I'm intrigued by the idea of using/tossing swim baits for tuna, yet I know little about what baits are being used and how they are fished.

What's a good swim bait used for tuna?

How is it fished? You stopped on a pile of tuna and cast/retrieve them, or are they trolled behind the boat?

What's the skinny?

The best way to do it, by far.

Any swimbait you'd use for lingcod will work fine.

Cast them from as far away as you can manage and still get it in the school, and hold on...you'll reel them to the boat in short order, then they'll go straight down and it will take another 10 or 15 minutes to get 'em in the boat.

The last time I did swimbaits for tuna I used an 11', 10-20 Lami Cert. Pro. with 40# PP, and these:



http://www.fishusa.com/Storm-WildEye-Swim-Shad-5-and-6-Swim-Baits_p.html

Bring your back, you'll need it.

Fish on...

Todd

Gotcha.

Why not just use live 'chovies at that point?

8 of us filled the Hula Girl with 160+ tuna last year and were done by 1:00 pm. We had to stop because the boat was at the waterline and couldn't hold any more fish without fear of sinking. All but a couple were caught on live baits. I got one on a Point Wilson Dart, which was pretty fun and a change of pace from the live bait action.

Going back again this year for more abuse. Easily, the most fun one can have on the ocean.

1. I can cast a 1 oz. swimbait a helluva lot farther than an anchovie, and the fish weren't letting us get close that day.

2. My captain's "live" well was a "dead" well...we burned an hour and a half filling the damn thing with bait, and then it all died. We used it for chum.

Having a tuna latch onto a lure while you're retrieving it is cool...cooler than watching line spool off a reel while they much on a 'chovie.

Fish on...

Todd

Did you have Seastuck on board? He probably ate all the bait.......



Sky-Guy is doing the "I'll pretend to eat a bait in order to coax Seastuck in to really eating an anchovie" thing in the background.

The gal in the green gloves was puking all day long and I don't think this helped.

I think live bait is WAY more fun but I would throw a kelp cutter if that is what it took.

Trolling them work to switch up for something new if you are seeing fish but no getting hit. Troll at live bait speeds- you will see behind the boat when they are swimming best.

Casting to jumpers works too. If you cast too close you will put them down. 90% of the takes come on the drop not the retrieve. So cast, controlled free spool and count to twenty or so. We have had hits on a steady retrieve but the drop is more productive.

Green and silver, blue and silver work just match the size and color to what is around. I used Berkely power 'chovys but they are too soft. Any anchovy pattern will work.

I am a boat ho in this case too and I cant wait to get out there again! August probably.

Good luck

What Todd said. But I believe the popularity of swim baits stems from ports without the availabitly of live bait.

http://www.fishtraplures.com/_Colors.html Gotta be the most popular brand of swimbaits in the PNW.

Personally, I don't think you can beat a 3oz blue/silver LJ Crippled Herring as an Albie casting lure. Very versitle incase the tuna 100ft below your boat are better biters that the ones on the surface. I think the profile is more of that of their natural forage too, as opposed to a swimbait.

All good stuff to know. Now, I just gotta Ho my way on to SZ or NG's boat!

Once you go Tuna, you become an instant TunaHo for life!

I was told that going tuna fishing would endanger steelhead on my "favorite fish to fish for and catch" list...which didn't happen, or even close, but it is really fun, and you can't beat the eats.

Fish on...

Todd

P.S. I'll throw my name in the boat ho hat...anyone needs a good reeler for a day of tuna fishing, I'm in

Unless I mysteriously win the lottery my 100k boat won't materialize for another ten years. In the meantime tunaHOing isnt so bad. Luckily I have been invited by a killer captian for the last two seasons- pay my share of gas and divy up the take and try to earn my way back by putting more than my fair share of fish in the boat. It is more like winning a grocery spree than actually shopping. Live bait albacore is hands down as much fun as you can have on the water.
Last year, on the last trip of the season, they had to keep moving because threshers kept coming in and biting them off after three or so fish to the boat. I can't quit day dreaming about the chance to set the hook on a fish that big...

Well I suppose I'd ask the same question, if we down here on the left coast's taint had the option between the two. But for we Oregon anglers, who only hear about this 'live bait' jazz, swimbaits are as good as it gets.

There are many ways to effectively fish them. ALWAYS have a few rods rigged, especially if trolling conventional clones/feathers/jet heads. As soon as those rods hook up, drop heavy headed (2+ oz) swimbaits into your prop wash, right off the lines of the hooked up rods. Free spool them down as you wait the 6-10 sec for more troll rods to hook up, then as you take the boat out of gear and work those rods, engage reels on the swim baits and place them in the holders, and let them bob with the swell as you bring troll fish in. They'll light up!

Casting to jumpers: Whippy-er rods, as the one Todd mentioned earlier, with lighter, smaller heads/bodies, so you can flat out huck them a ways. 4" bodies, in clear/silver flake, black back white body, blue back white body, on 3/4 - 1.5 oz heads with red eyes.

Trolling: Starting late Aug last year, we had much higher numbers trolling 2 -3 oz heads on 5-6" bodies in standard troll patterns (only slower, 4-5kts) than we did running clones, etc.

As mentioned earlier, most bites are on the drop, and in the words of my old man, on his first swimbait hook up " ' Sum beeeeeeeech!" as he nearly lost the rod. I like to bomb a couple mega casts and instantly engage the reel, placing them up in the rocket launchers, after we've stopped to deal with troll caught fish. As these cast swimmers sink, you'll suddenly go from 4 fish on, to 6+.

As for other options, the crippled herring mentioned above are slick, but check out "Spinnow"s, the 2.5 oz size. They run on a heavy wire spinner shaft, and 'spin' as they drop, and on fast retrieves(fast jigging). Just be sure to swap out the factory trebles.

A solid swimbait hookup is "Tunabites" by MarkMc off Ifish. Makes them in his free time, and has built a huge following. He has spent a LOT of time perfecting the plastics, colors, etc. I guess that is to be expected from an HP engineer.
I'll try to get some pics of heads and bodies up later...

Pics up (I hope they work)
Various Tunabite bodies, from the big dogs (6") to the late season special (4")

Here are some various heads I Poured up to match them, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 oz, 3d recessed eyes


And here are the Spinnows, after an Owner mod.

Bummer.

It's something I'd highly recommend to anyone. I was a skeptic until last September. Now, I'm an addict.

As mentioned above, live 'chovies are truly a very fun way to get tuna.

Watching your reel quickly devoid itself of a vast quantity of mono as you count to 8 is beyond words.

Not to mention, when you slam the clutch in place, the fish takes another 100 yards of line or so at Mach 4, just for good measure!

After that, it's just rinse, lather, repeat.

Hey Parker, Keep an extra tuna or two for me

Here are some heads I just made up. The owner saltwater line of jig hooks are flat out scary.

Hopefully you'll be in town in September - I invited everyone and their dog over for TunaFeed 08. Will do it again this fall.

All it takes is a hot BBQ, a couple of cast iron pans, and more 1" thick tuna loin cuts than you could ever want to eat. Toss in beer on tap and it's a Feast!!!!

That'll work! I should be around



Evidently my owner didn't pass on the invite

Can't beat piles of tuna for eatin'.

Save some for sashimi!

Fish on...

Todd

Thanks for the beta, Twitch. That's all killer info...

One more thimg parker, don't forget the home made kiwi salsa, killer on fresh BBQ tuna,

Swim baits are kick ass after hooking up on the troll rods,what we have learned is let the crackers/newby's reel in the troll rods while the people in the know get out the swim bait rods and start casting.Next thing ya know all the rods are loaded up,if they didn't load on the troll/slide.The swim baits that we use are called "Fish Trap" and 95% of the time we use the "Albi Special" which is black & purple.We put these on a 1-1.5 oz lead head.The key is to glue the swim bait to the lead head a few day's before heading out then it will last a little longer before it's torn up and need to switch to a new one.Like said above they like to hit it on the drop there fore the bail is in free spool,then slam it and set.Fun stuff.We mix it up with trolling/swim baitin and live baiting also.If it wasn't for winter metal and summer tuna I'd be lost,fishin for salmon in the ocean just hasn't been the same after getting into the tuna gig the last 3 years.Parker I owe ya a trip of some sort and it needs to be redeemed soon,your on the list I just won't tell ya what number you are.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE