Light Tackle Setup For Tuna

[dkhunter]

I am putting together a light tackle setup for Trolling/Chunking Yellowfin and Bluefin this summer. I will be mostly fishing in an outboard. I Was leaning towards the new Accurate Bx2-30 or Bx2-600 Reels.

Anyone have any experience using them? What rods would you suggest? I was also looking at the Tiagra 16 or 20's.

[lilharcher]

For the price, toughness, and overall deependability, I would look into the Avet 30 topless (2-speed).........very versitle reel. We use them for all applications mentioned and they hold up day after day.

[don'thaveaboat]

Though I have never been tuna fishing, I think a TLD would do well.

[gmoney]

stay away from graphite for these applications.

the stories of the frames cracking under high drag pressures are scary

[paul708]

the superseker blanks and the tiagra 16 and 20 reels are a great combo.
there are a few good blank choices for you.
to clear outboards you may want a slightly longer rod.

[budddavid]

How many rods do you see yourself running this year? and how many to you feel like buying?

Assuming that you are just looking to get started and plan on running more lines next year (adding riggers next year for example) and that you are trying to be frugal, I would suggest starting with 4 tld 25's on penn mariners, star aerials, or shimano tallus's. Alot of tuna fishing in the mid atlantic can be done on a tld 25with the right amount of line on them. They are definitely on the light side for trolling but can handle about any east coast yellow fin, albacore or football bluefins and work pretty well for chunking rods. They aren't made for running high drags nor are they made for using full harnesses but they are alot of reel for the money, can be had for about $130. They can be used for whites after you have stepped up your tuna gear to heavier stuff. If you go this route, plan on putting some decent handles on them as the stock are silly small.

[gradyfish265]

A TLD will do the job, but will keep you from using a back harness with drop straps, if your ok with that and can handle drag pressure's of 20lbs then your fine, if not stick to an aluminum framed reel. There are some nice bluefin and yellowfin off NJ so skimping on gear can really mean lost fish in a heart beat. I would recommend to buy good gear and piece it together over time if your budget is not huge then buy cheaper gear and then not be happy with it or have to replace it down the road. This stuff is expensive and should be gear you plan to fish for years to come, not just a few seasons. Also, after you spend the gas to get out there and the cost for the boat, skimping on tackle is the worst thing you can do, it is your lifeline to a good or bad day.
I agree a 30 narrow reel would be best, I would recommend using 50lb line as a minimum, going less you will highly regret, I recommend 60lb+...we fish 80lb+ on all our reels. My 30W avets have 540 yards of 80...we use Jerry Brown hollowcore with 100yard topshots of 80lb momoi mono. My 50n reels have about 590 yards of 100lb, and my 50W have about 950 yards of 100lb JB hollowcore w/ a 100yard topshot of 100 momoi. You can encounter some bigger bluefin off NJ and having the ability to put bigger drag pressures on a fish is important. also as a side note, getting the fish to the boat quick helps keep them healtyh and able to be released since the limit on bluefin is not a lot of fish....so on a decent day you will be releasing fish. Using lighter line, you can land bigger fish but you will be killing them for the dinner table, or making them shark bait after being released...or should I say floated away from the boat. We love the JB hollowcore w/ mono combo, allows us to fish a line class up on our reels on lighter gear giving the angler the advantage, keeping them from tiring out quicker and letting the fish get line back. A 30W reel would do the job well for all your needs.

I would shy away from the accurate for trolling, not sure that will have the capacity you need, I would say an Avet HXW would be nice too...but not enough line capacity either...reason why...for bluefin you fish WWWB off the boat, we fish sometimes 300yards off the boat or even more, especially if bigger fish are around, on smaller reels using straight mono you will have no chance at stopping a fish with those line capacities. Fishing close to the boat will mean less strikes from bluefin, for yellowfin you might get away, but if a wolfpack of big eyes comes up your done for. Decide on the line you plan to fish.. then find a reel that will hold a min of 500yards of that line, otherwise it really is too small of a reel and will limit your success if you plan to use it for trolling. 400yards of line will be plenty for chunking, but being that you want to do both you need to hit that 500 yard mark.

[sasman]

A TLD will do the job, but will keep you from using a back harness with drop straps, if your ok with that and can handle drag pressure's of 20lbs then your fine, if not stick to an aluminum framed reel. There are some nice bluefin and yellowfin off NJ so skimping on gear can really mean lost fish in a heart beat. I would recommend to buy good gear and piece it together over time if your budget is not huge then buy cheaper gear and then not be happy with it or have to replace it down the road. This stuff is expensive and should be gear you plan to fish for years to come, not just a few seasons. Also, after you spend the gas to get out there and the cost for the boat, skimping on tackle is the worst thing you can do, it is your lifeline to a good or bad day.
I agree a 30 narrow reel would be best, I would recommend using 50lb line as a minimum, going less you will highly regret, I recommend 60lb+...we fish 80lb+ on all our reels. My 30W avets have 540 yards of 80...we use Jerry Brown hollowcore with 100yard topshots of 80lb momoi mono. My 50n reels have about 590 yards of 100lb, and my 50W have about 950 yards of 100lb JB hollowcore w/ a 100yard topshot of 100 momoi. You can encounter some bigger bluefin off NJ and having the ability to put bigger drag pressures on a fish is important. also as a side note, getting the fish to the boat quick helps keep them healtyh and able to be released since the limit on bluefin is not a lot of fish....so on a decent day you will be releasing fish. Using lighter line, you can land bigger fish but you will be killing them for the dinner table, or making them shark bait after being released...or should I say floated away from the boat. We love the JB hollowcore w/ mono combo, allows us to fish a line class up on our reels on lighter gear giving the angler the advantage, keeping them from tiring out quicker and letting the fish get line back. A 30W reel would do the job well for all your needs.

I would shy away from the accurate for trolling, not sure that will have the capacity you need, I would say an Avet HXW would be nice too...but not enough line capacity either...reason why...for bluefin you fish WWWB off the boat, we fish sometimes 300yards off the boat or even more, especially if bigger fish are around, on smaller reels using straight mono you will have no chance at stopping a fish with those line capacities. Fishing close to the boat will mean less strikes from bluefin, for yellowfin you might get away, but if a wolfpack of big eyes comes up your done for. Decide on the line you plan to fish.. then find a reel that will hold a min of 500yards of that line, otherwise it really is too small of a reel and will limit your success if you plan to use it for trolling. 400yards of line will be plenty for chunking, but being that you want to do both you need to hit that 500 yard mark.

With this much articulated info, I think you should listen. Good stuff there.

[Middle C]

Nice info here. Thanks for asking the question.

[N2theBlue]

he's not trying to be frugal if he's talking about accurates. If you've got the money to get several accurates, go ahead and do it right and get custom rods to go with them. For fish to 150lbs go with the BX-2 500's load with 65 lb braid and a mono topshot and you will be good to go.