Feb 11, 2005--Fire the Wire
by Scott and Wendy Bannerot

	Capt. Harry's wire line rod with 9/0 Penn Senator reel.

It's only natural that cruising mariners on all manner of vessels are becoming more heavily involved with fishing. After all, many actually live on the ocean, or at least spend inordinate amounts of time out there, virtually in the living room of all of that fine seafood. The majority of taffrails sport a grill nowadays, and of course galleys usually boast ovens, stove burners, and microwaves all ready to go. Who wants to eat canned chili when you can enjoy a fresh fish steak straight out of the sea, something that might cost dearly at a high-class restaurant?

The mention of fishing usually brings to mind monofilament line, probably the most versatile, inexpensive, and effective line material overall. However, a system of fishing developed primarily in southern Florida and the Bahamas over the years out-catches monofilament probably three to one when trolled from relatively slow moving, longer-distance vessels: wire line. Why? Mainly because wire line sinks the lures and baits deeper than monofilament, taking them down closer to the depths where many species, like wahoo and tuna, spend more time feeding. The other reason is that wire has no significant stretch. With the right hooks and properly set drag, the rate of hookup success can soar.

Alvey commercial deck winch, Reefmaster model, with different mounting options (we use the rail mount). The drag knob is facing down; note the big winding handle.

What's the best way to fish wire? One way to go is the purchase of fishing tackle specially adapted to wire line. The basic set-up is a bent-butt rod with a special swivel tip so the wire doesn't kink or jam, and a relatively inexpensive Penn Senator reel. The two primary kinds of wire are stainless steel or Monel. I strongly recommend the latter due to its ability to resist corrosion. The slightly higher initial cost is insignificant compared to the cost of breaking off fish and lures with corrosion-weakened stainless steel wire. Check out www.captharry.com for wire line outfits.

	Palmer and Betty Ann Bannerot, Scott's parents, with a fine yellowfin tuna caught trolling a swimming plug on wire line with our Capt. Harry's outfit when they came out to visit us in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

The other way to go is an Alvey commercial deck winch. Like a regular fishing reel, these have an adjustable, smooth drag, but much larger line capacity, and a higher, more effortless retrieve rate. These come in a variety of sizes with assorted mounting options. Made in Australia, they're rugged and modestly priced. Aussie sailors inevitably have one or two mounted aft. They may well be the ultimate fixed-station cruising boat fishing device. We use our Reefmaster model extensively for both trolling and deep bottom fishing. For more information contact info@alvey.com.au.

Whether you elect to purchase a wire line fishing rod and reel or a commercial deck winch, once you've loaded up with 100-pound test Monel wire, you're ready for action. Attach a 250-pound test black snap swivel to the wire with a haywire twist (see diagram page 29, The Cruiser's Handbook of Fishing). For trolling lures and rigging, please see pages 56, 53, and the photos on page 42 and 45, in the book. If you don't have it handy, basically all we're talking about is using 35 to 50 feet of # 8 stainless steel leader wire with at least a 150-pound test barrel swivel at one end, and a large spoon, swimming plug, or, for higher-speed trolling (8 to 12 knots or more), a jethead outfitted with a 90 degree hook rig. All of the details and models appear on these pages and in the gear list on pages 82 to 84.

Wendy and Paea Tavake show off a nice dogtooth tuna caught off of Savaii, Samoa trolling a swimming plug on wire with our Alvey Reefmaster.

Wire line trolling really shines as the sun gets higher, cloud cover dissipates, and ocean bird activity over surface-feeding schools begins to wane. Put out a thrashing purple and black or black and silver swimming plug with stout hardware, let out 300 feet of wire, and move the lure around passes, reef drop-offs, seamounts, wrecks, or in the open ocean and you'll catch big yellowfin, dogtooth, blackfin and other tuna (depending on what ocean you're in), wahoo, large species of mackerel, rainbow runners, occasional mahi mahi, and if you are near reefs an assortment of snappers, groupers, and other fishes. Unfortunately, sharks also respond well to this presentation. Speed is not important--these lures work well from 3.5 to 4 knots on up to 8 knots-plus depending on the brand. Spoons work down to 2 knots, but I have yet to find a spoon that hooks and holds as high a percentage of bites as properly-rigged swimming plugs.

On a day in, day out basis your wire line will far out-perform monofilament line catch rates. Monofilament is the way to go for mahi mahi and billfish, and can be very effective for species susceptible to wire line fishing, but for sheer numbers you can't beat the deep presentation and high hookup rates. And many folks who yearn to more consistently target and catch prizes like wahoo and yellowfin tuna quickly become wire line enthusiasts. So stick that tidbit under your cap for the next trip, and however you choose to fish, good luck!