Looking at buying a sailboat. It's got a 25 hp yanmar diesel. Obviously not the ultimate fishing machine, but would this diesel work well for trolling? Diesels don't have any wierd vibes for fishing...do they?
Thanks,
Fishingking

We had our sboat at lk Couer d' Alene for several and I had it rigged with Downrigger and other fishing gear.

Occasionally trolled with a 6hp kicker but did most of the fishing with the sails up. Also did a lot of fishing barepoled.

In heavier weather try trolling hoveto it's a gas.

Go for it. I grew up fishing for silvers on Puget Sound out of the back of my 14 foot sailboat as a kid. I like to drag a Bucktail fly and once you find the speed they like it can be gangbusters. Just set your sails to establish a pace and have fun. You can troll from any size boat but it is best under sail. Nice and peaceful. Once you hook-up remember to dump canvas as to not drag the fish to death.

Off the coast we always drag a tuna fly at about six knots. I have caught them on poles and on hand lines. When using a hand line always troll with a snubber (surgical tube) to take the shock of the hook-up. Landing a tuna on a hand line is a real fight. Wear gloves or I can tell you without a doubt the tuna will win.

Once you get the fish on board have a bucket of water ready because when you butcher them they bleed and I mean they really bleed. Almost nothing on the face of the earth bleeds like a tuna. It will look like a scene from Lord of the Flies in the back of the boat. They are almost a straight tube from mouth to butt surrounded nothing but pumped muscle.

Eating them in the ocean is unbelievable. It is the only way I will eat raw tuna and on the barbie off the back is also great. Shoot what am I doing on land time to make way to the Pacific.

Forget the motor and sailfish

Hey thanks for the encouragement. Offshore tuna fishing is just a dream right now, but sounds like a thrill. So what's the trick to finding the tuna offshore?

Fishingking00,

For tuna:

Go west young man.
(After that go west some more.)

Seriously though, sailboats generally do much better fishing the pelagic species in more open waters where controlling speed, depth and direction are not as critical and covering water is king. How to effectively fish in our area with a sailboat is really a great question and it is frankly a difficult one to answer too. I am constantly asked by my keeled friends how they can do better out of their tubs. Alot of it comes down to the individual boat as each handles and sets up differently. Just spending the time and being persistent will go a long way towards success though. Try jigging in productive areas where you can safely drift. Trolling for silvers out of a sailboat is very effective when they're in. And pinks are heading in this year too. Messing with a downrigger on a sailboat though with everything else going on just isn't a whole lot of fun. And neither is competing with the more nimble boats at the usual salmon hot spots. Nice thing is though sailboats can get you far from the maddening crowd where fishing can be just as good and even more enjoyable.

Good luck mate.