Recent content by luckydude

Excellent job, where did you get it? Also, don't be me, when I first started tieing FG knots, I didn't appreciate how hard you have to pull to tighten them properly. It's the pull that makes the braid dent the mono and that provides the strength. I got some of those knot tensioners, a pair of...

We're pretty similar, I skip the melting as well, haven't found a need for it and it makes the knot more complicated. I finish with a Risotto knot and I leave about a quarter inch of braid tag. That's my tell tale, if I see that tag getting longer, it's time to retie the knot. I tried half...

If you are having trouble with the FG knot, watch this: It's true that the FG is harder to tie than an RP but it's not that much harder, I'm no genius and I have tied hundreds of FG knots. And it is finished with a risotto knot which is the same thing you finish your serve with when using...

I just use the FG knot. And I test all my gear to 70 pounds of pressure. The FG knot, when properly cinched down, is a great knot, much stronger than the RP knot. Don't get me wrong, the RP knot is a fine knot for salmon, halibut, rockfish, lings, all of your smaller fish. And it's easy to...

And everyone is correct. There is a popular knot, the RP knot, that is you fold the mono over. go through the mono loop with the braid, wind around the two mono down towards the tag, wind up towards the loop and go through the loop again. Easy to tie, looks nice, a lot of tuna caught on this...

Sean, agreed. In general, I keep the boat in gear on pretty much anything bigger than rock fish. Salmon, halibut, tuna, all in gear. It helps that I have auto pilot so I don't have to be at the helm. For bluefin, I turn the auto pilot off because we are frequently turning to move the line...

Indeed. It's weird, this is not my first bluefin, just the first in my boat. I've put around a half dozen on the deck in my friend's boat. The weirdness is sometimes you process the fact that you got a tuna in the moment, but more often it is later that it sinks in, in the moment it's sort of...

My tuna gear is Penn VISX 30s on Seeker 2x4 for fly lining and Penn VISX 50s on Okuma PCH-TRS-something, rated for 80-150, for mad macs. The fly line reels have 700 yards of 80# hollow core with 50 yards of 60 and 80 pound fluoro topshot. The madmac reels have 700 yards of 100# hollow core...

I appreciate all of the advice, I'll absorb it and think. All that said, as much as it is a big deal to get a bluefin, what I really want is albacore. Bluefin is sort of the steak of fish, I'm not a big steak guy so I eat less of that. The sushi blocks will get eaten. But I want albacore...

Ok, here come the pics. Sorry for the delay, I'm dealing with my German Shepard having cancer, it's a yoyo, some days I think I need to put him down, then he perks up and there is no way I'm putting him down then.

I'll get you pictures when I get them off my phone. I am so stoked we got one. And both of us are Grady 228 owners. That boat is the shit out here, if I could smack Grady in the face, I'd say wtf, why discontinue this popular boat? That's a great boat. Would I like bigger? Of course I...

So those of you who know me, know that I replaced the hard top with a custom pilot house because I wanted to be able to see. I did that a couple of years ago so I could see tuna. I've gone on a tuna journey, I put my madmacs in the water a couple of years ago and my stuff came undone like a...

So bittersweet. I don't know you but if you ever get out to Santa Cruz CA, you have a spot on my 228. BTW, 3mpg???? My 228 averages 2.2mpg over the lifetime of the boat. When coming back in from 73 miles offshore on the fumes, my buddy pulled the tabs up, trimmed the engine back a little, he...

I think you'd be better off with twin 150 or 200s. 225 is way under powered for that boat, I have the next size down and I have a 250 and she is rated for a 300. The gulfstream is rated for 2x 200 for 400hp max. I think they are fine with twin 150s but anything less than that is a hard no in...

As a 228 owner, I am underwhelmed by the 218. I paid $130K in 2020 for my boat and trailer. When the 218 came out, they wanted $167K for the same setup and the 218 is a serious downgrade from a 228. I think it's a downgrade from the 208. It's got a tiny cockpit. Might be ok for rod&reel...