Halibut and albacore gear

[snarkybull]

Aloha, I am upgrading my boat to something more offshore capable and have no gear for the big fish.  I plan to acquire a handful in a hurry, so price is a huge consideration (I am paying for a large boat atm).

What rods and reels do y'all like for halibut and tuna?   What other gear is recommended?

[Crunchy]

I love my halibut and ling cod fishing.  Never done tuna.  Ugly stick makes some decent/good enough rods for halibut and lings.  I did manual cranking reels for the first couple of years but first time dropping in 500-600 fow changed all that.  Cranking up 2-4 lbs of lead is a 15 minute ordeal.  Add a fish on the end and you are in trouble.  I run electric reels now.  You'll need spreader bars, pipe jigs, lead cod weights 2-3lbs will get you started.  Bunch of 7/0-12/0 hooks.  50-100lb leader line.  gaffs, harpoon and ball.  how deep you want to go on this.  List is loooonnnnnggggg. 

[hiway_99]

If your fishing offshore for halibut and lings i consider electric reels a must have item.  Otherwise your in for a long day of misery. 
  On the tuna side are you looking to just troll/handline or use live bait?  Albacore is kind of the black hole of fishing gear.
  I will PM you my number.  Give me a call one afternoon/ evening.  I run halibut and tuna charters.

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[snarkybull]

Everything necessary and/or wanted is going on my list.  Most people seem to upgrade gradually on boat size, but I am going from a 15' that needs really good condidions to hit the sunken jetty to a 24'.  So I am totally unprepared.  Not bloody likely I can get everything this year, but making a list and prioritizing.  I appreciate all suggestions.   

[MADMAX]

Everything necessary and/or wanted is going on my list.  Most people seem to upgrade gradually on boat size, but I am going from a 15' that needs really good condidions to hit the sunken jetty to a 24'.  So I am totally unprepared.  Not bloody likely I can get everything this year, but making a list and prioritizing.  I appreciate all suggestions.

If your looking
I’ve got 2 nothing fancy but solid halibut roller tip rods with tuff line spooled on 114 Penn reels a harpoon and some spreader bars I’d be willing to part with for a reasonable price
pick up in Kitsap county

[metlhead]

Many halibut rods are also great troll rods for tuna. Change the reels depending on what you are chasing that day.

[Crunchy]

Ya bottom fishing gear gets beat bad, so I wouldn't get anything too expensive except the electric reels.

[fishngamereaper]

And people will break stuff... friends, family...you...

I spent my money on reel's, a dozen Avets for shallow ling, tuna troll rods , and
 Tanacom 750 electrics x3 for deep water lings and hali.

I buy Penn Rampage rods 6' or 6-6' when I see them. And have some Okuma cedros jigging in the mix to.
Add in a couple Ugly stick spinning rods and penn reels for casting swim baits.
65lh braid on everything....topped with 25lb-30lb mono for bottom fish and tuna.

It's easy for a guy to get into the weeds with gear...
Some things buy once cry once....some things buy high and cry when it breaks...been there..

[FlyFish360]

I've got the following I'd like to get rid of:

(2) new Lamiglass Bluewater 7030 C

(1) used once  Lamiglas Bluewater 5850 C

[blackpowderhunter]

have you ever been out tuna fishing?
I'd recommend a charter this year if you have not, get a good idea of what they use, and the techniques etc.  could save you a lot of money having a better idea of how YOU want to set YOUR boat up to fish.
With regards to gear, don't rush and buy stuff that you will replace next year.
you CAN use some halibut rods as tuna troll set ups.
Is your new boat set up for live bait?  or will you just be doing trolling and working iron or swim baits?
For tuna trolling reels you want to look at open face (non level wind) reels that can hold at least 300 or so yards at least of 50 lb braid then run a mono topshot of 100 ft or so..  penn senators are a cheap and effective enough way to go.  my selection in reels is more dictated by the fact that i prefer left hand retrieve..
I like ugly stik tigers for trolling rods; theyre tough and cheap.  you want something with a stiffer tip to keep your clones in the water so they arent skipping across the surface if its kind of sporty out with wind chop.  more importantly than the gear (as you can catch them effectively on hand lines) is to make sure you have a way to PROPERLY ice down the fish.
fwiw when i run out for tuna on my personal boat i usually have between 15-16 rods...so yes, its a blackhole of gear.

Halibut i'd 100% recommend at least 1 tanacom electric reel, preferably two. 

[Happy Gilmore]

There were some nice tuna/halibut rod and reels for sale on Facebook marketplace pretty cheap. One had four for sale for 500.

Ive been picking up a reel here and there off marketplace. Got a sweet set up for $80.

[snarkybull]

This has been great information all around, the phone conversations were exceptionally enlightening.  I will have live bait capabilities and look forward to figuring out how to package a boatload of tuna.  Thank a bunch for advising.

-Snarkybull

[blackpowderhunter]

@cohoho has some kill bags for sale

[CastleRocker]

I'm sort of in the same boat, (no pun intended), as you when it comes to tuna. Went on a charter last fall, and I'm hooked!  Already had a decent little skiff that will work, and have been reading, watching YT videos, and collecting gear and knowledge where I can.  I already had my Halibut/Lingcod gear as we've been doing that since '80.  (We had gone to Neah Bay the weekend before the Mtn. blew). 

So far I've found that a lot of folks think that you "need" this or that, when you really don't.  Would a rod/reel line combo that cost north of a grand per unit be nice?  Yes, of course it would.  These same folks "need" rifle/scope combos that are 5 figures in order to go hunting.  I bought quite a bit of Albacore gear from a retired charter captain.  He sold me some Ugly Stik Tiger rods with Shimano TLD 25's for $50-$60 per combo.  I cleaned them up, took the reels apart, and put new drag washers, and grease in them, put new line on them and they're ready to go.  They will be troll rods, and bottomfish for those shallower days. 

Live bait is an absolute blast, but I don't have room for that, so the plan is to throw swimbaits and dead Anchovies, and see how that goes. 

I guess what I'm saying is; you can spend as much money on chasing Albacore as you can chasing anything else.  Will that fish bite better on a $1000+ rod/reel combo?  I don't know.

Bottom line is; stay safe, and watch the weather.  You safety and the folks that entrust their lives to you on the ocean is more important that any fish.  Spend as much as you think is necessary, and have fun!

[cohoho]

Big question is: Are you outfitting boat for Albacore or just a couple rods?   Go big or you're going to spend money on crap and it will fail and then you'll want to replace it immediately, ask me how I know this.  lol   

It is an addiction:  Way way way way cheaper to jump on one of the awesome six pac trips out of Westport.   (Far Corners, All Rivers, Pole to Pole, Mitch Coleman, etc...)

On my boat, I use FinNor Marquesa 12's matched with Shimano Terez rods, for my live bait rods, I normally bring 8-12 depending on how many on board (3-4 people) so if someone breaks off, etc..., grab another rod and tie later.  Trolling I use (6 rods) FinNor 30's matched with Terez rods.  I do bring two bigger FinNor 50's in case decide to troll way back for something unexpected that lurks the deep.  Have a couple quality spinning outfits -I use Shimano Twin Power, so your able to throw swim bait, etc...  Then you got to add slow pitch jigging set-ups (Shimano Oceana) for when you marking tuna at 50-100 feet that just haven't come up yet.  Add about 200 different lures from feathers, to cedars, to Madmacs, to Rapalas, 50-100 jigs, (the 2nd biggest question or addiction) gaffs, bled tank, a couple spools of replacement line, 12 different bags of hooks, but you only use one type, kill bags if you need above deck storage, minimum 100 gallons of fuel, etc.....   

Halibut - nice and easy - 4 anglers, 4 Electrics and beer!   

Bait $100, Ice $50 a tote, that is before you leave the dock.