High seas tuna quest.

My 19 year-old niece is currently mid-Atlantic. She is crewing on a friends yacht on her first ever trans-Atlantic crossing. Wishing her a safe journey & a trip of a lifetime.
They are posting a 'blog', which I naturally follow with interest & some mild amusement at their attempts to catch a fish!
Now, neither the Skipper nor Natasha (my niece), or any of the rest of the crew could be described as a fisherman but they do fancy a good tuna dinner & so they brought along a couple of lures, a rod , reel; they have a gaff, a knife (they know they'll need to bleed the fish) & some vodka (I think the starter will be sushi).
Things didn't start too well.. slowing the boat to a mere 0.5 of a knot, no bites. Speed up I told them.. that worked, but they lost the lure!
Constructing a beast of a lure from the remaining bits & bobs (a skirted lure head, a piece of plastic pipe & a bright pink squid thingy, consequently named 'Sammy') they hooked another fish but it got off 20 yards from the boat! So, nearly..
They are now heading in to the Carribean, where they will spend Christmas.
My sister & her husband are flying out to join them this weekend, so I thought I would try & help out. I'd send them a lure or two to troll round on their cruising trips..

Now, tuna are not exactly very common, here in the UK, so I was a bit unsure of what might work, that I could also make & in a bit of a rush as I only had a few days & there's curing times to consider...
So, I looked up the internet & copied this hard-bodied, trolling lure from an Australian site..
I expect you have similar models there in the USA but these are what I found first.
The body length is 6". With the tail, giving an 8" lure, all together & with a weight of 4.5oz. they are a sinking lure & hopefully stable at 6-8 knots.







So, here's hoping they get their fish supper!

damn jimfish uk nice lures...man what a trip for you niece.......say heck with the sushi  id just drink the vodka.....the only thing is the fishing would prolly stop and id be bounceing around the boat like a drunkin sailor....and laying a chum slick down for bout and hour.......we do have a lure similar   its called a got-cha   but its thinner much thinner   but has the same kinda style with a sloped head but it cant beat those plugs you made sweet!!!.....those plugs look real nice i love the colors and the paint job

Nice plugs, I really like the design and colors !!! I tried doing one similar to that design and it was a complete flop   

Cool looking plugs Jim. I hope they catch for them on their trip.

Jim can I ask is it a public blog and if so could you post a link or address so we might follow the trip.

It sounds like that would be one trip of a life time. I hope everyone returns home safe and with some great memories.

Killer job Jim! The trip sounds like a blast...keep us posted on how things go.  

Thanks for the interest, everyone.
Charlie, their blog is not a public one but I'll point out that it should be in the future!
Also, my lures have gone out with my sister just now, as she's meeting them at their destinations end.. Grenada.
You'll be glad to hear they made Port Louis safe & sound yesterday, after a six week adventure that included a two week stop over in the Azores, waiting for wind (how tough is that?).
My niece thoroughly enjoyed it & though quite tired by the final leg as they ran in on the powerful trade winds, is fit & well (not to mention beautifully tanned, bless her). A life-enriching experience for her.
Hopefully, the Skipper, Peter Smith will find time to troll my wee beasties & finally catch the fish he failed to nail on his way over.
Regardless.. what a great place to spend Christmas!
All right for some.
Cheers, Jim.