Canyon Overnighter

Aboard the Tuna Nut, a 33-foot Hydra-Sport Vector, Neal Larsson sets out on a 24-hour offshore excursion to the deep blue waters of East Atlantis Canyon. The trip is full of action, starting with chicken mahi stacked up around high-flyers that let the anglers break out the light tackle and do some casting. Later in the day, tasty longfin albacore take an interest in the trolling spread and scream drag off the 30-pound-class stand-up gear. Once the sun sets, it’s swordfish time, and Dave Beaumont shows us his technique for rigging squid for swords. The anglers set their drift for the night and hope that a broadbill or tuna will find their baits worthy of a meal.

Show Location: East Atlantis Canyon

Rigging:

Dave Beaumont’s Swordfish Rig:
With 300-pound-test monofilament leader material, crimp a size 12/0 offshore hook, leaving a long tag end. Thread the leader through the mantle of the squid and out the tip. Then take the tag end and pass it back through the squid, using a rigging needle to create a hole for the line three-quarters of an inch away from the main leader. Clip the excess of the tag leader protruding from the squid, and you will have prevented the squid from sliding down the leader. Take the hook and impale the head of the squid, effectively hiding the hook.

Attach a loop of rigging floss 10 feet above the bait on the main line – this will be used to attach the fluorescent light. Ten feet above the light, attach the weight with another loop of floss.

On his main line, Dave puts floss markers that denote the desire depth for each bait.

Boat: 33’ Hydra-Sport Vector center console; Twin Yamaha 250 engines