Hey all,

I live on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Some people here really love targeting Jack Crevalles using tuna popping lures. These fish aren't the typical Florida canal 3-5lb Jacks. They get up to 30lbs and more! I'd love to use a Tuna popping blank for its power and because it was presumably designed to work those types of lures. I need something cheap though, as I do not plan on targeting tuna and I want to keep the costs down as much as possible.

I was thinking about using some of Mudhole's CRB "Tuna Poppin' Rod Blanks." Specifically, I was thinking about using the 7'6, 50-100lb model.

Is this a good start or do you think it's overkill? Any other recommendations?

Thank you!

Carlos Saravia

Hello Carlos.

How much over 30#, and is there a need to keep them out of structure?
If they are over the 50# mark a lot of the time or if there is a lot of structure in the area you fish I do not think it's overkill but I like a gooooood fight and would go for something in the 60# range.
If they are not over the 50# mark a lot I would not go over 50#.
If they rarely go over the 50# mark and I did not have to worry about structure I would not use anything over 40# and maybe as low as 30# or even 25#.

Structure has a lot to do with fishing Jacks, they like to wrap you up in it, and a Jack is a strong fish, so knowing the area is important, around here Jacks like reefs but are still found between reefs and even in open sea, they are travelers you know, though I doubt they travel as much as Tuna.


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Thanks for the help, Robert!

There is definitely some structure where I'll be fishing. There are a couple of pretty long bridges where the Jacks like to swim along to ambush bait. I think I'll probably go with the lighter rating, as you recommended, to make it a little bit more fun and to make the fight last a little longer.

Thanks!

Carlos Saravia

Mud hole has one in their clearance blanks right now. I think it's a 7'6" 2pcs 30-50lb 1-6oz lure blank. It's about 50% off. That might fit the build.

You could look at the Rainshadow Tuna Popper blanks from Batson. 8' is over your preferred size, but they are awfully sweet blanks.

I have caught a lot of jacks. It has been my experience that they don't run you into cover like a snook will.

One of my memorable battles was with one at a series of docks where party boats set out from. It was on ten pound test and lasted about an hour. The whole time a police office was yelling at me as I was running up and down the docks in an epic battle. I got a real big ticket because of that fish (for a teenager)! I would say it was well over 20 pounds. So they can be caught in heavy cover with light line.

I have two rods right now that I think would be perfect. One is a lamiglas tri-flex "kayak series" 7 foot rated @ 15-30 (but can easily fish 40#). I don't think you could break it if you tried. The other is a St. Croix SC3 inshore, again 7 foot and rated 15-30#. That one you could break if you tried but it is up to the task as I use it for smoker sized kingfish.

No way do you need a 50-100# tuna blank for a jack. Scale down and enjoy the fight.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

" pretty long bridges " ??? LOL that dang causeway bridge is like 31 miles long

The CRB Tuna Popper blanks are very durable and meet your budget criteria. They are also very heavy. I can't throw one all day for YFT out of Venice. So I went looking for other options.

So far my very favorite rod for this application is a Black Hole Challenger 801M or 801H. Very reasonable compared to Synit or CTS blanks and they will put 100# YFT on the deck (with the right reel and leader system) while also throwing 2 oz poppers all day with ease.

I have caught a bunch of jumbo JC off the beach in Alabama and the big fish (to almost 50#) are not line shy. If you are worried about structure / abrasion make a 'twisty' leader like they use for GT in the Southern hemisphere. Lots of tutorials on YouTube, but I'd recommend an 80# twisty section to a bite tippet of 150# or so. Hope this helps.