Ancient Mariner's Saltwater Tackle & Tips

Highest quality,  custom, proven tackle

 

Offshore Trolling Info

(Scroll down for Inshore Trolling)

 

40 to 400 fathoms is the realm of real CANYON COMMUTERS. From Veatch to Wilmington Canyon to the oil rigs off Texas and New Orleans, from San Diego to the tip of the Baha, and from St. Thomas to Barbados, these lures catch them all. This is where the big boys live:

Knowledge:
Temperature charts narrow the area down to where the bait should be.
Marine charts show you the highways and byways that the bait use and the predators follow. Match these and you have now put yourself where the action should be.
Trolling speed must be correct for your boat and the lures you use.
Lure placement and presentation finish up the equation.

Gear: To take these fish, you need lures that are proven the world over. They have to be rigged correctly and placed in the sweet spot of your trolling pattern. When I leave the dock, I am armed with only the best lures available. I have fished them all and I know these lures work. If I had only one set of lures to take, I would take only those listed here. Of all these listed, I would depend on my Bullet or Pusher Jet Heads and my hand made Brute Buster Lures. I favor the Cherry Jets and the Pusher type followed by the Funnel type all put out the right amount of smoke and sound. Imagine three or four of these smoking, buzzing my Bullet or Pusher jets darting in and out of your wake right up tight behind your transom. ZOWEE, that's pure fish catching power. I rig these 9 and 10 inch Jets with 9/0 and 10/0 hooks placed at the tail of the skirts. These lures are very hard for hard charging Tuna to push out of there way with their brow wake. You have to see it to believe it. Place these Jets no more than 25 feet behind the transom on the foreward part of your standing wave. They should smoke and have a tight head shake, then come up and grab some air and go down again. Its a combination that Tuna find hard to resist. If you can see them deep on your scope, keep trolling over them and watch them come up and up and finally crash your setup. It's heart stopping action to see huge eyeballs and and their sickle tails crashing thru your setup crunching on these lures. Now add the BRUTE BUSTER LURES to your spread and "YOU ARE THE MAN". Brute Buster Lures: These lures are put together with only the finest double skirts, weighted forward to undulate and flash and shimmy to imitate predators chasing the main school of escaping bait (your hull and engines). I use single hooks 9/0 or 10/0 placed in the back of the lure. I believe that two hook rigs tend to make the lures plane up towards the surface and lose effectiveness. I place these lures in the 2nd and 3rd and 4th standing wave. They must ride in the middle of each wave to be effective. To pull in Yellowfin that your chine wake has brought to your spread, I put out the bullet shaped lures in the 3rd thru 6th wake. Each of these lures should be run so they run a few inches deep in the middle of the wave. Yellowfin just love to whack them there. The last place for me is the shotgun position (way down the center), back about 100 feet or longer. I always put a big bird teaser and a lure (pick one of the above) on a 8 foot leader behind the bird. Jet heads, Brute Buster lures work here. I put the biggest hook I can fit into these lures, at least a 9/0. All hooks are the southern style Tuna hook. They rarely let you down.

Inshore Trolling Info 

Trolling for monsters can be done within sight of land or out in 'the deep' but different equipment and techniques should be used depending on where you are.

Fishing in 20-30 fathoms is great for the smaller boatman. 17-23 foot center consoles and runabouts are perfect for this type of fishing. Trolling for school Bluefin, Yellowfin and other pelagics can be done safely within sight of land. The difference between this and deeper activities lies in the presentation and lure size. Mahi, Albacore, Bonita also fall for these lure tricks.

Remember, your boat hull/engine draws the fish. You have to put your lures in where they look like hurt bait trying to get back to the school. They know that there is safety in numbers.

 To capitalize on the behavior of these pelagics, you need to put out as many lures as possible back behind the boat. To do this you can place as many as 3 or 5 T'Zer chains on each rod with a chase bait actively running behind the T'Zers.

See my trolling lures for what  I recommend for this type of fishing:

  I always have a least one Jethead out at all times. The only Jetheads I use are my Bullet or Pusher Jet Heads, I have fished these Jetheads all over and THEY WORK.   My Bullet or Pusher Jetheads for inshore trolling,  in a two toned green overskirt with an light yellow/orange underskirt, is THE COLOR combination to start with.

My Bullet or Pusher Jetheads create a large bubble stream, tight head shake, and the right sound. SOUND in the 500 kz attracts all Tunas. Why use anything else? I can't build a better lure and neither can you! Look at it this way. Calculate the cost of your boat, insurance, fuel, fishing equipment and not least, your limited time on the water. Buy the lure setups that works the best!

T'Zers: My 3 or 5 T'Zer rig attached to my Bullet or Pusher Jet predator will catch anything on the inshore grounds. I had 100 + Bluefin on this setup just 5 miles off the beach in 20 fathoms of water last year!

My Bullet or Pusher Jets can be run alone. This rig with or without T'Zers should be no further back from your transom than 15 to 30 feet. I have had Yellowfin climb all over these lures. Mahi even fight for this lure. I also had 2 White Marlin try and impale themselves on this rig (bill wrappped both of them).

Albcore and Bonita like a little different presentation. I use a 3 or 5 T'Zer setup (all pearl white T'Zers) followed by my two skirted chase bait. I use an white/pink chase bait or a green/orange or a blue/green over yellow combination. These should undulate over your standing wake. This rig will drive the Albacore or Bonita crazy. You will actually see more than one trying to eat the T'Zers and the chase bait. Take your camera along! All of the above should be in 4 1/2 inch size.

Birds are great attractors. You don't need big birds. What you should use is my 5 inch bird followed by a chase lure. I use the T'Zer chase lure or one of my Bullet or Pusher Jets. REMEMBER, you are presenting a picture of a school of bait being hounded by predators. EASY PICKINGS to be had! The more commotion, the better. On bright sunny days put a bird chase bait combination way back 50 to 75 yards. Sometimes it really pays.

I also use the Tuna clones in any of the colors as a single (just next to my T'Zers) or as a predator lure chasing the T'Zers.

2 to 3 ounce Japanese feather lures in Root beer (Bluefin love this color) or yellow/green, red/black, red/white will work. Be sure to place a strip of Pork Rind on the hook (white or red).

Green Machines in both sizes will work for you. They are especially great by themselves or behind a bird teaser. These should be placed in the 4th thru 7th standing wake behind your boat. I put these on the O/Riggers. If you don't have any, then place the lures closer to the transom and work them directly off the rod tips.

If you want to target Bluefin, use my Cedar Plug setup. For the inshore grounds, I use three 4 1/2 inch Cedar Plugs (red/black), chased by a 6 inch Cedar plug (Natural). It's A killer combination. Yellowfin and Mahi will jump on this too. Place this just off the corners of your transom about 10-20 feet back.