Yozuri Bonita - What Size, Colors for Wahoo & Tuna - The Hull Truth

hblac · 02-19-2007, 09:38 PM

So, you guys that use these all the time, what's the best size...the 6 5/8" or the 8 3/8" size? Which colors have worked best? Our Gulf Stream fishery here in SE North Carolina is primarily Mahi, Wahoo and YFT. I plan to get the single hook models whichever size and colors I get. Prices at BPS for the single hook 6 5/8" was $27 and the 8 3/8" was $34.

Hal

wcat · 02-19-2007, 11:08 PM

purple with the black top I have found to be the best, next is the orange, size bigger is better.

RollerGuide · 02-20-2007, 05:19 AM

i have both 8.5 and the 10.25 inch ones... got 2 braid marauders also
black/red, orange tiger, dolphin and purple/black has worked for me...
quite a few folks here swear by the purple black and a few in Dolphin

sizewise... i prefer the medium one....that's the 8.5 incher since it's supposed to hold onto fish better than the large one. But large one has a more visual value and diving depth i guess so it's trial and error to figure out what works best for you

aftergolf · 02-20-2007, 07:48 AM

Hal,
We use the purple and black and red and black the most and the 8.5 or the next smaller one. Also, we have caught more tuna on the Yo-Zuri deep divers more than the bonito. The Bonito work great for wahoo, but have not caught very many tuna on them. We fish both of them in the prop wash. Most other wahoo come from red and black skirted ballyhoo run on a trolling weight or on a commercial planer down below the surface. If we could get a break in this crappy weather pattern I am sure they are chewing at the stream.

Ice Cream Man · 02-20-2007, 08:45 AM

aftergolf.........what size rod & reel are you using for them..........ICM

PS; if you post on NCW please delete my old PM thanks..........ICM

aftergolf · 02-20-2007, 09:09 AM

ICM,
We typically will use our 15 class outfits with a 7 foot light tipped flexible rod for the Yo-Zuri, and our 30 outfits with a 30-50 class stand up stiff tip 6 foot rod for the Bonito. 12 feet of fluoro leader, a little bit of wire, maybe 12 inches or so.

Ice Cream Man · 02-20-2007, 09:19 AM

Aftergolf.........would those 7 ' light rods be considered Live Bait King Rods?.......ICM

aftergolf · 02-20-2007, 09:25 AM

Correct, it is a blast to get 30 lb Yellowfin on the light tackle, they put up on heck of a fight.

twotems · 02-20-2007, 09:29 AM

Green Mackerel and Dorado colors in the 6 5/8 size are what the Hoo's and Tuna love around here. I have the 10" in Dorado but haven't caught anything on it and don't use it often.

Lickety-Split · 02-20-2007, 10:53 AM

I agree with wcat on those colors and size for wahoo. Tuna and mahi mahi seem to prefer brighter color and the smaller size.

dodmarlin · 02-20-2007, 11:43 AM

How deep do the 8.5" & 10" Yozuri Bonita's run?

My 10" Mahi color has only caught Dolphin, however I have had some large strikes on them. Last season was my first using the Yozuri, I mark the bottom of the lighter colored ones with a black sharpie to make it more visible from below.

hblac · 02-20-2007, 02:52 PM

Thanks guys for the info. If anyone has anything else to add, please do. I'll be fishing these off TLD-25's on 6'6" Tsunami 20-40# med-heavy rods.

Aftergolf, I also have the Yozuri Crystal Minnow DD in several colors. You say they work better on tuna than the bonita's? What position do you fish them in?

Hal

aftergolf · 02-20-2007, 04:08 PM

Hal,
We fish them on the transom right in the prop wash, close in only about 10-15 yards back.

Reef Ranger · 02-20-2007, 09:34 PM

Quote:

aftergolf - 2/20/2007 1:48 AM The Bonito work great for wahoo, but have not caught very many tuna on them. We fish both of them in the prop wash.

For those of you that are purposefully or incidentally catching wahoo on the Yozuri Bonito and/or Braid Marauders, how are you rigging them (i.e., are you using short wire or braided steel leaders, or just super-heavy mono)? I'd surelike to avoid losing any $35 lures wherever possible!

aftergolf · 02-20-2007, 09:37 PM

On the Bonito's and the Deep Divers we use a short (12") piece of rigging wire attached to a fluorocarbon leader.

djwhitman · 02-21-2007, 07:30 PM

We use str8 mono to ours, 80lb and have never had a bite-off(knock on wood!!). After switching from wire to the leader material, either mono or flouro we got 5X as many strikes and the fish always come on the back hook. We caught our largest wahoo and mahi on the bonita, 8.5" black/purple in the prop wash on 1/2 our trips or more this year. Then the spoon on the planer rod produced the 2nd best for tuna and wahoo. Hope that helps. Oh, we rig the leader as a 15-20' windon leader w/ a 150' spro swivel to the bonita, just like our ballyhoo rigs, and just bring the fish str8 to the boat.
DJ Whitman

hblac · 02-21-2007, 08:40 PM

Thanks dj....good info. I think I'm going to try it that way to start unless I lose all the bonitas and DD's. I have Marauders on wire for backup.

Is that a drone spoon you're referring to on the planer rod?

Hal

twotems · 02-22-2007, 06:10 AM

Quote:

djwhitman - 2/22/2007 12:30 AM We use str8 mono to ours, 80lb and have never had a bite-off(knock on wood!!). After switching from wire to the leader material, either mono or flouro we got 5X as many strikes and the fish always come on the back hook. We caught our largest wahoo and mahi on the bonita, 8.5" black/purple in the prop wash on 1/2 our trips or more this year. Then the spoon on the planer rod produced the 2nd best for tuna and wahoo. Hope that helps. Oh, we rig the leader as a 15-20' windon leader w/ a 150' spro swivel to the bonita, just like our ballyhoo rigs, and just bring the fish str8 to the boat. DJ Whitman

DJ, you're a brave man using 80lb on such expensive lures.

ciguatera · 02-22-2007, 07:18 AM

Use a short piece of wire ahead of the lure. When you hit a pack of 'em you gonna wish you did. They will strike at all angles just to be the first to hit the marauder/bonita. Hell I even had another smaller ono try to steal the damn thing away from the one we had hooked.... unfortunately the stray pulled the lure out of the others mouth. Wire saved a couple of our 35 dollar lure.

Patudo · 02-22-2007, 07:20 AM

If you're fishing NC chances are you'll be fishing a lot with ballyhoo. At the typical ballyhoo trolling speeds I feel the Rapala CD Magnums and similar style lipped baits swim better than the Bonita styles. IMO those are better when you're fishing at higher speed with skirted lures. Ballyhoo or skirted lures are better for dorado, but for wahoo and tunas a Rapala style plug is very effective. I've used the standard Rapala CD18 and CD14 (my favourite) the most but they also need the most fine tuning. Rebel Jaw Breakers, Storm Big Macs and Halco Laser Pros are also effective. Rubberband them down low to the transom so they swim better.