Trolling is how most tuna trips start and how a lot of tuna get caught. A spread of bars, chains and lures dragged behind the boat mimics a panicked school of bait spread across the surface, covers enormous amounts of water, and pulls fish up to eat, which is exactly what you want when the ocean is big and the fish are scattered.
Setting the spread
A tuna spread is a staggered pattern of teasers and hook baits designed to look like a bait school:
- Spreader bars, multiple rigged squids or shads on a frame, are the workhorse teasers that create the illusion of a school.
- Daisy chains of squids or ballyhoo add movement and draw fish to the hook bait trailing behind.
- Skirted lures and rigged natural baits (ballyhoo) run at various distances and depths cover the column.
- Stagger the lines across the wake, some close, some way back, some down with weights or planers, to fish different depths and clear the props on a strike.
Tip Position lures on and just behind the wake pattern, tuna use the whitewater as cover to ambush bait. And fish the ocean, not just the spread: put the spread over temperature breaks, bird life, bait marks and structure, where the fish actually are.
The hookup
When a fish crashes the spread, the reel screams, that is the signal to clear the other lines, get the angler on the fish, and manage the boat. Trolling often finds a body of fish, so once you are hooked up or you raise fish, consider stopping to jig or pop the school you just located.
Gear
Trolling for tuna means stout conventional trolling outfits with high line capacity and strong drags, matched to sturdy rods and a spread of quality bars, chains and lures. Reliable Daiwa reels with smooth, powerful drags earn their place here, a tuna will test everything.