Gentlemen, Like Anna Nicole Smith, I find that I get very confused. (I would have said "Nancy Pelosi," but I don't want to offend all you Democrats out there. Anyway, I read on the website for the Big E's 52 hour suggested tackle list, that they recommend the following lures for surface fishing and popping on the one hand and for jigging on the other: 6-7” Frenzy Flying Fish or other flying fish lures Tsunami, Tuna Hunter, or Angry poppers for top water tuna fishing Replacement hooks for poppers are recommended. (4X Strong 2/0 VMC or equivalent treble hooks) (** Not necessary for Tuna Hunters or Angry Poppers) 6-8 oz diamond jigs and 5 ¼ oz Power Jigs (available at our office) Now I realize that this is probably meant as a minimum, but I have the following questions: 1. My research on flying fish lures seems to indicate that they are used primarily in trolling. Is it customary to cast them to busting tuna or to cast them as searching lures as well? 2. Is any trolling or kite fishing done at all on a boat with 40 people aboard? 3. What size poppers do ya’ll recommend? I look in the tackle catalogs and see things like 7 inch Yozuri Bull GT poppers weighing 3 ½ ounces, and other very small ones. I would think the big ones would be best for obtaining casting distance with heavy rods, but are poppers designed for Trevaly suitable for yellowfin? 4. People who have been on 30 and 52 hour trips tell me most of the jigging is merely diamond jigging for Blackfin. Do many anglers use the Japanese type jigs on these non-charter trips? Thanks to all. Russ
The flying fish lures are for casting on the Big E as trolling is virtually non existant. If you bring a kite you can kite fish. Bring poppers from 5"-10" and make sure you have good hooks on them! Weights will be from 1.5oz-4oz. Most of the jigging brings in blackfin with an occational legal YFT that are usually under 30#. Bring a variety of jigs from 6-14oz and make sure you have assist hooks and SOLID rings to attach the hooks and jig to.
Uncle Ross, An assortment of lures is very necessary since you don't know what the bite is going to dictate. Call Chris at Islanders Custom Tackle and he will hook you up on the Tuna Hunters. They are some of the best out of the box poppers you will buy. You don't have to change the hooks or split rings on them at all. If you buy generic ones, replace the factory split rings with 200 Lb rings, and a 3/0 Owner or similar treble hook. Once you find out the cost of the good trebles and terminal tackle, you might want to just invest in the Tuna Hunters. Frenzy Fliers are also a very good top water bait. You may want to replace the main hook with a Mustad 7732 8/0 hook and add a 2/0 treble as a stinger hook. This will greatly assist in the hook ups since the factory hook is a little too small for my taste. Diamond jigs are an excellent choice for BFT. There are also numerous knife or butterfly jigs available. Good luck.
