I’m a big fan of bungy-trolling lines. While the robust materials used mean that the sporting element is missing, there is something satisfyingly primal about the physical ‘hand-to-hand combat’ aspect that spins my wheels – and there is also a skill to keeping the hooked fish skipping on the surface as the boat continues onwards. This means a ‘bungy session’ can be entertaining as well as productive.
There are many reasons why anglers might want to catch a bunch of kahawai, skipjack or albacore tuna in the quickest possible time.
One of the most common is so a decent quantity of fresh bait can be secured for use as live, dead or cut baits, or frozen and stored for later use. The other main reason is to provide fresh, tasty food!
But why the need to bring them in quickly? Most often, it’s because the boat is travelling from A to B or trolling for gamefish, situations where it can be a nuisance to frequently stop the boat to fight and eventually secure fish hooked on rods and reels. These fish might be small, but they fight well for their size.
Slowing the boat is especially problematic for game fishers as the skirted lures slow down too much to be effective while these fish are being fought, so it’s wasted time. Secondly, this method of ‘speed catching’ cuts down on the chances of the hooked fish getting eaten by predators mid-fight.
The above reasons also help explain why these lines tend to be set reasonably short, even though small trolling lures set further back, away from the prop wash, are often more effective, as tuna/albacore/kahawai can be hesitant to come into the wash. Furthermore, longer set lines may allow tuna, especially to get their heads down, making them harder to pull in and increasing the chances of the hook ripping out.
Also, anglers trailing a pattern of trolling lures want to avoid having them get tangled with the bungy-line lure, including when there is a hooked fish attached and skipping and splashing behind the boat.
And ‘skipping’ is what we ideally want, as this makes these modest-sized tuna so much easier to bring to the boat; as already mentioned, any fish that manages to get its head down can be a pain to control and often rips free. It’s therefore advantageous to develop a smooth tuna-retrieving arm action that keeps the tuna up on the surface and, as you will soon see, the way the bungy line is constructed greatly facilitates this.
The other major factor that needs to be taken into account when constructing your line is that if it’s too thick, the wake’s first pressure wave tends to grab it and pull it across the wake on an angle, introducing a dogleg into the system and also holding the lure up on the surface, making your bungy less effective. That’s why this one tapers down from super-strong braid to 400-300lb nylon (depending on the thickness of the monofilament), then, finally, to 150-200lb nylon (again, brand dependent).
The bungy-line components
The plastic hand spool needs to be just big enough to accommodate the line and no more, so it’s easy to store and is less likely to get in the way (see photo on the previous page). Rigging your line is as follows:
1. The braided-cord mainline should be tightly woven, around 3mm thick, reasonably soft if possible, and measure approximately 6-7m long. A loop slightly bigger than the spool can be tied at the spool end using a triple surgeon’s knot or similar, so the storage spool can be completely removed if desired, enabling the line to be secured to a well-positioned bollard or large cleat.
2. The bungy cord is best incorporated within the braided line; mine is tied to the corded line using tightly pulled uni knots at each end. The bungy cord itself has tight overhand knots at both ends, with the tag ends melted flat using a lighter so they won’t come undone.
3. Connect the braided line to a large ball-bearing swivel using a Uni knot, then crimp on four meters of 300-400lb nylon. I’ve also incorporated a metal thimble to help prevent wear over time. Next, crimp the nylon to another ball-bearing swivel at the other end; some anglers have a Coastlock clip here instead, enabling them to change lures, but I’m very confident of my choice!
4. Now crimp on the last 2-meter length of 150-200lb nylon. This is a tricky balancing act since the thicker the nylon, the more it will be affected by the wake and the more the lure’s action will suffer, resulting in fewer bites. However, it also needs to be thick and strong enough so it won’t snap on a decent albacore (10kg specimens are quite possible) and to enable effective handling.
5. Next, attach your lure. Obviously, it pays to carefully consider your choice here; if the lure’s not attractive to the fish being targeted, it’s not much use. I find that small (2.5-3.5”), streamlined, squid-type lures with a chrome metal or weighted head are excellent. And if they happen to have at least some pink colouration, so much the better.
6. That done, crimp on the biggest double ‘claw’ hook the lure can realistically accommodate. Single hooks tend to rip out of the tuna’s soft mouth, as do smaller claw hooks, so again, it’s a balancing act.
So that’s it, my ‘super bungy lure rig’, and as you can tell from its shabby condition, it’s proven itself over many trips!
