gman

Which do you prefer for fighting shark or tuna stand up

gman

say it aint so

Captain Curt

Sorry to say Glenn I was talked into buying bent butt and they are great for stand up gear the only problem is when you are trolling for tuna the don't stay in the rod holder all that well I have to use extenders.I love the bent butt for sharks because the hit is slow and less drag but when trolling for tuna the drag is heavy and the hits are hard and although it has not happened I am scared sh#t that they will pull out of the rod holder even with saftey straps so I have both butts and switch them out depending on what I am fishing for. The bent butt is much more comfotable and easier to fight fish the reel is positioned right where you need it. This is not the answer you were looking for but it is what it is.

__________________
Capt.Curt Maxon
www.relentlesscharters.com

Fish On!

Ya, I second Curt's post... they both have their pros and cons.

I have used both for the last few years and I do tend to prefer the leverage of the bent butts and the ability to fight out of the gunnel if necessary, but it requires you to make adjustments to your rod holders... as Curt said, the short curved bent butts do not sit right in the standard rod holder, they are just a tad bit to short. I have not had one fly out of the holder yet, but I'm sure it could. They do make gimbal lifters which actually work perfectly fine, but then your straight butts sit a little high. Also, the bents sit much better in 90 degree holders. Minor adjustments are also necessary to the standup harnesses when you go from one to the other.

Specifically, for shark fishing, or drifting in general, I prefer the bent butts because in the 90 degree holders you can point the rods where you want and direct them out towards the drift and line straight out the rollers... not a huge deal, but a nice bonus. For tuna, or trolling in general, I prefer the straights with angled holders because they are lined up with the troll already and sit high. When you drop a bent butt in the angled rod holder the tip of the rod comes down very low and close to the gunnel, or next rod if yours are close together. If you troll out of the 360's with bents, you'll want to lock them, so that's another thing to deal with.

So basically, I can attest to a mix of straight and bents being a bad way to go and I definitely suggest going all one way or the other. I have decided to go all bents this year so I don't have to mess around with the holders and harnesses. I decided to drop in a few more 90 degree 360 holders, as I like the way they sit in those holdders and the ability to fight out of the holder comes in handy during short handed days.

Fish On!

__________________
Fish On!
Ch.78 & 68

gman

When I fished for massive yellowfin off Puerto Vallarta or land of the giants LOL, they all slow troll with short bent butts with live skipjacks. These fish are all in the 200+ lb range.

Then I was fishing off venice, Luissiana for Yellowfin again and they all slow troll live bait with bent butts again. I said to myself last night, maybe i should have had my rod built with a bent butt

Seaker

I have lost bent butts at strike three times. Two of which the restraining strap stopped the fatality. Last season in one of the canyons we had a 70VSW light up in the chair arm...flew over board ...no big...and the restraining strap burst upon coming tight

I love em to fight fish with but they will exit your rod holders while trolling.

I would respectfully suggest having rods made with optional butts you can switch out depending upon the task of the day...Swodfishin at night, kite fishin for sharks...I like the bent butt....high speed trolling or trolling in general...straight. When we high speed troll the bents get set into the flat lines on 90 holders while everything else is turned out.

Hope this helps you

__________________

www.seakersportfishing.com

seaclops

The bent butts are nice for fighting a fish stand up, but you need both.
WE used to only use bent butts for the big stuff,,80s & 130s. Last few
years been using bents on 30s @ 50s catching YFT chunking.FUN STUFF
Definitly more comfortable with the harness set up right. I don't like bent
butts for high speed trolling only use them on flat lines..Try different things
but ya need both!! 13 set ups,,,8are straight 5 are bent. been working for years

old mud

Hey Glen: now you know, General consensus is,......BOTH !! I personly only use bent butts in swivel 90 degree holders. 130s. 6 ft. safety lines on all. Upon hookup safety line off and pollyball on, Hung over the side.

Don

__________________
"I was so poor growing up that if I wasn't a BOY I'd have had nothing to play with"
Piker Ancient Mariner

gman

I can always count on Don for a straight answer...thanks DON

I got it now guys

gro

bent rods