line wt. for tuna,sailfish

[drobarge]

can anyone recomend what lb mono Line\leader to use for tuna and also sailfish. I have fished alot for salmon on my Catalina 27 so I know the basics but I'm doing an east coast delivery in a couple days and want to fish on the way.

[hphoen]

I tried 40 lb mono. Didn't cut it--actually the fish cut it. Lost a few big ones.

Moved up to 90 lb mono and have been very happy with it. Biggest fish was a 48" bull dolphin (didn't have a scale to weigh it). Hooked a blue marlin and got him up to the boat, where he threw the hook. Looked to be about 6'.

My boat rig is a short, stiff Penn Senator rod and a Shimano reel.

[billyruffn]

Re. line test -- the rule of thumb is the bigger the better. Remember, fishing from a sailboat isn't really fishing -- the object is to kill a fish so you can eat it. Heavy line helps. Best way to land them is to hook em and drag them til they're dead.

This is advice from a guy who manages about one fish per thousand lure miles, so take it for what it's worth.

[drobarge]

thanks guys, headed out on the atlantic for 10 days strait on saturday so I'll find out for sure then. "best thing to do is get her out on the ocean boss, if anythings gonna happen it's gonna happen out there"

[svsirius]

we use 80 lb spectra offshore on the theory that if it breaks that it's too big anyway

[TQA]

I used 100lbs monofilament with a wire leader.

Biggest fish we caught was a 50 -60 lb wahoo which wreaked havoc on our cockpit before we administered the "rum in the gills" coup de grace!

[SailSolomons]

Just got back from "The Islands" and was quite successful with a hand line of 100lbs with wire leader and rubber bungee attached to the stern cleat. Caught Mahi, Wahoo and Tuna, see my photos on galleries!! for proof!
I'ma complete amateur fisherman, but had a lot of fun catching and eating.
Keep it simple and don't expect too much.

good luck

[norsearayder]

80lb is good for tuna up to 250 or so after that 200 lb to land a giant> 81 inch or better

[Omatako]

Originally Posted by SailSolomons

quite successful with a hand line of 100lbs with wire leader and rubber bungee attached to the stern cleat.

Keep it simple and don't expect too much.

Exactly what we use - best solution.

[Joesaila]

Get as big a spool as is practical [80lb test w wire and swivels] and if you use wire leaders have gloves and don't try to boat a green fish. You should have a gaff too and a club.