# Live baiting Q&A for tuna



## Yellow fever 23 (May 25, 2013)

We're watching the weather and planning a trip to either ram Powell or horn mountain, we have had decent success on the top water tuna bite and trolling naked ballyhoo for the morning bite. We were thinking about loading the live well with hard tails and trying our luck at live baiting, my questions are would we be better off sending them deep or free lining them off the out riggers. We've never done much live baiting, just looking to try something other than jerking a jig all night and learn something new.


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## c_stowers (Jan 10, 2012)

Out of Venice we've always done well bump trolling live baits. Sometimes it helps to put a small weight on while bump trolling to get the bait down a few hundred feet.


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## Yellow fever 23 (May 25, 2013)

When you put a weight on do you use a break a way weight or put it directly on the line above the leader?


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## Mikvi (Mar 11, 2008)

If you can get the fish in a good chum or chum slick, just freeline the livebait into the middle of the fish and hang on. We're heading out Thurs so I'll write a report.


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## panhandleslim (Jan 11, 2013)

Definitely get the hardtails. Try both deep and riggers. I would be more inclined to send them deep at night (but less than 600 ft.) and put them on the riggers in the morning. The riggers work early and on up in the day. You just have to be patient and it will happen. Don't keep jumping around from rig to rig. You can check a few rigs and see which is holding the most bait; then commit to that one. Set your night baits based on where you are already marking bait on the sounder. Let me know how it works out for you.


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## Mikvi (Mar 11, 2008)

Tim

Bring a bait rod for hardtails on Thursday. I have one on the boat.


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## c_stowers (Jan 10, 2012)

Yellow fever 23 said:


> When you put a weight on do you use a break a way weight or put it directly on the line above the leader?


We've used a breakaway weight so we can put the weight way away from the bait. I'd worry about the tuna seeing the weight if it were tied on to the end of a leader.


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## Yellow fever 23 (May 25, 2013)

What I had in mind was using our trolling gear with a 8-10 foot floro leader with a 5/0 or 6/0 circle hook with the weight rubberbanded to the swivel, I'm sure it's gonna take a lot lead, what would you Reccomend for a 1-2 pound hard tail or does it just depend on the current?


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## Captain Woody Woods (Oct 2, 2007)

panhandleslim said:


> Definitely get the hardtails. Try both deep and riggers. I would be more inclined to send them deep at night (but less than 600 ft.) and put them on the riggers in the morning. The riggers work early and on up in the day. You just have to be patient and it will happen. Don't keep jumping around from rig to rig. You can check a few rigs and see which is holding the most bait; then commit to that one. Set your night baits based on where you are already marking bait on the sounder. Let me know how it works out for you.


Time of day does not dictate whether or not we fish live baits deep or up top. When we pull up to a rig and see fish busting, it's a good time to live bait. When we pull up and mark fish 150' and higher, it's a good time to live bait. If you are marking fish, and occasionally catching one, there is almost no reason to ever leave the rig you are at. If you are marking fish but they are ignoring your live baits, there may be a chance you are doing something wrong (too heavy leader, pulling them too fast, etc), but if you are doing it right, and no hits, THEN try chunking to get some baits down to their level. For whatever reason, be it heat, boating pressure, bait down deep, the fish will hold down deep sometimes, but may still be actively feeding.

There is no difference in the above advice whether it is middle of the day or middle at night.


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## RollTider (Jun 30, 2011)

What pound leader do you use for live baiting? Do you always use fluorocarbon? Would 150-200lb mono work?


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## c_stowers (Jan 10, 2012)

Yellow fever 23 said:


> What I had in mind was using our trolling gear with a 8-10 foot floro leader with a 5/0 or 6/0 circle hook with the weight rubberbanded to the swivel, I'm sure it's gonna take a lot lead, what would you Reccomend for a 1-2 pound hard tail or does it just depend on the current?


It all depends on the current in my limitted experience. Rubber banding the weight to the swivel should work fine with an 8-10 ft leader.


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## Yellow fever 23 (May 25, 2013)

Thanks for all the input guys, we're gonna give it a shot this weekend, will post a report with the results.


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