Bwana's Guide to Chumming For Tuna (South Coast Style)

[Bwana]

BWANA'S GUIDE TO CHUMMING FOR TUNA (SOUTH COAST STYLE)



With all the excitement recently over the great tuna fishing that we have been experiencing in KZN the past two months I felt it was time to put together a long overdue tutorial on how to chum for tuna.

To start  off I must say this is a very effective way of catching tuna and a variety of  other pelagic gamefish, but having said that there are other ways of doing it  and styles and techniques may vary. The guys in the Cape  do it slightly differently, but for tuna in KZN waters this is an effective  method. It has worked for me for many years but please note this is not the  definitive guide to chumming but merely a tutorial on what works for me! Where  possible I have tried to include the little tips and tricks that can save you  time, effort and hopefully put more fish on deck.
What is  chumming all about?
Essentially  “chumming” or “block baiting” is a style of fishing that utilises chopped up  pieces (blocks or chum-pieces) of baitfish (sardine / pilchard / mackerel) to  create a “chum-line” of bait and scent in the water to attract tuna and other  gamefish to the angler’s rigged baits which are also deployed on a free-drift  amongst the chum pieces. This technique is almost always used from a drifting  boat and is dependent on factors such as current and wind to get the desired  effects. Gamefish are lured into the chum-line by the scent of the chum and it  gets them into a feeding pattern that attracts them to the anglers bait.

[Bwana]

What  equipment do you need?
The real  beauty of this technique is its simplicity. Apart from tackle which I will  discuss later, the following items are your main necessities:
 
Bucket – your stock standard 5L bucket works fine, or you can use larger paint drums etc, but its main function is to hold the pre-cut chum pieces and allow you to dispense the chum from one spot without messing all over the place. It’s going to be affectionately known as “the chum bucket.
Scissors – You can use a good quality sharp bait knife, but in my experience it is far easier cutting up sards into pieces using a good quality pair of sharp scissors. Don’t skimp on this, the best available are the Gardena blue and black gardening scissors which are self-sharpening and perfect for the job. Just be careful – they’ll cut a finger clean off so make sure you aim correctly when cutting your chum. The other benefit of using scissors is you can cut the chum straight into the water or into the bucket and you don’t need a cutting board.
Ladle - you don’t have to have this but it makes the process so much cleaner and easier. You can either use a solid soup ladle or the one with holes in (my preference) either way its main use is to scoop chum pieces out of the chum bucket and throw them       into the water. It prevents you getting blood, slime and oil on your hands each time before you handle tackle etc.
Bait – undoubtedly the best all round chum is sardine / pilchards. We buy the 5kg bulk boxes because 1 box = 1 bucket of chum. In a normal day we’ll use between 3-5 boxes (5kg each). You can use less but some days you need more.
Helpful tip: Bait management is important so don’t defrost all your 5kg boxes at once, defrost as you need. For you bait       pieces (that you rig) we often take 1 separate box of 4kg IQF (individually quick frozen) sards which we use for bait chunks.
Bottle of concentrated anchovy oil – this can be added to the chum bucket to give extra scent and oil, but sometimes can bring the sharks into the chum line so use sparingly!

[Bwana]

How to cut the chum
We use normal 5kg sardines that you can buy at most tackle shops. Check  that the bait is fairly fresh, but it doesn’t need to be IQF quality as you are  going to chop it up anyway.

To cut up the sardine you are going to aim to get 5 fairly equal sized  pieces out of a sard (we don’t count the tail piece). Using your scissors cut  the sard into pieces starting from the tail and working towards the head,  dropping the pieces into the chum bucket as you go. With a bit of practice you  will get a nice rhythm going and a 5kg box will take 4-5min to cut into the  bucket. Helpful tip: always make an extra cut through  the eye sockets of the head as it prevents the head section from floating in  your chum line which attracts sea birds that will then come and steal your  other chum.

[Bwana]

How to cut your bait chunks
This is also a very easy  method, for most scenarios you will try to make your bait chunk match the size  of your chum pieces so that the tuna will eat it as if it was part of the chum.  Too large a piece will look out of place, but having said that there are times  when we use whole sards and even half-sard sized chunks to get results. The  general rule is to keep your chunk a similar size to the rest of the chum.

Take a whole sard, in my  opinion use the best quality you can find (fresh, shiny, and preferably IQF).  With your scissors cut off the tail fibres of the sardine up against the flesh  of the tail. Next make a cut from the anal fin area up to the back of the sard,  which will give you a nice sized solid chunk. Be careful not to cut too far  forward from the anal fin as you will be cutting into the stomach cavity which  is softer meat and tends to rip and disintegrate when rigging. Try to pre-cut  about 20-30 chunks to have ready, and keep them in a separate bucket or bait  tray. When the action kicks off you don’t want to have to run around trying to  cut new chunks, rather just grab one and rig it!

[Bwana]

Traces for chunk baits
Now you’ve got your bait  chunks sorted, we need to discuss traces and hook types before we discuss  rigging your bait chunk. There are many die-hard supporters of J-hooks for tuna  fishing, but in my experience nothing beats a good quality circle hook. The  advantages are mostly due to they way a tuna feeds when moving through the chum  line, they cruise into the chum and pick off drifting pieces, swallowing and  moving on. Now when a tuna has inhaled your chunk rigged with a J-hook it  swallows it and by the time you’ve reacted to your screaming reel and tightened  up your J-hook is halfway down its throat which means you lose the chance to release  it safely, but more importantly means that your leader is now protruding from  the fishes mouth during the fight and rubs continually against the tuna’s small  sandpaper-like teeth which can result in chafe and parting of your leader  during the fight. It is very rare to hook a tuna in the corner of the mouth  with a J-hook with this style of fishing. Alternatively with a circle hook,  this style is suited perfectly to the way a circle hook operates, the fish  swallows the chunk and swims off against a loose drag, you gradually ease up the  drag and the hook finds its place in the corner of the tuna’s mouth – problem  solved! It is also a more secure hookset, you can put extra pressure on the  fish and your leader won’t be chafed by those little teeth.

Having said this, there are 3  main traces I would recommend for this style of fishing:

1)       General J-hook trace – single 8/0 Mustad Hoodlum or  8/0 Daichii, 1.2m of  80lb Fluorocarbon  bite trace, #4 Power swivel
2)       General purpose circle hook trace – single 6/0 VMC Sport Circle,  1.2m of 60lb Fluorocarbon bite trace, #4 power swivel
3)       Heavy duty circle hook trace – single 8/0 Mustad Ultrapoint Circle,  1.2m of 100lb Fluorocarbon, #2 power swivel (this is for when there are larger  fish around)

These hook sizes are matched  to the size of the chunks we’ll be using.

[Bwana]

Rigging your chunk bait
For the purposes of this  tutorial I’ll be using a circle hook, but the principle is the same for a  J-hook. Your aim is to conceal the hook inside the chunk so that it doesn’t  attract attention while drifting amongst the chum pieces. Hiding the hook point  in the chunk does not affect the hookup on either J-hooks or circles as the  tuna absolutely crushes the chunk when it takes and the hook point will find  its mark on the strike.

1) Take your pre-cut chunk  and your circle hook on its trace. Insert the point of the hook into the top  (thin end) of the chunk and slide it halfway down the chunk along the backbone.

 2)  Push the hook point out through the flesh midway down the chunk so that the  hook point and gape protrude from the flesh

[Bwana]

3) Pull the hook through the  flesh and twist to face 180 degrees then position the hook gape under the  bottom of the chunk. Your leader will still be running up along the backbone  and out the thin end (top) of the chunk
 
4) Lastly twist the  hook point around and tuck into the skin on the other side of the chunk. Now  the hook is properly concealed and the shank is along the mid line of the chunk  so it acts as a keel while the chunk drifts.

[Bwana]

Best conditions for chumming
This technique requires both current  and wind conditions to work best. Ideally you want upwards of a knot of current  and a slight opposing wind to hold the boat on the drift and let the baits  work. You would also use this technique around some form of structure, either  reef, pinnacles, high points, FADS or colour lines. Firstly do a short test  drift to see the line of the drift, determine current speed and direction and  then move up and position the boat correctly for a proper drift over your  intended drop zone. Helpful tip: If you have current  and an opposing wind situation stop the boat and turn your motors full-lock in  the direction that the wind is coming from, this will allow the boat to settle  side on to the wind and you can deploy your baits from the windward side of the  boat.

The chumming technique
This is not a technique that  allows many lines to be deployed, ideally each angler should man one rod each,  and you can put out a trap-stick if you want an extra option. This is the basic  routine:

1)       Once the boat has stopped moving and starts to settle  onto its drift line, make sure the GPS plotter and fish finder are on (this  helps you track your drift periodically but also allows you to see showings  below you as you drift)
2)       Take out your bucket of pre-cut chum and scoop out a  ladle full of chum into the water next to the boat. Watch the chum as it drifts  away from the boat, it should drift away while sinking slowly. Scoop out another  ladle full as soon as the previous chum blocks have drifted out of sight.
3)       Bait up your traces and get your rods into the gunnel  rod holders. Ideally you should have a vertical rod holder and horizontal rod  holder (e.g. Scotty or stainless steel cradle type) per rod.
4)       With the rod standing vertical in the gunnel, pull off  enough line that the chunk and leader hang over the gunnel just into the water.
5)       Engage the ratchet on your reel and back the drag off  to freespool.
6)       Take a ladle full of chum and dump it into the water  next to your dangling bait chunk, then pull more line off the reel so that your  chunk starts to sink alongside the chum pieces you put into the water.
7)       Now pull off 30 arm lengths of line from the reel by  pulling down on the line from the tip of your rod towards the reel, let the  loose line lay on the water next to the boat. This allows your bait chunk ample  free line to drift naturally into the chum line without resistance.
8)       Take the rod out of the vertical rod holder and lay it  down in the horizontal one, make sure the drag is engaged on its lightest  setting with the ratchet ON. Watch the loose line as it slowly tightens and  straightens as the chunk drifts.
9)       Add the next anglers bait and chum using the same  technique. Helpful hint: Stagger the timing on  deploying baits so that you don’t tangle each others’ lines.
10)    Keep adding a  ladle full of chum each time the previous chum drifts out of sight.
11)   Once your loose line has straightened and tightened  completely leave the bait for 30 seconds and then wind it all the way back in  and repeat steps 1-8. This carries on until you get a strike. Bring lines in  and deploy them in a staggered fashion. This is a simple process but requires  constant work and concentration to do properly.

The strike and hookup

Now that you’ve go your baits  working and a steady chum line it’s a matter of time until you get a strike.  Here’s what to do when your reel starts screaming:
1)       As the reel starts screaming, reach over and lightly  thumb the spool to prevent an overwind. Next ease the drag up to strike (if you  are using a circle hook) and the rod will take the load as the hook sets.
2)       Remove the rod from the holder and settle in to the  fight
3)       Throw more chum into the water as there may be other  fish in the chum line and you want to entice more strikes. Leave the other  lines in the water as long as possible until the angler who has the fish on  either requests them to be brought in or if his fish is getting close to the  boat. Often the extra 2 or 3 minutes longer that the lines are left in can turn  a single hookup into 2 or 3 more strikes.
4)       The skipper should mark a waypoint at the spot where  the hookup occurred so that the next drift can be lined up on the same drift  line.
5)       Once all the fish are boated, run up and start the  drift again, repeating exactly the same steps to start the chum line again.
There are days when it can be  extremely slow and labour intensive, but there are days where you can’t even  get your chunk into the water for more than 30 seconds before you go tight, it  can be pure mayhem!

[Bwana]

Lastly a word or two on  tackle requirements for this type of fishing. Although you can use normal  fishing rods and reels for this style, if you are going to specifically target  tuna in this manner it pays to have the right gear as it will make fighting  these fish much easier and more comfortable.

Reels
I would recommend using any  good quality two-speed reel in the 20 or 30 size (e.g. Tyrnos 20II & 30II,  TLD 20II or 30II, or Tiagra 30W) as this will give you a huge advantage over a  single speed reel especially when the tuna starts its stubborn slow circles  under the boat. The low gear gives you far more torque to turn and lift the  fish at this moment and can spell the difference between a landed fish and a  tax return. That being said many tuna are landed on single speed reels every  year, it is just harder work.

Rods
In this department you are  looking for shorter rather than longer. Fighting a tuna on a couta rod is  seriously hard work. I recommend sticking with a decent quality 5ft 6” to 6ft  stand-up boat rod matched to the reel and for line weights 15-24kg. Good brands  are everywhere and some affordable options are Penn Legion, Penn Tuna Stick,  Shimano Tiagra 30/50 and Daiwa stand-up rods. The shorter rod gives you more  power to lift these fish and also allows the short pump and wind style of  fighting tuna.

Line
Big tuna can be taken on line  from 10kg right up to 37kg depending on where you are fishing. My opinion is  that you want a good all round line that will get you the pulls but also be  strong enough to pull a big stubborn tuna away from sharks if needed. Having  used many lines I have settled on the invincible Maxima Ultragreen for the past  few seasons. It is extremely strong, durable and abrasion resistant and  relatively invisible in the water. My preference is 30lb and I can get 400m  onto my Tyrnos 30II which is more than enough string. Don’t be tempted to go  too heavy on the line, it will affect the way your chunk drifts and can result  in less strikes. Too thin and you will get the pulls but will also loose bigger  fish if you have to put pressure on them. I certainly think anything more than  40lb line would be overkill for this style of fishing in KZN where a 25kg tuna  is considered a trophy on bait. Leaders can be anything from 50-80lb but again  too heavy will reduce the number of strikes. I prefer a 50lb leader (bimini  main line double onto back-to-back figure 8 with leader) of around 4m tied  straight onto the swivel of my bite trace. Some days if the fish are very fussy  I’ll cut the leader off and tie my mainline directly to the swivel on the bite  trace which can bring strikes under tough conditions.

[Bwana]

Well that’s about it, a very  simple technique that constantly delivers quality fish. Go out there and give  it a try you won’t be disappointed! Feel free to ask me any questions, I am  sure I may have missed something in this tutorial but I’ll gladly answer any  questions to help you guys out.

 Here  are some of the fish I’ve caught using this technique

[John F]

Thanks Mark! Fabulous tut!

Post of month for sure! 

[Lofty]

eventhough I'm not a offshore fisherman(hopefully one day) I really enjoyed reading it... and great tut that I'm sure will help a lot of guys targetting pelagics...

[REEFMAN]

One of the best tuts I've ever seen on Ultimate! Fantastic! ++
Lot of work went into this. Thanks Mark!
 

[isivuba]

  Thanks Mark.....This is a flippen awesome tut and one I will be using soon. Like Reefz said alot of work went into this, well done!!!!!   
 
Oh going to print this and into the boat file .

[CLS]

Great tut have some credit, thanks for sharing.

[FFF]

Thanks Mark. Really usefull information.

[Umpa Lumpa]

  Mark, awesome Tut bud.

[Corks]

   Great tut,    For sharing. We typically troll or pitch lives for tuna but definatly going to give block baiting a go.  On average would you say you catch bigger fish with this technique.

[kevf]

brilliant tut

[Half-Pint]

  Awesome tut Mark!

Never under estimate the amount of work that goes into this technique! You should be busy all the time either chopping chum, putting out new baits keeping the chum line going.

I'm sure Mark or some other more experienced guys can correct me if I'm wrong but one of the tips I was given is that people have a tendency to dump big handfuls of chum across long intervals when what you want is to keep adding a couple of chunks all the time