SKIPPER BRUCE TALKS TACKLE (082910)!!! During the last three weeks Shogun has completed a five-day trip (mostly for yellowtail at the islands), a seven-day down to Alijos Rocks and the remainder of the time in search of bluefin/yellowfin tuna for Monterey Bay Aquarium and TRCC (Tuna Research Conservation Center). I was able to fish with some new tackle, some not so new tackle, try different connections, and do a bunch of tinkering. In this article (my apologies because it bounces around on different subjects) I will be discussing some of my observations, some good, and let just say, some critical. Well, not too critical, I love this sport and want to help out the tackle shops and lure companies as much as the anglers. Accurate Reels & Handles Accurate's Jack Nilsen is one of the most generous men in sportfishing today. He contributed his Accurate reels along with a couple of Accurate reels borrowed from Bill Roecker of Fishingvideos.com to my cause of product research and review. Someone has to be the guinea pig! This gave me four primary outfits to use, all Seeker rods and Accurate reels. It was the bee's knee's, or at least I thought it was. The primary four: Hercules SHS 70M/Accurate 870 narrow; 65lb. solid spectra; four feet of 40-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon attached via FG knot Hercules SHS 60H/Accurate 500; 80lb. spectra; twenty feet of 50-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon Hercules SHS 60XH/Accurate 600 narrow; 80lb. spectra; twenty feet of 60-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon Super Seeker CJBF 60H/Accurate 600; 130lb. spectra; twenty feet of 80-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon I really can't say enough good things about this tackle. It's light, strong, good-looking and gives you a huge confidence boost. One thing I experienced with the Accurate reels is that I got to try three different handle/knob configurations. The 870 narrow came with the infamous basket knob, an Accurate exclusive. It's attractive to say the least, but in my opinion was the least comfortable of the three. I'm not saying it didn't work; it did great, landing those bluefin tuna of the summer. This knob spins the easiest. In fact, the new ones will go for up to a minute until they stop after an easy finger push. Next was the rubber knob. Most reel companies have some version of this handle in the lineup. It's very comfortable and my favorite to use. It fit my hands nicely, isn't too heavy and spins fairly easy. I had my doubts about the Accurate T-handle when I first started to use it last year. This is the one in anodized blue with Extreme engraved down the side. I was worried I wouldn't be able to wind fast enough or that the big handle would be unwieldy or unfriendly. Once I started to use it, all of these doubts were pushed aside and I actually began look forward to winding in fish with one of these bigger handles. They spin very freely, and of course fit nicely into your hand, ergonomically speaking. One thing I really enjoy about the Accurate is the length of the handle, Jack and sons don't mess around here; it's a beefy crank. You get a lot of leverage and torque when you turn this handle; fish come to the boat. This is a testament to how well the gears inside the reels mesh and how strong they're made. With all this leverage you are putting to the handle, it's the gears that are taking the abuse. Believe me, we learned this the hard way back when TLDs were all the rage and we started in with the aftermarket aluminum frames and bigger drag disks. What happened was we tore apart the guts. Accurates have guts and you won't be tearing them out, even with the big handles. Megabaits (Ed. Note: These are often generically termed "dart" jigs. As Bruce points out, Megabaits are no longer manufactured. However, Fisherman's Landing still sells the Lazer Minnow, the Braid jigs and the original Point Wilson darts.) During this year of tough offshore fishing, one technique that has been effective is casting small shiny jigs, in slang terms known as "Megabaits", into the froth of boiling tuna and albacore. Not all "Megabaits" are created equal. In fact, there is no such lure as Megabait being produced at the present. The closest jig resembling the former lure is made by P-line and is called a Lazer Minnow. Unfortunately the Lazer Minnow is not living up to the Megabaits of the past, it's construction has left a lot to be desired, for some reason they have decreased the gauge of the through wire running from the eyelet to the tail end and I have seen several now literally pull apart. Lazer Minnows come rigged with a treble hook; granted there are split rings that enable you to remove and replace the treble hook with a good stout single, such as the Mustad 94140 BLN size 7/0. You still have to do this yourself. My answer to all of this is to buy the Braid D-B jig instead. It comes in all those exciting colors everyone likes, already has a stout single hook and, get this, welded rings instead of split rings. Kudos to Braid for this one. As for casting these small lures we did better while using lighter line, such as a short top shot of 30-pound connected to 65-pound solid braid and a light jig rod seven or eight feet in length. This isn't the bomber kind of surface iron yellowtail fishing. Most casts are kept within 150 feet. Many times we could pull the boat right up next to boiling, jumping tuna, but if you wanted to get a bite you had to get the jig into the melee before the boat got close. Let the jigs sink into the froth, don't just wind them back fast. The bluefin and albacore like to pick off the dead or injured baitfish and these jigs do a great job of imitating just that. Mustad Sea Demon Hooks (Demon Offset Ringed, 3x strong, R39942BLN) These hooks were new to me. Not the Mustad name, obviously, but in past years circle hooks have been all about Owner Mutus here aboard Shogun. The Sea Demon circle has a wide, offset gap that makes it easy to pin on sardines, comes with an extremely sharp point, and you can get them with welded rings. We didn't have any problems with the hook straightening out, even in the small 2/0 size. They get a thumbs-up from me. It was nice to use a different, good quality hook and I look forward to more time on the water with them in the future. Braid Connections, Solid To Monofilament The spinning, jigging and popping guys are on the cutting edge right now, they are pushing the limits of their tackle, line, knots and lures. What can we (west coast long range fishermen) learn from some east coast guy catching 200 pound bluefin or that Japanese kid with a smile from ear to ear straining under the weight of his 150 pound dog tooth tuna? For one thing, solid braid and knots are in. It's the hip, happening thing, don't be afraid to spool up with solid braid, at least for your lighter outfits. What you do have to learn though are the connection knots. Muy importante! Mono to solid braid knots are extremely tough, hard to break and here is a strange fact, are stronger than braid-to-braid connection knots. I am talking about solid, not hollow braid. Hollow is totally different and a different article altogether. One thing that I have found is that some of these connections are hard to tie, with lots of effort for just a little more breaking strength, the FG (Sebile) and GT knot come to mind as two examples of hard to tie connections. If you are into knots like I am, go for it, there are some good tutorials on YouTube. More appropriate for the average LR angler are one of the knots discussed in the list below. Gone are the days of the Bimini to 20 turn Albright; now, that is cave man stuff! FG (Sebile) Strongest of all the knots due to the fact it's not a knot, but a trap. Difficult to tie, but it shoots through the guides during the cast, never have I had this knot hang up in a guide or on the spool. Truthfully, it's awesome. Improved Bristol (Worm) Knot Very strong knot, but tied with the two legs of a Bimini. The problem is the Bimini. Unlike monofilament, Bimini knots are not 100% strong in the super braids. Strange but true, this is something I found and was trying to get across to passengers ten years ago and has since been proven on line testing machines. Bob Sands Knot (Pena Knot) Go through the stopper knot and it's ten wraps up, ten down, back through the bottom, pull on the main line and you are good to go. It shoots through the guides and is strong, what more could you want? I see this as becoming the go-to knot for the west coast fisherman. 9 to 5 (Uni-to-Uni Knot) Great knot, some passengers prefer it over the Bob Sands. This was the original mono-to-braid connection as showed to me the first time by Russ Izor during a three-day trip back in my Royal Star days. Cheap To Expensive Braids I live by end-to-end splices. Love 'em. Hollow braid rocks. What doesn't rock is the price. It hurts to fill a reel with the premium stuff, but at the same time, have you ever tried to splice loosely woven super braids? To say it's difficult is an understatement, and I basically do it for a living. To solve these dilemmas I throw on most of a spool of a cheaper (in price) hollow braid, then for the last couple hundred feet I end-to-end splice in the good stuff, 12X or even better 16X. Wha-la! Now your reel is filled with hollow braid, but is still easy to splice in your top shots at a fraction of the cost. I may get into trouble for reveling such secrets, but hey, you got to give 'em something to talk about! Wax Wing/Sebile Magic Swimmer Have you seen these swim? They are incredible. In fact they may swim too good. One of the reasons a Salas 7X light is such a fish-catcher is because it doesn't swim perfectly. It kicks out, and that kick acts as a trigger. The new line of magic swimming baits literally swim perfectly. They are awesome to watch, and they do catch fish, not just anglers. What I am looking forward to is throwing these pups at wahoo later in the year. I don't know how many will come back in one piece, but it will sure be fun to watch! One more thing, don't forget to pick up the hottest 7x to come along in a while: the "Python." I know that they are being stocked at Fisherman's Landing tackle shop and here aboard the Shogun. Big Fish Happen, Bruce A. Smith