[Sea Crappie]

Kil,

I'll second what Tom said about having different sizes of baits. I would certainly bring smaller poppers like the Yo-Zuri hydro tiger, the frenzy popper, and the APS Maharani. There are times where a larger lure will just not get the looks a small one will. Surface Iron works well for BFT, but can pick up YFT too.

Sometimes they seem picky about hitting surface baits. I've found that the Yo-Zuri Bonita in black/purple and ahi (in the 6" size) can be great performers. I'd be sure and bring some, along with the large Storm swim shad.

I haven't fished them yet, but I got some Carpenter Live Bait Sickbaits and they look just like a GOM flying fish (bluefish model especially). Eric Le Guyader of Orion Lures told me that their Crazy Dog and Bigfoot stickbaits did well on YFT down in Panama last year. So if you have access to the big GT style stickbaits, you might want to give those a try too.

Often the deciding factor is not color, action or size, but rather distance from the boat. The further you can cast your popper, the more likely it is to be hit. Also, if you can sight-fish the tuna, casting right on their nose will often result in a hookup.

I work my topwater lures very aggessively by default, sometimes it pays to slow down the retrieve.

Have fun

 

[Sea Crappie]

Thanks for the suggestions. I agree with Tom and you that tuna are very conscious of sizes of jigs or lures. And also I believe smaller jigs and lure can entice more bites because big lure/jig's action is harder to fool tuna.
I saw a few Orion's lures at GTFISHERMAN's when I visited Kauai.
He said those lures worked pretty good for GT.
Some of stickbaits are huge.


Orion's Big Foot 140, Big Jim 190, Carpenter's GT Y 160, Sea Frog 120 and GT Y 120 (from the top)



Now that's what I'm talkin about! You'll have to let me know how the Orions and Carpenters work. I almost hate to use their lures because they are so pretty. BTW, the Sea Frog is great but you might think about putting a hook on in place of the spinner blade (which I doubt helps at night).

Just remember (about those huge stickbaits), while smaller is sometimes better, there's no replacement for displacement when it comes to Tuna Poppers. A giant pencil popper trashing on the surface can just drive 'em nuts.