Tuna coldwater fly lin

[gt_fighter]

Hi guys,

I'm looking for a coldwater fly line that I could use for BLue Fin Tuna. I've found several lines but all of these having a tropic core. I think these lines are too stiff in cold conditions. Which line do you guys use for BFT in cold water conditions?

Thanks.

 

[only adipose]

I wish I was faced with the same dilemma.

 

[fq13]

No clue on the line, but I'm curious about you outfit. I mean a twenty pound bonits will give you a workout on 12wt if you catch them in eighty feet of water. I can't imagine a bluefin. But of course now I'm going to.

 

[Rip Tide]

No clue on the line, but I'm curious about you outfit. I mean a twenty pound bonits will give you a workout on 12wt if you catch them in eighty feet of water. I can't imagine a bluefin. But of course now I'm going to.

The few people that do this use 14 weight rods. Most use heavy spinning or conventional gear
It's a pretty popular game out on Cape Cod and I know a couple of guides if you're interested.
Of course you could always just go out on your kayak like this guy

 

[fq13]

That picture was probably taken Newfoundland after he got towed there.

 

[only adipose]

I have thought long and hard about dragging my 17ft Whaler up and staying with my aunt on the cape to do this one summer. Awesome pic. Do many come in close?

 

[Rip Tide]

Do many come in close?

Many .... no
Bluefin are ounce for ounce the most valuable fish in the world and overfishing keeps the population low.
There are fish around, both in the bay and inshore but they don't keep to any pattern and so are difficult to find
There's permits involved and any bluefin caught by mistake must be released.
I remember reading about one that had washed up on the Rhode Island shore while chasing bait in the surf.
The person who "harvested" this fish was fined and the tuna was confiscated

 

[only adipose]

Yeah I know the drill about BFT, they are top of the food chain in more ways then one. I used to do surveys of large pelagics for nmfs in nj as a teenager.

 

[sandfly]

In the late 70's we used to fish the mudhole off of jersey for bft with 12 wts. made our own shooting heads for getting down or the old Cortland intermediate lines (444) buy a cheap 12 line will be softer for the cold water. just make sure it has a 50 lb. breaking strength. back up with 50 lb. gel. watch your knuckles unless your using a anti-reverse ( I use a medalist 1499 CJ ) I made the shooting heads from lead core by Cortland with 50 lb. Cortland braided mono connected to head with a whip setup. (braid is same as braided mono loops in 100 foot spools. slide lead core into end at least 1 1/2 inches and whip a mono cord cover over the connection)

Oh yeah take a backup rod or 2. have had rods explode on a big bft. most we took were in the 40 - 70lb. class and would put a hurtin on gear.

 

[mrfzx]

I have used the Rio Leviathan lines in water as cold as 40 - 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and I honestly had no trouble. A 12 wt rod can be cast pretty well.....but not for extended periods of time (can you say, Oh, my aching shoulder?). The Rio worked very well in Cook Inlet Alaska (that's where I've fished the Rio line in cold water).

A 14wt rod/reel with a matching line is not a serious casting machine. Most times the fly is lobbed 20 to 30 feet into the wake of a boat or into current, and line is fed out to a teased up fish, or to a chummed up school. This is how I've done some fly fishing in the Gulf of Mexico (blue water). I would imagine that is very similar to fishing for BFT in the Atlantic.....which is on my bucket list!

We fish for Tarpon in Costa Rica by drifting huge flies in the stained currents of the Rio Colorado.

The Rio line has a mono core, and a tensile strength of 72 pounds (I think). Yes it will be softer in warmer water, but as I said above, to me it's irrelevant.