Lures With Surface Action

The best lures for a sailboat are those that have some surface action. These lures should pop to the surface every five seconds or so, before returning under water dragging some air and creating a bubble (or smoke) trail. Make sure the lure doesn’t blow out of the water when it comes to the surface. You can adjust the action by changing the length of the line, it’s angle of entry into the water, the shape of the lures head, or the lures weight. If you are tending to blow out your lures, let out more line, lower (if possible) the attach point the line is pulled from, switch to a less active face, or add extra weight to the lure. If you need more action, shorten the line, raise it’s attach point, change the lure face, or remove weight.

Don’t be afraid to run lines closer to the boat. Most open ocean fish are not afraid of boats, in fact they are attracted to it; like a big moving FAD (Fish Attracting Device). A typical game fishing boat’s tuna trolling rig starts with lures 10 to 15 feet off the back of the boat and ends with a long single line in the middle, a 100 feet back (perfect for a backstay release clip). Once you get around shallow water and reefs the fish tend to get spooked a little easier by the boat, so increase the line lengths and give the fish a chance to recover before latching on to the lures.

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