Outriggers - Hard Top Mount vs Flybridge Release (?)

[Blue Angel]

I have a 30 foot Grady White Marlin 300 (2007) and am considering adding outriggers for tuna fishing. My boat is located in Sausalito, CA. Our Albacore season typically lasts from late July through October if we are fortunate.

We went out tuna fishing four times last year without outriggers, arrayed six poles and two meat lines, without any problems (and, we caught fish!).

The intriguing thing to me about outriggers is increasing the spacing between lines/lures, and covering more territory (oh, and they look great!).

The owner of the Grady White dealership I purchased the boat from(Brett), is a tuna fisherman also, and does not think that outriggers are necessary in our environment...now, if we were in Cabo or some other "big fish" area, he would vote yes (and, I respect his opinion).

However, out here on the left coast , if you talk to 100 guys re. this subject, you will likely get a 50/50 split on whether or not you should have them or not.

So, my questions for you are, 1) Are outriggers beneficial when fishing for tuna in our neck of the woods?, 2) If yes, why and if no, why not, 3.) If your answer to number 1 is yes, where do you stand on hard top mounted (ala Taco Grand Slam 350H's w/18" poles, @ $1,715 vs. Lee MX7008's, 8' in length w/16 ft. poles (24 total feet) @$4,065., and, 4) with either set-up, which poles have the least flex (ie., spreader, telescoping, straight pole?).

I welcome any other thoughts.

Thank you,


Tim

 

[gradyfish22]

Lee Sr outriggers all the way, hartop mounts are just ok in my opinion and only should be mounted on center consoles. The lee sr outriggers are the best quality and most sturdy and will offer you the largest spread on your boat, and will look 100% better then others. A cheaper alternative would be lee jr's, but most marlin's have lee sr's. The jr's will allow you good amount of space in the spread, my 265 Express has jr's, we troll an 8 rod spread typically, but I've had eleven rods out on flat calm days, just gets a bit hectic with 3 guys and 6 rods bent!! Your boat also has a wider beam which gives you more space between flat lines and your rigger lines. Hardtop mount outriggers are ok, but IMHO they do not look nearly as nice, and will not be as long in length as sr's, and about the same as jr's. The lee jr's and seniors are easy to handle, one guy can deploy them easily and retrieve them. If you want top quality, go with flybridge release model's, they are what are mounted on top quality boats. Hardtop mount riggers do get the job done, but they flex more, doesn't mean they will break, but I hate the flexing and over time it cannot be good for the outriggers. Grady has a little hardtop clamp they use for lee jr's to keep them from flexing and moving, and the lee sr's are solid as a rock. If my boat could handle lee sr's, I would upgrade in a heartbeat, but I'd never be able to pass forward, on my Express it is tough enough now.

 

[sel1005]

I have a 360 that had the 24' Lees and just sold them, refilled the holes, and right now, not sure what's next. Traditional ORs are great, but have drawbacks too; I had to have special fittings to lower them to get under bridges, which was a major pain in the whatever. Loved them offshore, though getting up on the gunwales to launch or recover in 4-6 ft seas was not fun, but they give better spreads. unless you like getting up and down all the time, keep the boat in front of low bridges.

However, for radials, be forwarned: I wanted to replace my Lees with the Taco Grand Slam 270's; major problems. GW does not recommend installing without the welded alum supports like they deliver from the factory. Say the hardtop is cored, and TACO backing plates are not sufficient. However, to mount the alum plates (Winters Marine I believe is their supplier), you have to remove the life jacket netting, canvas and rails for the canvas, remove the hardtop to weld the plates on to your tubes (or burn the underside of the hardtop) and remount it all. Locals quote me something north of $3K for installation.

For me, I now have a 360 that I can use 6 rods easily off of, and have started using downriggers vs outriggers as options. A lot less $ and the tuna and wahoo are just as plentiful as before....

 

[Twisted28]

As an alternative to having outriggers, I just saw a kite type of rigger which is raised by the wind (assuming there is some) for the occasional need to increase your spread if your boat does not have them or you don't want them.

I thiink I saw it on the wholesalemarine.com site.
I have never used it as I have Lee OR on my 28 Marlin.

Just an option.

 

[gradyfish22]

Kites are used for livebait fishing, guys in fla use them for sailfish a lot, you can only slow troll, and I mean slow, you don't want them for your use unless you want another rod out on the chunk at night, but not seeing them makes it hard to set them to a determined depth in the dark, typically you fish them so the bait bounces on the surface and looks like it is jumping or swimming on top, this also keeps the leader out of the water and helps bring in line shy fish. Downriggers help, but I've seen too many big fish lost due to downriggers and planers that were not brought in the second a fish was caught, lines can tangle and fish can be lost unless you have a good crew who knows what they are doing and know to remove them right away, if you are ok with that that can help you get 2 more rods out, but I would not switch to downriggers and not use outriggers, too many rods in a small space, you need to spread them out yet. Downriggers let you set lines down deeper, but not further apart, there is no substitute for outriggers when trolling. Other tools like downriggers or planers help present baits at different depths or ways, but that is a different type of fishing and setting the spread out.

 

[Twisted28]

Grady22 makes some excellent points.

 

[Tommyboy]

O/R

I have 18' Lee doubles on my 25 Sailfish, They are GREAT for trolling BUT ... they are a PITA the rest of the time .... here on the East coast I also do alot of back bay fishing for Fluke/Weakies and Stripers etc I can't clear any of the bridges!!! ... when I'm fishing 'inside' I have to take the poles off the boat and tie them to the dock .... I wish I had the HT mounted riggers, they can be adjusted down to sit flat to point AFT ... much more convenient in my opinion

Tom

 

[pablor]

Lee Sr outriggers can be lowered by pushing a lever on the base. they lay down perfectly at 30 seconds a piece. this is an option when you order the base (about $500). I wish they had the same option on their centerriggers...

 

[Tuna Man]

I also vote for the Lee Senoirs (now called Lee Pro series I believe). I realize they are more expensive, heavier and perhaps bulkier, but I do a lot of trolling. On my old 24 Grady I have run as many as nine rods with calm seas and a experienced crew. On the marlin I plan on running eleven rods when conditions permit early in the tuna season. I like the option to run two spreader bars from each outrigger if desired. Thankfully there are no bridges for me to pass under en route to the open ocean, perhaps I would think differently if that were an issue. I am almost certain the Lee Pro series with the single spreader (seperates the four tension wires) are much stronger than the other styles available.

So for my needs the choice is pretty clear also pretty darn expensive...