Question on Trolling

[i am not attap seed]

my group will be going to maldives soon.

the focus will be popping and jigging (as usual), but from point to point and depending on situation, we will also be doing some trolling.

hoping to pick up a stray yellowfin tuna, can anyone advise if they are really leader shy and will be spooked by wire leader (eg 80lb single strain wire)? of course, i dun mind losing a lure or 2 to wahoo if using mono gives me higher chance of connecting w a YellowFin Tuna.

any lure to recommend, jet head, bibless, rapala magnum... ...

also, wats the ideal distance between the lure and the boat? cus i heard they are also boat shy at times.

many thanks!

[Jacktrevally]

I caught YellowFin Tuna while trolling on, small kona heads and many did came on rapala magnums and the yozuri tobimaru.

I used a 16ft 80lb mono leader and 80lb braid as main line.

Lures trolled around 60yds behind the boat.

[Patudo]

Trolling for YellowFin Tuna is quite a big topic. If you are just travelling from point to point, choose your lures depending on your boat speed. If cruising speed is 8-12 knots use a bibless minnow or a skirted lure like a jet, feather lure - even a 6 1/2" or 7 3/4" size octopus skirt with an egg sinker in the head will catch fish. If the speed is 7 knots or below use a rapala, Halco laser pro or similar type of swimming plug. YFT can be leader shy sometimes, but can often be quite greedy. Because of the high chance of hooking a wahoo or barracuda, lures (especially bibless and rapalas) should be rigged with a short steel leader. If you are travelling in open water away from the reefs your chances of picking up tuna are better so you can put out a couple of surface lures rigged with mono leader if you wish.

YellowFin Tuna normally don't mind hitting fairly close to the boat. There's no real need to run the lure a long way back. Normally between one or two boat lengths is enough.

[i am not attap seed]

many thanks.

i did consider jet head, but the maldives safari boat may not cruise fast enough f one to work properly.

moreover, i do not want to bring along too many trolling lures (not to mention spend additional $$$).

i already ve some bibless and rapala magnum.

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by i am not attap seed

many thanks.

i did consider jet head, but the maldives safari boat may not cruise fast enough f one to work properly.

moreover, i do not want to bring along too many trolling lures (not to mention spend additional $$$).

i already ve some bibless and rapala magnum.

Hi,

While jet heads in general work well at higher speeds, it does not mean it will not work at lower speeds of say 5-6 knots even. It all depends on how it is positioned in the spread i.e. distance from the boat or from an outrigger. IMHO, you should include a jet head in your arsenal especially if you are bringing only a limited number of skirted lures. These babies work practically everywhere.

Opinions differ of course.

Best regards,
Makaira

[Patudo]

Bibless and rapalas are fine if you don't want to spend more money. Lots of yellowfin have been caught on both. Actually you can even troll with some types of poppers and stick baits.

[i am not attap seed]

hi all, thanks for the advise.

are jet head normally rigged on mono or wire?

i do ve 1 or 2 of those cheaper jet head, (the head itself being 65 grams).

actually, i am very tempted to buy the Broome mini 1 oz jet that cost $8.50.

anothere reason i am interested in skirted lures is that one group to maldives encountered lots of sailfish.

perhaps, by using skirted lures, i can ve some chance of hooking one (just to see how different are they from those of rompin).

of course, i read of things like belly strips, bait and switch etc. but i really ve no experience doing these things, and dun wan to complicate matters.

i jus wan a system thats as idiot proof as possible.

[Makaira]

Hi,

I guess you can use a foot or so of multi-strand wire if you want just in case the toothy critters are around, but generally, skirted lures are rigged with full mono. Imho, the wire of the hooksets are enough protection from the razorgang.

Size-wise, I suggest a lure with a total length of 9-12 inches or so because of you use a 6 incher, you will end up getting more skipjacks & bonitos; not that the larger lure will not get their share of hits from small tunas too.

One additional trick that will help in your chances of attracting a sail on the troll in the Maldives is to use a bird teaser in front of the skirted lure -- like the Moldcraft 9.5" soft birds or the medium-size Boone bird. Both these contraptions should be available at Sabre Tackle.

Moldcraft Fishing Lures, Hooker, Super Chugger, Soft Bird, Squid Daisy Chain, Squirt Squid, Wide Range from Moldcraft and alltackle.com

Boone Bird Teasers at Anglers Center

Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Makaira

[Patudo]

Robson has caught several sailfish on poppers at Rompin... might want to check his website/forum and see how its done. I think some of the stick baits were modified with single assist hooks. If you see sailfish jumping or finning while you are fishing or travelling you could certainly try casting to them and if you're lucky and get a hookup you could land them quite easily on your GT or tuna popping gear.

As far as trolling is concerned, since you are trolling while travelling instead of hunting for gamefish by trolling, you should rig most lures on wire because a lot of boats cruise closer to the reef where there are lots of fish with teeth. When fishing in Phuket, most of my skirted lures get rigged on mono but I try to have about half a dozen jets or bullet heads skirted with the cheapest skirts I can find rigged with steel leaders. These lures go out if there are too many barracuda, spanish mackerel and wahoo, or if my anglers want to target this type of fish.

Over the years quite a few anglers have caught sailfish on minnow lures but the smaller skirted lures give you a better chance of hooking up. Metal jets and resin heads all work. I prefer smaller lures about 7 or 8" overall length with 7/0 or 8/0 hooks rigged with mono, but sails definitely will strike lures rigged on wire leaders. In Phuket most of the Thai charter boats run small 6" or 7" jets with wire leader from their outriggers trying to catch tenggiri, larger skipjack tuna, dorado or other small gamefish for food, but the same lures also get hookups from sails and from black marlin. Sails can often play with a lure quite a bit before taking it, so don't be discouraged if you see the fish attack a few times or even pull off some line and not get hooked. If you reel the lure back into position you will often get a second or third bite.

[i am not attap seed]

looks like i will be taking along some skirted lures.

the trolling spread will then consist of skirts, magnum and bibless.

hopefully the effort will turn out fruitful.

[th2x]

Originally Posted by Makaira

One additional trick that will help in your chances of attracting a sail on the troll in the Maldives is to use a bird teaser in front of the skirted lure -- like the Moldcraft 9.5" soft birds or the medium-size Boone bird. Both these contraptions should be available at Sabre Tackle....

Hi Makaira,

May I know what exactly does this "bird teaser" do?

Also, if we rig a fresh squid for example, do we just connect the leader to mainline, figure if we connect the leader to the mainline, the squid will be jumping or skipping on the water surface.

Or do we need a "downrigger" or sinker to bring the rig into the water?

Cheers!
th2x

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by th2x

Hi Makaira,

May I know what exactly does this "bird teaser" do?

Also, if we rig a fresh squid for example, do we just connect the leader to mainline, figure if we connect the leader to the mainline, the squid will be jumping or skipping on the water surface.

Or do we need a "downrigger" or sinker to bring the rig into the water?

Cheers!
th2x

Hi th2x,

A the purpose of any teaser is to create surface commotion to attract the fish to your lures.

As for squid bait, connecting to the main line is the way to go. If you want the bait to go below the surface, this can easily be done by attaching a sinker to the mainline using a rubberband; about 30 feet or so after you drop the bait into the water. This is also an effective method to keep livebait down when you are slow trolling livebait. The rubberband will usually break off during the fight. If it doesn't, just break it off as it comes to the rod tip. This is the cheapest downrigger setup you can find

Having said that, sometimes we want the bait to stay on the surface; as in a skip bait. The dead bait splashing on the surface as you troll will create a splashing action to attract fish to it. Skip baits are usually dead 4-5lbs or even larger (depending on where you are fishing) skipjacks, bonitos, shark mackeral or the like.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Makaira

[th2x]

Originally Posted by Makaira

....the purpose of any teaser is to create surface commotion to attract the fish to your lures.

Hi Makaira,

At what length should we be connecting this teaser?

mainline - leader -(length?)- teaser -(length?)- lure

Many Thanks!
th2x

[Giant-Todak]

Anyone troll in Tanjung Pinang before?

[th2x]

Originally Posted by Giant-Todak

Anyone troll in Tanjung Pinang before?

Hi Giant-Todak,

Did some trolling briefly during my past trips with only bite marks on the lure.
Will be trying to do more next week when i head down south again!

Cheers!
th2x

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by th2x

Hi Makaira,

At what length should we be connecting this teaser?

mainline - leader -(length?)- teaser -(length?)- lure

Many Thanks!
th2x

Hi th2x

I connect the teaser directly to the mainline via a ball bearing snapswivel.
The skirted lure with the standard 15-20 foot leader is then connected to the tail end of the bird which has a heavy duty ball bearing snapswivel connected to it via a super duper heavy splitring.

Notice my emphasis of "ballbearing snapswivel." Trolling will result in mucho, mucho line twist (even worse with a teaser) and if you do not use a high quality ballbearing swivel, you will have a nightmare!!!!

A good habit to cultivate is at the end of the day when the boat is returning to port or to a calm spot to anchor for the night, cut the snapswivel off, let the line run out the back of the boat for a 50-100 yards or so, then crank it back tight. This should work out most of the twist that may have developed throughout the day.

Best regards,
Makaira

[th2x]

Originally Posted by Makaira

Hi th2x

I connect the teaser directly to the mainline via a ball bearing snapswivel.
The skirted lure with the standard 15-20 foot leader is then connected to the tail end of the bird which has a heavy duty ball bearing snapswivel connected to it via a super duper heavy splitring.

Notice my emphasis of "ballbearing snapswivel." Trolling will result in mucho, mucho line twist (even worse with a teaser) and if you do not use a high quality ballbearing swivel, you will have a nightmare!!!!

A good habit to cultivate is at the end of the day when the boat is returning to port or to a calm spot to anchor for the night, cut the snapswivel off, let the line run out the back of the boat for a 50-100 yards or so, then crank it back tight. This should work out most of the twist that may have developed throughout the day.

Best regards,
Makaira

Hi Makaira,

Originally Posted by Makaira

Regarding Q1, if you intend to use this reel primarily for bottom fishing, my suggestion is to load it with the braided line with a wind-on / shock leader of 20 feet or so of perhaps 80lbs mono. That should provide some stretch for trolling duties. If you load it with full mono, it will be a nightmare when bottom fishing.

Above extracted from your posting reply to my question from another thread
Trolling.

As such, if I were to set up as below, should be ok, right?
Mainline 65lbs braided line -- 20 ft wind on shock leader of 80lbs mono -- ball bearing swivel-clip -- teaser -- heavy duty split ring -- ball bearing swivel clip -- standard 15-20 foot leader -- lure

Cheers!
th2x

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by th2x

Hi Makaira,



Above extracted from your posting reply to my question from another thread
Trolling.

As such, if I were to set up as below, should be ok, right?
Mainline 65lbs braided line -- 20 ft wind on shock leader of 80lbs mono -- ball bearing swivel-clip -- teaser -- heavy duty split ring -- ball bearing swivel clip -- standard 15-20 foot leader -- lure

Cheers!
th2x

Sounds about right

[th2x]

Weather Conditions for Trolling.....

Just wondering is the sea state is choppy(say > 1m waves) with strong winds, is it good to do trolling or is it just a total waste of time?

Was told not to bring my trolling gears and stuff for my trip tomorrow as sea state is expected to be choppy and windy...
Thanks all in advance!

Cheers!
th2x

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by th2x

Weather Conditions for Trolling.....

Just wondering is the sea state is choppy(say > 1m waves) with strong winds, is it good to do trolling or is it just a total waste of time?

Was told not to bring my trolling gears and stuff for my trip tomorrow as sea state is expected to be choppy and windy...
Thanks all in advance!

Cheers!
th2x

Hi th2x,

As long as you have a line in the water while on the move, you stand a chance of catching something

I've caught all kinds of fish on the troll in the most appalling of sea conditions. You have to give due consideration to the rest of the kakis on the boat though. Having to stop the boat for you to fight a fish in angry seas will not be exactly comfortable for all concerned. So it all depends on who you are fishing with I guess.

Best regards,
Makaira

[Patudo]

All pelagics can be caught in rough weather, the question is sometimes how to make sure the lures are working properly and also how to fight a big fish in rough water.

Two types of gamefish in particular love rough weather - Tuna (yellowfin, bigeye, skipjack) and dorado. Tuna trolling is normally best in the morning and evening when the light is low and the fish are feeding near the surface. If the weather is cloudy and rough that is better still - the bite will often extend later into the morning and start earlier. Sometimes they will bite well all day. Dorado will hunt in broad daylight but they also like wind and rough seas which stir up the favourite food of big dorado, flying fish. There are days in October and November on the dropoff at Phuket (and of course in other places at other times) when the wind is blowing, the blue ocean current is running hard and the seas are rough, when you can sometimes see flying fish bursting in front of the boat nearly every five minutes. Many times they will be the small "butterfly" flying fish, other times they can be bigger flyers 8-10 inches. Sometimes they have clear wings and other times their wings can look black or even a shade of pink. When conditions are like this, you really can have some good fishing with dorado, school yellowfin and big skipjacks. If your boat and anglers can take the seas, I love days like this.

[th2x]

Originally Posted by i am not attap seed

my group will be going to maldives soon.

the focus will be popping and jigging (as usual), but from point to point and depending on situation, we will also be doing some trolling.

hoping to pick up a stray yellowfin tuna, can anyone advise if they are really leader shy and will be spooked by wire leader (eg 80lb single strain wire)? of course, i dun mind losing a lure or 2 to wahoo if using mono gives me higher chance of connecting w a YellowFin Tuna.

any lure to recommend, jet head, bibless, rapala magnum... ...

also, wats the ideal distance between the lure and the boat? cus i heard they are also boat shy at times.

many thanks!

Hi i am not attap seed,

How did your Maldives trip went?
Did you managed to do any trolling?

Cheers!
th2x

[th2x]

Re: How do I determine the size/weight of the troll skirts/lures to use?

Hi guys,

Having re-scan this topic a couple of times, could not find much info.

Setup : TLD30II with 65lbs braid 80lbs wind-on leader on a full roller 24kg troll stick.

How do I determine the maximum size/weight of the troll skirts/lures to use?
Cos I figure the large skirts/lures are quite heavy and my setup might not be able to handle them..Any rule of thumb to follow? Troll speed..?

Cheers!
th2x

[i am not attap seed]

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