Lures for fishing San Diego charters for yellowtail and tuna?

[kzhlin]

Hey guys,

What kind of lures (irons, etc.) do you guys recommend for fishing 1-1.5 day charters off San Diego. Mainly targeting yellowtail and yellowfin.

- Salas 6X Jr. for yo-yo (blue/white/chrome colors?)
- Tady 45 and Tady AA (mint/white/blue/chrome?)
- size 2 hooks for flylining

Anything else?? Specific lures? sizes? colors? techniques? tips? :Confused:

Thanks!
Kevin

[Matt_Magnone]

this is definately a loaded question that will get many responses. depending on areas and the situation different baits and colors will apply.

i'm a big salas guy and love the 7x, 7x Jr, baby 5x and at times the j pot. i do however have a love affair with the candybar jigs. call me a fat boy... :Cool: when it comes to the yo yo locally i prefer the salas 6xjr. on the long range i'll tend to gravitate to more of the larger jigs like the 7x heavy, tady 4/0, point wilson darts...

say you're fishing cornonado island from south kelp to pukey. i generally show up with 3 surface iron rods, a yo yo rod and a bass stick. im not big into throwing live bait and generally leave that to the other passengers. i can sit there a whole day picking my opportunities and be content. if they bite; rad. if not; no sweat.

its tough to beat the usual. blue/white, scrambled egg, mint white and green sardine (bird sh*t) i throw a lot of other combos into the equation. i absolutely love tossing the color 'tarbaby'. in overcast and low light conditions i've found that this little tweak, along with running the 'plain' unpainted jig, to the bird sh*t color has put a few more 'tails in the boat for me. say we're talking mid morning to afternoon bright sun. i gravitate to 'blue and white', 'mint sardine' and 'green sardine'. i tend to gravitate towards more drab colors than most.

say were seeing squid floating between middle grounds and the coast. i'll rig a plain white, green sardine or tumbled egg 7x and allow it to float. it all depends on what the fish want. ive been out there and we had isolated balls of squid floating. the yellows were around along with the random sea bass. boats had been getting small numbers for several weeks. the captain and i both tossed out the 7x and let them fall on semi slack line. BINGO. sea bass for the both of us.

say were fishing down the coast on an overnight and get tuna breezing through. i absolutely LOVE taking the long rod down and tossing plugs on em. i favor the 7x in purple sardine, blue sardineor the tar baby. there's nothing like taking a plug and putting it right one top of puddling fish and just getting torqued!!!

if the fish are deep i'll take a salas 6xjr in blue and white, purple sardine or black purple and white. sometimes the fish are on the small jig and the point wilson dart will wack em.

once again, i know im leaving a lot out or might have been vague. this is definately a loaded question. its tough to pick just one or two good jigs. the most important thing is that you have the confidence to throw them all day long with sometimes little to no pay off. i promise you though, it will make you a better fisherman as a whole.

[kzhlin]

Thanks man! That was a really helpful post for me. I will need to stock up on some lures and colors then! :D
I also heard that Tady was "the way to go". But I will be getting some salas lures nonetheless.

Are you talking about the salas 6x jr? I don't see any lures called salas 7x jr.
Also, what is the candybar jig? I searched on google but they just look like regular tady's?

[jsl]

Not an expert but the following works for me. Just pick up a couple of each of the following.

1. Salas 6Xjr. for yoyo yt
2. Tady 45 and or Salas 7X surface yt
3. Megabait 3.5 oz livejig

Dont sweat the color issue because colors, eyes, and all that fancy bullshit on lures are meant to catch fishermen, not fish. They won't care what color your lure is as long as it swims right so don't get all bent out of shape if your tackle store runs out of the "gotta have colors". As long as the lure stands out--meaning either creates a good silhouette like darker colors or is real flashy like chrome finishes. Whether it's blue/white or green/white or dorado is not as important as most would believe.

Scott

[Matt_Magnone]

nah, im definately talking about the 7xjr. very productive jig when the fish are on the small bait. i totally agree with the last post. i stay more towards shades of colors. darks and lights vs trying to buy exact colors. the way the jigs swim is by far the most important thing. grab 10 and pick 1 or 2. angles, sharp edges, dish is what i want to know. color is generally the last thing im worried about. half the time i rattle can the plugs

7x, 7xjr, 6xjr, j pot,
tady c, 45, candybar, 77, AA light, A1's,

all these jigs are productive.

if you have any questions about this kinda stuff, call me up at the shop.

Last Chance Bait and Tackle
(951) 658-7410

[kzhlin]

thanks man. i will try to get some of these lures asap.

[kzhlin]

nah, im definately talking about the 7xjr. very productive jig when the fish are on the small bait. i totally agree with the last post. i stay more towards shades of colors. darks and lights vs trying to buy exact colors. the way the jigs swim is by far the most important thing. grab 10 and pick 1 or 2. angles, sharp edges, dish is what i want to know. color is generally the last thing im worried about. half the time i rattle can the plugs

7x, 7xjr, 6xjr, j pot,
tady c, 45, candybar, 77, AA light, A1's,

all these jigs are productive.

if you have any questions about this kinda stuff, call me up at the shop.

Last Chance Bait and Tackle
(951) 658-7410


Does your store have an online website to purchase from?

[DockRat]

Many of the Iron Jigs the ring hole is slightly offset and not drilled in the center.
Check it out, suppose to give them a kick and not all swim the same.
That Srambled Egg or Blue/White is a hot color.

Picked up a Salas 6X Scrambled Egg and 2 Blue/White Cristy 2 Salas last week.
Not sure of the Cristy Salas ??? Anyone use them ?
Got 6 at a surfboard/fishing yard sale $2 ea on PCH. Scored :Thumbs Up:

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii261/haugusnord/tady_c_small.jpg
80 lb Skinny Yellowtail :Shocked:
http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv261/scbbcowporn/yellowtail.jpg

[DockRat]

3. Megabait 3.5 oz livejig



I think Megabait went out of business.

DR

[kzhlin]

thanks guys. so should i stock up on more 6x jr. and 6x? or some lighter surface irons like the 7x?

will these hook up on yellowfin tuna as well? or is the pl-68 better? color?


thanks,
Kevin

[vanillagurilla]

I want to try a metallic sardine sammy when there ontop lol.

[jsl]

You'll eventually lose irons so stocking up is a great idea. I suggest going to sites like Bloodydecks.com and Allcoast.com, go to their classifieds and post that you're looking to buy. You should get multiple replies and offers at a fraction of retail price so you wont have to break the bank as this stuff get's expensive REAL quick if you don't know where to look.
For yt, I noticed that you want a jig that has more of a side to side motion or 'kicks' good. For tuna, you want something with a tighter motion and nothing beats a Megabait IMO. I believe "Extreme Lures.com" still has them but you'll be paying 5$-7$ a piece. Go to the aforementioned sites and Craig's list to find em much much cheaper.


Scott

[FLYFISHING MD]

http://istockphoto_9476900-saltwater-fishing-flies some of this

[smokehound]

I like TADYs. They are cheap, reliable, and often have the perfect motion.

It's important to not reel the tady in too fast. let it sink for a few seconds, then reel it in at a slow/moderate pace, twitch the tip to the left and right every now and then.

You can also cast super-far with tadys on heavy line. That's why I love 'em.