info.

Recommended tackle list for Gulf of Mexico long range fishing.

[Deep_Sea_Gull]

Learn to tie good knots. The more you tie and break through testing, the better prepared you will be.

[Uncle Russ]

Be careful with that list though. That is what I went by religiously. I started with a Cabelas rod and a 665 single speed and ended up with an 7 saltwater rigs, 5 for offshore, and all of them Accurates and Stellas. They are coming for my furniture and my grandchildren's clothes tomorrow.

Russ

[gman]

you kill me, LMAO

[Snagged]

Russ,
They won't take your clothes, nobody would be able to stop laughing!

[Uncle Russ]

Snagged: You got that right, Podner. A lady at the office the other day was laughing at something I said and I told her I'm not used to female laughter when I'm fully clothed.


Newkid: I am not anywhere near the expert most of these other folks are, and won't pretend to be, but one thing I have done, starting with the link supplied above, was to ask a lot of the same questions you have about gearing up and to read virtually every post on the Tackle section of this board and others as well. So basically, I conducted a survey and what I came up with is this as far as terminal tackle:

My betters will correct any omissions or mis-statements on my part but here is what I bought:

(1) Some top-water poppers. In my own case I bought two each of all 3 of the OTI types of popper, 3 flying fish (if you are serious about really big fish, see MrBill's article on this board about re-rigging them--I have not yet.
(2) Jigs: I picked up 3 each diamond jigs in each of 6 oz, 8 oz, 10 oz, and a couple of 16 ounce (probably overkill.) I bought 2 each of all the "J" jigs offered by 360 (link on this board) plus a few Shimano butterfly jigs.
(3) Other lures: a couple of Braid Runners (I may use them for casting as opposed to trolling), a couple of Super Traps which absolutely must be re-rigged with new hooks and bigger split rings,
(4) My own secret weapon: several 5 ounce and 7 ounce Luhr-Jensen Krokodile spoons. I have never yet heard spoons mentioned on any board regarding offshore tackle--I'm sure they have been, but not to my knowledge. I have found the spoon to the a killer in all other types of SW and FW fishing, so the first thing I throw when I actually get out to one of the rigs will be one of these humongous spoons--very heavy for their size and they cast like a bullet. I have not yet decided whether to remove the treble hook yet. But I definitely intend to fish them with one or two BIG assist hooks. The treble does not look that strong, but I tried to cut one off unsuccessfully with a heavy pair of side cutters.

As far as hooks for chunking, and bottom rigs, they are all over this board.

Russ