Abrasive things I have encountered offshore include: sharks, the bottom of the boat, other lines attached to other tuna, and possibly other tuna.
2025 Tuna and Exotics
- Thread starter Evan B
- Start date
Yes
One
SilverFly
Legend
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SilverFly
Legend
Straight 30# will work fine, but if you mix leader weights I'd ditch the blood knot for a uni-to-uni knot connection.
I've fished nothing but the same orange squid I fished all of last season, and I have caught plenty of tuna. This is only casting when stopped, as I am driving the boat when trolling.
When on the troll, well, most here know my thoughts on this, even if nobody believes me
When on the troll, well, most here know my thoughts on this, even if nobody believes me
That's Adamcu if I recall his gear correctly. He must have latched into a big one if he was worried about it pulling him in and him needing some extra flotation.
Who is this that’s all ready for a man overboard scenario?
Safety first!
Looks hot as hell
how was the fishing?
@Tallguy is correct. It’s Krontonamo’s guitarist and singer.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve nearly pulled the tether on one of those things.
I think they got some new ones. They weren’t too crusty. Mine had a very clean but astringent “eau du bait shop” funk. Like an unaged whiskey, it needs time to develop.
In fairness to ARSC, they did get nice new PFDs this year, and I was always reasonably sure, more than 50%, they would go off when needed, despite the crusty look.
It was very sunny but very windy accompanied by regular salty mistings, sprinkles, and occasional drenching. I took layers on and off sort of a lot. I was the only one that did that.Looks hot as hell
Fishing was really good pretty much right off the bat. My fly got tagged or more than tagged basically right after we dropped gear but it was super brief. Then I hooked up not long after followed by @dbaken hooking up. Doug got his fish in faster than I, and Capt Chance/Chase successfully gaffed it. Then the gaff missed my fish, ahem, which caused the fish to sound violently and my leader broke about 4 inches below the Bimini loop to the fly line. It looked abraded to me. I don’t know on what though. I was running 25 lb. polluting flouro.
I can’t give a play by play after that, but it was a really good morning. We had like 19 or something like that before noon. The afternoon was a bit of a slog punctuated by @PhilK taking a break, then asking Chase/Chad or whatever to pick a fly. And he picked a very coho looking pink and chartreuse clouser, which Phil tied on and then tied into a real donkey, maybe the biggest fish of the trip.
Average size was good, about 15? Some were 20 or so. One (rod busting!) peanut.
The waves though. Jesus. I don’t know how many more tuna charter days I have in me if they might be like that ocean conditions-wise! The fishing was very good and I’m just giving Capt Chance a hard time with the name thing, a joke from the trip, he did a great job for us since Nick was busy on the Big Boat, and I am appreciative.
Edit: we boated 22 tuna on fly. A bunch were on the slide or cast flies.
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Yeah maybe that was your funk I was smelling, who knows?
Nice work guys. The ocean has not been particularly kind the last few days. As much as I love doing the fly trips, I was not too heartbroken to have to hop over to the big boat for a few days.
Yes, well, what can I say? I’m glad I was helpful in the comedy department because I surely wasn’t very helpful filling the fish box. Seemed like whatever flies/colors I tried immediately went cold unless they were on Matt, Doug, or Phil’s rod. I did manage a few hookups but nothing like the hot streaks that everyone else enjoyed.
And when I did eventually hook up, the glorious sound of a sizzling drag was rudely interrupted by the reel handle catching the pull tab on the PFD and “pshhhhhhhhh!” followed by uncontrollable laughter from everyone else. Even my ski buddy Capt. Chaz got in on the fun!
At least my embarrassing sound wasn’t the sound of two rods going “crunch”… btw lucky for @dbaken the TFO Axiom II-X 12wt is $200 at Sierra right now.
My one trip of the season is done but I’m looking forward to next year. Good times everyone!
And when I did eventually hook up, the glorious sound of a sizzling drag was rudely interrupted by the reel handle catching the pull tab on the PFD and “pshhhhhhhhh!” followed by uncontrollable laughter from everyone else. Even my ski buddy Capt. Chaz got in on the fun!
At least my embarrassing sound wasn’t the sound of two rods going “crunch”… btw lucky for @dbaken the TFO Axiom II-X 12wt is $200 at Sierra right now.
My one trip of the season is done but I’m looking forward to next year. Good times everyone!
You can tell that Adam is a stick. Ties good flies, too. It just wasn’t his day. Most of us have been there.
Speaking of flies—it was a little all over the place maybe, but I started with purple and stuck with it. I tied one fly for the trip and and started with that:
It was getting eaten right off the bat and got the first hookup of the day, but that fish broke off and took the fly, so a grabbed another purple baitfish from my fly box—a flashy little number of purple angel hair, some herl and krystal flash over white EP fiber. The eyes came off at the first fish it hooked but I stuck with it the rest of the day and it kept getting bit to the end, getting bitten while stack mending and retrieving while Phil was working in that last donkey of the day. But I dropped that fish after it being on for about 5-10 seconds (enough to have to do an over/under dance move with Phil).
Here was the fly. It looks better in the water, but really there’s not much to it:
I dropped more fish this trip than I can recall doing on any other tuna trip I’ve been on. Not break offs, just fish being hooked, usually not a super long time, and then coming off. Both flies I used were on these hooks:
The large hook helps keel the fly well. They tracked and swam nicely. But maybe they are too large? Given the size of the hooks used on swim baits and trolling lures and what not for tuna I wasn’t too concerned, but flies are not giant swim baits. I know @Nick Clayton likes those Ahrex and similar 2/0 hooks that are a good bit smaller than these. Maybe I ought to stay small, IDK, any thoughts from the gallery?
Speaking of flies—it was a little all over the place maybe, but I started with purple and stuck with it. I tied one fly for the trip and and started with that:
It was getting eaten right off the bat and got the first hookup of the day, but that fish broke off and took the fly, so a grabbed another purple baitfish from my fly box—a flashy little number of purple angel hair, some herl and krystal flash over white EP fiber. The eyes came off at the first fish it hooked but I stuck with it the rest of the day and it kept getting bit to the end, getting bitten while stack mending and retrieving while Phil was working in that last donkey of the day. But I dropped that fish after it being on for about 5-10 seconds (enough to have to do an over/under dance move with Phil).
Here was the fly. It looks better in the water, but really there’s not much to it:
I dropped more fish this trip than I can recall doing on any other tuna trip I’ve been on. Not break offs, just fish being hooked, usually not a super long time, and then coming off. Both flies I used were on these hooks:
The large hook helps keel the fly well. They tracked and swam nicely. But maybe they are too large? Given the size of the hooks used on swim baits and trolling lures and what not for tuna I wasn’t too concerned, but flies are not giant swim baits. I know @Nick Clayton likes those Ahrex and similar 2/0 hooks that are a good bit smaller than these. Maybe I ought to stay small, IDK, any thoughts from the gallery?