Deckhanding for Captain Yamada

[Lowprofile]

Went as a deckhand yesterday with Captain Yamada out of Gushikawa. the group did not rent trolling gear but said they might want to troll. so I brought along my 12/0 setup (with stainless gear sleeve, pinion, SS cross bars, single SS dog and upgraded carbon stack) and Avet HXW to do some trolling.

morning started off slow with a few midget mahi's on the troll. 2 of them took the hook through the eyes so they went in the hold. about 6-8lbs each. then we picked up a little wahoo about 18-20lbs. kept it because everyone likes a little wahoo! and the fact that it hit the 12/0 and we initially thought it got off so we kept it out there and started trolling again only to see it skip across the surface... haha. brought it in and it was almost dead.

changed spots and hit up some tuna. got a few on the troll. one on a pink jet head and a lot on my aluminum jetted cedar plug. we chumed and chunked bait and caught a few more schoolie yellowfin and skipjack. trolled to another spot and picked up a schoolie size big eye then picked at a spotty tuna bite for a couple hours. until we relocated. captain marked a school and we circled it with the troll gear and had a small marlin come in the spread. he was with us for about 15 seconds then disappeared. it probably stuck around just wasn't interested in the lures. we got on the school and the group landed several bigger skipjack and some more YFT. all schoolie size. even saw a trigger fish and a Bluefin trevally come on board. BFT was released as it was only about 10" long.

Decided to call it a day and head back. Captain decided to haul #### in at about 14.5 knots. so I put out the 12/0 with a heavy bullet head that has two jets. sent it way back out of the white wash where it would stay down and then kicked back.

on our way in one of the guys asked if anything hit it yet. I told him he'd know if it happened and we were lucky if we did hook up going so fast because the wahoo have been few and far between.

just as were almost inside the bay the 12/0 sounds. I look over and the rod is doubled over then look out to the lure, the biggest wahoo ive ever seen sky rockets away from the boat. then it jumps sideways and "MARLIN!" I get over to the rod and check it to make sure the drags aren't too lose then turn to the group and say "who wants it?"... they all look at me and say "You get it!" . so there I was staring at the 12/0 as all my mono top shot disappears thinking of what to do.

initial run after slowing down. really nothing to do right now...

http://vid73.photobucket.com/albums/i214/katguy/Okinawa%20fishing/trim.690B3B3D-8BA0-4983-A6CF-F6F9306CC8BD_zpsbdg1bsdd.mp4

ok got it!

grab the harness, ask for my plate to be passed over, get the harness on, clip into the reel then lift if out of the holder and set the gimbal. Game on!

I was just about down to my braid by this point, meaning I had 550yards of mono out there that could get hung up on debri or tangled with god knows what on the surface or just under. I moved to the center of the boat and told the captain to turn. he turned to the right a bit and I started reeling. Then the huge arc in my line from the boat to where the fish is now popped out of the water and gave me about 100yrds of loose line. I quickly picked it up and came tight. once I had about 300yrds back I moved to the back of the boat and started cranking. the captain set the boat to idle around 2mph.

http://vid73.photobucket.com/albums/i214/katguy/Okinawa%20fishing/DSCN0445_zpsdjd9vqxi.mp4









got it within 50 yards and moved to the front of the boat.






















had some issues with the drag system. it likes to come loose while reeling. not sure if its a result of the SS sleeve or not but never had that problem. first noticed it when spooling the reel in October.

[Tightlines667]

Sounds like a great day on the water.  Good report..thanks for sharing!

What drag setup did you have exactly?  (I.E. A stock CF stack with older thick washer on the top, or one of the versa-drag style inserts?)  Strange to hear of the drag star backing off when cranking/spooling.  If anything a prolonged fight tends to heat up the components, and the star can become more difficult to move/back off.  Maybe your star is excessively loose on the sleeve?  Your star should have very little movement when threaded on the sleeve.

The spring washer under the star should also help to keep the star in place when the drag is compressed.  Whenever I upgrade a drag stack, I typically replace the under handle and under star spring washers, the stock metal and drag washers, and the undergear washer with a delron.  I have also been putting a Delron washer on top of a thin washer on the top of the stack, instead of using a stock thick one. This seems to help isolate the drag stack, and smooth things out.  A Delron washer under the star on 9/0 and smaller Penns, and Newells also seems to help with adjusting the star when under higher loads.  

You may want to do a post-battle break down of your reel, and see if you can remedy your drag stack issue.  Or just check your spring washer and spacing from the outside.

Nice job on the fish.  You need the boat on a fish like that. Good thing you had the braid backing.

Keep us posted on the reel.

[Lowprofile]

its not the versa drag. ill have to take it apart. I bought a mix of the carbon fiber washers that have the tight weave and thicker weave. im at a loss for words as to what the actual term is. haha. but it bottoms out my 50lb spring scale and is very smooth. the drag did heat up. the whole side plate was hot and I burned my hand on the stardrag/handle. I looked it over this morning and there is grease all over the threads where the sleeve is exposed between the handle and star.

ill get to it as soon as I can.

[Shark Hunter]

Awesome!
Let us know what you find with the stack.

[Steve-O]

Awesome report and pics. Good looking bunch of anglers, too. Thanks for your service and sharing the adventure!

[Keta]

Thanks for posting the photos, looks like fun.

[Dominick]

Wow! nice job.  I can't imagine a marlin hitting a lure at 14 knots.  I guess if you are a fish in Japanese waters you have to be fast.  Dominick

[theswimmer]

Low ,
You are living my dream!
Since you seem to be connected could you PM me info as regards to contacts for getting on the boat?
I have limited opportunities each year and I am planning 2016 and looking at a ton of different options.

Great report, very cool Old School, and I only can say "I wish I was there!"

Best,
Jonathan

[MarkT]

Very nice! Looks like the line rubbed against the fish a lot. You may be lucky to have landed that fish.

[Mudman]

What an amazing trip!

[Lowprofile]

Low ,
You are living my dream!
Since you seem to be connected could you PM me info as regards to contacts for getting on the boat?
I have limited opportunities each year and I am planning 2016 and looking at a ton of different options.

Great report, very cool Old School, and I only can say "I wish I was there!"

Best,
Jonathan

if you have a facebook add me on it.

https://www.facebook.com/chris.madison.921

and also join the SRF page.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/saltryrodsfishing/

let me know when you'll be around and ill let you know which boat to get out on. the cost to get on one of the charters is $120 with gear and $140 if you need a rental rod. its also $40 for a trolling rental.

we've been getting a lot of mahi lately. upwards of 70 per boat and bringing in 30-50 fish. the wahoo are scattered but I've been able to pull atleast two every trip for my group or for myself. when I deck hand I always try to get at least one wahoo on deck to fill out the fish count and when I fish I put forth a little more effort. tuna have been spotty as well. down south is slow on the tuna bite. I haven't really seen any come in but were getting a few per angler up in the middle of the island. mostly schoolie size in the 8-15lb range but 20-40lb will become more common in the spring and we'll be able to target 60-100lb models. mostly yellowfin with big eye mixed in.

you can also charter a boat to do a trolling trip and we'll target marlin and big tuna. once we hit the mahi grounds its easy picking on top waters and bait.  top waters are a lot of fun and by late spring you have a good chance at a 50lb mahi. the wahoo will be a lot smaller then. all around 20 lbs but they are still fun on the jig and fresh wahoo sashimi is always delicious. Marlin are here year round but it takes more concentration to get them in the summer because they are in deeper water and hold deep with the tuna. so its live bait or troll a big spread.

[coastal_dan]

Great read and great report.  Thanks for sharing!