Louie,

I did catch one blue fin on a Fish Trap 5" or 6" channel island chovie plastic one year fishing the gray light bite. I cast it out let it sink way down and then the retrive it was game on. But plastics arn't used much on the troll here on the sporties. Yeah you can fish plastics on the slide or what ever but what I'm asking is about troll blue fin on the west coast. Good stuff here guys keep it comming.

So Cal - maybe I should have been more specific - the bluefin jig strikes we've had have been outside of SCI from the 43 to just outside the Cortez Bank - we were not trolling for marlin - but we always run a spread of 5 with a marlin jig in the shotgun position - deep - this has paid off several times - a bird in front of it tends to cause enough water disruption to draw attention...

Maybe too much info - I'm glad my neighbor in the Tuna Club doesn't have a computer or read these boards - I'd be kicked out of the inner circle. You can learn a lot from fishing with with 75 year old guys with private boats...

rv

Thanks that does help. I have been known to drag a bird also when fishing tuna, sometimes inline with a jig or as just a teaser. You should see some of the looks on peoples faces when I break them out but after fishing many have asked what it was and how can they get one.

ive tried troll feathers on blue fin, nada. now im using small purple marauders, have not givin up yet. i do have better luck with blue and chrome jigs early in the gray.plastics are good also.goooo deep.

i would also like to add, back hook a mackarel and let it swim off, for those who fish bait.accidentaly hooked a 180 bigeye, broke off on gaff postion.

OOOOhhhh...Bluefin-Now that's what I'm talkin' about. Tis my favorite. Only 33 days until I go on the Producer.

Yeah Louie a heavy blue/chrome jig with a siwash hook in the early gray seems to be the ticket for me with blue fin and the iron. I believe a few larger models stay under the boat all night. Also if you can make a few Humboldt’s the night before in the 2 foot size I like to weigh then down and fish them in the gray also.

another buddy of mine was on the american angler yresterday, he hooked up 15 yellows between 15 and 20lbs, and one blue fin bout 22lbs.

what do you guys mean "early in the gray"?

the twilite befor dawn,the time when all the fish see is a black outline on a sky just getting grey befor the blue.

MIke

for those who wants details in fishing blue fin on a cattleboats. first off when the albacores hit the troll bait, the school of albies follow the hooked fish, the bluefine are in the deeper colum, so wait momentarly to watch everyone throw there bait at the stern, you grab your plastic or jig and go to the port or starburt side , depends on current, toss yours out as far as possible, let the current take your jig/plastic to the deep away from the albies, let out alot of line . usually the first ,2nd,third time you,ll hit the blues, if not ,wiat till the boat stops again and try this again.you,ll loose alot of time for the albacores but its worth it for the bluefins.my first night out on a two day last year was very succesful. pulled in 3 bluefins before the boat woke up and realized on what i was doing.

The Excel came in with Bluefin Monday after a 3 day Memorial Trip Skippered by Randy Toussaint!

The Condor also bagged 7 Bluefin while the Pacific Queen had one Bluefin on 2 1/2 day trips this last weekend.

I was on the Success over the weekend and we had 2 blues on the line with one getting in the boat. Came after a bonito strike on a trolled feather stopped the boat. Everyone started pitching baits and bam, 2 blues on within seconds of each other. Could see them boiling all around, just didn't want any of our baits. John pulled his in, we weighed it at 21 lbs, the other kid lost his due to rusty gaffing. Good trip overall.

time to use florocarbon.