Is it possible to keep big baits alive on sport fishing boats?

[afraser]

So question 1, will skippies or small yft stay alive in the big tanks on a big sport fishing boat? I am hoping to catch a couple of small ones and bring them to the big bft grounds. Has anyone tried this yet?

Question 2, if they won’t stay alive in the tanks, is there a way to rig up a few non-permanent tuna tubes? The key requirements for the tubes are space to set them up, a power source for the pumps, and access to a water source, and a way to return the overflow. I’ve looked at both diy and off the shelf versions and not sure the best way to go, or even if it necessary.

 

[chachi10]

Please film the crews reaction when you throw a live skippy into the bait tank

 

[fishboy93]

You’re gonna need your own boat...

 

[ifish42na]

We had 2 of them them on the XL for many seasons. They were plumbed into the bait tank's water pumps.

 

[Bill W]

The old fashion way... Have a big hook rig close by.

 

[yakdout]

Tuna tubes. Or it probably won’t work.

 

[Yellowtail Dan]

The old fashion way... Have a big hook rig close by.

Always ready when you hear the crew call out asking if anyone wants the big bait

 

[kzaam1]

We had 2 of them them on the XL for many seasons. They were plumbed into the bait tank's water pumps.

So you slide those skipjack or small tuna into them and they’re swimming vertically the whole time?

Never seen those tuna tubes before. How long can those fish live before they succumb to the stress of being in a small space like that?

 

[yakdout]

So you slide those skipjack or small tuna into them and they’re swimming vertically the whole time?

Never seen those tuna tubes before. How long can those fish live before they succumb to the stress of being in a small space like that?

Water forced through the gills they don’t need to swim. They can stay alive a long time.

 

[Antares]

A small tuna, dodo or yt can certainly stay alive in a big boat bait tank. The bait would not appreciate it much. Getting them back out is a fun challenge.

Would not recommend bringing your own tuna tubes on the boat. They do work quite well.

 

[stephen campbell]

Buy being "ready" they mean a rig all set up, big hook, heavy leader ect. On trips I have been on big baits go VERY fast if the guy catching it doesn't want it. I have fished 4, 2 I caught myself. 1 sharked, I mauled?, but it always feels like you're up for a big 'en

 

[atun53]

I’ve been on the RP when they clear one of the tanks and put man baits in for grouper fishing. Seen up to a dozen get put in there.

 

[afraser]

I’ve been on the RP when they clear one of the tanks and put man baits in for grouper fishing. Seen up to a dozen get put in there.

Thank you. If I was rating answers, that would be the best one . An example of the very thing I asked about.

I will have a man-bait rig ready to go, but the skipjack and BFT are not in the same area, so that really doesn't work. I plan on bridling instead of hooking it in the back or breast, they just live much longer in my experience plus the hook is more exposed.

Giant single or giant circle hook? I have plenty of both (large 7691s and up to 13/0 circles). I only used the 7691's in the past, but I've had good luck with the big circles on flatfalls, so I was thinking of trying it for this too.

 

[atun53]

Not sure, wasn’t paying attention. Eddie had me fishing a slab on a 13/0 circle last time I was on there. Good luck.

 

[JohnTFT]

Thinking about trying this tool this season.

 

[afraser]

a smaller hook tied to your larger main hook with a 5 inch leader....the smaller hook....nose hooked into the "Man bait" ....I always use this method....eliminates the need to..."Rip the large hook from the man bait into the tuna"....especially effective when using circle hooks!!!...Queegueg

Why use a hook instead of bridling? I don't like the bridle buddy system as I don't like that it pulls the fish's mouth open a bit.

 

[JohnTFT]

http://biglivebait.com/shop/blackfin-socks/

 

[MYNomad]

Water forced through the gills they don’t need to swim. They can stay alive a long time.

And its dark down at the bottom of those tubes, which is very calming, kind of like putting a rag over their heads

 

[afraser]

http://biglivebait.com/shop/blackfin-socks/

Yeah, I saw these, I guess it's a good product, but the pump is like $15, the plastic "sock" is a couple of dollars at most, the only thing special is the flow regulating nozzle, and I think I could have that made in a 3d printer for $10 or less, but they charge $150 for each of these. If I had more time, I'd have them made myself for about $30 each all in.

 

[sdrepairman]

I have been on a trip where we would put small live lft into the slammer to use for a later time
But that was the captain’s order
I don’t think it’s a good idea to try that though with out the captain’s say so

 

[afraser]

I have been on a trip where we would put small live lft into the slammer to use for a later time
But that was the captain’s order
I don’t think it’s a good idea to try that though with out the captain’s say so

Perfect! Yeah, already cleared that idea with the captain, but wasn't sure on the longevity in the slammer. Maybe that is the best solution, certainly the easiest. I was just thinking of making an external tank with several tuna tubes in it that would be filled with water from either the hose periodically or connected to one of the hand wells with a hose and a pump. I think I have the design down now.
7 6"diam ABS tubes cut to 20" long, strapped together in a honeycomb formation with funnels and flow nozzles on each
That fits into an external barrel or bucket 19-20" in diam
6 or 7 of the 1200gph bilge pumps (might leave one tube without one to easily fill barrel with a deck hose)

 

[wahoodad]

So question 1, will skippies or small yft stay alive in the big tanks on a big sport fishing boat? I am hoping to catch a couple of small ones and bring them to the big bft grounds. Has anyone tried this yet?

Question 2, if they won’t stay alive in the tanks, is there a way to rig up a few non-permanent tuna tubes? The key requirements for the tubes are space to set them up, a power source for the pumps, and access to a water source, and a way to return the overflow. I’ve looked at both diy and off the shelf versions and not sure the best way to go, or even if it necessary.

For the life of me, I can't understand why you are so obsessed with this idea. It has so many limitations, is so far fetched, why bother?
From my working on the Shogun on MB Aquarium trips, if you empty out a fairly large bait tank, you can get 10-12 of them in it. They might live the long run up to the tuna grounds, depending on their condition. Probably best if you caught them on a lift pole, and it's a non-bleeder.
Tuna tubes are probably out from my experience using them on the Excel and RP- lucky if those lived 6-8 hours.
So, say you are lucky enough to do this, and your charter group is 16 guys, (I'm thinking Pacific Dawn, Endeavor, Outer Limits, Aztec, Pegasus, etc), how you gonna chose who gets to use em?
There is a option that is feasible to use big serious big fish gear and have a shot.
Again, gonna have to have the whole group be ok with big fish only, or go on Brandon Hayward's boats: Going over to Catalina, get some live flyers for the kite.
Guys that are doing well on big BFT this year are the guys who go over and get live flyers.
Sorry, but that whole skipjack idea has just so many flaws to it, I could go on and on

 

[Al B.Fishing]

If you ignore Wahoodad sound advice, and strike out on flyers, I would double trouble live mackerel under kite or balloon. Anyone here want to help out with recent stomach contents on the bigger BFT ?

 

[SouthBayKiller]

If you ignore Wahoodad sound advice, and strike out on flyers, I would double trouble live mackerel under kite or balloon. Anyone here want to help out with recent stomach contents on the bigger BFT ?

Squid. In my experience if you have live flyers, the fish will eat them with out the kite, just fly-lined (we briddled them). They ate them quick enough on 200lb we didn't even have a chance to get the kite up with a dead one.

 

[afraser]

For the life of me, I can't understand why you are so obsessed with this idea. It has so many limitations, is so far fetched, why bother?
From my working on the Shogun on MB Aquarium trips, if you empty out a fairly large bait tank, you can get 10-12 of them in it. They might live the long run up to the tuna grounds, depending on their condition. Probably best if you caught them on a lift pole, and it's a non-bleeder.
Tuna tubes are probably out from my experience using them on the Excel and RP- lucky if those lived 6-8 hours.
So, say you are lucky enough to do this, and your charter group is 16 guys, (I'm thinking Pacific Dawn, Endeavor, Outer Limits, Aztec, Pegasus, etc), how you gonna chose who gets to use em?
There is a option that is feasible to use big serious big fish gear and have a shot.
Again, gonna have to have the whole group be ok with big fish only, or go on Brandon Hayward's boats: Going over to Catalina, get some live flyers for the kite.
Guys that are doing well on big BFT this year are the guys who go over and get live flyers.
Sorry, but that whole skipjack idea has just so many flaws to it, I could go on and on

Great, so I got from your post that you can keep 10-12 of them in a tank. Thanks! That's good info. I hear what you are saying about it being difficult, but the kite is difficult, and was considered far fetched. According to a story I heard, one of the first times it was tried on the RP, Frank said it would never work, but by the end of the trip, he was asking the passengers who brought the kite to leave it on the boat. Now it's a mainstay on every boat. 2 years ago, no one was drifting dead flyers, now it's the main thing. Personally, I find trying new techniques a lot of fun. This is how I came up with bridling flatfalls, which works better than any other rigging technique for landing big bft. There are some failures, but enough successes to make trying new techniques worthwhile. So, I keep an open mind and try things that either worked in another fishery or that solve a particular problem in the current fishery.