For those who have taken the 36 hour trips out of Galveston, is late October early November a good time to go? Me and a couple of buddies are wanting to book with captain John at Williams party boats. Also, would my Saragosa 10000sw and Terez combo be enough to battle a yellowfin if I was lucky enough to hook one? Currently spooled with 65lb braid. I've caught plenty of football sized blackfin with it's but nothing close to a yellowfin.

Yes that's a good time to go. November edges out late October IMO. Late October may find calmer conditions but catches can sometimes be less. By December the weather comes into play more.

Later in the year the better for those trips but as tunatamer stated, the weather really comes into play the later you go. I'm booked for Oct. 28/29 this year.

I think your combo should be fine barring hooking into an absolute monster. I have brought in a number of 60 - 70 lb. schoolies on my old Penn 6500ss using 20 lb. mono. The Gossa and Terez should be able to handle it. That said I now fish a Gossa 20K loaded with 80 lb. braid on an Okuma Custom Hawaiian as my main Halco rig. Doesn't hurt to load for bear when you are in bear country.

Tom H.

Thanks for the response Tom. Do you think my 6'6" heavy terez would be capable of casting the halcos far enough or should I bring something a little longer? I also have a Shimano blue water tallus that's 7'2".

Most of the time I think a 7'2" rod would give you more distance. There are exceptions though. I have a 6'6" jigging rod I can reach out there with as well as the 7' rods.

Try them both. If you have good technique you might be surprised.

Thanks tunatamer I appreciate it. I'll bring both and see what works best. Never know when/if I might need a backup rod anyhow. Also, what other fish do they usually target on the way out and back this time of year? With amberjack and snapper season closed, seems like it would be slim pickings.

The Tallus is probably the best option for distance but the Terez will work too.

The bow is where the overhand casting takes place and its a busy place. Sometimes it can be difficult to push your way up into the crowd and fish. If you want a little room around you then you will end up casting from somewhere in the middle and you will have to master underhanded casting. I found that my 6' Ugly Stik Tiger Elite Jigging rod does better at this type of casting than my long rod. The best all around answer is to bring both assuming you have enough reels. Having a 2nd halco rig ready to throw is helpful if you get taxed by a cuda in the middle of a hot bite.

Another tip at least for the New Buc if that is the outfit you choose. Halco throwing is done from the starboard side. If you can position yourself in the starboard side stern corner as you arrive at the tuna spot then you will have a great deal of freedom for casting, this is assuming you throw right handed of course.

Here is a video in shot on my last trip on the New Buccaneer. I haven’t fished the Captain John in years and at one time they didn’t allow overhead casting. Hopefully that has changed. Good line will actually help you cast further, I use Threadlock 50 but I also throw 80g lures at bluefin with it. A longer rod and good line will give you better distance!

There is a whole thread on 360 tuna about fishing those boats…

https://www.360tuna.com/threads/beg...shing-for-tuna.49616/page-12#post-632138


https://youtu.be/jtSRN6jehM8

Thanks for the tips everyone! Me and three other buddies are scheduled to go out next week on Thursday and Friday on the Captain John. Hopefully the weather holds up and we can bring back some nice fish! I’ll let you guys know how it goes.

Thanks Briann,
Hopefully the article and videos help!

I just ran across this thread and was wondering if someone could post info on how these trips run.... What time do they leave? how far out do they go? Do people sleep? What time do they return to port? ECT.

Im building a boat specifically for going out of galveston 100ish miles and fishing and am curious how people go about this logistically.

Private trips usually leave port around noon and make their way out. Find a place to catch bait, head out to deep water to arrive before sunset. The bite is usually from right at sunset, give or take an hour to midnight. It’ll crank back up before sunrise until the sun is good and hot. Once the sun is up, they dive with no interest in coming up easily.

Sleeping is in shifts so there’s a competent person able to maneuver the boat as needed at all times. Tuna fishing happens at the floaters. Fuel capacity vs burn rate is key. Need to have enough fuel on board to make at least 300 miles before getting into the last 10% of the tank.

The floaters start at (IIRC) 122 miles from Freeport. Slightly closer from Sargent or Matty. That’s where the tuna are in numbers. They are occasionally caught in shallower water (600-1000ft) around shelf rigs but it’s not a regular bite. Water can get snotty with little notice so XM weather and radar are a must out there. Know the bearing from port to destination and from destination to port by heart. If the GPS(s) (I wouldn’t run without at least 2) go out, a compass will bring you in.

Have a ditch bag with a first aid kit, epirb, flares, sun block and water in it. Have PFDs handy at all times. Life raft is another must. Make sure to have extra fuel filters and oil on the boat at all times for those trips. Redundant bilge pumps are a must. Also, there’s no ice machines or water fountains out there. The line between life and death gets a lot thinner 120 miles from shore so put as much distance between you and that line before leaving the dock.

This isn’t everything but I hope this helps.

Please update the thread after the trip.

Valuable information... Welcome to the forum.