LAFB Elite Community

Discuss inshore fishing with like-minded anglers willing to fish smarter.

  • ShooterMcGrabbin

    Member
    January 30, 2025 at 12:26 pm

    I really don’t want to pop your balloon here but I gotta warn ya.

    Having worked on a billfish/tuna charter boat in my teens and from feedback from several friends most boats(not all) do not allow customers to hook the fish. You can probably guess the reasons.

    For the boat I worked on, we needed a good hookset as we would could waste a lot of fuel backing down on a lipped fish. Also there’s a lot of coordination between the crew and captain during the fight and most is at the beginning and end.

    So really the customer helps reel. Most of the time you’re taking turns. Tuna is great, and a lot of boats have a policy where half the fish goes to the boat. It is really so much fish, you end up giving most of it away unless you have a dedicated deep freeze.

    The best way to experience it is via a friend with a sportfisher doing tournaments. Captain buys in, needs a crew he can direct, and you’re part of that crew. But its work.

    This is why inshore tarpon is so appealing to me. You get to seek out monster fish that fight, jump, and pull you around. You can troll for them like tuna & billfish or just chill in the middle of the lake and wait for them to show up. I can’t wait to chase them again this summer.

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