Texas Tuna Safaris

[jnd1959]

I've subscribed to the thread and will wait for the dates and deposit amount. I'm redesigning an old pen 6/0 with a bigger drag stack, double dogs, aluminum side plates and a steel post. I'm thinking of a tuberon frame for it or I may just cut my own. Just need to find a decent boat rod...

[SaintBlaise]

They do not like clients adjusting the drag. But when a return customer, who has demonstrated they know what there doing, a captain should at least test the drag. Specially if there hitting close.

What the Captain said after I asked him about the drag was, I paid a lot of money for these reels and let the drag do its job. However, I must have been the drag he was referring to. I’ve caught several tuna bigger than this, and landed them in half the time.


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[sp-bow]

Maybe interested in going if the dates work. Thanks for putting this together Glen.

[mooney_ag]

Been eyeballing this since the thread from December 2019? Would love to go especially with some tbh vets. I would be in for three in December when you get dates. I’ll keep a close watch.

[waterdog]

move my boat out of Venice 2 years ago. not what it was in the hey days. lots of better places now for getting some t fish

[TXJon]

Definitely interested.

[Mossback]

I got two total that would be gamers for this trip. Lemme know dates and cost. If dates work we are in

[doug]

There were some good fish in that haul! I'm looking forward to getting a trip or two going again. Always a great time!

[stevieray54]

What other species of fish do you catch or strictly TUNA.. Interested

[doug]

What other species of fish do you catch or strictly TUNA.. Interested

Depends on the trip. While nighttime tuna fishing there will often be Mahi, Cuda, rainbow runners caught and other random stuff. Daytime might be trolling and that could be tuna, Wahoo, kings, or even marlin. We have also done a lot of bottom fishing for grouper, beeliners, and even deep dropped for tile fish. Just depends on how quick the boat gets a tuna limit since that is the priority. Glen said this trip was a struggle so all they did was tuna fish I think.

[glen]

Fish species is concentrate on Yellowfin. The original plan was everyone catch their YFT limit on night one then he was planning on the Flower Garden area to troll the remainder of daylight then drop for grouper and tiles. Well Captain did his job we just did not catch the fish we hooked. These fish were strange and would start to circle then do stuff like make a straight run under the boat or into the screws. We ended the first night with 15 fish on about 65 hookups. Second night we got a little better but I do remember having 7 on catching 1 and having 6 catching 1.

I’ll grab two dates next year. I’ll start a new thread and get lists on who is fishing.

[bow newby]

Interested

[AtTheWall]

2-Speed reels - two seperate drag setups - KEY.

Strike needs to be firm - no slack in the line when they hit a topwater - so the topwater bite requires technique to cast far enough into the dark zone with a drag setup to TAKE THAT EXPLOSIVE FIRST STRIKE WITH A TOPWATER.


Rigging sub-surface baits, no topwater, requires a firmer drag and that drag needs to adjust, based on the power felt on the fish. If they run 50 - 80lbs, you can get away with a lot more drag on the initial HIT, because the class of tuna on a 65 - 80lb braid, dictacts the drag pressure that must be applied, to counter the fish without tying the boat up, with a single fish, allowed to rip drag without additional pressures applied to CONTROL THE FISH AND IT'S ANGLE "HEAD UP" WITH POWER TO HOLD THAT HEAD UP, WHEN IT'S DEATH SPIRALING 100FT DOWN.

That last 100ft, with fish in the 100 plus class- require tremendous hold - to keep the head up and the angler must apply everything in that last 100ft zone, without letting the fish sit down there on a weak drag, feeling it can pull with a head shake - it's gonna spiral and catch a second wind, and it starts all over, as this fish regains blood/oxygen flow and hits that second wind.


I had one, that never stopped, running 600 yards of 65lb braid locked down on a drag that pushed 37lbs locked down, it was locked, and I tape a thumb for the spool - to add thumb drag and factor feel, rod blank flex, with the breaking point of the leader, classed below the breaking strength of the mainline.

Topwaters, I will cast 65lb, leaders are 50 - 80lb flouro, 25ft wind-on or a 50ft top shot of MONO (stretch), when having a long leader and super clear water, when offshore water turns PURPLE - Clear for 150ft down and then some - they see leaders in these super clear water conditions and the game of lowering below 50lb clear leaders becomes the only way, ,to score a lure or fake bait/cut bait bite.

They can and will become smart to setups that simply do not appear legit - like any visual feeder, they can become spooked, even when they are feeding wildly on live flying fish or baits, toss a topwater or run a stick bait thru there, they will track and turn off........


This has to be adjusted for, otherwise the entire boat becomes a basket case, as we try to figure out how to seal the deal when they are in that mood.


Hook a big fish, have that low speed setting setup solidly for a grind, drop that gear when the tuna finally goes vertical, and use the boat's movement, to help with your power lift to counter......spinning reels, you can't lay the foregrip on the rail, to help hold the rod without laying it down and resting - you have to hold it in the arms.

Conventional two-speed "CASTING REELS DESIGNED FOR PELAGICS AND SMALL BAITS" are the norm, for Texas class tuna - and having that reel on top of the blank, we build rods that provide that RAIL ROD CUSHION, so the angler can lay that foregrip down on the rail, time the boat's movement on it's uplift stroke, to add more pressure with your efforts to lift and hold that head in an UPWARD ANGLE, as it spins below, full of energy. The longer a tuna spirals below the boat, holding a looser drag, it will bump against the line, feeling where the drag breaks, it will sit there and spin recharging in circles, you are stuck, then at 100ft, he starts another 500 plus ft down dive and the odds of where you are on the boat, you better be on the bow or stern before it decides to make a run either around the boat and or straight down and away toward the oil platform and or running wild with other lines out, everyone is trying to hook following fish, and the deck circus begins - as we run between lines and others, all trying to stay out of the way.

We don't pull in with a fish hooked up, there are times we have had upwards of 7 fish hooked all at the same time, literally half the boat, engaged with all mixing with the chaos and leaning on 3 deck hands and two captains for boat handling, gaffs, tagging and labeling fish, deck is awash with blood everywhere with tuna thumping the decks everywhere.

We come in with 4000lbs plus, of prime AHI tuna, iced as well as the other species caught.

Marlin, Swordfish, 15ft long Humbolt Squids, sharks (huge Makos) Mahi, Amberjacks, Barracuda, Rainbow runners, Wahoo, Blackfin tuna (no limits) - coupled with bottom fishing for Barrel and Tilefish, if we an nail our tuna limit quickly.

Some of our best bottom trips made, are off Padre Island National Seashore in 120 - 250ft of water on the rocks, many of them some of the old fossil serpulid reefs, that are the same fossilized rock formations, so known for big specks in Baffin Bay. So we fish these reefs in waters, not targeted by the Commercial offshore fleets out of Port A and or Port I.

Glen's son scored a 110lb Cubera Snapper, fishing in this zone, fish aged 80 years old and is worldclass by this species standard, anywhere in the world these fish are found.

Blue fin Tuna also, are part of the mix, in this zone everyyear, as they breed and winter in the NW Gulf.

710lb bluefin was decked this year, by one of our TBH group fishing friends, who caught the last Bluefin in the GOF for 2021. 5 fish is the total GULF Limit, they hooked that last fish and hauled it into Port A.

So thru the last few years, some of us have worked hard, with expanding our opportunities with the skills applied, to catch a wide range of pelagics.

Basically the boat becomes a private offshore troll, drift and casting platform, as we share an offshore campfire on a metal boat, living for days, all engaged with fishing as a team, for all the marbles.

And everyone of us have so much fish - canning, processing and the entire process, has become another element in the gear and coordination, to process highly perishable and HIGH DOLLAR FILETS.

Literally you come in with pounds upon pounds of prime grade A AHI - with the loins pushing 32 bucks per pound.

So if you love POKE and SUSHI and canning and tuna steaks - the family wins!

[jnd1959]

I've fished from boats with rails and without. I'm too old to fish without one. Records be ****ed.

I'm thinking of getting a 2 speed. Or building one. That would be a major undertaking but there are plans on the interweb. Maybe this 6/0 could be a two speed...

[jnd1959]

Glen, sorry I hijacked your post. You may shoot me in the vital organ of your choice.