Observations for success

[pjstevko]

In previous posts I've made about trip preparation and gear inspection it was stated they I'm obsessed. My response was "Success favors the prepared". While I believe this to be true there are other was to increase your chance of success.

Being observant on your trips can change your luck about as much as being overly prepared. Tuna fishing is not a spectator sport. You need to pay attention at all times.

Who here inspects their leaders after every fish? I try to remember. Who checks the assist cord on the hooks after landing a jig fish? I do, when I think about it.  Do you verify the first 400' of braid is in good shape and not fraying? Did the hook bend out on your last fish? What style jig is getting bit? What size hook is the hot stick using?

I re-learned a few of these lessons on my last trips.

The first night dropping jigs I wasn't getting bit but others were.  Curiously I asked what jigs they were using,  rip rollers were getting bit. I was using a short stubby jig so obviously I switched to a knife jig. I got bit the very next drop.  Don't keep dropping the same jig if you're not getting bit but others are. What worked last trip, last night or last year is not always gonna work.

While fishing yellowtail the next day I landed a small yt on a sardine and was anxious to get another bait in the water.  I grabbed a sardine, butt hooked it and walked to the rail but before I got there the bait wiggled off the hook. I grabbed another bait and got the same results. I figured the bait was old and soft so I switched to a nose hook and got back to fishing. A couple paddy's later I try butt hooking another bait but this one too wriggles off the hook. As pinning on yet another bait something catches my eye.... the barb on my hook was missing! Should have inspected my hook after that last fish....

Several nights later we dropping jigs at night and I'm hooked up to a nice sized model. 15 minutes later a nice 125# model is on the deck with the hooks perfectly in the corner of the mouth.  The deckhand spikes it and removes my jig. I get ready to get back in the water and after inspecting my jig I noticed something.... my hook was bent out! Added a fresh set of hooks and I was back fishing. 

Anyone else have examples like the?

[Vintage Offshore Tackle]

Great advice PJ, thank you!

[Keta]

Great advice. 

What brand of hook bent?  I use a much heavier hook when plus size BFT are in the area, see photo below.  have bent a 5/0 Owner Gorilla hook on what was most likely a large grouper.  I have also lost fish due to rings not being welded on 2 different brands of hook.

12/0 Owner Offshore Live Bait Hook.

[jurelometer]

Great advice. 

What brand of hook bent?  I use a much heavier hook when plus size BFT are in the area, see photo below.  have bent a 5/0 Owner Gorilla hook on what was most likely a large grouper.  I have also lost fish due to rings not being welded on 2 different brands of hook.

12/0 Owner Offshore Live Bait Hook.

Interesting.

Those are circle hooks on that Eddie bomb, right?

And when you say "rings not being welded", do you mean hooks that came ringed, but they forgot to weld some of the rings, or did the welds just fail, or something else?

-J

[pjstevko]

My guess on the bent hook was it occurred when the deckhand removed the hook with his plyers although I can't be certain. Another possibility is the hook point was trying to penetrate the boney area in the corner of the mouth.

But for piece of mind I'm going to stress test a couple of the hooks.

[Keta]

Those are circle hooks on that Eddie bomb, right?

And when you say "rings not being welded", do you mean hooks that came ringed, but they forgot to weld some of the rings, or did the welds just fail, or something else?

-J

Not a true "C" hooks but the points are bent in..."semi C hook"?  The unwelded rings were on Ringed Owner Flyliner hooks.  Not a failed weld, they were never welded.  I check every ring when tying now.

My guess on the bent hook was it occurred when the deckhand removed the hook with his plyers although I can't be certain.......

But for piece of mind I'm going to stress test a couple of the hooks.

I have seen that happen a few times.  Good idea to test your hooks.

I did this testing rings I soldered, a Owner hook bent at close to 100#.... far beyond what would ever be put on it fishing.  Now I skip the hook and just test the rings.

[Patudo]

I use a much heavier hook when plus size BFT are in the area, see photo below.

Hot damn.  That must be one hell of a bite where plus size BFT are hitting lead sinkers with circle hooks attached...

[Keta]

Hot damn.  That must be one hell of a bite where plus size BFT are hitting lead sinkers with circle hooks attached...

My last 3 cow BFT were caught of similarly rigged eddy bombs using the 9/0 and 12/0 Owner OSLB hooks.

[jurelometer]

I use a much heavier hook when plus size BFT are in the area, see photo below.

Hot damn.  That must be one hell of a bite where plus size BFT are hitting lead sinkers with circle hooks attached...

Despite all the claims out there of bluefin having excellent vision, they don't see very clearly if you are using human vision on land as a benchmark.

Without going into the details, the way that eyes work is that there is a tradeoff between sensitivity and acuity. The more you get of one, the less you get of the other.

A tuna that needs to find bait while on the move underwater (especially at night), and  catch that dinner with its mouth, will have vision that is optimized for sensitivity.  It can make out the size and general profile of the target, and if the profile is moving a bit, that is a pretty good indication that it is worth biting.

My hierarchy of requirements for a lure:  1 -ability to reach and stay in the feeding zone.  2 - right size, 3 -right profile, 4- right speed, 5-right action, 6- useful profile enhancement (light vs. dark coloration, flash, glow).

The Eddie Bomb  fits the bill nicely.  Some fancy jig that wobbles and flutters as you jig it is more likely to  be lifted out of the zone as you drift with the current.

———-

On hooks bending and testing: hooks  are strongest when you are pulling against the apex of the bend.  PJ's photo looks like the classic case of a hook that did not fully penetrate.

Testing the surviving hook against just tip penetration might be interesting (maybe using a semi-soft wood board like fir), except that it can be a dangerous test to execute safely.  That hook can rocket back toward the load when it straightens or breaks.

And I also think that double assist hook rigs with J-hooks might be more likely to get only partial penetration in situations where both hooks stick.

It might be worthwhile to observe if there are folk that are doing well with single assist hook rigs.  I am not a nighttime bluefin guy, but nearly all of my assist hook jigging is done with a single hook.  Tuna are generally one of the easier fish to stick when they bite a jig.  Never understood those guys that hang up to a half dozen hooks on their tuna jigs.  More is not necessarily better.

-J

[Keta]

Testing the surviving hook against just tip penetration might be interesting (maybe using a semi-soft wood board like fir), except that it can be a dangerous test to execute safely.  That hook can rocket back toward the load when it straightens or breaks.

I put a bath towel over what I am testing to prevent pain.

Most of my assist hooks are double and have not noticed a lack of penetration but I can see it as a possibility.  The Owner OSLB are very sharp and every BFT I have hooked with them had full penetration with both hooks.  However my drag is set at 28# with a supper short 5-6 foot  topshot, often 150# fluorocarbon but sometimes 200-300 pound mono.  On wahoo sharp single hooks ONLY.

Lately I have gone to Mustad 10024 Notorious UltraNor  and 35101UN Kaiju hooks when making assist hooks for all but BFT.