Tuna Jigging Rod and Reel

[Bucktail]

Capt. Gatley (or anyone else who does the tuna jigging thing).

I have a Shimano Torium 16 loaded with 50# Sufix braid.  It is matched up to a 6'3" Trevala F medium action rod rated for 30-80 lb. line and 75-200 gram jigs.  I mostly use it for stripers and bluefish.  I have also taken it down to Florida where I caught kings on it as well.

My question is:

Is this outfit sufficient to jig tuna with?  Or will Charlie and his friends laugh their fins off at me?

Thanks,
Bob

[IrishAyes]

Ok, let me chime in and be rude.

Bob. get your butt out fishing instead of working and find out first hand if it will work or not. 

Just busting them on ya buddy. Let me know when you can get out and we can try that and any of your other five rods you bring. 

If someone should recommend an outfit for you I just might have to get one too. I am also a novice at the offshore game and would like to learn a whole lot more. 

[Hotrod]

 

[Hotrod]

   A new ---------..

[Bucktail]

Ok, let me chime in and be rude.

Bob. get your butt out fishing instead of working and find out first hand if it will work or not. 

Just busting them on ya buddy. Let me know when you can get out and we can try that and any of your other five rods you bring. 

  

[Capt. Joe G]

Plenty of rod for the inshore bite.. if you step offshore you may wanna beef it up a little..I know guys using the same set up for bass jigging fish up to 50 to 70lbs.. Hell I'm using a short Chaos rod (15-30)with a MXL 5.8 with 65lb power pro.. I'm having ablast with skippy, Albies ,, yellows , and some bing ass sharks..

and as Irish ayes says screw thinking about it go trying!!

Capt. Joe G

[Capt. Joe G]

my little chaos rod and MXL over my shoulder

[Capt. Carl]

 

[Capt. Chris Gatley]

Sorry Guys- I am away with my family but meeting deadlines today for ESPN and the Fisherman.  Hotrod informed me on this topic so at least wanted to get back to folks.  First, noone should think they are rude. at least I think we are all here to learn.  anyway, like Rich said, the torium would work but not the best choice.

first look at your budget.  Personally, i would us ethe torium and the F Series rod.  If it fails, go back to the drawing board knowing you took the paper knife to the gun fight.  I say invest in your REEL then your rod.  Personally, I like the Trinidad reels the best for inshore tuna.  well, actaully I like the torsa the best but that is 700-800 bucks.   If in the canyons (and inshore), the 30 or 40N trinidad is fine.  if inshore like mud hole, then the 16 or 20 size is great.

If I recall properly, the torium reel has a max drag at the low 20's but it is not adequate enough for 100 pound fish.  Maybe it'll handle one or two but not day in and day out.  The Trindad max if I recall is around 33 pounds. 

When it comes to rods for our north jersey blueifn and yellowfin fishery, I really think the F Series 6'3" rod is the best rod there.  That medium is a very close second.  It allow sthe jig to swim the BEST out of all the other rods keeping in mind that we are using jigs ranging from 90-168 grams.

50 pound braid is fine.  if you re-spool go with 65.  it is a bit thicker and less susceptible to digging in under extreme tension. You may never have a problem though with that 50.  For tuna fishing, I just don't take a chance with thinner diameter braids.

That is my input.  I am back tomorrow and fishing tuesday for tuna if the weather allows.  If you have questions, definately let me know.  I will help anyway I can.

Thanks and Happy Labor Day!
Chris

[Bucktail]

...I really think the F Series 6'3" rod is the best rod there.  That medium is a very close second. 

My medium is 6'3".  Do you mean the Medium Heavy 6'3" is the best choice?

[Hotrod]

Going to pick up the Torium 30. was going to match it with the TVC60H. ( Shimano recommends it)  Should I upgrade to the f series.. and if so what action? and size.. the 6'3?

the TFS63M  or the TFS63MH

This will be mostly inshore..


FYI  This is a great topic. I did change the title.. this is why you see my edit in your posts..

[Capt. Chris Gatley]

Hotrod-

go with the F series 6'3" MH as I feel that is the best.  The 6'0 heavy is fine for too but me and my customers like the 6'3MH the best.  That goes for the Jenny Lee crew too.

Bucktail.  The 6'3 M is good rod but the MH is best for tuna around here as we use 90-135 gram jigs most and on occassions use 168 gram jigs.

that rod model is TFC-63mh

The model number above means: TFC is Trevala F conventional.

The TFS you listed is the Trevala F Spin.

does that help?

[Hotrod]

  Yes it does. It helps me spend more Money 

Great Info Capt Chris..

Thank You.

[Loneshark]

Well I guess I'll throw in my $0.02 lol
I build my own rods, so this is just what i have used now and in the past.
In the past, I have used A Calstar 700h with a
TI,16. yes the reel is on the heavy side and can wear you out pretty fast.I have tried all the Shimano star drag reels and found that they are ok if you don't catch a lot of fish,other wise you have to pull a lot of maint. on them, because they will fail with out care.
Now I use a Calstar 700xh with a Daiwa Saltiga
40 with 65lb JB hollow and 50' piece of 80lb Jinkai spliced in.This setup is light and can handle big tuna,I have caught BFT up to 250lbs on this setup. For inshore tuna I use the 700h
with the same reel filled with 50lb pp and a small leader of 60lb Fluro.
All the other setups here are ok, but if you tie into a big one like I did a few years ago you will be glad you had a little bigger outfit
and a better chance of landing that big one.
PIC of my 250lb BFT caught on the Voyager 2003
Standing next to me is ED Palmer who is 6'8" I'm 6'2, just to give you something to compare to.This fish was caught using a Calstar 700h with an AVET 3/0 and 80lb jinkai.Fish took 35 mins. to land.

[Hotrod]

My New Rig.. The Shimano Trevala TFC-63mh with the Avet LX 6.0:1.

[Pfishingruven]

Really nice setup!

 

[Bucktail]

Nice rig!  Good luck with it!

Oh yeah...  and rinse it off every now and then!

[Hotrod]

lol  She sits right here on top of one of mt Computer 

[IrishAyes]

WOW, that set up actually saw water!!!! 

[ped579]

Nice set up Rod, good luck with it.