 |
| Author | Post |
|---|
jimster
Member
| Joined: | Sun Feb 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 7 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
| Mana: |  |
|
Posted: Sun Jul 16th, 2006 02:00 pm |
|
I'd take any last minute advice you pros have on the billfish hookups. Last year we must have hooked up 8-10 but never landed one. Think we NOW have the right poles, line, leader, crimp connections now. May still need help on lures if someone could recommend their extrordinary leading producer. We have most of the standard stuff (or does it really matter since we are gonna bait them anyway???) Will sharpen hooks!
Could use advise on the stike drag settings, hookset, when to tighten down the drag, etc.. Also any advise on the "baiting" them. I hope to have live bait rounded up and rigged dead mullet. Sure like to put my buddies onto some good hookups. We will have a good local captain along but I don't always learn all I could from him due to the language barrier.
What is the best way to locate the close in reef if they are in close in? Is Tortuga still hot and if so where? Other good structure spots bor the bills/sails???
One more question, if we decide to go over to Tortuga to stay out of the way of you experts during the tournament, I understand that there is a great reef or high spot southeast of the island where we might pick up a grouper. Does anyone care to share coordinates. Also if we anchored up at tortuga for the night, how deep of water should we be in to get the big boys right now?
Lastly should we stay near SC or enjoy the ride over to tortuga to enjoy the most action????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
As you can see we will not be a threat to your tournament win, in fact we will not be in it.
Thanks guys,
Jimster
|
Stuart
Member
| Joined: | Wed Oct 26th, 2005 |
| Location: | Tempe, Arizona USA |
| Posts: | 442 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
| Mana: |   |
|
Posted: Sun Jul 16th, 2006 03:39 pm |
|
Your biggest problem seems to be getting billfish to stick. Not uncommon. Considering how tough the bill and most of the mouth is, it's amazing anybody gets them hooked up.
Ultra-sharp hooks are a good start. Personally, I like to use Owner Jobu Big Game hooks on nearly all of my lures. A coated, super-sharp hook with a cutting edge that seems to help set the hook.
Drag settings are important, but you don't want to set the drag on your reels to be much more that about 1/3 of your rated line strength. Set the drag too tight and you'll hear that lovely "ping" sound as the line separates and you loose a lure. Good lever drag trolling reels help with this. Set (calibrate) your drags at the full setting, then back them off to strike while you're trolling. Once the fish is on, you can then go to full drag.
A trick I learned from Mexican captains is when you hear a reel go off, drop the throttles. Literally, hammer them to full speed for 20 or 30 seconds. This helps set the hook. Make sure your crew is aware that you plan to do this, or you can easily roll someone overboard or have them get hurt on deck.
I tend to troll faster because I usually only troll lures, not baits. About 10-12 mph, rather than 7 mph. This seems to help with the hook-up, too. If we're using bait, we like to drop it back when we've got a billfish in the spread. Once they get interested, you'll be surprised at how long they'll often stay in your spread and check out your lures. Some of it depends on the type of billfish. Sailfish are notorious for coming into the spread and playing with the lures. Striped marlin often do the same thing. You'll recognize this a series of quick, very short strikes on reel as they bat the lure around with their bill. If you're on top of it, sometimes you can quickly drop the lure back and they'll take it.
Blue marlin are a different story. I've never had one play in the spread. When they see something they like, they charge it and take it. Many of the blue marlin I've caught have been blind strikes. Didn't see the fish at all; just instant bendo, fish on!
Leading producer lures - I make custom lures. I troll a lot of them. Some consistently seem to catch fish, while others occasionally get bit. There's always an element of "any given day" at work. In other words, the lure that's extremely hot one day may not even get a bump the next day. I have my favorites that I know work and I'll start with those and stick with them. Throughout the day, I may change out a couple of them. A key mistake I see many beginners make is not having faith in their lures. If a lure doesn't get bit within 10 or 15 minutes, they change it out to something else. Chances are, it isn't the lure -- there aren't any fish around or they're just not hungry. We have dragged one of my top producing lures right in front of tailers we'll see on the surface some days and they couldn't care a less about it. Other days, they'll immediately light up and charge it. What I'm getting at here is if you know the lure is a fish catcher, stick with it and keep the faith.
Anyway, those are a few of the things that work for me for billfish. Can't really answer your Tortuga questions because I haven't been over that way in a long time.
|
bartmanaz
Administrator
|
Posted: Sun Jul 16th, 2006 03:58 pm |
|
Jimster
I'm going to take a partial shot at answering your question and the other guys can add their bit. I do not fish bait much so will confine my answers to lures-that is what I know best.
Favorite lures include Pakula medium sprockets, 7-Strand kona clones, Star lures and Mold Craft. I have a couple of Zukers that we pull from time to time as well as the old reliable cedar plug. Because the target species are intermingled (marlin, sail, dorado, wahoo), we pull a mix of lures. If yellow fin become the target, we switch to smaller feathers. As to colors, in bright high sky we run bright colors and darker sky darker colors.
Drag settings-rule of thumb is 30% of main line rating at strike setting. So if you are running 50# test line, the strike setting should be 15#. Best way to check these is at the dock with a scale.
Hookset for a marlin is different from a sailfish. A sail will tend to hit a lure, run a bit, drop it and come back-if you miss a shot on a sail you can often trigger a second strike by throwing the reel into free spool for a few seconds. Marlin tend to simply nail the lure and go with it.
Changing drag during the fight-we pretty much stay on strike throughout and if we need to regain line we use the boat. Pushing the drag setting up towards full invites a broken main line. Modern big game reels can exert enormous drag. If the lines starts humming like a guitar string, the drag is too tight. Smooth steady pressure at strike will give you the best results.
Easy way to find the reef off San Carlos is to look at San Pedro island. When you are looking along the spine of main ridge on the island you have found the reef. You can also see on a good depth finder. Rough distance out from Punta dobles is about 12 miles on 240.
I don't go to Tortuga much so will leave that one for others to discuss. Based on what i am reading not sure you need to go that far to catch quality fish.
Hope this helps.
Tight lines
Bart
|
bartmanaz
Administrator
|
Posted: Sun Jul 16th, 2006 04:03 pm |
|
Guess Stuart and I were writing about the same time. I absolutely agree with him on lures-think angler confidence in a lure is more important than any other factor. If you believe that lure catches fish-it will. And Stuart, are you bringing any "samples" with you to the tournament next week? I have this neat t-shirt but none of the lures. 
Thanx
Bart
|
Stuart
Member
| Joined: | Wed Oct 26th, 2005 |
| Location: | Tempe, Arizona USA |
| Posts: | 442 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Sun Jul 16th, 2006 05:41 pm |
|
Hey Bart!
At this point, I don't think I'll be down for the tournament.  My boss is sending me to Ft. Walton Beach, FL for a new project we're starting. I'll probably spend some time perusing the tackle shops in Destin and if time permits, maybe even try a charter.
I do, however, have a hot new series of lures. I'm sending one down to Steve and will be happy to provide a sample for you to try, too. This thing was getting nailed during our last trip even when everything else was being ignored. I think they're kind of plain Jane to look at, but they are apparently a beautiful flying fish imitation to those with gills and fins. 
Most are 8", larger ones in the 2nd family picture are 10"
This picture below is a new one-of-kind I created for my personal collection - a bleeding dorado. The head is a real fish (opelu), dried and set in resin. Very unique! It's a big lure, about 14 inches and I can't wait to troll it for something BIG! This head was a gift from my suppliers in Hawaii. I can get more of them if anyone is interested, but they are pricey because of the amount of work involved to produce them. The picture hardly does it justice; it's a beautiful lure!
|
bartmanaz
Administrator
|
Posted: Mon Jul 17th, 2006 12:25 am |
|
Send that bad boy down-you pick it an I'll fish it and tell the world how it did...
as long as its good...
Bart
|
Current time is 01:04 pm | |
|
|
|
|
