Mahi Mahi gear

[Gerry Zagorski]

Not sure what your budget is but a few things you want in a trolling rod for inshore. I'd say you'd want a minimum of 30 pound class and if you plan on trolling heavier stuff like spreader bars 50 would be better. The rods should have slick butts to make them easier to get out of the rod holders when a fish hits and a nice long fore grip for steadying the rod during the fight. Rollers guides are not needed and you don't want them if you also intend to use the same rod for jigging.

If you don't have outriggers and you plan to troll spreader bars a taller Rod in the 7 foot class is going to make them run better. You want your line to run at a steeper angle and higher up out of the water so they don't dig as much. If you have outriggers then the rod length is not as important unless you have an outboard, in which case a longer rod also helps since it makes it easier to clear the outboards when fighting a fish.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Gerry Zagorski

Not sure what your budget is but a few things you want in a trolling rod for inshore. I'd say you'd want a minimum of 30 pound class and if you plan on trolling heavier stuff like spreader bars 50 would be better. The rods should have slick butts to make them easier to get out of the rod holders when a fish hits and a nice long fore grip for steadying the rod during the fight. Rollers guides are not needed and you don't want them if you also intend to use the same rod for jigging.

If you don't have outriggers and you plan to troll spreader bars a taller Rod in the 7 foot class is going to make them run better. You want your line to run at a steeper angle and higher up out of the water so they don't dig as much. If you have outriggers then the rod length is not as important unless you have an outboard, in which case a longer rod also helps since it makes it easier to clear the outboards when fighting a fish.

thanks for the info Gerry....

[MJMJ]

Thanks for the help. I'll be using spinning gear, so this sends me in the right direction.
Mike

[Gerry Zagorski]

Originally Posted by MJMJ

Thanks for the help. I'll be using spinning gear, so this sends me in the right direction.
Mike

Mike - Just to clarify, spinning gear is fine for casting to Mahi but is not generally used for trolling. If you intend to use spinning gear for casting to them, anything you use for Stripers or Blues will do.

Trolling is a whole different ball game that spinner outfits are generally not well suited for, for 2 reasons:

1) Spinning pole tips are usually light. They are designed that way because the give and snap back of the pole tip helps launch the lure when you are casting. That same light tip works against you when trolling since you don't want the tip to give as much. You want a firm tip that is not going to give against the weight of the lure or the seas which will make your lures runs better. This is even more important when trolling spreader bars because the give of the pole tip can make them more prone to digging into the water and you don't want that.
2) Spinning reels are not generally well suited, not because they lack the line or drag capacity, but because you can't adjust your line out tension in free spool. You are either fishing with the bail open or closed and there is nothing in between. That is why most use lever drag reels for trolling.... You have fine adjustment between free spool and the pre set drag in the strike position. When trolling, you adjust the line out just tight enough that the lure is not taking any line out. When you get a fish, it allows him to take the lure and run a bit and then you move the reel up to strike at the pre set drag setting to set the hook and fight the fish... This is not possible with a spinning reel unless you have the bait caster type spinner and even then, the bait cast drag setting might not be strong enough to hold against a heavy trolled lure.

A little on pre setting your drags.... You generally want to pre set your drag to 25 - 30 % of the breaking pound test of the line you are fishing. As an example, if you are fishing 30 pound test you'd want your drag set to 7.5 to 9 pounds. You do this with a spring scale... When your drag is set correctly, the drag will allow you to start stripping line of the reel when the scale reads between 7.5 and 9 pounds.... Kind of hard to explain so here is a video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYDfIM3it60

All this being said, this is not as critical when fishing for Mahi, but if Mr Tuna happens to show up, you want to give yourself the best chance possible to fight and land the fish.

Still chomping at the bit to get out there....And if you can't get out the next best thing is talking about it

[dfish28]

I'm hoping we get a chance when this tropical stuff moves through, not too hopeful though, I talk to my lobster buds out there in the hole and all I hear it's it's still all dirty and nothing on the pots... I won't post the pic again from last year... But when I heard the water and fish were in last year we went out and found some nice mahi... Lotta babies to not talk about but got the one at 28... Again... At 12 miles out... I am so waiting! Otherwise I think I'm fishing for one tog a day...possibly putting some pirate fish in the fuel tank...