Tinkers

[bullfighter]

Have the tinkers remained thick off shore over the last couple of nights?

[freezorburn]

Yes,

I fish down around 25.41 and there where so many tinkers my fish finder kept reading the tinkers as the bottom.

[bullfighter]

thanks for the info...i wont waste time trying to make bait on the way out

[SFLMAN]

Whats the best way to catch them?I tried a sabiki last week with no luck.

[bullfighter]

we loaded up on them with a sabiki last night, seems to work well usually

[Canyon Runner]

Sabikis work ok...but they break easy, and you constantly lose hooks and rigs. I don't know if you can get them around here, but in the N. we use specially made mackerel rigs. Just like a sibiki but bigger hooks, a rubber colored tube over the hook shaft, and 30lb main line, been using the same rig for the last 6 trips now and they love em! The rigs come with three hooks, I just clip two rigs inline to make a nice stringer...
http://www.anglerdepot.com/htm/tackl...kerel-tree.asp
this is an example of one type of rig...

[bullfighter]

Thats a good idea, I usually use the long ones with about ten hooks, after a couple of drops it usually becomes one big knot becasue the tinkers are so aggressive

[Threesenough]

Last Wed. we got tired of using the Sabiki. Had so many that when we needed one, we just used the little bait well dip net, leaned over the side next to the chum bag and picked out a winner!

Had a contest to pass the time to see who could scoop up the most at one time. Two was magic number, just could not get three in the net in one swipe.

Never had a squid touched all night, but they where munching on Tinkers.

We were fishing down around 25-41 and 079-52

going tomarrow night out of P.E.

[RiskTaker]

Let see: 2s not enough Tinkers but I suppose 3 is ?

You know, I have heard some odd-ball fish stories about Tinkers.

1 - Like move away from the pack if it is too thick. (But forget about last Wednesday night , You had better stay put or lose your place in "waterworld") But it was not much of a consensus from the POLL about this same topic a while back.

or 2- If you can see the pack on fish finder be sure some baits baits are sitting under the pack so that they stand out like from the crowd.

Good luck and please post any news on the bight since we may have plans for Thursday night break-away providing the weather is deteriorating slower than forecasted. We need to show a former Florida cracker and Jamaican saltey that you can catch swordfish on a regimented diet of dead squid.

[Threesenough]

Last Wed. was amazing. It was the most boats I have ever seen down on the south grounds. We usually fish a little further south, but when we got out to the 25-40 line there where eight boats set up right on our numbers, and plenty more in the general vacinity.

Typically if we see two or three other boats the entire night down there we are surprised. Especially during the week.

We were covered with tinkers on both of our drifts. One was shallow and one was deep.

[tunaman81]

I was also out last Wednesday night, off of Key Biscayne, and we were covered up with tinkers almost all night. Sakibis work great, but like was previously stated soon become a big knot. Any small jig will catch them. Saw a slashed up mackerel come up and hang in the lights, quickly followed by an 80lb sword.

[JahMussa]

Use a larger hunk of lead... like a 16 or 24 oz. Rarely will a full rack of Tinkers or Runners swim you up. Also, the hayabusa D119 has a light line... I think it's a 30 main line with 15/17 branches. The Marathon / Tsunami / Frenzy has a 50 main line and 30# on the branches. At $3 a rig, you get better than 2 rigs for the price of one Hayabusa... and they are stronger.

-Tek