What lures/baits are you always gonna be pulling in your spread?
Say I want to fish 6 rods, what should I tie on? What would be a good low budget spread to pull?
Going to be trolling in the keys for blackfin and mahi and need to get my shopping list together.
Thanks!
Any small tuna feathers for blackfin as well as mahi. Small chugger heads. Naked baits. nothing elaborate
Grady White Marlin 30 w/250’s. Sea-Breeze Marina
Depends on what your target species is, but for a good all around bait, you can’t go wrong with sea witches. They are cheap (even cheaper if you tie them yourself) and everything will eat them.
“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations,neither are you here to live up to mine” Peter Tosh - I Am That I Am
Gonna be in the keys in December so want to focus on wahoo, blackfins and sails
Sea witches would be a great, cheap choice for any of those three.
“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations,neither are you here to live up to mine” Peter Tosh - I Am That I Am
I like ballyhoo with Ilander Sea Stars or Aliens (C&H I believe). Billy bait turbo slammers are great for everything in the Keys as well. I have caught everything except marlin on the turbo slammers but I know folks who have.
Small chugger heads work fine for tuna and mahi down there.
Good luck.
cedar plugs work great
yo zuri bonita in the prop wash too for wahoo
we mainly fish sea witches but those lures have produced well at times. hope that helps
“mr keys”
Sea witches with a rigged ballyhoo?
yup sea witch and a small ballyhoo. fished off the long riggers is best for us usually
“mr keys”
Circle rig naked ballyhoo in flats and out riggers. If your not familiar with circle rigs get ready to miss some fish. You have to drop back with them with a hair trigger drag set. Very simple rig and looks very natural for your sails especially. Cedar plug WAY back not associated with the boat for tuna or wahoo. Then just drop you any wahoo lure out the back on a bent butt about 25 feet down for wahoo or dolphin. It’s not really about what your dragging it’s getting there attention. Your boat is your biggest teaser.
266 sailfish twin 200 hpdi
They also sell these little black worms believe it or not that look like something you would bass fish with that are VERY productive for the tuna. I bought them in Florida actually cause a man told me to try it at a tackle shop and it worked for tuna and dolphin. I have a video I posted earlier this year on here from Marathon Florida. You can see what I’m talking about in the video. No ballyhoo needed with them and when you drop back from the hit the tail naturally wiggles while it’s diving down during drop back. You can run 4 of them at the same time unlike a cedar plug cause they dart around.
266 sailfish twin 200 hpdi
What are those worms called?
Little black worms are the ticket for black fin down there. Slow troll. The are replicating a sand eel. Savage makes sand eels with a lead head.
If you really want to catch blackfin I#65039; would load the livewell with pilchards and go to the hump. Get there early and drift while live chumming. Then come back to the ledge for wahoo or sailfish. From the ledge to 250’ of water.
Black worms on the humps is the best and easiest way to load up on blackfin in the Keys. Get there very early because it gets crowded quick. Guys in Fl do things so much easier than we do. Usually pulling 2-3 lines and switching back and forth from worms to little chuggers. Sailfish are as easy as free lining pilchards on spinning reels in the 8000 range. If you see tuna busting you can also toss a handful of pilchards out and free line baits behind them.
I have never not caught something on a cedar plug. Always have one out in the spread.
Fountain 32CC with that Verado power
I’ve seen 18 wahoo caught in one day out of Charleston. Most of them by cedar plugs on the out riggers believe it or not. They were hitting them just as much as the tuna.
266 sailfish twin 200 hpdi
I am starting to to think it might pay to try one of everything on the 6 I pull. That way I find out what they are biting that day. Truly seems different each day. Different color, different size, depth… take your pick.
World Cat 266SC
Scout 15.5
Those black worms are called Gillie worms. Its like some well kept secret…