I am going on a 2 day tuna trip in August on the Ocean Odyssey. They say to use 80 lb line for trolling. I want to use my stuff. Paid for it, use it right? Well I have an Okuma Titus Gold 50W II speed and a Shimano Tiagra 30WLRS 2 speed reel. 80 lb line on the 30 is out of specs. could it be done or should I just spool up the Okumasince it would be within the specs?
You would be pushing your Shimano pretty hard with 80# but people get away with it -- and I suspect you chances of having a problem with your Shimano fishing 80 are less than having a problem fishing the Titus Gold...
A TI-30W LRS is fine for trolling 80# for albies and what not on a two day. A Penn 114H is the standard trolling reel on those kind of trips and the Tiagra is way more reel than a 6/0. 25# of drag at strike and 34# at max is more than you need for 80#. You're using 80# to make it easy to get the troll fish to the boat quickly to try and draw the school to the boat so the bait guys can get into them, not because you need 20#+ of drag to fight these fish.
Cool I will go with the 30W. It has 50 lb. PLine now but everybody says I need 80 lb. I was wondering about braid line. I could use a heavier line then. I was also told the fish would see it. I am really lost on how to rig this puppy. On the same note I know the feathers and plugs use like 100+ mono with 6 foot leaders so the fish don't bite through the line. If that is the case then braid should not matter since there is 6 feet of mono or do they still see the main line? Yeah this is my first real trip and I learn something on each one it seems. Suggestions are appreciated.
You're trolling, not bait fishing. You've got a feather back in the wake and it's a reaction bite so visibility of the main line isn't relevant. The fish look up and see the boat as a bait ball. They come up and see the jigs as stragglers and, with any luck, eat them.
On a 6/0 I use straight 80# mono. You could do the same or go with spectra topped with mono if you're looking to use it for bait too.
