FISHING HOT-WEATHER HOT AND HUMID IN CABO

[wallacewt]

good stuff dom,
keep the dream alive

[jonnou]

Great fish!

I prefer the bikini to the speedos (not suggesting you wear them) thanks for sharing

[Alto Mare]

Love the pics and great report!  Have yet to tangle with a tuna, but it seems they have more steam than a locomotive and not the fight I would expect from a fish that size. Gues I need to tie one on for myself next summer.

They fight and they fight hard. Pass the rod when you get tired, my shoulder is not the same from one of those.

[theswimmer]

We have gone down to my Moms house on Isla de las Mujeres this time of year.
Just hole up inside during the day and fish the early, early morning and again when the sun is going down into the night. Get back to the dock about 9pm,
quick evening snack and back down to the dock.
We fly fish off her dock at night for barracuda, 14 wt fly rod and a cooler full of beer,  Great fun

Forget the heat of the day!

[Dominick]

We have gone down to my Moms house on Isla de las Mujeres this time of year.
Just hole up inside during the day and fish the early, early morning and again when the sun is going down into the night. Get back to the dock about 9pm,
quick evening snack and back down to the dock.
We fly fish off her dock at night for barracuda, 14 wt fly rod and a cooler full of beer,  Great fun

Forget the heat of the day!

I always wanted to visit that island.  Wow! and your mother has her own place there.  Terrific.  I did a lot of research on that island and fishing charters.  It is one of the unspoiled areas of the Caribbean.  Consider yourself lucky to spend those idyllic days there.  It is on my bucket list.  Dominick

[Joel.B]

Nice fish. That rod wasnt doing him any favors. Those things are stiff as heck, like solid glass. Rod like that- arms/back do all the work. I think it makes the reel work harder too when the rod doesnt do its share. I had one that came as combo with a 114h, man that thing would let schoolie YT and YFT beat me up. I gave it to my brother.

[Dominick]

Great report!  Looks like a fun day on the water, made even better by getting to tangle with mr. Yellowfin.  Great to hear the tank is still getting it done.  That longer rod, makes it a little more work to raise the fish.  You would probably be better off with a fully rollers International 5'6" stand up or similar IMHO.  I am awaiting photos of the final product (i.e. the prepared tuna).

John it looks like we have a difference of opinion.  See Joel's comments below.

Nice fish. That rod wasnt doing him any favors. Those things are stiff as heck, like solid glass. Rod like that- arms/back do all the work. I think it makes the reel work harder too when the rod doesnt do its share. I had one that came as combo with a 114h, man that thing would let schoolie YT and YFT beat me up. I gave it to my brother.

John I agree with you there is too much bend in the rod for tuna.  Especially when they sound and get into a death spiral.  When you lift the rod a good part of the energy goes into flexing the rod instead of lifting the head of the fish as he spirals back toward the boat.  So while Joel thinks that rod is too stiff and John thinks the rod is too soft my first inclination is that a stiff tuna stick would work better.  Joel the rod may be stiffer than usual but I think it is too long and so it flexes too much.  I was of the opinion that the Penn Senator rod was too flexible to work tuna.  We all are saying the same thing(I think?).  I have a pair of Lamiglass 5'6" 50-100 lb. rods that I will use next time.  The Penn Senator rod I keep down in Baja with a friend of mine so that I don't have to lug rods down every time.  Dominick

[Joel.B]

depending on size of boat and size of fish- I find a 5'5" 40-80 is a good all around compromise when hauling in schoolie YFT all day while standing up in a smaller (20-30') boat.  I used to commercial fish for a co-op, YFT and YT, rod/reel all day every day for months at a time, 100+ fish days were not unusual.  I preferred a rod that had beef down low but some bend up top, like a 3/4 ton truck with good shocks. Rod can still absorb headshakes, boat movement and such but still have the beef where I need it to keep the pressure on. I could also flick a live bait out there a ways or toss a jig- though not ideal for any of that it.

What works for one guy can be horrible for the next guy, everybody is built different. What was ergonomically perfect for me when I was 25 years old, 6'2 and 250#, strong as an ox- could be a real burden for somebody else.   I tried just about everything until i found what worked best for me. Pretty sure that a long/stiff rod is a burden for just about anybody, might be perfect for Shaq though so who knows....

[johndtuttle]

Great report!  Looks like a fun day on the water, made even better by getting to tangle with mr. Yellowfin.  Great to hear the tank is still getting it done.  That longer rod, makes it a little more work to raise the fish.  You would probably be better off with a fully rollers International 5'6" stand up or similar IMHO.  I am awaiting photos of the final product (i.e. the prepared tuna).

John it looks like we have a difference of opinion.  See Joel's comments below.

Nice fish. That rod wasnt doing him any favors. Those things are stiff as heck, like solid glass. Rod like that- arms/back do all the work. I think it makes the reel work harder too when the rod doesnt do its share. I had one that came as combo with a 114h, man that thing would let schoolie YT and YFT beat me up. I gave it to my brother.

John I agree with you there is too much bend in the rod for tuna.  Especially when they sound and get into a death spiral.  When you lift the rod a good part of the energy goes into flexing the rod instead of lifting the head of the fish as he spirals back toward the boat.  So while Joel thinks that rod is too stiff and John thinks the rod is too soft my first inclination is that a stiff tuna stick would work better.  Joel the rod may be stiffer than usual but I think it is too long and so it flexes too much.  I was of the opinion that the Penn Senator rod was too flexible to work tuna.  We all are saying the same thing(I think?).  I have a pair of Lamiglass 5'6" 50-100 lb. rods that I will use next time.  The Penn Senator rod I keep down in Baja with a friend of mine so that I don't have to lug rods down every time.  Dominick

The rod is too long and too stiff for that fish. It made you work far harder than you should.

A rod with rollers like that is designed for bigger fish and for harness or chair fishing where you get mechanical advantage, not for holding the rod in your hands on 50# tuna.

Long and stiff rods only work on small fish when you are holding the rod in your hands. Shorter and softer rods dominate HUGE fish when you do not use a harness.

[Dominick]

Just as I thought.  We are all in agreement.  I like the shorter rods for keeping the pressure on.  Dominick

[johndtuttle]

Just as I thought.  We are all in agreement.  I like the shorter rods for keeping the pressure on.  Dominick

It's simple leverage.

Do some dead lifts with 20lbs on the end of a long rod (feels like 60) versus on a short rod (feels like 30).

[theswimmer]

We have gone down to my Moms house on Isla de las Mujeres this time of year.
Just hole up inside during the day and fish the early, early morning and again when the sun is going down into the night. Get back to the dock about 9pm,
quick evening snack and back down to the dock.
We fly fish off her dock at night for barracuda, 14 wt fly rod and a cooler full of beer,  Great fun

Forget the heat of the day!

I always wanted to visit that island.  Wow! and your mother has her own place there.  Terrific.  I did a lot of research on that island and fishing charters.  It is one of the unspoiled areas of the Caribbean.  Consider yourself lucky to spend those idyllic days there.  It is on my bucket list.  Dominick

Dom ,
My Mom and her business partner , a Mexican citizen owned the house together.
When he bought her out in 2012 the house went as well.
Fortunately I have stayed friends with him and can still use the house.
You can fly to Cancun for cheap , get a taxi straight to the 'locals ferry' and be in a nice hotel for $40-50 bucks a night.
Get away from the Downtown area.
Day trips in a Super Panga are very affordable.
When I was 14-25 yo we used to spend 4-6 weeks every summer there and at the time I didn't realize how lucky we were.

[Alto Mare]

Just as I thought.  We are all in agreement.  I like the shorter rods for keeping the pressure on.  Dominick

If you had a 66" rod and the left bearing not as tight, the Tank would have probably brought that 60# Tuna to the boat in less than 20 minutes.

[Dominick]

Just as I thought.  We are all in agreement.  I like the shorter rods for keeping the pressure on.  Dominick

If you had a 66" rod and the left bearing not as tight, the Tank would have probably brought that 60# Tuna to the boat in less than 20 minutes.

aaaagh I'm never going to live the tightened left bearing down...  Dominick

[Tightlines667]

Just as I thought.  We are all in agreement.  I like the shorter rods for keeping the pressure on.  Dominick

If you had a 66" rod and the left bearing not as tight, the Tank would have probably brought that 60# Tuna to the boat in less than 20 minutes.

aaaagh I'm never going to live the tightened left bearing down...  Dominick

Wait..
What happened to the left bearing?