Is it Tuna Time?

[Buck154]

1 hour ago, hammer4reel said:

Depends on how you have your drags set .

reels pushing above 30 pounds of drag tire these fish quickly  (as well as some fisherman out )

im fishing 35 pounds of drag at full and getting the tuna to the boat in five minutes .

‘The guys I had the other night were whipped with the drags at 20# .

.

Every fish is different. You want to know what my drag was at? No idea as I set it to what felt right to me. Guess was set right as end result was fish in the boat. Yeah it kicked my ass as I only had my uncle with me and there was no way he can handle that at his age and health. I was just thankful I landed it as I haven't tuna fished in many years. Except the one day up in CC couple years ago. 

[nmc02]

1 hour ago, hammer4reel said:

Depends on how you have your drags set .

reels pushing above 30 pounds of drag tire these fish quickly  (as well as some fisherman out )

im fishing 35 pounds of drag at full and getting the tuna to the boat in five minutes .

‘The guys I had the other night were whipped with the drags at 20# .

.

What lb leader w 35 lb of drag??

[hammer4reel]

4 minutes ago, nmc02 said:

What lb leader w 35 lb of drag??

I’m fishing 60 pound line 

80 pound flouro leader 

35 pounds is max 

[Swamprat]

Haven't fished for tuna in 15+ years so my experience is limited but I think the fight can also depend on where the hook is located IN the fish .  A fish with a hook in the corner of the mouth will fight with everything he's got. Same fish that has a hook in his throat/stomach will still have that initial run but will probably be subdued in half the time. This coming from a guy who fished butters and sardines 85% of the time. 

And the few bluefins I caught were a much tougher fight then a yellowfin of the same size. 

[hammer4reel]

24 minutes ago, Buck154 said:

Every fish is different. You want to know what my drag was at? No idea as I set it to what felt right to me. Guess was set right as end result was fish in the boat. Yeah it kicked my ass as I only had my uncle with me and there was no way he can handle that at his age and health. I was just thankful I landed it as I haven't tuna fished in many years. Except the one day up in CC couple years ago. 

My post was in relation to time it takes to fight the fish .

sure each fish is different , but drag settings change that time quickly .

more guys probably loose fish using too tight a drag and trying to horse fish .

guys should always use a scale to set drags , so they know what they really are .

too heavy an initial drag can also be way too tight mid spool .

it’s all relative when to push it 

 

too light a drag and a good fish can take 500 yards off the spool in the blink of an eye .

 

Ten minutes at twenty pounds is a lot easier than 30 at fifteen .

.

Edited August 15, 2023 by hammer4reel

[nmc02]

8 minutes ago, hammer4reel said:

I’m fishing 60 pound line 

80 pound flouro leader 

35 pounds is max 

WAY too much drag w 80 lb leader

[JHbowhunter]

i always go with "only as strong as your weakest link" so I based max drag on my weakest link.   60 leader would never go above 20 lbs and that is pushing it but that's just me. I used to do Tuna A LOT back in 90s and early 2000's and now just very sporadically.   Tuna fishing can be as technical or as simple as you choose to make it.   When you put a big fish in the boat, that means you did everything right.  

It's all relative too - I used to catch 50 lb tuna on 30 lb mono on tackle that had no business tuna fishing where of course a much bigger fish would spool me.  But it sure was fun. 

Edited August 15, 2023 by JHbowhunter

[nmc02]

You will break 90 % off w drag that high. We all have our own opinions.....I set drags at 25 % of line breaking weight. I would set drag at 18-20 w 80 lb leader. Once fish was up & down, either put in low gear or SLIGHTLY move drag up. I seldom lose them.

[hammer4reel]

1 minute ago, JHbowhunter said:

i always go with "only as strong as your weakest link" so I based max drag on my weakest link.   60 leader would never go above 20 lbs and that is pushing it but that's just me. I used to do Tuna A LOT back in 90s and early 2000's and now just very sporadically.   Tuna fishing can be as technical or as simple as you choose to make it.   When you put a big fish in the boat, that means you did everything right.  

A lot of guys use that third method .

partly because many guys don’t tie great knots .

Imo I set my reels slightly above that in full strike .

when I need more than that I have it bumping it forward .

whole fight doesn’t need to happen at full max , some guys not even at full strike setting .

def more to it than just pushing a lever forward 

 

[hammer4reel]

3 minutes ago, nmc02 said:

You will break 90 % off w drag that high. We all have our own opinions.....I set drags at 25 % of line breaking weight. I would set drag at 18-20 w 80 lb leader. Once fish was up & down, either put in low gear or SLIGHTLY move drag up. I seldom lose them.

Only fish we lost due to a break was a line burned off , not breaking due to pull strength .

I very rarely use low speed , except on a fish straight up,and down deep that doesn’t want to budge .

 

drag settings also need to be adjusted due to line capacity .

you fight a big. Fish on mono on many thirty wides , they will take a longer first run on light drags .

‘I don’t like starting a fight beyond mid spool 

[nmc02]

I always crimp....never a failure. Always use scale to set drag....do so using a full staircase. Rod a top, scale at bottom to simulate a real fight.

[hammer4reel]

Just now, nmc02 said:

I always crimp....never a failure. Always use scale to set drag....do so using a full staircase. Rod a top, scale at bottom to simulate a real fight.

I do them off my deck , after preheating the drags . Huge difference after the drags have heat on them .

 

[NJNewbie]

How do you preheat the drags? 

[hammer4reel]

1 minute ago, NJNewbie said:

How do you preheat the drags? 

Pull off the line hard with drags cranked down .

or hold back the line while someone reels against the drag heating up the washers 

[JHbowhunter]

3 minutes ago, NJNewbie said:

How do you preheat the drags? 

He ties the line to Tracie and makes her run 1/2 a mile first...