great post! i didnt realize there are fellow tuna nuts here on this board. i fish cape cod bluefin exclusively and find it difficult to keep up with the growth of these fish, gear wise. we havent caught a single fish under 100lbs this year. next year is gonna be even tougher. my last fish on a jig was with a Shimano Trevala 5'8" 80-200lb line on labor day. the fish got tail wrapped and we landed it in 15 minutes with a harness. how does the Seeker Hercules Jigga 60XH compare to this particular Trevala? i guess im fixed on line rating when looking at jigging blanks but maybe on missing out? best, mark Billy Vivona Wrote:
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> The slow parabolic style of rod blank is not for
> everyone. While many of the hardcore jig guys
> prefer a rod that has that bend,tehrea re a lot of
> fishermen who prefer afaster action blank which
> shuts off at the foregrip. Teh JiggingMasters are
> great blanks, I'm good friends with Kil and I've
> been to his shop pulling on those blanks, they are
> well worth the money and perfect if you are
> looking for a parabolic action - the JM's are not
> noodle rods likemany others which bend under the
> reel seat, they actuall have a point where they
> kind of shut off.
>
>
> I've been workign with Seeker to design a line of
> blanks aimed at the guys who were looking for a
> faster actionigging rod, and this year we launched
> the HErcules line. RIght now there are only 3
> blanks, 2 6' & 1 7' - teh 60H is the one that will
> be best suited for what you are looking to do.
> [northeastrodbuilders.com]
> erculesblanks.html THere are some sick pics of
> the amount of pressure you can put onthis rod in
> that link, scroll down a bit. There have been
> several 150# BFT's taken on the rod, and a few
> GOliath Grouper between 100-200#'s (estimated).
>
> The Seeker Hercules blanks are available directly
> from me ([email protected]), as well as @#$%&,
> Mudhole, Kil's Shop, and Trophy Tackle in Long
> island.
>
> Aas far as what guides - why try to reinvent the
> wheel? USe the same guides and build the rod teh
> sme way everyoen else is building it. Standard set
> up is MNSG 40 down to 12. DPSH 22 or 24 seat, EVA
> grips, gimbal. If any of that stuff you wanted to
> do was essintial, EVERY Tuna caught this year
> would have caused problems with the rods people
> were using - none of which had single foot guides,
> they weren't double wrapped. Just build the rod
> "normally" and don't give it a second thought.

I'm sure Billy will chime in. His blanks look very impressive from what I see but have never held one. I'm down in Miami and we don't have the big tuna. However we don't consider the Trevala capable for even a moderate sized amberjack or grouper. They are nice and light and fine for snapper but they bottom out on anything decent. For store bought rods the OTI is considered way better.

Take a look at the nerbs site where Billy dead lifts 65 pounds and then go see what your rod dead lifts. I think you will have your answer in a hurry. I mean no disrespect but IMHO that 200# rating is a joke.

Mark - You haven't caught a BFT under 100 lbs? Wow, we would love that. I read about the Cape Cod fishery but have not experienced it. We are VERY lucky to get 80-100 lb BFT here in Jersey, most are half that size. We get the big guys running through here late in the season (upwards of 500#), you actually see these things busting within a few miles of shore in November and December; but nobody seems to be able to hook them, regardless of method or bait. I am not kidding - we load up the 50's and have tried livelining, trolling, jigging, chunking, all for nothing to date. Not even a run off, when the slobs are within site. Some buddies of mine have invested in kite fishing gear to try this fall.

hi dan, this year has been crazy. crazy good, but crazy. the fish are huge. ive heard of guys seeing smaller fish but everything we have hooked has been huge. my last fish was 66" long, 44" girth, around 160#'s. landed one other around 130#'s in july and my buddy landed a couple similar size. got lucky with that 66" fish as it got tail wrapped but it was still a huge battle. that trevala impressed us though. had a start drag of 18#'s and cranked it right down as soon as the fish stopped. tested the drag after at 36#'s! this seeker hercules rod sounds like a beast. im gonna look into it. best, mark

DAn, I've seenthem busting in the channel off the Highlands in years past. It looks like God is dropping giant bathtubs in teh ocean, that's how big teh splashes are. Crazy hey dome in that close.

MArk - the 60XH is a legit 30#'s of drag rod, I have sold a bunch of them, but I have not recieved any fish reports back. I know that hte 60H handles 150# Tuna, the 60XH has a bit more power than that so fish in teh 200#+ range should be right up it's alley. I am not familiar with the TRevala, I know that many reports state that the rod bends way into teh foregrip, that is not the case with the HErcules blanks, especailly not the 60XH.

Dan,

Action is where the rod flexes initially.

All rods are progressive in action, fast or slow, if you put enough load on them they'll all flex back along their entire length and into the butt area.

.............

I used to fish other things, but now 99% of my time is spent for BFT in Cape Cod Bay, on Stellwagen Bank or around the tip of Provincetown. We have tried trolling with spreader bars with no luck so we go back to topwater. Then we try livelining with no luck so we go back to topwater. We haven't spent much time jigging since we spend so much time casting plugs or soft plastics. The smallest this year was 50" and 75lbs. Biggest was 68" and around 170lbs. With some in between. We have found 12-20 pounds of drag with an 8' fast action rod is the best set up, spinning or conventional. Fight times were as short as 5 minutes with the longest taking 20. This Winter's gear additions will be Penn Torque spinners, Avet Raptor conventional and Calstar 8' Grafighter blanks with Fuji heavy guides. These set ups should be good for anything we run into over the next few years since we have seen the full spectrum, 20 pounders up to 800 (not targeting those bad boys). Too much fun.

Tom -
A friend of mine is returning from a tour in Afghanistan and asked "What type of fishing might there be in Rhode Island in January/February?" Since you seem to be in/around that area can you help out?

I have customers that have taken fish up to 300 pounds on topwater spinning gear so far. Lots of fish in the 150-180 # class have been taken. I'm scared already thinking of what to build these guys for next year when the fish may be another 100 pounds heavier. The fish over 200 have really been pushing the spinning gear to the extreme. A topwater tuna spinning rod must have 3 important components in my opinion - it has to be light, it must load in the tip well to cast these topwater lures, and it must have a stout backbone and shut off point. The rest is up to the angler's reel, line choice, drag, harness, plate, and endurance. I have pictures of fast actioned rods bent all the way to the fore grip.

I have a 70H spin ready and a 60XH jigger I'm building for the fall migration of tuna. I'm trying to get them in people's hands.

Ken, Rhode Island is my back yard. Stripers are mostly gone by then, but they still catch holdovers in the upper Bay near Providence in the river, I believe, that time of year. I think everything else is pretty much out, except for ice fishing. I don't usually fish for them in the winter as I need my migration away from them to build orders and recoup from fall fishing.

Thanks Dave. That's pretty much what I thought.

Yup, Winter is for building rods. Spring is for Cod/Haddock fishing. June through November is Tuna time.