You’ve come the the right place Matt. We have a lot of guys on here who party boat Tuna fish...
Here is one post with some good info
https://www.njfishing.com/forums/sho...arty+boat+tuna
I think you’ll get by with the gear you mentioned so I’d say it’s adequate but not preferred.
A few things that most here who do this a lot prefer:
- A 7 foot rod. The thought here is if a fish takes you under the boat, the extra rod length helps keep you from rubbing your line against the boat.
- Most recommend a lever drag reel since they hold up better over time since they have much larger drag surface. Some even go up a size from what they’d normally use on private boat because they want to try and control the fish rather then get tangled up into others on the rail.
As far as your Jigging set up, I think the 113H is going to be clumsy, lack the drag you’d want and the retrieve rate is going to make it a lot of work. Can it be done, yes but once again it would not be a preferred set up... Most are using lightweight but powerful rods and reels since it allows you to jig with less fatigue and these rods are designed specifically to impart a better action on the jig. Most are using braid and many metered braid so they know how much line to let out when targeting suspended fish at specific depths. The no stretch qualities of braid also helps here since it too imparts better action with less motion and fatigue.
If I were you, I’d use what I have for now and if you plan on doing this more often then consider upgrading. The one thing I would however do is switch over to braid on your jigging outfit. Anything in the 50 - 80 pound range would be fine...Also make sure to check with the boat your fishing to see if they allow braid. Lastly if you decided to jig, don’t jig in with the guys on the rail fishing with mono and rigs. Go off on your own so you won’t interfere with them.
