The Long Range Angler Gift Guide

Long range means days on the water out of San Diego, living aboard between stops. The crew finds the fish, and the rail fills fast when they show. The targets are Pacific bluefin and yellowfin tuna, plus yellowtail. The heart of it runs from the warm months into fall, and where the fish set up changes from year to year. Some stops the fish are on top, around a paddy or along a color change. Some they stay deep and only show on the meter.

My rule for that rail: find the surface shot first, and keep a jig rod rigged for the fish that stay down. Long-range anglers stock up before every trip and buy heavy. This is the bag I'd pack for one before the boat leaves.

1  FRANKEN Macro Chug Popper “The Long-Range Caller”

WHEN  Fish boiling on top, a paddy that looks right, or a color change worth a few casts. When a stop shows anything on top, this is the first cast. A single blowup answers two questions: are they up, and what do they want.

FISH IT  Rod tip low. A loud chug and a full stop when they want commotion; slide into a walk-the-dog glide when they don't. Warm-water fish rise a long way for noise, so let it sit. Something following? Leave it dead still for five seconds.

WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT  It makes hidden fish show themselves. Forward-weighted to cast a long way, and built tuna-tough. In our SoCal bluefin film with Capt. Morgan Promnitz, translucent pink poppers got eaten; this is that look on the newer plug.

2  Epoxy Jig In-Line “The Long Ball”

WHEN  Fish busting small bait just out of range, or yellowtail pushing bait off the paddy and turning away from bigger lures. Silverside is my pick in clean blue water and bright sun.

FISH IT  Throw it as far as it goes and keep the crank fast. Bait right under the surface? Rod high and skip it. Fish that pop up and sound get a 5 to 8 count on the fall, then a medium retrieve back through where they were.

WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT  It reaches fish a softbait can't, without a big splash. This is the original OG epoxy, new to most West Coast boxes: properly keeled, slower-sinking than metal so it hangs in front of fish, on a VMC 4X in-line single.

“...tuna are busting just out of normal casting range, tie on this epoxy jig and let it fly” Bob M.

3  Protail Paddle Guide Pack “The 7-Iron”

WHEN  A boil just went down, or fish are milling under the boat and won't look up. Drop it right where the boil was and let it swim down through the fish that stayed. Olive is my clean-water color when they get picky.

FISH IT  Count it down to the fish, then a steady crank. Rod angle is the depth control: lower the tip to go deeper without speeding up. It works straight down as a jig too, so it never has to leave the water when they sound.

WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT  No softbait on the market takes more abuse, and the 4 oz is the heavy size tuna anglers reach for first. San Diego anglers report it working as well as bait, at times better.

“...for a softbait, they are very resilient.” Tommy K.

4  Tuna Harness Jig “The Slow-Down Button”

WHEN  Fish on the meter under the boat that look at fast jigs and won't eat, or a slow drift where metal goes dead. It's also the jig for the stop where the fish run big.

FISH IT  Get it to the marks and work it in inches, not feet: short twitches, long pauses. Most bites come on the fall and feel like nothing, a twitch in the line or slack where there shouldn't be. Set on it. Most anglers fish it twice as fast as they should.

WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT  This is the answer when the meter is full and nothing will chase. The stainless harness carries the load so the soft tail only has to swim, with a ball-bearing swivel in the nose and tails that swap in seconds.

“I love the harness hook system. Give me confidence when the big one chews.” Eric S.

5  Sand Eel Jig “The Problem Solver”

WHEN  The everyday size on the San Diego landings. Fish marked deep and moving, current running, and you need to get down before the boat slides off them. Albie Crack is the contrast color for low light or off-color water.

FISH IT  Drop fast and engage the second it touches. Fast lifts and quick drops through the marks when they're chasing; short, controlled lifts when they're only looking. Most hits come as it falls, so stay in touch with it.

WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT  Deep fish don't wait on a slow jig. The slim metal body falls fast and flutters on the way, it's through-wired, and the teaser assist hook comes rigged, so it goes from the package to the fish.

“Jig is extremely well made as are all Hogy products” Philip V.

6  Sand Eel Jig “The Heavy Drift”

WHEN  Deep marks and a hard drift, when the 8.5 sweeps back and you lose bottom. If the line runs out past about 45 degrees, go to this one before you change anything else. Pink is my deep-water jig color.

FISH IT  Free-fall it to the marks, engage the second it gets there, and stay in contact all the way up. Short, sharp lifts are enough. The weight holds it in the zone while the drift tries to drag it out.

WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT  When nothing is biting, the jig that gets down fast gets the shot. One San Diego angler hooked the first tuna in almost four weeks on the American Angler, out of H&M Landing, on a 12 oz Sand Eel. VMC 4X hardware, built for very large bluefin.

“Worked like a charm. 2nd drop Hooked up on way down” John F.

Casting: a 7 foot tuna spinning rod rated to about 8 oz, with 80 lb braid and 80 lb fluorocarbon. That's the line and leader our SoCal bluefin popper film ran.

Jigging: a tuna jigging rod around 5 foot 9 handles the 6 to 12 oz jigs. When it's 12 oz in deep water all day, a 5 foot 6 conventional gives more cranking power.

Big fish: past about 200 lb, harness hardware carries the load. Know what size fish the stop holds before you pick the jig.

Fish going back? It stays wet, the hook comes out quick, and any photo happens boatside.

Watch our SoCal bluefin popper film on hogylures.com. For the jig rod, read my Tuna Harness Jig deep dive and Capt. Mike's Offshore Tackle Crate & Load Out.