I would really not bother with outriggers for tuna fishing in the Cape.
I have a small boat in fact the smallest in the league and I toyed with the idea a while back. However knowing only too well that the wind never really allows you to run too many uprights, outriggers would not be an advantage.
As Miles said they seem to be "nice to look at" and that's about it here in Cape Town.
When trolling for tuna it all boils down to two very simple things. The right trolling board and crew who know what to do with an upright rod and which one to drop on a tight turn.
Trolling Board
Simple:
One center flat for your wash lure
One upright in the middle of the two straights, dead centre. (For your very close wash lure or your whiskey rig)
Two flats at 30° set outside of those taking your lines over your motors and into the line of the props.
Two 45° outside of those or even up to 80° running outside your wake and creating width.
At the ends of your trolling board, two uprights also angled out at 35°.
So should the need arise you can run 5 flats and 3 uprights. Not advisable but you could.
This layout allows you to have major options.
Crew and the drop rod.
When trolling, let your crew know which way you are going to turn. I have worked the deck of boats like WhaleRider where we've got 13 lures out. If I'm on the lines YOU WILL NOT TANGLE. You may get a cross, which you quickly sort out.
My point.
If your crew knows which way you going to turn on marks, then they drop the rod on the side you are turning too. I put the rod tip of the said rig right into the water. This leaves the upright "other side rig" up and lets it cross over my side and then back once the tight turns are made.
Very very simple.
Weather/Wind
On my boat which is only 2.3m wide I run only one big bird and daisy chain in the chop of a capping ocean.
A - the choppier the sea the less effective your birds are (my opinion and I'll stick to this belief). When the sea gets up, I will take the bird out and run a plain big squid and chain. This has been far more effective and in fact in the choppier waters we have found the divers to work much better than the squids. This is for yellowfin.
When longfin are hot, which they normally are in a nice choppy NW, you just need 6 yamashitas or 5 X-raps, anything will do.
Simple troll setups.
I have posted this before but have to be honest in looking at it I reckon my most popular trolling pattern is this.
When the sea allows it I will move the big bird and squid to the port and drop another one in on the starboard. I run 6 rigs in a decent sea and 5 in the slop.
If one particular thing works like a bird, then I'll go onto two and pull something else in.
This being said when we get yellowfin strikes on backlines it's not long and someone is onto a fish on the bait. Very seldom do we move off trolling after a yellow strike.
Big seas are the only thing that keep us on the troll.
This is the biggest X-Rap Rapala make and so how is the size of the new havoc Nic has in store.
Miles if you think the last one was a longfin scarer, these are way way bigger.
But Mr Yellowfin is going to smoke these.
WHY TROLL
In all honesty it is easier to run 4 rigs. Two up, two down and have order.
I've had a 6 up strike of shoal size (45-50kg) yellowfin on backlines. NOT COOL!!!!!!!
More importantly this past season I only trolled two days to find fish and one of those was a longfin day.
I would much rather work the marks I find on the echo with chum than troll around all day. But that's just me and I prefer bait fishing to troll fishing anyday.
Besides, bait fish are SOOOOOOOOOO much stronger and contrary to most opinions you will almost on every trip be able to watch the buggers in your chum and feed him your chunk.
But then that brings us to chumming and I believe that, that is an art all of it's own and there are very few masters of it that I've come across.
