Smith
Steelhead
I love this time of year for reports.
Tuna 2026
- Thread starter Kfish
- Start date
I had to look this up. They are click-pawl saltwater friendly fairly lightweight reels rated up to 12 weight (or beyond) so no real drag but they look like a Nautilus or something. And they cost 700 bucks.
Probably not for me.
Looks like the same boat Gordy runs out of Hammond. Having the walk around deck is sure nice.
I have a broomstick of a bamboo trolling rod, and I’ll put a floater on a medalist. Close enough?
A click pawl and a bamboo rod, floating line
The 2026 Tuna Challenge.
I have a broomstick of a bamboo trolling rod, and I’ll put a floater on a medalist. Close enough?
And to think I almost bought one several years ago, not for tuna but maybe a smaller one for coho. Decided $700 is just ridiculous for a reel like that.
Agreed, it makes for great entertainment!
speyflyfisher
Steelhead
Here you go, 12wt saltwater bamboo rod. Get your order in now!
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Glad you guys caught some fish! Very cool that Nick brings the fly fishing experience to that charter. They should be damn happy to have him.
My high school buddy usually goes out a couple times when the weather cooperates. He invited me out for Saturday, but I couldn't go.
I haven't heard the report yet. I know he was planning on going out of Hammond. Bummed I missed!
My high school buddy usually goes out a couple times when the weather cooperates. He invited me out for Saturday, but I couldn't go.
I haven't heard the report yet. I know he was planning on going out of Hammond. Bummed I missed!
He was probably in the same general area I was - seemed most of the boats out of CR went SW. Was a tough day down that way for most boats.
Should be good enough....
Unless there's a better option sitting in somes basement unused ...
12wt bamboo rods are probably old spey rods I'd guess, maybe 12-14'...ideal for pulling on a Tuna
Not crazy about these guides, might cut the coating.
That was a fun day!
Lou covered the report quite well. Ocean was about as flat as it gets, and the fish cooperated nicely. But for one or two exceptions, we had a pile of fish under the boat each time we were stopped, but as I've talked about here before, I believe it to be an attitude thing. We worked the same general area all day, likely on the same school or two of fish, and as the day progressed, they got more aggressive and started to respond much differently. This is why I tend to not sit for long if I'm not seeing the response I want. I refuse to waste my time fishing over fish that aren't ready to play. I've had customers get snarky about that more than once, (None of you guys definitely), but when I only have so much time to work with I'm not going to waste it when the fish aren't ready. When they decide its go time, its typically pretty obvious as we saw yesterday.
I made one real cast yesterday, and caught one fish. So I'm batting a thousand for the season. Might just retire the bug rod and keep it at that. I was kinda waiting for them to wake up before I pulled my rod out. When all 4 of you hooked up on the troll/slide, I knew it was time lol.
Watching Ruth with that reel was priceless. That went....well, about as I would have expected. I can't imagine trying to work a tuna straight up with a reel with no drag lol. Seeing a fly angler experience albacore for the first time is one of my absolute favorite things, and she was no exception. She was kinda in shock at a couple points lol. I know she's no stranger to catching big fish on a fly rod, so her insisting that hers was huge was just cracking me up. She was a ton of fun, and a great sport for all the shit I was giving her while she struggled with that fish. When she switched to a reel with a drag things went muuuuuch smoother! She is one hell of a fly caster too. I was quite impressed. The very first cast I saw her make, from the bow, I had just seen boilers pop up on the starboard side while she was mid cast to port. I hollered for her to drop her backcast, and she laid out a beautiful 70' backward cast that couldn't have been any more on point. Impressive.
The Coldwater is definitely a different beast than the Defiance 290s. Of course it is significantly larger, so its not an apples to apples comparison, but the full walk around makes a TON of difference in fishing room. I do miss those back seats as well, for a few different reasons, but its a relatively small sacrifice for the amount of positives this boat provides. It is far, FAR superior in ride quality on a sloppy ocean, which I appreciate greatly.
I do with to express my deepest appreciation to you guys for coming over to fish with me on the new boat. We established a great thing with ARSC, and I don't blame anyone at all for continuing to fish with them. A known entity is a good thing. This change to Mutineer has been nothing but positive for me, but its also been stressful. I was nervous leaving the umbrella and reputation of ARSC, questioning if I had what it took to kinda take the lead and be "the guy" for another company. I was nervous about working with new people. Running a new boat. Etc etc. Its been a lot of change after a long time with ARSC. But its been fantastic and I have zero regrets. Still, having some familiar faces and awesome folks follow me over and fish with me really meant a lot to me. So thank you for showing me that trust! It really means a lot.
Its been a challenging year for me, and I haven't been around the forum much, but I do miss chatting with you guys! And as always I friggen love to see all the interest in tuna fishing! Its truly amazing. I loved how you guys didn't miss a beat, knew exactly what to do, and put the absolute hurtin on some fish yesterday.
Lou covered the report quite well. Ocean was about as flat as it gets, and the fish cooperated nicely. But for one or two exceptions, we had a pile of fish under the boat each time we were stopped, but as I've talked about here before, I believe it to be an attitude thing. We worked the same general area all day, likely on the same school or two of fish, and as the day progressed, they got more aggressive and started to respond much differently. This is why I tend to not sit for long if I'm not seeing the response I want. I refuse to waste my time fishing over fish that aren't ready to play. I've had customers get snarky about that more than once, (None of you guys definitely), but when I only have so much time to work with I'm not going to waste it when the fish aren't ready. When they decide its go time, its typically pretty obvious as we saw yesterday.
I made one real cast yesterday, and caught one fish. So I'm batting a thousand for the season. Might just retire the bug rod and keep it at that.
I was kinda waiting for them to wake up before I pulled my rod out. When all 4 of you hooked up on the troll/slide, I knew it was time lol. Watching Ruth with that reel was priceless. That went....well, about as I would have expected. I can't imagine trying to work a tuna straight up with a reel with no drag lol. Seeing a fly angler experience albacore for the first time is one of my absolute favorite things, and she was no exception. She was kinda in shock at a couple points lol. I know she's no stranger to catching big fish on a fly rod, so her insisting that hers was huge was just cracking me up. She was a ton of fun, and a great sport for all the shit I was giving her while she struggled with that fish. When she switched to a reel with a drag things went muuuuuch smoother! She is one hell of a fly caster too. I was quite impressed. The very first cast I saw her make, from the bow, I had just seen boilers pop up on the starboard side while she was mid cast to port. I hollered for her to drop her backcast, and she laid out a beautiful 70' backward cast that couldn't have been any more on point. Impressive.
The Coldwater is definitely a different beast than the Defiance 290s. Of course it is significantly larger, so its not an apples to apples comparison, but the full walk around makes a TON of difference in fishing room. I do miss those back seats as well, for a few different reasons, but its a relatively small sacrifice for the amount of positives this boat provides. It is far, FAR superior in ride quality on a sloppy ocean, which I appreciate greatly.
I do with to express my deepest appreciation to you guys for coming over to fish with me on the new boat. We established a great thing with ARSC, and I don't blame anyone at all for continuing to fish with them. A known entity is a good thing. This change to Mutineer has been nothing but positive for me, but its also been stressful. I was nervous leaving the umbrella and reputation of ARSC, questioning if I had what it took to kinda take the lead and be "the guy" for another company. I was nervous about working with new people. Running a new boat. Etc etc. Its been a lot of change after a long time with ARSC. But its been fantastic and I have zero regrets. Still, having some familiar faces and awesome folks follow me over and fish with me really meant a lot to me. So thank you for showing me that trust! It really means a lot.
Its been a challenging year for me, and I haven't been around the forum much, but I do miss chatting with you guys! And as always I friggen love to see all the interest in tuna fishing! Its truly amazing. I loved how you guys didn't miss a beat, knew exactly what to do, and put the absolute hurtin on some fish yesterday.
Link doesn't work for us non facebookers. Anything you can screenshot or post here?www.facebook.com
Nick posted this on his FB, this was our guest angler Ruth who was using a saltwater click and pawl reel on tunaafter that battle she said F’ that reel and borrowed my back up.
Skagittarius
Steelhead
Did miss how far? No judgment but this is a new one for me....
Sorry I don’t know how, its Nick’s video.
It’s a typical fly with 50lb mono tail extension connected to a swivel, then spinner blade. It spins nicely in a troll but after it gets hit by a fish the whole thing tangles.
Skagittarius
Steelhead
I'd expect some binding around that blade with that artificial material there. I'd remove all the material before the blade. Extending flash to that area would be just as effective.
Skagittarius
Steelhead
I guess i need to get out more...."It’s a typical fly with 50lb mono tail extension connected to a swivel, then spinner blade." okay
The fly is a typical tuna fly. The extension and spinner blade are atypical.
I appreciate Lou’s experiment and report. Would flash work just as well? Who’s to say until you try something. Tuna have large eyes and sensitive lateral lines. And maybe it was gonna pay to have a fly with a flappy metal giblet in the back.