Trolling Question

[Ace1st]

Got a question you may be able to help me with. I want to fish deeper when trolling for Tuna and Wahoo on a couple outfits. Been fishing in line 16 and 32 oz. torpedo sinkers in front my leaders to get my baits down deep. Catch alot of fish that way. Not sure how deep I am actually fishing. Anybody know.

My speed is around 5 to 8 knots. At times I pull a large planer too, but it creeps or seems to just put to much strain on the reel. What should I do? Step up to a heavier reel on the planer outfit? I'm fishing a 50 lb outfit now, what if I step up to an 80lb outfit? Can I get down deeper with that?

Downriggers tend to creep up at that speed too. Am I doing something wrong?
HEEEEEEEEEEELP?????????

[Roddy Hays]

Run the planer on an old cut-down bent butt outfit with a reel loaded with 200lb spectra. Run the spectra to a 600lb Sampo, and then run five feet of stainless 400 lb cable from the swivel to the planer.

Rig a release clip on four feet of 200 lb cable and attach that to the swivel too. This way you can deploy the planer so it's safely in the water before you attach your fishing line to the release clip with a rubber band or Power Gum loop for safety's sake !

To retrieve the planer at trolling speed simply free-spool it for a couple of seconds to trip it.

Alternatively, if you are fishing solely for tunas and wahoo, buy a Z-wing and run it off 50 feet of 600lb stainless cable. Five feet above the Z-Wing put a 600lb Sampo in the cable, with a plastic bead above the connection. Attach the top end of the cable to five feet of 3/4 inch nylon with a spliced eye to go on your cleat. Run it under the boat all day long, never bringing it up. Prepare a slew of 10lb x 3' mono lengths with a paper clip on each end. Hang 'em on a hook somewhere in the cockpit so they're within easy reach. When it's time to run your bait down, band one end of the fishing line to one of the paper clips (obviously the clips should be tied to your mono length with the tag-ends facing the right way !), then slide the other clip over the cable running down to the Z-Wing. Free-spool and your bait will ride down to the bead. Lock up and wait !

At the end of the day, remember to stop the boat to retrieve the Z-Wing and all those clips before you open her up for the ride home !

If you think you may lose a fish or two to tangles with the cable - well, you may be right. But think of all the others you'll catch instead ! With practice you'll get used to the system and not lose any !

[jwalker]

And my mind trying to dial all that in visually...
Any chance you have some photos and a step by step guide for us to see?

Right on with the bent Butt and 80...That much pressure and drag will smoke a 50...

[Roddy Hays]

Here's the Planer rig diagram. Hope it helps. You can also simply have a snap on the end of your Spectra, and clip that to the rig instead of tying direct. Some people use a simple stainless ring instead of a swivel.



And here's the Z-WING rig. Obviously, the mono between the two paper clips can be as strong or as weak as you want, depending on bait size, tackle strength, intended species etc etc. The advantage of the mono breakaway instead of a release clip is that you don't get those annoying false bites. If the rod goes off it's definitely either a fish or a very large piece of rubbish. If using this method you have to be strict with yourself and check the baits every 20 mins - you could be fishing rubbish or an El Cocho.

I know of some people who also rig a buoy on the Z-Wing rig and slip it free to float in an emergency - like hooking a BEEG one on a surface bait. You do run the risk of a cut-off and other stuff, but it does mean you get the rig back and don't get spooled on another !



Fire away with more questions !

[Roddy Hays]

The planer bent-butt set-up CAN be used with an old rod, but I've got an old bent-butt with a piece of broom pole glued in place with a kite-rod tip on the end. Just enough to clear the transom.

[Ace1st]

How fast can you pull this setup?

[WahooKing]

Ace

I like your name...LOL....Roddy showed you a good illustration of devices that stay deep...His advise is always golden....Also, search WahooNBox for his DFA planer system...He can keep that baby down WW down deep.

Problem I have found with many of the devices that keep lures down is aqua-physics tends to push the devices up with speed...Smaller diameter line, such as wire and/or braid types, some-what help to keep your baits down...Also, the other problems I've found is your limited on speed and the # of lines you can fish.

We do our Wahoo fishing a bit differently in the Bahamas....Wahoo have remarkable ability to change throughout the water column...While targeting Wahoo, we don't look at depth as a key but rather speed...We make our lures stick at high speed with 32+ oz trolling sinkers, shock leader, and lures...Lures tend to run a couple of ft below the surface at high speeds (14-20 kts)...We can troll 6 or so lines off the tip w/o tangles and/or issues...It's a great Hoo catching system that has proven it's self w/ many tournament wins.

[Roddy Hays]

Ace,

Standard planer set-up will vary accoring to planer, but as a rule you can use it up to about 8 knots effectively.

Never seen a Z-Wing blow out at normal speeds, as you get faster you start to place more strain on the towing gear and that becomes the limiting factor.

The in-line torpedo method of high speed trolling as Anthony describes is highly effective for wahoos, but it does limit you somewhat to the tackle you can use which will support pulling 32 ozs of lead plus lure at 14 knots (for example). The planer and Z-Wing set-up lets you pull gear of your choice, right down to 12lb or less.

Like everything else, it's a compromise, but I can tell you from much experience that a planer with a 113M Mirrolure will often outfish the entire spread when it comes to tunas on a flat day. Indeed, on some days the only tuna you will catch will all come to the lure on the planer (whether this is because the tunas pick the lowest bait and then turn back down as a school without busting the top, OR whether it's because on a flat day they feel uncomfortable about breaching through a surface that they cannot delineate properly I do not know).

Likewise, a 22CD Rapala with with single hooks on a Z-Wing is highly effective on wahoos. Makos like it too !!

I'd like to have a crack at pulling one of Fred's new Spider bars on a Z-Wing for tunas. Bet that would kill 'em.

Hope this helps.

[FESS]

u can do a search for "poor man's downrigger" too...although rodi's diagram is spot on...as usual. Rod..John has not returned my emails (I think someone else screens them for him) as yet, I'll have to call him direct and he's somewhat hard to get a hold of.

[Capt_John]

The DFA...A.K.A....Sniper rig is the heat.

But am i still the only one who still pulls an old fashoined wireline rig? I love it still and it catches fish. Just a 114H Senator loaded with 80lb. wireline and a good wireline rod w/ swivel tip. Then add a #4 planer, snap swivel to 40 feet of 150lb. mono leader to a small spro swivel,then wire wahoo rig. It has worked for me from day one when I was younger until now. Caught 2 yellowfins and 2 wahoos on it our last trip out. It is a lot to leader though.