Looks like you’ve got some work ahead of you, too.I was a gear dirtbag today. We're about to cross the CR bar with 30-ish good grade tuna. I suffered the indignity of reeling in several on troll gear. At least I got one on a jig and a troll fish on fly gear.
@Nick Clayton is an advocate for trolling with the fly rod because the fly line does actually impart some action that mono/braid doesn't. I'm inclined to agree, and it does catch fish, sometimes more than the meat rods. My issue with it is that bringing the fish to the boat on the fly rod is a lot more of a chore, and the fish tend to go on longer runs with fly gear, which can make it tougher to keep the school close by. So it's definitely a pros and cons thing to consider.if flies are so effective, especially on troll—Is there any reason flies could not be deployed behind regular troll gear? On troll, there’s not a lot that the fly line is doing for us. A small sinker above a fly on braid to mono/fluoro should work, right?
No doubt that fly rods are not the best tool for gettin’ em in. There’s an easy experiment that could be conducted here by running a fly behind the boat on normal fly gear and running the same pattern on a meat rod. An experiment that costs a lot in gas and time and potential oppor-tuna-ty I suppose.@Nick Clayton is an advocate for trolling with the fly rod because the fly line does actually impart some action that mono/braid doesn't. I'm inclined to agree, and it does catch fish, sometimes more than the meat rods. My issue with it is that bringing the fish to the boat on the fly rod is a lot more of a chore, and the fish tend to go on longer runs with this gear, which can make it tougher to keep the school close by. So it's definitely a pros and cons thing to consider.
For me personally: I've plugged my boat before lunch time the last three or four times I've gone out. So haven't really needed to switch tactics or experiment. Troll rods for me are just what I use to find the schools. The place I'm really putting meat on deck is when we're stopped. So the quicker I can get the troll rods dealt with, the better, and a fly rod really complicates that process.No doubt that fly rods are not the best tool for gettin’ em in. There’s an easy experiment that could be conducted here by running a fly behind the boat on normal fly gear and running the same pattern on a meat rod. An experiment that costs a lot in gas and time and potential oppor-tuna-ty I suppose.
When you were reeling in those tuna on the gear rods, did you feel dirty? Like you had to take a shower? Like you cheated on your favorite fly rod? Well, then just another tuna trip! Well done.
Steve
No doubt that fly rods are not the best tool for gettin’ em in. There’s an easy experiment that could be conducted here by running a fly behind the boat on normal fly gear and running the same pattern on a meat rod. An experiment that costs a lot in gas and time and potential oppor-tuna-ty I suppose.
Sounds like he runs too many troll rods. Figure out what's working and in what part of the spread/wake, then cull the others. I run 3 troll rods tops. Usually 2 now.After discussions with Nick, and wasting a ton of time clearing lines yesterday, I'm not entirely convinced that's the case. Ironically we set a boat record of 52 on this boat (different Capt that day) on a mixed gear/fly trip a few years ago. Standard troll gear being relatively ignored compared to squid flies getting crushed and starting productive bait/jig stops.
We had a bunch of troll hits and only managed to get a couple brief jig/bait stops going.
It was frustrating yesterday wasting tons of time getting un-bit clone rods stowed. Then dropping a jig, or fumbling to hook a live bait, knowing the school is probably long gone, or waaay back where a slide fly would still be fishing - if not hooked up already.
The one time I went up front I immediately got a solid retrieve grab at about 20'. It didn't stick, but thankfully was observed by others who were skeptical. Had I been trolling flies all day, I'm sure we would've caught more. Not only due to more troll and slide fish, but better chances of converting to a bait/jig stops due to clearing one less troll rod if nothing else.
Not complaining (much). It was a great day, and was thankful to get out there.
When I went out on August 14th, coming back we saw THOUSANDS of those dolphins. Saw a few jumping and thought that was super cool. Then we kept going and realized they were part of a several miles long line of them. Was so cool to see. I've had them run along the boat like that a few times, too. One of my favorite things to see out there.The bonus for the day was several pods of Pacific White Sided dolphin playing next to the boat. Got some great video but here's a nice still.
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And no BLUEFIN! we're spotted (pre-empting smarty pants comments from the peanut gallery .)
We saw the same on Spooling Day in 2015. Literally thousands, 360 degrees, to the horizon.When I went out on August 14th, coming back we saw THOUSANDS of those dolphins. Saw a few jumping and thought that was super cool. Then we kept going and realized they were part of a several miles long line of them. Was so cool to see. I've had them run along the boat like that a few times, too. One of my favorite things to see out there.
So cool! Crazy how much life is out there that most don't even know exists.We saw the same on Spooling Day in 2015. Literally thousands, 360 degrees, to the horizon.
So jealous of these types of sightings...When I went out on August 14th, coming back we saw THOUSANDS of those dolphins. Saw a few jumping and thought that was super cool. Then we kept going and realized they were part of a several miles long line of them. Was so cool to see. I've had them run along the boat like that a few times, too. One of my favorite things to see out there.