You're not missing anything. A bunch of us just did this on the Excel trip. I used a 10k stella with a 16k jm spool and a 250g Black Hole Cape Cod jigging rod.I also used the new Cow special with a 20k stella. Kil used the new Penn Spinfisher with his Magie Eye Rod. Even Carpenter used one of his popping rods with a Stella 20k. Its definitely doable and its funHave any of y'all ever done it? I was thinking the next time I get to Venice I want to chunk with a 10000sw on a jigging rod instead of conventional. It seems to me that this would be a much better route. It would be much easier to get baits away from sharks and much less cumbersome.

I know some of you experienced guys can school me in this. What am I missing?

 

we also do it all the time for Bluefins here in the med.!
absolutely doable, and good fun!

 

I have 5 trips on the Big E in the last year and a dozen private trips out of Venice in years past and would say it is doable and sometimes preferable to be able to cast out away from the boat. Anchored on the Midnight Lump on smaller boats we typically would use 50 wide gear to pay out the hooked chunks in the chum line. Best when there are 100# fish around and you want to maximize your catch.
On the Big E many would pay out 50-80# class mono but I think it was more effective to be able to cast out with spinners into the strike zone with live or dead baits, especially at night. Your 10000 SW would catch the plentiful black fins with ease and would be sporty on most of the YF's.

 

I fish large YFTs in Panama with a stella 20000 and stout jigging rod, like a Valley Hill Mogi Special or Salty Water OBX, using either small live blue runners or chunks. Have landed fish up tp to 200 lbs. It is a total blast.

 

Yup it's doable! We did it in Venice. Just make sure your drags set accordingly. Don't want that rod to go in the water when you flip that bail!!!

But that is one thing I didn't like. As the fish is making it's run you gotta give just enough slack to be able to flip the bail. You can image it's split seconds for that fleeing fish to get tight again. Had a stella 10k come back last season with a bent bail because of that! Capt Eddie est. fish over 120+

 

Haha, awesome! I really want to go back and give it a try.

 

What hooks would you use chunking for YFT on spinning gear? I am going to do this in Venice Oct.

 

What hooks would you use chunking for YFT on spinning gear? I am going to do this in Venice Oct.

same ones you would use on conventional gear , i guess there isn't much of a diference

 

same ones you would use on conventional gear , i guess there isn't much of a diference

Yeah, I got that. I'm asking what hooks? I need to buy some hooks so I am asking the more experienced guys what hooks, brand and size would they buy.

 

5/0 Owner Mutu will do the job very nicely.

 

The one disadvantage with spinning is the need to feed line versus letting the current pull it off a conventional. Dealing with braid and fast hitting fish always had me on edge when using a spinner and why I eventually went back to conventionals. The thought of having the braid wrap around a finger and then getting bit is nerve wracking. Spent more effort focusing on what my fingers were doing than the line.

 

The one disadvantage with spinning is the need to feed line versus letting the current pull it off a conventional.

When chunking,
if you let the current pull the line off the reel,
you are not fishing effectively.
You never want to do this when chunking.

------

Also when casting your bait away from the boat with a spinner,
your chunk is now above the chum/chunk line the boat is dishing out.

 

Can somebody explain the chunking with spinning technique ? Having trouble understanding how to feed the line , do you keep the bail open at all times until the fish bite , or do you close the bail right after pitching the chunk in the striking zone ?
I assume the drag is lose to feed the line if you close the bail , do you adjust it accordingly after hook up ?

Thanks

 

When chunking,
if you let the current pull the line off the reel,
you are not fishing effectively.
You never want to do this when chunking.

------

Also when casting your bait away from the boat with a spinner,
your chunk is now above the chum/chunk line the boat is dishing out.

That's how I was taught and have caught fish doing it. Much easier accomplished with braid than thicker mono.

 

If you're letting the current pull line, your bait will spin. You want to be pulling line out before the current for a natural presentation. Not saying that your technique doesn't work, but there is always a better mouse trap.

 

Can somebody explain the chunking with spinning technique ? Having trouble understanding how to feed the line , do you keep the bail open at all times until the fish bite , or do you close the bail right after pitching the chunk in the striking zone ?
I assume the drag is lose to feed the line if you close the bail , do you adjust it accordingly after hook up ?

Thanks

When I've done it with a spinner it was with the bail open and me manually stripping line fast enough so the chunks flowed freely with the current. Hence the fear when dealing with braid and fast hitting quarry. Get that braid wrapped around your finger and depending on pound test and fish hooked you may kiss that digit bye bye or at a minimum experience one nasty burn.

Not saying it shouldn't be done and just stipulating the danger so its taken into consideration. We often do dangerous things in a safe manner.

 

As for casting and the advantages a spinner provides. This is not entirely accurate. One can find a conventional reel with similar line capacity that has good casting properties and if matched with the proper rod can be just a effective at getting that chunk out and away from the boat. If that is desired. However, I tend to drop my chunks where the free pieces enter the water.

 

Could it be done by casting your chunk to the desired striking zone then closing the bail & feed the line with the drag lose ? kind of when you feed the line using a conventional .

That way your finger is safe from that equation.

 

Could it be done by casting your chunk to the desired striking zone then closing the bail & feed the line with the drag lose ? kind of when you feed the line using a conventional .

That way your finger is safe from that equation.

Tried using a Shimano bait runner to free line baits to Snappers but often they'd drop the bait because of the resistence. Not sure on yellowfin but I've caught those both by free lining a butterfish with no resistence as well as leaving them drifting on lock. I guess it depends on the mood of the fish. If they engulf the chunk then its game on but if they are finicky and just grab it and run then the resistence from the drag may cause them to drop the bait. Same concept when feeding gogs to muttons on the bottom. They often pick up the bait and run. Any resistence and they drop the bait.

I've had little to no success with any type of fish when trying to feed off the drag plus now you have to tighten the drag after hook up. If your going to do that than find an old aluminum Thunnis 16000 and use the bait runner feature. Not a Stella but one very capable reel for the task at hand.

 

Tried using a Shimano bait runner to free line baits to Snappers but often they'd drop the bait because of the resistence. Not sure on yellowfin but I've caught those both by free lining a butterfish with no resistence as well as leaving them drifting on lock. I guess it depends on the mood of the fish. If they engulf the chunk then its game on but if they are finicky and just grab it and run then the resistence from the drag may cause them to drop the bait. Same concept when feeding gogs to muttons on the bottom. They often pick up the bait and run. Any resistence and they drop the bait.

I've had little to no success with any type of fish when trying to feed off the drag plus now you have to tighten the drag after hook up. If your going to do that than find an old aluminum Thunnis 16000 and use the bait runner feature. Not a Stella but one very capable reel for the task at hand.

Good points there Garriga , way to complex .Ill stick to the conventional for that application , don't want to blow up my Stella

Thank you

 

I doubt one can blow up their Stella. Lol

I often try to find an excuse to use a spinner just so I can justify buying one. That 30k looks like it would put a hurt on those yellowfin and fast enough to get them past the Makos.

 

That's how I was taught and have caught fish doing it. Much easier accomplished with braid than thicker mono.

not saying you were taught incorrectly, BUT,

the idea in chunking is to have the bait falling/drifting on it's own weight, & looking like all the other chunks.
not "dragging" line off a spool. in fact, w/ conventional, it is pulled-fed by hand to KEEP slack in the line. If you flyfish, think of nymphing. you don't want the water-resistance of the line itself to in any way affect the presentation of the lure, AKA as "swinging" or "dragging" it.
That said, I would think it would be handled the same upon hookup, taking the rod out of the holder, closing the bail
automatically & coming tight.

my favorite 2 chunk hooks are Mustad Demon circle in 6/0, & Owner ringed super mutu in 5 or 6/0, black finish

 

That's how I was taught and have caught fish doing it. Much easier accomplished with braid than thicker mono.

Above poster won't say it,
but I will.
YOU WERE TAUGHT WRONG, PERIOD.

Realize/recognize this fact,
correct your technique,
and guess what,
you will catch lots more fish than you did before.

Or,
know better,
ignore Chunking class 101,
and explain how using the same technique but with braid is somehow better :wacko:

 

Jack , this is confusing . Which one is the right techinique to chunk , regardless of reels ?

Thanks

 

I guess I imagined all those fish I caught and I will continue to imagine all those fish I'm going to catch.

Has anyone who's questioning my technique actually done it? I've done the pulling line out of a spinner and conventional so I've actually experienced what that is and have also imagined catching fish doing that. But I've imagined catching more fish by letting the current take the chunk out once enough line was out to see that this is better. At least with the fish I've imagined catching.

As for spinner or conventional pulling line out by hand, much easier and safer on a conventional where line is stripped straight off the reel versus coming off in loops with a spinner. Which do you imagine is more likely to grab a finger as its being tethered out?

Oh, BTW, I once imagined actually getting snagged for a split second as a 30# plus King smoked my line and almost my left index finger as well. Then again what do I know. I've obviously not caught enough imaginary fish and had I been taught better than I would have caught so many more imaginary fish. Now imagine how depressed I must be.

 

If you imagine your fish you can visualize your catch , that's what a very expert member here said once .

Seeing is believing right ? Now imagine all the fish you can catch . Darn Garriga you must be doing something good Lol