Help rigging for offshore

[hkg4142]

So I purchased a 25' Pursuit center cuddy this year and have outfitted it to fish the great lakes (we live in ohio) and that is all done. Next I want to start getting it rigged to fish the gulf stream when we head down to Oregon Inlet in October. I bought the boat with the intentions of making at least 4 trips per year to the coast to fish tuna, wahoo, dolphin, bluefins and other fish in the GS. My current set up surely wont cut it down there (besides my downriggers) so Im looking to go with some used gear to save on costs and since the wear and tear will be minimal each year I cant see spending $700 / reel. I have fished on plenty of charters from the Atlantic coast of Florida to Cabo but to have my own boat out there with my own gear and rigging baits myself will be totally new. The point of this post is to get some ideas of what kind of gear I should be spending on, possibly some of you have some for sale, etc etc. Any info is greatly appreciated!

[WAHOONBOX]

FOR STARTERS I HAVE 6 NEW (NEVER USED) STAND UP RODS...BLACK SLICK BUTTS...RATED FOR 50-130 CLASS LINE....$360 FOR THE SET


252 269 0035 CELL

[clt_capt]

Gold Reels sure look fancy and they hold up well, BUT the reality is that you can pick up graphite reels - IE: TLD20, 25s for half the price and handle 90% of the fish you are likely to run into...

There are still plenty of folks using Penn Senator type reels trolling offshore - very successfully I might add.

Do yourself a favor - Hire a mate or captain for a day or 2 to fish with you on your boat when you first go down - have them help you rig your boat and baits - you'll learn a bunch and have a much better time...

[hkg4142]

I appreciate the info, I will be giving you a call here in a few. As for mate or captain that is for sure in the plans. As for lines, my rigs on the great Lakes are all braided 30# or wire 30#, when fishing king's we run a 40# mono leader. When rigging salt water gear what kind of line should I be looking to gear up with. I think I would also want to rig up a few jigging rods as well. What kind of depths are you fishing on Tuna / wahoo etc? I have two electric downriggers now and run 12# balls, we troll the great lakes anywhere from 1.5-3mph so these work well. When I have been out on Charters we have been trolling at speeds of 8mph with baits running on the surface and then teasers off one rigger and a bally down deep off the other downrigger. My question on that would be how many feet of wire would I want on my downriggers? Thanks!

[hkg4142]

Looking at the Penn Senators Im seeing the 114s or the Shimano TLD 25's. What kind of differences am I looking at with these two reels? Do I want rods with rollers?

[WAHOONBOX]

DUDE,
LEAVE YOUR DOWN RIGGERS AT THE DOCK WHEN YOU GO TUNA FISHING AT OI.....

[clt_capt]

Looking at the Penn Senators Im seeing the 114s or the Shimano TLD 25's. What kind of differences am I looking at with these two reels? Do I want rods with rollers?

I prefer lever drags (TLD) for trolling - You can set light for the initial strike and adjust during the fight. Tough to do consistently with a star drag without a lot of practice.

Rollers may be required for really heavy tackle, but for day-in-day out tuna and mahi fishing, ring or turbo guides are perfectly fine - Just do a walk of the charter docks and see what you see. Rollers must be maintained - just one more thing to keep up with