Here is an article recently penned by yours truly. It has appered on several web-sites along with being under the notes column on my Facebook page. If any would like to veiw it, along with the pictures at my FB site, then just become a "friend" to Bruce A. Smith and you will have access to this and many more articles concerning long rang fishing. Sorry there are no pictures with this article as they are too big and tough to send over the sat phone. Thank you for taking the time to read it, hope you enjoy.
The last three weeks- August 27, 2010
Intro-
During the last three weeks Shogun has completed a five day trip mostly for yellowtail at the islands, a seven day down to the rocks and spent the remainder of the time in search of bluefin/yellowfin tuna for Monterey Bay Aquarium and TRCC(Tuna Research Conservation Center). During this alloted time I personally was able to fish with some new tackle, some not so new tackle, try different connections, and do a bunch of tinkering. In this article (with my apologies because it sort of bounces around on different subjects) I will be discussing some of my observations, some good, and let just say, some critical. Well not too critical, I love this sport and want to help out the tackle shops and lure company as much as the anglers.
[hercKnotSDlr]
Hercules rods-
Three years ago, small Accurate and Avet conventional reels started to come into there own, tuna species from 40 to over 100 pounds were being landed on their diminutive size, two speed reels. It was enlightening to say the least, although what I was seeing was that the rods seemed to be big, over sized, club-ish sort of tools. They needed to catch up with the small reels, technologically speaking. Seeker has done just that with the introduction of the Hercules series of composite casting/jig rods. Originally designed for east coast jig fisherman, the Hercules is finding a huge following on the west coast as a live bait rod. When paired with a small Accurate or Avet two speed reel this rod/reel combo weighs in at only 2/3rd's of a "standard" west coast live bait outfit used to land the same size of game fish. Standing at the rail at Alijos, Guadalupe or during a plunker bluefin bite has never been easier on your arms and lower back. Next would be the ease of casting. Most thought that with the inherent parabolic action of a jig rod that it wouldn't cast a live bait well. What we found is that if you slow your casting stroke down and let the rod work for you and it easily delivers a live sardine or anchovy distances as far or further than its fast action cousins. Finally, how does it pull? Does it have enough of a butt? The expression of surprise graced the faces of hooked-up anglers as they found out first hand some expected surprises. The recoil of the graphite/S-glass combo is almost too fast to keep up with in low gear, and many of us just kept the two-speed in high to keep the rods loaded and pulling hard.
[playersSDlr]
Accurate reels/handles-
Jack Neilsen is one of the most generous men in sportfishing today. He(along with a couple reels borrowed from Fishingvideos.com Bill Roecker) contributed his Accurate reels to my cause. The cause being product research and review, someone has to be the guiena pig ;). This gave me four primary outfits to use, all Seeker rods and Accurate reels, I was the bee's knee's or at least I thought I was.
The primary four consisted of,
-Hercules SHS 70M/Accurate 870 narrow; 65lb. solid spectra; four feet of 40lb. Blackwater fluorocarbon attached via FG knot
-Hercules SHS 60H/Accurate 500; 80lb. spectra; twenty feet of 50lb. Blackwater fluorocarbon
-Hercules SHS 60XH/Accurate 600 narrow; 80lb. spectra; twenty feet of 60lb. Blackwater fluorocarbon
-Super Seeker CJBF 60H/Accurate 600; 130lb. spectra; twenty feet of 80lb. Blackwater fluorocarbon
I really can't say enough good things about this tackle. It's light, strong, good looking and gives you a huge confidence boost. One thing I experienced with the Accurate reels is that I got to try three different handle/knob configurations. The 870 narrow came with the infamous basket knob, an Accurate exclusive. Its attractive to say the least, but in my opinion was the least comfortable of the three. Not saying it didn't work, it did great landing those bluefin tuna of the summer. This knob spins the easiest, in fact the new ones will go for up to a minute until they stop after an easy finger push. Next was the rubber knob, most reel companies have some sort of version of this handle somewhere in the line up. For me its very comfortable and my favorite to use, it fit my hands nicely, not too heavy and spins fairly easy. The Accurate T-handle I had my doubts about when I first started to use it last year. This is the one in anodized blue with Extreme engraved down the side. I was worried I wouldn't be able to wind fast enough or that the big handle would be unwieldy or unfriendly. Once I started to use it all of these doubts were pushed aside and I actually began look forward to winding in fish with reels that incorporated one of these bigger handles. They spin very freely, and of course fit nicely into your hand, ergonomically speaking.
An item I really enjoy about the Accurate is the length of the handle, Jack and sons don't mess around here, its a beef crank. You get a lot of leverage and torque when you turn this handle, fish come to the boat. This is a testament to how well the gears inside the reels mesh and how strong they made. With all this leverage you are putting to the handle it's the gears that are taking the abuse. Believe me we learned this the hard way back when TLD's were all the rage and we started in with the aftermarket aluminum frames and bigger drag disks, all that happened was we tore apart the guts. Accurate's have guts and you won't be tearing them out, even with the big handles.
Megabaits-
This year of tough offshore fishing, one technique that has proven effective is casting small shiny jigs, in slang terms known as "Megabaits", into the froth of boiling tuna and albacore. Not all "Megabaits" are created equal. In fact there is no such lure as megabait being produced at the present, the closest jig resembling the former lure is made by P-line and is called a Lazer Minnow. Unfortunately the Lazer Minnow is not living up to the megabaits of the past, it's construction has left a lot to be desired, for some reason they have decreased the gauge of the through wire running from the eyelet to the tail end and I have seen several now literally pull apart. Lazer Minnows come rigged with a treble hook, granted there are split rings that able you to remove and replace the treble with a good stout single, such as the Mustad 94140 BLN size 7/0, you still have to do this yourself. My answer to all of this is to buy the Braid D-B jig instead. It comes in all those exciting colors everyone likes, already has a stout single hook and, get this, wielded rings instead of split rings. Kudos to Braid for this one.
As for casting these small lures we did better while using lighter line, such as a short top shot of 30 pound connected to 65lb. solid braid and a light jig rod seven or eight feet in length. This isn't the bomber kind of surface iron yellowtail fishing, most casts are kept within 150 feet. Many times we could pull the boat right up next to the boiling, jumping tunas, but if you wanted to get a bite you had to get the jig into the melee before the boat got close. Let the jigs sink into the froth, don't just wind them back fast. The bluefin and albacore like to pick off the dead or injured baitfish and these jigs do a great job of imitating just that.
[megabaitSDlr]
Mustad Sea Demon-
Demon Offset Ringed, 3x strong, R39942BLN
These hooks were/are new to me. Not the Mustad name obviously, but in past years while fishing circle hooks it has been all about Owner Mutu's here aboard Shogun. The Sea Demon circle has a wide, off set gap that makes it easy to pin on sardines, come with an extremely sharp point and you can get them with wielded rings. We didn't have any problems with the hook straightening out, even in the small 2/0 size. They get a thumbs up from me, it was nice to use a different, good quality hook and look forward to more time in the water with them in the future.
Braid connections, solid to monofiliment-
The spinning, jigging and popping guys are the cutting edge right now, they are pushing the limits of their tackle, line, knots and lures. What can we(west coast long range fishermen) learn from some east coast guy catching 200 pound bluefin or that Japanese kid with a smile from ear to ear straining under the weight of his 150 pound dog tooth tuna? For one thing solid braid and knots are in, as in it's the hip-happening thing, don't be afraid to spool up with solid braid, at least for your lighter weight outfits. What you do have to learn though are the connection knots. Muy importante! Mono to solid braid knots are extremely tough, hard to break and here is a strange fact for you, they are stronger than braid to braid connection knots. I am talking about solid not hollow braid, hollow is totally different and a different article altogether. One thing that I have found is that some of these connections are hard to tie, lots of effort for just a little more breaking strength, the FG(Sebile) and GT knot come to mind as two examples of hard to tie connections. If you are into knots like I am, go for it, there are some good tutorials on YouTube. More appropriate for the average LR angler are one of the knots discussed in the list below. Gone are the days of the Bimini to 20 turn Albright, now that is cave man!
FG(Sebile)-Strongest of all the knots due to the fact it's not a knot, but a trap. Difficult to tie, but it shoots through the guides during the cast, never have I had this knot hang up in a guides or on the spool. Truthfully, in my opinion, it's Awesome.
Improved Bristol(worm)-Very strong knot, but tied with the two legs of a Bimini. The problem is the Bimini, unlike monofiliment, they are not 100% in the super braids. Strange but true, this is something I found and was trying to get across to passengers ten years ago and has since been proven on line testing machines.
Bob Sands knot(Pena)- Go through the stopper knot and its ten up, ten down, back through the bottom, pull on the main line and you are good to go. It shoots through the guides and is strong, what more could you want? I see this as becoming THE go to knot for the west coast fisherman.
9 to 5(uni to uni)-Great knot, some passengers prefer it over the Bob Sands. This was the original mono to braid connection as showed to me the first time by Russ Izor during a three day trip back in my Royal Star days.
[casey70H12SDlr)
Cheap to expensive braids-
I live by end to end splices. Love 'em. Hollow braid rocks. What doesn't rock is the price, it hurts to fill a reel with the premium stuff, but at the same time have you ever tried to splice loosely woven super braids? To say it's difficult is an understatement and I basically do it for a living. To solve these dilemmas I throw on most of a spool of a cheaper(in price) hollow braid then for the last couple hundred feet I end to end splice in the good stuff, 12X or even better 16X. Wha-la! Now your reel is filled with hollow braid, but is still easy to splice in your top shots at a fraction of the cost.
I may get into trouble for reveling such secrets, but hey, you got to give 'em something to talk about----
Wax Wing/Sebile Magic Swimmer-
Have you seen these swim? They are incredible. In fact they may swim too good. One of the reasons a Salas 7x light is such a fish catcher is because it doesn't swim perfect. It kicks out, that kick acts as a trigger. The new line of magic swimming baits literally swim perfectly, they are awesome to watch, and they do catch fish, not just anglers. What I am looking forward to is throwing these pups at wahoo later in the year, I don't know how many will come back in one piece but it will sure be fun to watch!
One more thing, don't forget to pick up the hottest 7x to come along in awhile the "Python". I know that they are being stocked at Fisherman's Landing tackle shop and here aboard the Shogun.
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Big Fish Happen,
Bruce A. Smith
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