Start Up Gear

[DaBigOno]

how much money you GET?!

[Tag n Release]

Originally Posted by DaBigOno

how much money you GET?!

I use the money I used to spend on beer and cigarettes to buy good fishing gear these days!

[Hinalea]

Originally Posted by OSGF

Any recommendations on the minimum gear needed for trolling? I see reels on Craigslist all the time, but I have no idea what I need. I usually dive the reef, but I would like to start trolling a little for shibis, aku, mahi, onos, etc.

Minimum gear for trolling... the most minimumist I can think of for trolling on your 14' ivingston is handline. Cheap, efficient, and effective. Then if you and your boat can get on the fish, then upgrade to some rods and reels if you like start spending some money. If you like rod and reel action from the get go, I would go with new/newer shimano TLD's. Cheaper than the golds, but still get nice feel and performance and capable for what you like catch. Main thing, wash, lube, and take care of your stuff, then you can get decent money if you want to sell them and upgrade to more pricey stuffs. I would recommend staying away from the 9/0 to 14/0 penns if you can afford to. They usually have pretty junk drag and slow gear ratios compared to the more modern outfits. I've never fished a Penn senator that I enjoyed.
Aloha, Hanapaa

[Antares]

Originally Posted by Smudge

Look at the names and locations of the people recommending 9/0's and 80w's and then look at the names and locations of the people recommending 30's and 50's... There is a reason that nearly every boat you see out here is rigged with big reels...

Very good eyes my friend but what you missed is the mountain in the background is Haleakala. I have fished Maui for the last 20 years. In fact only 2 days a go did my boat ship to San Diego. 50 class gear backed with spectra will beat any thing you want to catch on a 14 foot boat and it will be fun

[oldmanadam]

minimum to get out there and have some fun? i run two 6/0's w/80lb braid, a okuma catalina55 and a handline. they all caught fish. the handline is sweet in a boiling otaru pile. just rip em in. caught my share of ono/mahi/aku/shibi. never got bit by a big fish, would have to guess it's a losing battle on a marlin or a shibi over 40lbs. of course, I've been looking into tld50s and penn intl 50s. upgrading is always a good thing. main thing, get out there and hook up. If you lose a couple, no big deal. theres always more.

[OSGF]

K, Mahalos for the advice. I'll keep my eye on Craigslist and eBay.
When I've gone trolling (on other people's boats) there's always been multiple lines in the water, sorta at staggered distances behind the boat. But if I only have one or two lines, how far behind the boat should I keep the lure?

[dausualinc]

Derek- you have a few different opinions from some very different schools of thought, which is a good thing. I don't think the intent of this thread was to debate the virtues of the penn senator, I use um because that what I can afford, I keep them well serviced to they work as well as you could expect them to (never lost a fish to reel related failure). If money were no object I would have 5, 130 class tiagras accross the aft deck and a few Torsa 30's in the rack on my fly bridge. Ok enough day dreaming. Bottom line buy what you can afford/make you happy all of the reels mentioned have caught lots of fish, and could do the same for you. Nothing wrong with starting off with 2 lines, you will have less headaches with tangles if you are just starting out. Try to keep the lures in clean water (less whitewash) Actual distance is going to depend on so many things, type of lure, weather conditions, type of fish targeted. Just go out and try, the only thing you could do wrong is staying home when you could be fishing- aloha

[LongRigger]

If all your ganna target is mahi and ono on the troll then 50's would be the way to go. Get yourself a standup harness and have some fun with it. On the troll you can target bigger tunas with 50's you just have to be smart about it, guys in Cabo and Puerta Vallerta have been doing it for a while now. Better knots, crimbs, line ect.... if your ganna devote time to catching big tunas and marlin on 50's. A couple years back a frined of mine caught a 200 poound marlin on a TLD 30 in a mahi school, he thought he was pitching to a mahi, ended up being a nice blue.

Starting out i would say get the 50's and have some fun fighting aku's, shibis, onos and mahis stand up style.

[munsen13]

Senators are affordable and easy to work on (parts available) been around a long time and they get the job done.

[patfishhi]

When fishin' the Atlantic with a bunch of friends back in the mid 80's, senators were the reels of choice (cost prohibitive to upgrade), we caught fish up to 300+ (Blue Fin Tuna's), so they can handle some demanding tasks. Since fishing Hawaii late 80's, started off with penn senators and the Daiwa Sealines (9-0's), I liked the daiwa drags better. But the drag surface on either of those reels are dwarfed by a real 50. 1996 upgraded to Tiagra 50's and have never looked back. Exclusively a stand up tackle person, the most important item in a boat when stand up is gunnel height; if it is not mid thigh DON'T try stand up tackle there is a good chance you'll end up in the water still attached to the fish, trust me. The most important bit of gear when stand up is a very good belt and harness, so don't skimp on that stuff. So the advice is 9.0's are good to get started (for Hawaiian waters).
As far as position; there are so many things to consider, the engine noise, wake profile, boat beam, where you put the lure in the wake, etc.etc.. Marlin aren't shy and will crash lures on the 3rd wake even on a boat with a narrow beam. Since smaller fish are your quarry, keep the lures small 7" or less (anything still will eat a 7 or 5" lure) maybe the 4th to 7th wake (hell who knows); originally we fished 9-0's with 80 and stopped some pretty decent fish. 50w's with the right kind of manuevering will get some monster fish, if you are lucky.
Don't agonize over some of this stuff get out there fishin' and figure it out, there is no better instructor than experience.

GOOD LUCK! If you figure out the luck part the rest is easy...

Pat

[Hinalea]

Originally Posted by munsen13

Senators are affordable and easy to work on (parts available) been around a long time and they get the job done.

Hanapaa !

[mums da word]

just my two cents go with 2 9/0s on the corners and a used 80 as a center and go from there, can always add 2 hand lines up close too many lines on a small boat may be too much, start slow and go from there, if you gonna run inside thats plenty, if you gonna run outside then 12/0s or 80s the 9/0s can be used for other things besides trolling, baiting, jigging, etc if you get used reels and want them checked out and serviced let me know, so cheap its almost free even new ones should be gone thru too. aloha and good luck