Hi guys, I'd like to start practicing this technique. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about it. I'd like some guidance on how to get started. First of all, my main target is small tuna weighing 20-70 pounds: bluefin tuna, albacore, and skipjack. I'd like to use my 50-pound tackle. I already have a complete rod and reel set, but I'd like to avoid heavier gear. One last thing: I don't have outriggers on my boat. If anyone can provide a bit of history on the origins of this fishing technique, I'd be very happy.
I have only used spreader vars for albaclee.
For albacore run your bars in the front of the second or third wake. Most of the boats I fished on did not have outrigers so we used 8' rods in rodholders on the side set at a bit less than a 45° angle to spread the bars out but also to keep the bars out of the water most of the time.
Non metallic bars work better than metallic ones, I have Archer Supper Bars as Fred was a friend and mentor but they are no longer available.
A quick word - don't underestimate the strain of towing spreader bars. Even small ones will require a pretty stiff rod and large ones are something serious.
I've been on a boat where both outriggers collapsed whilst pulling 36" titanium bars loaded with 15 big 15" bulb squid in rough seas for big bluefin - costly!
I've pulled similar, large Archer Superbars with fifteen 12" bulb squids from a rod tip, but needed a 130lb Penn Int II chair rod to take the strain at 8kn. Caught a spearfish with delusions of grandeur and a big appetite!
I have towed that same bar from the rodtip of a Penn Int II 6' Tuna Stick 2260ARA and a Tiagra 50W, but in calm seas and at very low (not much over walking) speed. Didn't get a strike, though the effect was amazing - just like a school of fish on the surface.
I guess I'm suggesting a bit of experimentation and trial before going all out.
If limiting yourself to smaller squids and little bars, the problems are much less and it is just a case of experimenting with the rigging (if setting up your own bars) and lure choices and then picking the speed and distance where the 'school effect' is maximised.
I think if you do a search for Archer Superbars you can find an old catalogue and that has a lot of snippets on alternative rigs.
Good luck!
https://www.radiolabs.com/downloads/SPREADER-BAR-CAT-08.pdf
This is what I meant - sorry I can't post a direct link.
Cheers
You can get by without outriggers, there's spreader bars that track to one side or the other. Very effective way to target tuna
I'm now determined to practice tuna fishing with spreader bars, without forgetting the cultural and technical background that has characterized my being a fisherman up to now. I have been practicing offshore trolling assiduously for many years, a discipline in which I have always tried to improve. Like all of you, I think, I have followed the great world masters of this discipline on an international scale, touching all the various continents of the globe.
After the death of some historical icons of this discipline, I think of the late captains Bart Miller, PeterB. Wright, Tred Barta... There's another man who, still alive, is always in my favorite reading list. The legendary Peter Pakula. One of the most legendary lure makers of all time, anyone familiar with Pakula will surely agree with my assessment.
In a web seminar I attended, Peter Pakula masterfully explained the concept of a lure's acoustic signature. The same seminar later spawned a specific article published in Marlin Magazine. Peter spent a lot of time on the concept of "acoustic hearing" in fish. Of course, I'm not going to go into detail about this whole story here; it would be too long and deserves a separate topic.
I told this to explain where my idea came from.
All the spreader bars I've seen on the market are almost all similar, at least in their part regarding the octopus skirts teaser. So I thought I'd modify the spreader bars to give them a more dramatic acoustic trail. How, you ask?
Thanks to Peter Pakula and his application of the "Venturi" effect. In physics, particularly fluid mechanics, the Venturi effect is the hydrodynamic phenomenon, discovered and studied by the Italian scientist and physicist Giovanni Battista Venturi, whereby the pressure of a fluid current increases as its velocity decreases, and vice versa. I then decided to customize the Sterling directional spreader bars with Pakula's octopus daisy skirts, which feature a 3D printed head with a Venturi effect. I want to discuss and share with you... because I firmly believe in the spirit that animates this forum.
The video of the assembly of these particular Octopus Skirts with Venturi Head:
Spreader bars completely aside, get some outriggers if you take your trolling seriously...
Putting those heads on multiple lures off a spreader bar is going to generate a lot of resistance compared to straight bulb squids.
As for sound, it is not clear to me that the sound from the lures is what is raising the fish. The boat is generating a lot more disruption. It seems more likely that the tuna are keying on the lures in the spreaders visually after being raised by the sound of the boat.
I have only been reading up on fish hearing very recently, but one interesting point is that sound in water retains its strength, bounces around a bit, and moves so fast that it is difficult to determine direction. Impossible for us humans. Fish species do have directional hearing to varying degrees, but the scientists are just starting to figure out how. Hearing a sound is not very useful unless you can also determine the direction. How accurate the directional hearing is in open water at distance is another interesting question.
On tuna specifically, they are able to hear in a fairly narrow frequency range that corresponds with what prey species generate, presumably when thrashing on the surface, but I am not sure on that. The sound has to be loud. The minimum threshold for bluefin is around 80db. I am not sure that a lure being dragged through the water is that loud...
One frequency range seems to be a communication channel, causing the tuna schools to move. Sudden changes in volume, frequency, or short loud bursts of sound usually scare them. That is probably why turning off your motor when approaching a school of tuna will often put them down.
While these top celebrity fishermen often have good advice, their explanations on the why part often mangle up or outright conflict with the science. I like to read their stuff, but always with a skeptical eye. YMMV.
-J
Quote from: jurelometer on July 23, 2025, 02:33:25 AMPutting those heads on multiple lures off a spreader bar is going to generate a lot of resistance compared to straight bulb squids.
As for sound, it is not clear to me that the sound from the lures is what is raising the fish. The boat is generating a lot more disruption. It seems more likely that the tuna are keying on the lures in the spreaders visually after being raised by the sound of the boat.
I have only been reading up on fish hearing very recently, but one interesting point is that sound in water retains its strength, bounces around a bit, and moves so fast that it is difficult to determine direction. Impossible for us humans. Fish species do have directional hearing to varying degrees, but the scientists are just starting to figure out how. Hearing a sound is not very useful unless you can also determine the direction. How accurate the directional hearing is in open water at distance is another interesting question.
On tuna specifically, they are able to hear in a fairly narrow frequency range that corresponds with what prey species generate, presumably when thrashing on the surface, but I am not sure on that. The sound has to be loud. The minimum threshold for bluefin is around 80db. I am not sure that a lure being dragged through the water is that loud...
One frequency range seems to be a communication channel, causing the tuna schools to move. Sudden changes in volume, frequency, or short loud bursts of sound usually scare them. That is probably why turning off your motor when approaching a school of tuna will often put them down.
While these top celebrity fishermen often have good advice, their explanations on the why part often mangle up or outright conflict with the science. I like to read their stuff, but always with a skeptical eye. YMMV.
-J
I'm off topic, anyway...
https://www.marlinmag.com/story/howto/billfish-hearing-science/?fbclid=IwY2xjawLte69leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHt8YvK1JSsSgfRfG--75pP8FBcRzRdsDtL3QJv1frsKaoFT5JSwk472NFAec_aem_XEofa6j5vfLparP0WsX2XQ
Quote from: jurelometer on July 23, 2025, 02:33:25 AMPutting those heads on multiple lures off a spreader bar is going to generate a lot of resistance compared to straight bulb squids.
Yes sir, this is something I'd like to discuss. It's my biggest uncertainty in this whole story. As usual, you prove yourself to be a capable and intelligent interlocutor. You always manage to help me with your writing and make me think. I'm grateful.
I remember long discussions on the old Marlinnut site regarding sound and whether it was important to angling for marlin. From my recollection, there were plenty of opinions but a lot less in the way of facts and data but it was fascinating to be involved and then to try out (inconclusively) some of the theories.
Not caught enough tuna to have an opinion :(
Tight lines!
Quote from: MexicanGulf on July 18, 2025, 09:23:59 AMIf anyone can provide a bit of history on the origins of this fishing technique,
To the best of my knowledge the spreader bar rig for trolling was first devised by N.E. U.S.A. fishermen some time in the early to mid 80s. You may want to ask forums based in those areas, eg. Stripers Online as they may have more certain info. Daisy chains, multiple lures/baits on the same leader, had been around for some time and the spreader bar would have been the natural next step in offering multiple lures. The first versions were metal, if my memory does not fail me, quite heavy stiff wire and were intended for the Giant Bluefin fishery slow trolling with large baits (dead mackerel and rubber squid). Later developments used lighter wire and plastic bars and lighter lower resistance baits (hollow plastic squid). These I believe are the versions more widely used today in the N.E. U.S.A. Canyons and other fisheries around the world.
That is what I know of the history of spreader bars, much more important is when, how, and whether to use them, all of which depends on the nature of your own fishery - species - size - behavior etc. I think few would disagree that a multiple lure presentation has appeal to tuna and other species, and can at times be highly effective. The flip side to that is that quite often, depending on what your fish are doing and what you must do, "LESS IS MORE", as one of the greats cited in your post #5 would say.
Good luck in your quest, I love the smaller tunas you are targeting - Beautiful - great to eat - and when caught on appropriate tackle they provide most of the fun of big tuna fishing with none of the pain.
So to sum up the bars were born from the experience of the fishermen of the Northeast ??
I'm intent on pursuing my pseudo-intuition; I'll do some testing and see the results. Rest assured, I'll provide a detailed report.
I'll probably have to get a new set of trolling rods, which are a lot stiffer than I originally thought.
This in the photo is the bar produced by Mr. Pakula, the quality of the skirt octopus is excellent. In this sector Pakula is truly a leader.He doesn't publicize this fishing concept very much, probably for IGFA ethical reasons.I would like to try mounting Pakula jet venturi heads on a sterling lures bar, Or chatter lures... I have the feeling they're of superior quality, especially because of the ability to change direction.I find it to be a superlative innovation.
Chatter lures spreader bar wingman
Sterling spreader bar tracker
I am very hesitant regarding the rod's blank suitable for this technique.
A small bird does not cause a lot of drag.
These guys from San Diego made me want to try this fishing technique, which is totally unknown in my area.