36HR Tuna Safari Capt. John

Hey good luck on your trip, I dont want to say anything as Im 15 and only been on 1 real tuna trip, I could tell you my preferences but I am going to refrain and wait for the real men to chime in.

Kevin

please post a report, and welcome to 360tuna

 

theres a recommended tackle list for offshore fishing on this forum. I think the Capt John hardly ever gets into the Yellowfin, mainly blackfin. I dotn know why this is??? You would think they would occasionally hook into some Yellow UFO's.... and statistics say this MIGHT be the trip they get into them according to thier past reports... I would definately have a rig prepared for them. With some experience I think the Capt John will eventually be able to target the YFT with some consistency.

 

Hey Okie and welcome to the site!

Here's a link to the "Recommended Tackle" info:

Tuna Tackle

Good luck!

 

I do this trip all the time. It's great. They don't get into YFT because they don't go far enough out (although sometimes they will pick up a few). They don't really have a limit on rods, but they don't have storage either. Bring a rocket launcher and store them up top. You really don't need but one, but ideally have three as below.

You need a 40# class rig, on 6.5' rod. I like mono b/c on a partyboat you just have to deal with tangles. Mono is better in this case. I use this for 95% of the fishing, from kings to snapper to BkFT. You can get by with just this single outfit.

I also bring a heavy rod/reel, either 60-80# (usually both), on a 5.5'-6' rod for targeting AJ and Grouper. When you are tied up at night, you can also do a deep drop. Trip I was on last month a guy got two nice grouper this way. I like mono here, but I do not fish the deep drop (where braid is better due to the extreme depths).

Finally, I like an outfit for casting baits, even if I don't do it much. Seven foot rod, with either a spinning or conv. reel, whichever you cast best. Capt does not allow overhand casting on this trip, so I carry a spinner. 20-30#mono is fine, but I use 65# spectra here.

Jigs are primary tool for tuna, fished on the 40# outfit. Pay attention to what others are doing though and switch if you're not catching anything. Sometimes they hit higher in the water column.

Drift baits for kingfish. You can also cast cedar plugs, jigs, etc.

Snapper use lures and/or baits. Use the squid and small hooks for beeliners.

AJ/Grouper use a larger jig or live bait.

 

Hey Okie and welcome to the site!

Here's a link to the "Recommended Tackle" info:

Tuna Tackle

Good luck!

Hey all, new to the board.

The link above appears to be dead... Has the thread it points to been archived?

A buddy and I are heading out on the Dolphin Docks LaPesca 36hr trip this weekend, and have used a bunch of the info found here on what we absolutely can't go without, and have made some purchases, but it would be nice to have a one stop list.

Anyone else on here by chance going this weekend willing to help a newbie out?

Thanks for any info.

 

Looks like the link was broken somewhere along the way.

look here.

 

that's a great post... it should be stickied

 

Hey jig, how does the deep drop for Grouper/AJ work? Do you drop them deep when the boat gets close to the rig? What does deep constitute? Is it 600ft? I assume you can't hit bottom at BV...

 

Hey jig, how does the deep drop for Grouper/AJ work? Do you drop them deep when the boat gets close to the rig? What does deep constitute? Is it 600ft? I assume you can't hit bottom at BV...


You won't hit bottom at BV, but you can still catch AJs, Almaco Jacks, and Groupers at the bottom of BV about 300-400ft down. The fish are hanging around on top/around/near the ballast tanks that keep BV afloat.

I doubt a big boat like Capt John can get close enough for u to target them but I was in a smaller sportfisher that can safely maneuver very close to the rig to target those fish. You'd be surprise what hangs out below those floaters.

 

drop a live hard tail down while your right up close to the rig and hold on tight. after hook up run the boat away from the rig and then fight your fish. there are a lots of chains down there to allow your fish to break you off......ricky bobby

 

Some other guys and I are giong on the 36Hr tuna trip with the captain John on March 30 and 31!


What kind of reels would you suggest for this trip?

What size line do we need? Mono Or Spectra?

What length of rod do you suggest?

Other than jigs and cigar minnows, what else would you bring?

How many rods can we take on the boat?

Thanks, Okie Lineman

Hey Okie, I'll chime in with the experience I had on my first few tuna trips, which were with the Capt. John.....

The info you're getting from the "recommended tackle" thread is all good, but one thing I learned on my very first trip that makes a HUGE difference is this: USE A HIGH SPEED REEL FOR JIGGING! For my first trip I bought a Daiwa Saltist 40H and matched it to a 5'8" Hopper rod. My buddie used the boat's rod & reel combo. We both used diamond jigs and butterfly style jigs. I caught BFT all night, and my buddie didn't catch 1 tuna.

There's tons of info on what to use, but this is the 1 thing that is a must if you plan to jig. GET A HIGH SPEED REEL. In hindsight, I should have gotten a level wind. I never use this reel to cast, and thumbing the line back on is a pain in the AZZ. You won't do any casting on the Capt. John anyway, so I'd go with a level wind if you go with a conventional reel. Just my 2 cents..... I should be on that trip in March too.

 

drop a live hard tail down while your right up close to the rig and hold on tight. after hook up run the boat away from the rig and then fight your fish. there are a lots of chains down there to allow your fish to break you off......ricky bobby

That's all good on a smaller boat, but the Capt. John will simply pull up near the rig, shut the motors down, and drift. Not to mention the fact that they won't stop to catch hard tails or any other live bait.

 

It has been a couple yrs since I was on the boat. you can ask john green to rig a bait tank out of a 55 gal barrel, catch some piggies at the dock the night before, or early in the AM. I caught bait with a sabiki on bottom at first stop we made on the way out. The capt. john is less that 80' so they can pull right up to the rig. have a live one on for the first drop & hold on.after you drift out a 100yrds switch to a jig or chunk unless you see alot of fish busting on top, then toss a popper or other popular swim bait. at least 1 person in our group has caught or at least hooked up to a YFT on the trips I went on at that time. been spooled, broken reels, broken rods & learned some lessons.
If you are around the OKC area, PM me & we can get you some loaners for the trip so you can get an idea of what you need to buy
K

OPPS: didn't notice the date of original post...

 

It has been a couple yrs since I was on the boat. you can ask john green to rig a bait tank out of a 55 gal barrel, catch some piggies at the dock the night before, or early in the AM.


That's exactly how they roll. 55 gal bucket with a water hose stuck through a hole in the lid. A live well can't be that hard to add to a boat, can it?

 

Anybody know if they got out last weekend. They had a trip planned and I was interested if they did well or not.

 

Yeah they definatly catch a lot of blackfin. Most of the customers are new to tuna and are using boat tackle maybe 10 out of the 40 people have their own gear, they are the ones who get the YFTs. I was workin a trip at dawn, the YF were making the ocean boil and there were 2 people with spincast and poppers, both hooked up one broke off. We got one to the boat and that was all she wrote. Any top water thrown that morn would have hooked up, but once again not many hunters on that trip. But anyday on the water is a good one.

 

I don't think the lack of YFT is due to lack of experience, we've been going on the Texsun II and capt John for almost 20 years on tuna safaris with them.

Go down deep (with a swordfish light) You can sit on the bottom if at Tequila or cerveza....