2025 Tuna and Exotics

Matt B said:
I actually can’t remember. I think it’s gotta be “doesn’t really matter,” or “purple and black.” “Seahawks” was popular a season or two ago but seems not to be the flavor du jour for anglers.
Please repeat your thoughts on fly patterns for trolling for the forgetful among us.
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I truly believe it does not matter. I will die on this hill lol.

I know that when you get out a time or two a year, and one rod is hot, it's easy to become convinced that those things matter. For me personally, I have the advantage of being out there 7 days a week and I have removed all variables. I fish the exact same troll spread every day of the week on gear trips, and I have seen more trolled flies than I can count. I truly believe it comes down to position at the time that we troll over fish, along with the aggression level of the fish at any given time. I find that removing all variables such as emotion and confirmation bias, along with a very large sample size, that I see absolutely zero indicator that any of that stuff matters when on the troll.

Ultimately I equate it to playing blackjack. You can stay on your 16 against a dealers face card because you feel a bust card is coming, and it will pay off on occasion and make you feel like your gut knew something, but over the course of thousands of hands, hitting a 16 against a dealers face card is statistically the better move.

That said, most people don't get the luxury of doing this every day of the week, so emotions and gut feelings and all that are a part of the fun. So by all means, play with it! I'm not trying to take the fun out of it for anyone, but just throwing it out there. Over the course of time I have become totally convinced that it doesn't matter one bit, and fishing something you're confident in and keeping it in the water is the important part.

At this point I fish a spawn head squid pattern, or a Seahawks colored half and half pretty much exclusively, and simply because they are fun and easy to tie, and I know I will catch albacore with either of those patterns every day of the week. When stopped and casting, things can get a bit different, but I'm also pretty well convinced at this point that in most scenarios it's the archer, not the arrow.

I like black and purple on the troll because it makes such a nice silhouette. All black would probably be just as effective for that matter I imagine.

You guys kicked butt yesterday, so no matter how you slice it you were doing plenty of things right! You ended up with just a few fish less than our other boat fishing bait, only you did it with fly rods and only 4 anglers!
 
Nick Clayton said:
You guys kicked butt yesterday, so no matter how you slice it you were doing plenty of things right! You ended up with just a few fish less than our other boat fishing bait, only you did it with fly rods and only 4 anglers!
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Thanks for saying this. I wondered how we compared, but also didn’t want to ask!
 
Nick Clayton said:
I truly believe it does not matter. I will die on this hill lol.

I know that when you get out a time or two a year, and one rod is hot, it's easy to become convinced that those things matter. For me personally, I have the advantage of being out there 7 days a week and I have removed all variables. I fish the exact same troll spread every day of the week on gear trips, and I have seen more trolled flies than I can count. I truly believe it comes down to position at the time that we troll over fish, along with the aggression level of the fish at any given time. I find that removing all variables such as emotion and confirmation bias, along with a very large sample size, that I see absolutely zero indicator that any of that stuff matters when on the troll.

Ultimately I equate it to playing blackjack. You can stay on your 16 against a dealers face card because you feel a bust card is coming, and it will pay off on occasion and make you feel like your gut knew something, but over the course of thousands of hands, hitting a 16 against a dealers face card is statistically the better move.

That said, most people don't get the luxury of doing this every day of the week, so emotions and gut feelings and all that are a part of the fun. So by all means, play with it! I'm not trying to take the fun out of it for anyone, but just throwing it out there. Over the course of time I have become totally convinced that it doesn't matter one bit, and fishing something you're confident in and keeping it in the water is the important part.

At this point I fish a spawn head squid pattern, or a Seahawks colored half and half pretty much exclusively, and simply because they are fun and easy to tie, and I know I will catch albacore with either of those patterns every day of the week. When stopped and casting, things can get a bit different, but I'm also pretty well convinced at this point that in most scenarios it's the archer, not the arrow.

I like black and purple on the troll because it makes such a nice silhouette. All black would probably be just as effective for that matter I imagine.

You guys kicked butt yesterday, so no matter how you slice it you were doing plenty of things right! You ended up with just a few fish less than our other boat fishing bait, only you did it with fly rods and only 4 anglers!
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Yesterday it did seem like the long outside rods got hit more often than our shorter inside rods. If it was a single it was usually (always?) long and outside. If it was a double/triple, it was probably long and outside first and then inside.

Also, @Phil K would often get hit moments after taking a break while the rest of us had been out there the whole time, so I'm not sure about the "keep it in the water" thing. 🤪

BTW: another shoutout/rec for Merino's fish processing. Getting 45lbs of tuna loins bloodlined and vac sealed was $140 with tip. It's half that (and faster) if they don't trim the bloodlines out. Sometimes they can get it all done the same afternoon and you can be on your way by 6pm. I find this service to be a game changer as I don't love the processing part of the haul.
 
adamcu280 said:
BTW: another shoutout/rec for Merino's fish processing. Getting 45lbs of tuna loins bloodlined and vac sealed was $140 with tip. It's half that (and faster) if they don't trim the bloodlines out. Sometimes they can get it all done the same afternoon and you can be on your way by 6pm. I find this service to be a game changer as I don't love the processing part of the haul
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Merino's is definitely the move. Any fish I bring home over the season I take to Merino's. They do such a great job and my time is just worth more to me than what they charge.
 
Nick Clayton said:
I've seen waaaaaay more fish lost when hooked on troll gear with large hooks than I've ever seen on small hooks when fishing live bait. Like not even close. Fish lost when fishing bait almost exclusively come from deep hooked fish when people don't notice the bite, or hook set fish that are hooked in the top of the jaw. Big hook tends to equal a big hole when the old tuners are shaking their head back and forth. It's much easier for them to work those larger hooks free.

Don't have any first hand experience with those hooks you were using, so I can't speak to it directly, but personally it's short shanked, wide gap 1/0-2/0 hooks for me unless I absolutely need something longer for a pattern.
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The thing with those big hooks when they’re on a big lure is the big lure provides a LOT more leverage to wear a hole and also to shake it loose, compared to a fly. Also it takes some time to wear a big hole. I wasn’t losing them after a long fight generally. They would be firmly hooked and then gone after a bit of that. Like they weren’t hooked well. (It wasn’t a hook set problem, I don’t think) those things make a bigger hole but they also have a gnarly fricken barb. More testing needed before I make a conclusion. I like some things about them.
 
adamcu280 said:
Yesterday it did seem like the long outside rods got hit more often than our shorter inside rods. If it was a single it was usually (always?) long and outside. If it was a double/triple, it was probably long and outside first and then inside.

Also, @Phil K would often get hit moments after taking a break while the rest of us had been out there the whole time, so I'm not sure about the "keep it in the water" thing. 🤪

BTW: another shoutout/rec for Merino's fish processing. Getting 45lbs of tuna loins bloodlined and vac sealed was $140 with tip. It's half that (and faster) if they don't trim the bloodlines out. Sometimes they can get it all done the same afternoon and you can be on your way by 6pm. I find this service to be a game changer as I don't love the processing part of the haul.
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Next time I'm doing Merino's for sure. They couldn't fit me in same day last weekend, so I decided to bloodline and vacuum seal at home. In hindsight I should have just drove down and picked them up the next weekend since they offered to freeze and hold them for me for a week. I'm just not well set up for that quantity of fish processing at home. I got it done over a couple evenings but I'm sure Merino's would have done a better job.
 
ffb said:
Next time I'm doing Merino's for sure. They couldn't fit me in same day last weekend, so I decided to bloodline and vacuum seal at home. In hindsight I should have just drove down and picked them up the next weekend since they offered to freeze and hold them for me for a week. I'm just not well set up for that quantity of fish processing at home. I got it done over a couple evenings but I'm sure Merino's would have done a better job.
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Another perk of minivan life is I just park/camp wherever and pick up my fish the next morning when it’s done. I was so beat up after fishing yesterday that there was no way I’d have made it all the way home intact anyways. Better to take the time and maybe get a morning surf or walk.
 
adamcu280 said:
Another perk of minivan life is I just park/camp wherever and pick up my fish the next morning when it’s done. I was so beat up after fishing yesterday that there was no way I’d have made it all the way home intact anyways. Better to take the time and maybe get a morning surf or walk.
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I feel a little better knowing the lifetime and career waterman was beat up by that ocean like I was. I was positively green most of the time out there, relief band and all.

I am looking forward to camping out before and after my 9/22 trip—so long as we get to go!
 
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Matt B said:
I feel a little better knowing the lifetime and career waterman was beat up by that ocean like I was. I was positively green most of the time out there, relief band and all.

I am looking forward to camping out before and after my 9/22 trip—so long as we get to go!
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I’m pretty out of practice these days. Getting the sea legs into shape takes training and upkeep! I’ve been green before and it’s no fun so mad props to anyone who can power through it out there and still slay fish. I’ve seen folks more or less die…
 
I'm weird... I don't "enjoy" the processing part of the haul, but it's all part of the ritual for me and wouldn't trade it for anything. That said, there's been times where I wish I had a convenient option like this for some of my crewmates who don't live nearby me. I often invite friends who have no way to properly process and seal their share of the haul, and getting to my place for the butchering party is not particularly feasible.

I don't know that such an option exists that's at least convenient down here. I'm sure there's something in Ilwaco that would do it but haven't looked into it.
 
Evan B said:
I'm weird... I don't "enjoy" the processing part of the haul, but it's all part of the ritual for me and wouldn't trade it for anything. That said, there's been times where I wish I had a convenient option like this for some of my crewmates who don't live nearby me. I often invite friends who have no way to properly process and seal their share of the haul, and getting to my place for the butchering party is not particularly feasible.

I don't know that such an option exists that's at least convenient down here. I'm sure there's something in Ilwaco that would do it but haven't looked into it.
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There is a place in Ilwaco that cuts fish. I don't remember what it is called. It is up towards England's. That's where Andy gets his done.

It helps to have a dedicated fish cleaning table at home. Also, it is wise to only take home single digit fish to process. Ask me how I know. 😆 I cark early the next morning before the yellow jackets wake up. Then trim bloodline indoors later. I'm teaching my kids to do the trim too. If I ever have too many to deal with at once, I have friends willing to take whole fish.
 
Tuna Ball said:
There is a place in Ilwaco that cuts fish. I don't remember what it is called. It is up towards England's. That's where Andy gets his done.

It helps to have a dedicated fish cleaning table at home. Also, it is wise to only take home single digit fish to process. Ask me how I know. 😆 I cark early the next morning before the yellow jackets wake up. Then trim bloodline indoors later. I'm teaching my kids to do the trim too. If I ever have too many to deal with at once, I have friends willing to take whole fish.
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I trim at time of consumption. For me, i'd rather there be more undesirable stuff around the outsides for the freezer to spoil, so I just cut the loin off the fish and vac pack it. Then thaw, remove from package, and trim the ickies off.

My "dedicated" fish processing table (since most my carking sessions happen after work the next day and yellowjackets exist). My pro-butchering cousin on the knife. I keep ice packs in each bin, so those loins aren't as warm as they appear.
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Evan B said:
I trim at time of consumption. For me, i'd rather there be more undesirable stuff around the outsides for the freezer to spoil, so I just cut the loin off the fish and vac pack it. Then thaw, remove from package, and trim the ickies off.
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That's actually a pretty good idea/logic that I had not thought of. I may try this next time.

As for fish processing, I don't know why it took me so long, but this year I finally I figured out I can do it in my garage. The workbench is at the correct height, it has doors that close to keep out flies and YJs (GAME CHANGER), fish odors are not in the house, and my dedicated fish cutting board and knives are all out there anyway (that way nobody else touches those knives). I just slap some cardboard down, the cutting board goes on top of that, and I get to work.
 
Matt B said:
That's actually a pretty good idea/logic that I had not thought of. I may try this next time.

As for fish processing, I don't know why it took me so long, but this year I finally I figured out I can do it in my garage. The workbench is at the correct height, it has doors that close to keep out flies and YJs (GAME CHANGER), fish odors are not in the house, and my dedicated fish cutting board and knives are all out there anyway (that way nobody else touches those knives). I just slap some cardboard down, the cutting board goes on top of that, and I get to work.
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Yeah, many push back on this at first because the loins are UGLY. I don't really care though. They can be ugly in the freezer.
 
Evan B said:
Yeah, many push back on this at first because the loins are UGLY. I don't really care though. They can be ugly in the freezer.
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I had the same thought, that it won't look as nice in the vac bags, like when I give it away. But whatever, I don't care for my own stuff I don't think. It also spreads out the processing time. I could also trim up some "presentation pieces" and then also have my ugly personal supply.
 
... Back to the fun part; catching.

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These are the two flies I used. The black and purple one is Nick's and caught all but my last fish. He mentions above that these have a good strong profile in the water, and you can see that this would. I remember admiring the flies @adamcu280 was using, ones he tied himself I believe. They had a nice subtle, fishy, translucent look to them and would probably be excellent at convincing a picky eater. Trolling at 6 knots, maybe that isn't what you want. We all know Adam can fish, but it just wasn't his day. At least he came home with intact rods.

By the end of the day, I felt I'd caught enough and spent some time sitting back watching the three rod troll spread get ignored. For entertainment, I thought I'd tie on one of my own flies, and grabbed my box. I was about to grab a baitfish looking one when Chase suggested I go with the Watermelon. Danged if within minutes of setting that out I didn't catch a donkey. Beginner's luck? I think it was my chartreuse socks.

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