West Coast Tuna Fishing

Rod builders guide to a flawless finish!

2012-09-11T00:22:00.001-07:00

Great rod finish explained

"The most beautiful wrap job in the world will look like 3day old dogshit if it's under an ugly coat of finish". -My rod building mentor

I heard my mentor say that about 10 years ago and it really stuck with me. Although I heard the words, I still had MANY issues with my finish that I could not get ironed out. I was at a point where my finish jobs were on par with factory rods and I was content with that. Then the shit hit the fan when I started to read forums that some of the elite rod builders frequent and what I saw blew me away. Builders were churning out rods with finishes that looked like they were encased inside of crystal. I was floored.

This lead me to the pursuit of glass-like finishes. The builders on this site that had me going "WHAT ARE THEY DOING THAT I'M NOOOOT!?" (said in brad pitts voice from the movie Seven when he's screaming "whats in the boooox!?").

Below I will outline what I do to get a relatively flat, clean finish. Let me preface this withthe statement that there are a million ways to skin a cat and what you do may be different and you may have a much better finish than I do, but I hope that this can help some of the beginners.

Things you will need:
Rod Finish - I like Bullards DII Diamond. It is The best and most user friendly finish I have ever used. That's my experience with it and if you have a particular finish that you like, stick with it.

Color Preserver - I use and like good ol' FlexCoat. It looks like elmers glue and smells weird but it works great.

Brushes - I like the FlexCoat disposible brushes. I'm not going to clean a brush multiple times a day when working on rods. Use em and toss em. Also, this plays into the cross-contamination issue where something may get on a brush and affect your finish.

Rod dreyers - anything will work. I have a couple but I would throw the cutest kitten in the world off of a cliff for a 4 or 6 bay rod dryer. The more dryers you have, the better. (being broke sucks)

Rod building mixing cups - yes it helps to use rod building cups. Most plastic pieces are molded with silicone as the release agent. Rod building cups are made without silicone. As most of you know, silicone is the devil in terms of rod finish.

The most valuable piece of rod bulding equipment I own is not my renzetti rod lathe, it's my PacBay epoxy mixer. I love this little bugger because it introduces no bubbles into your finish. Also, I measure my finish, put it in the 2oz cup and then put it in the mixer. While it's mixing I do a once-over on the rod to make sure i dont have any dust bunnies on there and I set up my brushes and paper towels. It's a time saver.

An alcohol lamp

Epoxy syringes

A CLEAN working area to apply finish. It doesnt matter if your finish goes on beautifully if the surface of it looks like the top of your television set (not a single human has a dust-free television set).

The How-To

A good rod finish starts at how things hare handled from the get go. After your grips are on make sure the blank is clean. Use denatured alcohol as some rod blanks cannot withstand acetone (super seekers are one of them, ask me how I know ).

When wrapping the rod, handle the thread as little as possible.

Wash your hands every 30-45mins. Hand oils can and will cause fish-eyes.

Don't show the rod off to your buddies before it's done. Invariably they will have just eaten fried chicken and will finger fuck your guide wraps (again, ask me how i know)

Clean your thread tools. This means your thread clippers, razor blades and burnishing tool.

When measuring your epoxy, BE EXACT! I don't just go to the same mark on each syringe, I go to the same spot on the mark (ie: the top of the 3cc line). If you have a bubble in your syringe, that is empty space so it won't be equal to the other syringe if that one has no bubbles.

Don't be cheap with your rod finish, mix more than you think you need. Lets say for example you are off by just a little bit. You filled to the top of the 1cc line on your resin, and the bottom of the 1cc line on your hardener. Your finish may come out fine but i dont want to risk hours of work on a small, avoidable mistake. To combat this, mix a larger batch of epoxy. If you went to the top of the 3cc line with the resin and to the bottom of the 3cc line with the hardener, it won't affect anything because it is such a smallpercentage of the overall mixture (if mixing two 5gallon buckets of liquid together and being off by one gallon it would be a big deal whereas if you were mixing two olympic sized swimming pools together, 1gallon is negligible).

Set your rod up in your rod turning lathe. Some people use their dryer with a slip-clutch to turn the rod, but ive found that i can get smoother edges with the rod turning at a faster speed. Also, the way I apply finish, as you'll see, the rod isnt turning under power a whole lot.

Your first coat of epoxy should be nothing more than a thread sealer. I put this coat on very thin so that all I am doing is bonding everything in place.

Under power come to the edge of the wrap with your brush and start your lathe spinning. It is important that your rod is centered because if it is not your edge wont be straight.

Once you have the edge done, use HORIZONTAL brush strokes to apply finish the rest of the way. Once you have gotten to the other edge, spin the lathe under power again to get a nice clean edge.

Around the guide feet you'll notice that the epoxy will soak in to the threads and you'll see the threads continuing to show through the finish. Keep applying finish until this stops. You want the channel between the guide foot and the threads to be a solid block of epoxy.

After you have your finish applied, what i like to do is to go back to the first wrap I applied finish to and get the rod spinning under power. While it's spinning, take your alcohol lamp and heat up the epoxy. Don't over heat it. Having the rod spinning will help to prevent this and the spinning will assist in leveling the epoxy. Additionally, the heat will thin the epoxy allowing the small bubbles to escape leaving you with a clear finish.

Transfer the rod to your dryer.

I like to apply my subsequent coats within 48hrs of the previous coat. I feel that the finish layers will bond together rather than on top of each other if done this way.

The 2nd, 3rd and even 4th coat will go on the same way as your first. The only difference is that you should apply the finish more liberally. Make sure the edges of the guide feet are completely encased in finish. No air gaps = no water intrusion.

Again.... HORIZONTAL BRUSH STROKES

Trouble Shooting

My finish is still soft/tacky after 24+ hours, what do I do? I would suggest cutting it off and redoing the rod. It sucks but here is why i recommend it: epoxy is only as strong as what you bond it to. If you put the worlds strongest, eleventy-ton epoxy only on your masking tape bushings under the reel seat, the bond between your reel seat and the blank is only as strong as the masking tape. The same thing applies to rod finish.

I put the finish on, went inside and made a sammich, pooped, read the front page of the newspaper, and when I went back to check on the rod, I had a huge fisheye on my crosswrap! What do I do?. If you plan on putting additional finish coats on, dont worry about it. Just make sure to keep an eye on that area when you do apply your next coat. If it's your final coat, what works for me to get rid of them is this: take your alcohol lamp and warm the epoxy in your cup (without melting the cup), apply a drop of the thinned finish to the fish eye and then heat up the area around where you put the drop. This will thin the finish a bit so that the drop and the epoxy already on the wrap blend together. Also since the epoxy is already getting gummy, it will revert from this thinned state back to being thick before the contaminate can cause a fisheye.

After the finish has fully cured, i have a large, cured bubble that is protruding out from under one of the guide feet, what do I do? Take the tip of your razor blade/exacto knife and cut the top of the bubble off. The next coat of finish will flow inside this void and will be unnoticeable.

The finish over my crosswrap/tigerwrap/scales/etc is lumpy and uneven, what do I do? Get some fine-grit sandpaper and affix it to a sanding block. With the rod spinning in your rod lathe, sand down the high spots while making sure you don't sand down to the threads. Clean the area with acetone on a lint free, clean rag.

I hope this has helped at least one person (lol) and if you guys have any questions or would like to add something, feel free!!

United Composites CAJ601 Spinning vertical jigger

2012-09-11T00:17:00.002-07:00

So, long story long, a customer (someone who I can now call a friend) fell in love with my blue UC Zeus1 vertical jigging rod (conventional). He wanted me to build one just like it for him. He bought the blank and the reelseat and i was going to get the rest of the stuff. He calls me out of the blue and goes, "dude, i want your Zeus1. Will you trade me that rod for the CAJ601 blank and reelseat, plus an Accurate SR12 spinning reel?". I was all for it because Ive always wanted a high end spinner but never had the coin to blow on one. Here's the rod I built to match the reel. I wanted to try something I havent seen on a VJ rod which is a cord grip. I think it came out nice
Rod Specs:
United Composites CAJ601
6' (cut 3" off of the tip because it was twisted like motherfucker. Bent to the left, then to the right, then back to the left).
PE 3-5 75-225gram
Alps reel seat
Fuji Alconite K guides. 40, 25, 20, 16, 12, 10 tip (thanks mark from acidrod for gettin me the tip!)
Fuji rubber gimble (best invention since porn)

Custom Phenix PSW909H

2012-09-11T00:13:00.002-07:00

This rod has taken me FOREVER to build. Between school owning my soul, planning for my wedding as well as builds and repairs for other people I'm amazed I even got this rod done this year. Luckily I got it done before this Saturday 'cause I'm headin out to the Farralones to slay some rockfish and I will hopefully break this puppy in on a big ol' ling.

Anyway, here's the details:
Phenix Black Diamond PSW909H blank
9' 20-50#
Tigerwrap with 3 size A threads underneath (ncp 209, 221 and metallic red) with 3 threads on top, 2 sacrificed and a single 326 size A was left.
Spiral Wrapped Fuji SiC's.
NCP 209 underwrap, 221 in the middle, 326 over the top. 2 bands on the end of each guide wrap of 221 and 326, 7 wraps each.
Alps reel seat and gimbal

Also, I know my handwriting sucks but I cannot afford an ALPS printer

Custom Calstar 800ML

2012-09-11T00:10:00.002-07:00

Here's a Calstar 800ML I just got done twisting this up for the captain of The New Gravy out of Half Moon Bay. This is the first basket weave handle I've ever done and I definitely learned that I should do something to keep the cords that makeup the "basket" parallel with the blank. Other than that, I think this rod came out pretty nice. The colors match the boat pretty dead on and I think he'll get a lot of years out of this stick.

The Raiders!!! Custom MHX froggin rod

2012-09-11T00:08:00.002-07:00

I bet you said that in Chris Berman's voice Anyway, here's an MHX frog/topwater rod I made for the owner of SanJoseBass.com (a local bass fishing forum). All he said was "make it a heavy topwater rod, and make it Raider themed" and so out came the black and silver haha. Enjoy!

Custom Phenix PHD888MH

2012-09-11T00:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a Phenix PHD888MH I built for Alan Tani to give to his brother for his birthday. His brother is a Raiders fan so I whipped it up in black and silver. It's spiral wrapped with a 3 guide transition and 11 guides in all.

(Disclaimer: the shit on the finish isn't actually in the finish. After looking at the pictures I freaked out and ran out to check the rod; all is well and the dust was from the bush I laid the rod on).

Custom Calstar 900M

2012-09-11T00:00:00.002-07:00

Here's a 900M I made for my buddy whose online handle is mmasturgeon. He's a big San Jose Sharks fan as am I so it wasn't hard for both of us to decide to twist this up in SJ Sharks colors. It's acid wrapped with a teal, orange and white on the bottom and metallic teal over the top tiger wrap; and it has some sappy underwraps. Enjoy!

United Composites Zeus 1

2012-09-10T23:59:00.001-07:00

Here's a united composites Zeus 1 I built to match an accurate 400N. Fuji SiC guides and reel sear.

Custom Calstar 270-8

2012-09-10T23:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a 270-8 i built for one of my really good friends Nick. He's a groomsman in my wedding coming up in about 3 weeks and i figured this would make a better gift than an engraved bracelet or something. Plus now i wont have to loan him a setup when we go saltwater fishin (he's a bass guy)

Phenix Titan vertical jigger

2012-09-10T23:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a phenix vertical jigger i built for my buddy Orlando. We wrapped it up in SJ sharks colors and i i think it came out great.
Alconite K guides
Fuji seat

And a happy customer:

Albacore fishing, West Coast Partyboat style!!

2012-09-05T02:06:00.001-07:00

The Albacore tuna, Thunnus Alalunga, is an amazing fish. Not regarded for it's fighting capabilities when compared to some of the other tunas (bluefin, yellowfin, big eye, etc), but what they lack in fighting ability they certainly make up for it with their WFO bites, their vast range, and when caught on the proper tackle they do put up quite a tussle. On the west coast of the United States, Albacore can be found from below the Mexico/US border all the way up to Canada and Alaska during El Nino years. Typically their northern run ends at Washington where they turn west an head back towards Japan.

An Albacore that fell to a pink/white trolling jig

Party/charter boat Albacore fishing

Partyboat fishing for albacore is a much more fun experience than catching them on private boats in my opinion. The reason for this is that you are able to catch them with a wider variety of techniques than you are able to on a private boat. What the partyboats have that the private guys do not, is a huge live-bait capacity which allows the crew to continuously chum to keep the school around the boat for long periods of time. Yes one is able to catch Albacore on live-bait from a private boat but it is damn near impossible to hold the school around the boat for extended periods of time.

Below I will outline the tackle required for this type of fishing as well as how to rig each setup.

The Kahuna out of Moss Landing, CA.

Trolling:

Generally speaking, 50# is the standard for northern California party boats. Some guys go heavier but most boats will not let you go lighter (there is a reason for this which will become evident in a bit). The Long Range fleet out of San Diego usually trolls with 80#+ as there is more of a chance of hooking a stray bluefin/yellowfin/carp (marlin). The theory about using heavy tackle for trolling goes something like this: the hooked troll fish gets winched to the boat with the heavy tackle; the school then follows this fish because they believe he has found food, when they follow him towards the boat the live chum will then entice the school of fish to stay with the boat.

Calstar 765L

Good rod choices include rods from Calstar, Phenix, Seeker and a few others. There are plenty of companies out there who produce rods that will certainly do the job (hell, more albacore have probably been landed on uglystiks than any other rod) but it certainly has it's advantages to have a quality rod. The main difference in quality rods vs bargain is going to be specifically designed actions and the quality of components that adorn the rod. Personally, I stay away from roller guides because it is not necessary for these fish and it is nice to not have to maintain them. The level of inserts available for today's rods are more than sufficient. Popular rod models include the Calstar 655H which is rated 30-80# and is 6'6". Another great Calstar rod is the Grafighter 765L. Anything that is from the above companies, is 6'-6'6" and carries a 30-80# rating will be perfect for partyboat Albacore trolling.

Accurate ATD Two-Speed reel

Reel choices are very dependent on your budget. The Penn 114H is an excellent entry level reel. This coupled with a Calstar glass rod and straight 50#-60# line will work just fine. Other reels that are popular include:

Shimano: TLD20, TLD25, TLD20II, TLD30II, Talica 12 and 16 as well as the 12II and 16II, and the Tiagra 16, 20, 30, and 30WLRS

Penn: 114H, 114HW, International 12, 16, 20, 30, or 30W. Also the Graph-Lite 20 and 30.

Accurate: ATD12, ATD20, BX2 30N, BX2 30 or the Dawg versions of these BX2 reels.

Okuma: This company has been the red-headed step child of the tackle industry for as long as I can remember. Recently they began working with Tiburon Engineering out of southern California and since that collaboration, their reels have become some of the best out there. Models that I would recommend are: Makaira 10IISEa and 15IISEa. The special edition reels have a few improvements that greatly improve on the original design. Some of these improvements are: open bearings that are packed with grease, an over-sized handle for more comfort, TSI301 lubricant on the spool bearings, and a frame that was machined out in such a way as to allow for the reel to be completely loaded with line.

Tiburon: Their SST smart-shift reels are an amazing product. You can pre-set the amount of pressure exerted on the handle required to automatically shift the reel into low gear. When the pressure lets up, the reel automatically shifts back into high gear. This allows you to always be in the proper gear as well as making it mindless to maintain pressure on the fish.

Avet: Pro EX30/2 and the HX/2

Daiwa: Saltist lever drag

Line:

This is truly a personal preference. I prefer Berkley Big-Game as well as Izorline. I run about 50yards of either one of those brands of line over Jerry Brown/Izorline/PowerPro spectra. The reason I choose those two brands of monofiliment is because of consistency, cost and availability.

Zucchini SevenStrand clone

Lures:

The Zuker Zucchini Broom Tail is without a doubt my all time favorite trolling jig. I always have one rigged.
Zuker: Zucchini Broom Tail, Jerry Garcia broom tail, pink/white feather, root beer feather, Mexican Flag feather.

Sevenstrand zucchini clone, Jerry Garcia clone, mexican flag, Mean Joe Green.

Cedar Plugs: you only need the medium size in the natural, unpainted pattern.

Cedar Plug

Hex/jet-heads: same color patterns as the clones/feathers.

Rig these up with 100-150# 5' leaders with 7/0 Mustad 7982 double tuna hooks. Clip this leader onto a Sampo ball-bearing snap swivel that is tied onto the end of your line.

Mustad 7982 Double Tuna Hook

Choosing what type of lure to troll is a question I get quite often. When choosing a lure, look at how much sun light you have, how rough the water is and ask the crew what has been working lately. If it's grey-light to early morning or if it is very overcast and/or foggy, I will choose a darker lure. If it is bright out with no cloud cover, I will run a brighter color. The reason for this is that with little light, a darker colored lure is going to be more opaque than a lighter lure and an opaque lure is going to make a better silhouette against a dark sky. After you determine what color you are going to run, look at the water conditions. The rougher the weather, the heavier the lure you will want to use. Zukers are on the lighter side whereas the clones and cedar plugs are heavier.

There are additional lures that you can troll, such as Rapala's, Braid runners, and other fish imitators. Most partyboats won't let you use these types of lures as they have a propensity to tangle more often. These lures are an excellent addition to a private boater's spread though.

Albacore Candy aka Anchovies

Live bait:

Live bait fishing for any type of tuna is one of my favorite ways to catch them. If you were to choose only one setup for live baiting albacore, I would choose a 7-8' rod which is rated for 25# line. Something like a Calstar 700L or 800L, SuperSeeker 70L, or if you we're to choose glass, a 270 or 270-8 from either of those companies will fit the bill perfectly.

There are tons of reels you can choose from for live bait fishing albacore. Whether or not you use spectra backing will determine what size reel you choose. You will want 300yards of line in any combination of straight mono, spectra/topshot, or spectra/leader. If you load an Accurate 400N with 300yards of 40# braid and top the reel off with 50yards of 25# monofilament, you are in good shape. Below I will break down the two camps' (straight mono vs. spectra backing) reel choices.

Spectra backed reels:

Accurate: 400N, 400, 500NN, 500N

Penn: 975 International CS, Fathom 15 and 25, Squall 15

Okuma: Andros 5ii

Avet: SX, MXL, MXJ, MXL

Shimano: Tranx, Trinidad 12, 14, 16N, Calcutta 400S, Talica 8

Straight Monofilament

Accurate 500N, 500

Penn: 500jigmaster, Fathom 25

Avet: MXL, JX

Shimano: TLD 15, TLD Star 15/30 or 20/40, Talica 10 or 12, Calcutta 700S, Trinidad 16 or 20

There are other reels from these and other manufactures that will work. I listed these reels because with my 20years of offshore fishing and 15 years of tackle shop experience, these reels consistently perform and I have heard first hand the successes and failures of the various reels available. Long-story short, other reels will work, this is what I recommend.

Another note about these reels: you may have noticed that I did not list the 2speed versions of these reels (sans the Okuma Andros, as that is only available in a 2speed configuration). The reason I choose one speeds is that with the lower drag settings used with lines such as 25#, you should never have a time where you cannot turn the handle. If you are a little older, or if you take your kids fishing, you might want to look into the 2speed versions.

If you pick two setups (one trolling, one live bait) from the above recommendations, you will be set for albacore fishing. With that being said, I usually bring 5 or 6 setups on an albacore trip. I don't do this to show off my tackle collection, there is actually some sound logic behind it. Here are the additional outfits that I bring along

20# live bait setup: This finesse live bait rig can be essential to getting bit if you are using small baits, or if you're fishing a plunk (where the tuna hang away from the boat and won't fully commit). My rod choice for this is a Calstar GX8, but there are plenty of rods from both Calstar and Seeker that will fit the bill. Reel choices should include reels that are similar in size to the Accurate 400N, Shimano Trinidad 12 or 14, and the Avet SX.

Another 25# live bait setup: This is essentially a clone of your other 25# live bait rig. Having this setup ready to go can be a game changer for you. Instead of taking the time to re-rig after you land a fish, just put the rod aside and grab your cloned setup and get back in the water. Additionally, you will get tangled and/or sawed off during a battle with one of these fish if the bite is good. It happens. Being able to wait until the next troll rotation to re-rig that setup is a very nice convenience.

30# Slide rig: Fishing the slide is a way to add a few more albacore to your daily tally. The slide is the magical period from the moment a troll rod's clicker starts to scream to the boat coming to a halt. The moment you hear a clicker start to go, toss out a swim bait away from the boat about 20' and let the lure slide back about 50'. Put your reel in gear and hold on as the boat's momentum trolls your swim bait along. At this point the boat will still be slowing down and if the troll fish is being winched in, there is a great chance that an albacore will find your swim bait as it starts to sink. If you don't get bit, wind the swim bait back in at a steady, but quick pace. Don't burn it back in, just reel it back steadily and quickly.

Rod choices for this technique is something in the 8-9' range. I prefer a longer rod because the #1 way to piss off a deckhand is to tangle the troll lines with your slide lure. The longer length allows me to stay out of the way of the trollers but lets me move my line over them with ease if need be. Another advantage of a longer rod is that generally speaking, the action of the rod is going to be a bit more moderate/parabolic. A fast action rod can pull the swim bait away from the fish on a strike before they get it fully their mouth. I really like the Calstar 800 and 900M, the SuperSeeker S 36-8 and SS890-9.

As for reels, I like and use the Trinidad 16N from Shimano. An Avet JX or an Accurate 500N are also great choices for this application. On the lower end of the price spectrum, nothing beats a TLD Star 15/30 for the money ($100).

40# Iron: Fishing for albacore with an iron is almost a lost art. Not too many people do it, but it can be extremely effective. One of the most epic, WFO bites I ever experienced was out of Morro Bay where I put 14 albacore on the deck, all on iron, before 8am. I used a Calstar 800H rod that I built for this application for many years. When I built the rod I cut 3" off of the butt and 3" off of the tip. This 7'6" rod was perfect for me at the time.


My Vertical Jigging setup. Accurate SR12 with a United Composites	CAJ601

I have since adopted the Japanese style of vertical jigging which has proven to be much more effective and WAY more comfortable to fish. I use a spinning reel for this but a conventional setup will do the job just the same (personal preference). If you are to use a spinning setup, be prepared to drop some coin on a high-end reel. $600 is really the starting point on reels (yes a more inexpensive reel will work, but if you want to do it right, that is what you will have to spend).

Conventional Reel Choices: Accurate 500XN and 600XN, Jigging Master PE4, Daiwa Saltiga 20, Shimano Trinidad 20.

Spinning Reel Choices: Shimano Stella 10000 and 12000, Accurate SR 12 and SR20, Daiwa Saltiga 4500H and Dogfight, and the ZeeBass series of reels.

Rods: Rods for this type of fishing are rated on a PE line rating system and specified gram weights for the lures to match with the rod. The PE line rating is based on diameter and not breaking strength. If you multiply the PE number by 10, it will get you in the ballpark of it's breaking strength. You will also want a rod that can work a 75-125gram jig. Something 5'2" - 6', with a PE rating of 3-5 will be ideal for jigging up some albacore. Rod brands to look at (both spinning and conventional): Spinal, Synit, Phenix Titan, United Composites, Jaws, Hots, Carpenter, Black Hole, OTI. I am personally a huge fan of OTI and United Composites. The other rods are also exceptional, but they carry huge price tags.

In the future I will be writing a post delving deeper into vertical jigging, it's purposes, applications, and tackle. Keep an eye out for that post if this style of fishing intrigues you.

If you were to use a "normal" fishing rod for this application, I would seriously consider a Calstar 700MH, or a SuperSeeker 6470.

Terminal Tackle:

Trolling Lures: at least two trolling jigs; one light and one dark. One cedar plug. This is the minimum. If you get addicted like I am, you will end up with 50+ trolling jigs (but only use a handful haha).

Live bait hooks: I prefer ringed hooks because it allows me to tie my favorite knot (San Diego Jam) while still maintaining a free swinging hook. This provides a much more natural presentation. My preferred hook is the Owner Flyliner and I carry every hook size from #6 to 3/0. The size of the bait that you have will determine what size hook you use. Other hooks that are popular - Mustad 94150, EagleClaw L118, and Gamakatsu LiveBait hooks. I do not like circle hooks for albacore, this is my opinion but I just did not get the same hookup ratio that I do with J hooks.

Flourocarbon: Buy it. Use it. Love it. Let's face it, tuna fishing is not cheap. We go far offshore in search of these longfins, why not give ourselves every advantage we can. A typical way to rig it up is to tie a small swivel or welded ring at the end of your monofilament an add a 5' section of flourocarbon to which your hook attaches to. The way I rig it up is I use 15-20' of flourocarbon tied directly to my spectra backing for live bait; 10' tied directly to my backing on my slide rod, 5' tied directly to my backing on my iron setup. I do not use flourocarbon for my trolling rig as I have never seen it be necessary. I feel there is too much prop-wash for the tuna to be able to see the line.

Another advantage of flourocarbon is it's superior abrasion resistance. Protecting yourself from cutoffs from the tuna's teeth, the hull of the boat, and other anglers is paramount in this style of fishing.

Rubber-core/Split-shot: being able to add a little weight to your live bait rig can make you the top stick on the boat if you're in a plunk or if the bait does not want to swim.

Swim baits: 2oz triangular lead heads mated to 5" swim baits in the "Channel Island Chovy" color

Channel Island Chovy Swimbait

Irons: For albacore, the only iron I use these days is the PLine Laser Minnows which is essentially a copy of the old Megabait irons. I usually use the Green Mackerel color pattern in the 3-5oz size (depending on the swell and depth of the tuna). I change out the split rings to Owner Hyper-Wires and replace the treble hook with a 5/0 Mustad 9510XXS Siwash hook. If you prefer an assist rig, use the Owner 5/0-Medium length hooks.

Megabait Iron with the Mustad 9510xxs hook.

Flex-wrap: Finger tape to protect your digits.

Comfortable Rubber boots: I prefer Xtratuffs.

Outerwear: Albacore fishing can be both cold and bloody. I usually wear a Grundens slicker set to keep me dry and warm

Pliers: bring two pair in case one goes into the drink.

Extra set of clothes: It is really nice to change out of your fishing clothes into some shorts and flip flops after a hard day of fishing.

Extra ball cap: The albacore grounds can get really windy and I've seen many hats get blown into the ocean.

A cooler: You will want a good sized cooler to transport your catch home.

Tackle bag: I like the soft tackle bags that hold the Plano boxes.

Small tool kit: Should consist an assortment of screwdrivers and wrenches to work on your reels should something go wrong out on the water. A Crimper to make your trolling leaders. Loop protectors for your crimped loops. Crimps that match whatever size leader you choose for your trolling leaders. Also, carry a variety of replacement rod tips, tip cement and a lighter. Tuna fishing can get chaotic and being able to repair a broken rod tip while out on the water can keep you in the game.

There you have it folks! This is the intro into the tackle needed for Albacore fishing aboard party boats out here on the west coast. Keep an eye open for more posts about the actual techniques used to catch albacore, vertical jigging, Long Range fishing, private boat fishing and much, much more!