Tuna 2024

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Canning 32 jars from yesterday's trip with @jasmillo, @adamcu280, and a friend of adamcu280. Thanks for organizing and giving us a great sea state day @Cabezon!

Quick report: worked for our fish, captain Nick pushed hard all day. we would have had 12 tuna, but @jasmillo decided to stick with the perfection loop against all prior advice, and a boss tuna laughed in his face. Nick was speechless for awhile. @jasmillo very slightly redeemed himself by hooking up and landing tuna #11 EXACTLY when Nick said "time to head in gentlemen (and ladies)". Very nice.
 
Tallguy said:
Canning 32 jars from yesterday's trip with @jasmillo, @adamcu280, and a friend of adamcu280. Thanks for organizing and giving us a great sea state day @Cabezon!

Quick report: worked for our fish, captain Nick pushed hard all day. we would have had 12 tuna, but @jasmillo decided to stick with the perfection loop against all prior advice, and a boss tuna laughed in his face. Nick was speechless for awhile. @jasmillo very slightly redeemed himself by hooking up and landing tuna #11 EXACTLY when Nick said "time to head in gentlemen (and ladies)". Very nice.
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'Twas a beautiful day on the water with a great crew! Non-tuna highlights were a nice look at a fin whale, some lags, black-footed albatross, fork-tailed storm petrel, sooty shearwaters, Sabine's gulls, a jaeger messing with terns, Cassin's auklets, a likely south polar skua (or massive pomarine), and some really nice conditions once we got out of the fog.
 
Tallguy said:
Canning 32 jars from yesterday's trip with @jasmillo, @adamcu280, and a friend of adamcu280. Thanks for organizing and giving us a great sea state day @Cabezon!

Quick report: worked for our fish, captain Nick pushed hard all day. we would have had 12 tuna, but @jasmillo decided to stick with the perfection loop against all prior advice, and a boss tuna laughed in his face. Nick was speechless for awhile. @jasmillo very slightly redeemed himself by hooking up and landing tuna #11 EXACTLY when Nick said "time to head in gentlemen (and ladies)". Very nice.
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You all laugh but I’ll be back fishing perfections next season! I’ll be bumping to 60 lb flouro but I’ll be fishing perfection loops dammit!!

All joking aside, fun trip as always. Thanks again @Cabezon again for organizing!
 
I’ve been mocked for using a Bimini for my albacore leader, but you know what? It’s never failed me—including one session where I went down to 15 lb mono because I thought it was going to make a difference in converting drive-by refusals to hook-ups. Now I use 20 or 25 lb fluoro, just a Bimini loop on about 5 feet of straight leader.
It’s not a difficult knot but it’s also not something I want to have to do on a rockin’ ocean or on a hot bite so I just make sure I have 2 or 3 backups pre-tied before we head out.
 
I used a perfection loop for my leader-line loops, and the line (Rio Leviathan) failed me three times on the same trip and the leader never failed. Cost me three niiice tuna.

#1: 35lb leader. Welded loop broke in half. Did not come unwelded.

#2: 25lb leader. Line broke a few feet above the new perfection knot I put in it.

#3: 25lb leader. Line broke a few feet above the new perfection loop I put in it.

The line, now on its way to becoming a bracelet at that one place, ended up several feet shorter than it started the day. It was new and did not get damaged during the day (never stood on, etc).

My anecdotal experience suggests that if you’re fishing a Rio line the knot in your leader doesn’t matter. Apparently your leader doesn’t matter either.

On the bright side I now have a 9wt sinking line with a really, really short head and a 15(?) lb core just in time to fish for coho.


Edit: Anyone know a 12wt rod that's soft enough to protect a 10lb fly line?
 
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In the end, I’ve fished perfection loops on 8 tuna trips now and had never had an issue until Monday (30 lb flouro). Part of the failure could be due to me not changing leaders from my August trip. It also was a very strong fish though I’ve caught some really nice albacore using perfections on previous trips. Go forward though, why risk it. It takes an additional 10 seconds for me to tie a stronger loop so might as well.

All that said, losing that fish may have been worth it to get that laugh out of Nick this deep into his Westport grind..ha.
 
Nick's Westport grind may be coming to an early end. I just got off the phone with Merry and they're cancelling all trips between now and Sunday--including those on the 42' fancy-pants seakeeper boat.

No more tuna trips for me this year, at least. 4 will have to do.
 
Jake Watrous said:
I used a perfection loop for my leader-line loops, and the line (Rio Leviathan) failed me three times on the same trip and the leader never failed. Cost me three niiice tuna.

#1: 35lb leader. Welded loop broke in half. Did not come unwelded.

#2: 25lb leader. Line broke a few feet above the new perfection knot I put in it.

#3: 25lb leader. Line broke a few feet above the new perfection loop I put in it.

The line, now on its way to becoming a bracelet at that one place, ended up several feet shorter than it started the day. It was new and did not get damaged during the day (never stood on, etc).

My anecdotal experience suggests that if you’re fishing a Rio line the knot in your leader doesn’t matter. Apparently your leader doesn’t matter either.

On the bright side I now have a 9wt sinking line with a really, really short head and a 15(?) lb core just in time to fish for coho.


Edit: Anyone know a 12wt rod that's soft enough to protect a 10lb fly line?
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@Bagman - your line broke the day I joined the group. I don't remember the details; what line were you using? Loop break or?

Jake - unrelated to tuna but I broke an almost brand new Rio line stretching it as I pulled line of my reel while kicking around a lake. Rio's person said she'd never heared of such a thing (but sent me a new line).

I will be better prepared next year.
 
I’ve been rocking this SA Sonar Titan 600 grain line for a number of trips with no issues. It came with the “Chinese finger cuffs” type of front loop, which I installed with some added super glue. I also took a black marker to it because it was bright white which I simply could not abide.

IMG_2752.jpeg
 
Buzzy said:
@Bagman - your line broke the day I joined the group. I don't remember the details; what line were you using? Loop break or?

Jake - unrelated to tuna but I broke an almost brand new Rio line stretching it as I pulled line of my reel while kicking around a lake. Rio's person said she'd never heared of such a thing (but sent me a new line).

I will be better prepared next year.
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Not that unrelated. In my experience they've never heard of any of their lines breaking--no matter how many times I've called them.

Photo of the Farbank Customer Service Reps in Action:
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(image credit photos.com creative commons no attribution)


I'd like to pick up an Igniter 7126 as an updated Death Star, but I'm concerned for its durability. Farbank rep told me they've never heard of an one breaking.
 
Jake Watrous said:
Not that unrelated. In my experience they've never heard of any of their lines breaking--no matter how many times I've called them.

Photo of the Farbank Customer Service Reps in Action:
View attachment 128113
(image credit photos.com creative commons no attribution)


I'd like to pick up an Igniter 7126 as an updated Death Star, but I'm concerned for
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I hope they meant meant they’ve never heard of spey Ignitors breaking because I know of two people who have broken single hand Ignitors including me…multiple times.
Jake Watrous said:
its durability. Farbank rep told me they've never heard of an one breaking.
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jasmillo said:
I hope they meant meant they’ve never heard of spey Ignitors breaking because I know of two people who have broken single hand Ignitors including me…multiple times.
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That was mostly a joke. The tips on my 691 and 990 igniters were replaced fairly often before I gave up on them and traded them for some Burkie spey rods.
 
Paige said:
The curse of Sage's never ending search for lighter rods that equal thinner walled rods that equal broken rods!

Fuck Sage, so much better rods available, I'd rather owne TFO or Echo vs a Sage!
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One of my tuna rods is a TFO Bluewater SG 9’ 4pc 400-500gr, it’s a beast with a fore grip. Done plenty of heavy lifting without feeling strained at all, this rod doesn’t F’k around :)
 
Evan B said:
I'm not accepting that fate yet. JUST ONE MORE
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Let's see, Id be all over an October tuna run ... IF didn't have to finish painting the interior of our new house ... build temporary back stairs for occupancy requirements until I get the deck built .... put in a dog door and temporary dog fence... build a pump house ... finish packing .... do dump runs ... rent a dry box.... move my half built boat ... work 3 and 4 12hr days a week ... and MAYBE fit in a quickie post rain coho trip or two.

Evan B said:
This is me. Though I've thrown some pretty big sushi/poke bowl dinners lately. Wouldn't mind topping off before the long wait.
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16 pints canned and maybe 10lbs smoked isn't what I'd call fully stocked but will have to do .

Had a restaurant ahi poke bowl for dinner last night. It was good but I can safely say fresh albacore ceviche and sashimi is just as good, if not better.
 
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