Definitely get yourself a few handlines. On our cat I put 100' lines on the outer corners, 90' lines on the inside corners of the boarding steps, a 75' line in the center with spreader bar or daisy chain. Also put out a 200' rod mounted line on the downwind corner. I use a variety of feathers and plugs with a mix of colors, but last several trips I've been getting 90% of the strikes on a blue & white Zuker tuna feather. There are a couple online retailers that offer nicely made handlines with shockcord. I've made up my own using tuna cord or paracord. Add a bungee cord at the boat end and I prefer to add at least 15' of 400 lb mono leader at the lure. I use $2 extension cord reels to store each line.
Make sure to keep the lures clean of sargasso or you won't catch anything. We visually check every 5 minutes or so, then quickly pull in the lines periodically to confirm they are clean.
Mostly we catch bonito and barracuda but every once in a while we get something a bit more edible. Got a nice 8 lb yellowfin tuna in early December. Got a ~50 lb sailfish that we caught and released in early November. Both on the Bl/Wh Zuker feather.
Thanks. Looking to buy simple set up... Probably handling but do have rod holder. Nice to pick up small tuna or Mahi. Nice to pick up locally but can order on line. We used to fish Pacific Northwest but all downrigger based trolling.
The drop 1-mile south of Vieques is a good place to catch a tuna or mahi. There's often a well defined weed-line there. It's funny, we've trolled for days with Cuban yoyo's and a nice travel rod, and for some reason I always get the hit on the rod and reel.
Kinda like Baard, I use 100-ft of camo P-cord for the Cuban yoyo. I had 200 lb leader, so that's what I went with, about 6 feet. Also girth hitch a bungee cord in the rig where you tie off to the boat to soften the strike.
Walt, I hate the yo-yo, it's not fishing. I prefer to reel a fish in and enjoy the fight. I also like a lighter line, like 30# test. The yo-yo is dragging a hand line, however they are more convenient for travelers.
Baard, Twanger and others, I have experience trolling behind a center console off NC coast but am very new to hand-lining/trolling behind a sailboat. Getting ready for a trip to SVI for first time and wanted to get some rigs set up before we go. I greatly appreciate your advice and wanted to ask why you use paracord for the long line from the boat to the leader as opposed to short segment of paracord with bungee and 75’-100’ of 400# mono to attach to leader material? Is there an advantage of paracord over big monofilament for hand lining? Does it store well on the boat when used only a couple of times per year?
I find the larger diameter of the cord is much easier to handle than mono when pulling in a fish. I do like to have a good length of mono leader. I give my lines a quick freshwater rinse and let them dry. They store with no smell and I've been using same lines for over 15 years though the rubber shock cord is getting a bit worn.
I use 100 ft camo P-cord + 200lb leader, about 6-10 ft long. I put a swivel between the P-cord and the leader material. To rig the bungee: In line on the P-cord I tie a girth hitch around the hook of a bungee, grab some slack and tie another girth hitch around the other bungee hook. The idea being that the bungee takes all the load and there's a good belly of slack in there before the P-cord goes tight during a strike. If for some reason the bungee breaks it's no big deal, because the P-cord (tied off to the stanchion) will ultimately take the load. We troll various Hopkins type lures (barracuda like these), stretch diving lures, and skirted lures of different colors. Stretch lures don't like going over about 4-5 knots. Cuvee will easily blast along at 8-10 knots, which is waaaaaay too fast for trolling. Even the 7-9 knots on a Helia 44 is too fast. You'll need to shorten sail to troll the right speed.
I agree that with diving lures you need to keep the speed around 5 knots. With surface lures almost any speed is fine. Many professional fishing boats will run 12 to 14 knots trolling with standard surface lures. The best diving lures I have found are the huge 9 to 12 inch long deep divers off the northern drop. Wahoo love them!
My handlines are 75' of 5mm paracord with 25' of 900# 3-strand monofilament and a heavy snap swivel. The thick paracord is easier to pull in and much easier than a rod, especially when the boat is heeled. I have a couple of pairs of Berkely grippy fish gloves that are great for hauling the monofilament and handling fish.
Rigged ballyhoo are a great option that gets us hits every time. They come frozen in packs of 3, rigged with a couple of hook and wire leader. At $14-$17 per pack of three I usually pick up a couple of packs and run one along with lures.
Given a choice, I use wire leaders. But, even barracuda have never bitten through a nylon leader for me.
Heading to USVI and SVI in a couple weeks. Usually we've brought 2 trolling rods on our trips. This time we have 4 trolling rods, 2 spinning reel setups, and 2 handlines. Won't have that all that out at once, but excited to try a bigger spread this time. Hopefully the sargassum isn't bad right now, otherwise we are going to be quite busy clearing lines.
Weather permitting, we will make the crossing to St Croix, and then back up to Culebra.
Bringing a variety of surface skirts, diving lures, and bird teasers. Also plan to rig some of the skirts with ballyhoo. Neptune had a fire at their store in Red Hook, but are operating out of their warehouse in Bovoni. We'll rig it ourselves, but they also sell pre-rigged.
I spent a bunch of time trying to understand the various regulations with territorial waters, federal waters, National Park, etc. Here's what I learned:
Fishing license: - No fishing license needed for SVI - USVI requires a recreational fishing license for territorial waters (up to 3nm offshore). It's free and takes about 5 minutes. Link here. - If you want to keep any Highly Migratory Species (HMS) in Federal Waters (>3nm offshore) such as a yellowfin tuna caught on the South Drop, the vessel requires an HMS Permit. Only the vessel owner can submit for the permit ($26). We've asked Waypoints if our cat has it, but not optimistic. - I don't believe a permit is required in the VI National Park, but we will not plan to fish there. You aren't allowed to fish from a mooring. Most of the rest of the cruising area around St. John is off limits as part of the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument. The remaining area you could fish is probably just target rich with barracuda.
The USVI DPNR Handbook has all the information you need on catch limits, closures, etc. Also helpful since it covers federal waters. There are various restricted areas to be aware of.
Here's my fishing report from my recent trip around USVI and SVI aboard Ciao for Now out of Waypoints USVI. Thanks to Capt Jay and the rest of the team for a great trip.
Didn't make it down to St. Croix as was planned due to S and SE winds. Crew would have committed mutiny. Fished in between St. Thomas and Culebra mostly. Made a run down to the south drop below Ram's Head when the weather finally permitted but didn't catch a single fish, so not sure if I would do that again unless it was on our way.
We had four rods out for trolling, and a handline or two with a bird teaser/spreader bar. It was quite frustrating clearing sargassum, and I think that really impacted our fish count since we were probably dragging weed more than half the time.
Best performing lures: - Flying fish Yozuri Bonita - Blue/white Iland Illander rigged with dead bait - Slow trolling live bait caught with sabiki rigs
Fish count: - 10+ cudas, lost count - 1x cero mackerel, best fish of the trip and some of the best sushi I've ever had - 3x bonitas - Some catch and release jacks at anchor. Couldn't get the tarpon to bite - Lost a big wahoo on the shelf to the north of Cayo Norte
Here's the cero mackerel victory photo. We were sailing at the time going around ~9 knots with a reef in the main and the jib. Were right over the Grampus Banks when we got the bite. Had the weather been more settled we might have stopped for some bottom dropping there.
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