What Makes a Good Bluefin Tuna Fishing Rod?
What Makes a Good Bluefin Tuna Fishing Rod?
Since Bluefin Tuna can get really large, like 1,400 lbs., a good bluefin tuna rod needs to be very strong/heavy duty in every respect. The rod blank is the backbone of the tuna rod and needs to be just about indestructible. Typically the blank is S-Glass or E-Glass but can also be a composite of graphite and S-Glass. S-Glass rod blanks are stronger than E-Glass. These rod blanks are pretty much indestructible and can withstand a lot of stress/abuse. This is ideal for Bluefin Tuna weighing 500+ lbs.
Tuna rod guides can be of 2 different types, boat rod guide or roller guide. Both are very strong and ideal for giant bluefin tuna. Boat rod guides with SiN or SiC ring inserts are the absolute best. SiC and SiN are 2 ceramics composed of Silicon Carbon or Silicon Nitride. They are super smooth and just about eliminate line friction and dissipate heat extremely well. There are NO BETTER guides. I like Sea-Guide XRG guides, Fuji HB and ALPS HXN guides.
Above are these 3 heavy duty boat rod guides. Left ALPS, Center Fuji and Right the Sea-Guide. They are all excellent.
Roller Guides are the utmost in friction reduction. They are much more expensive and do need maintenance to keep the rollers from seizing but when you need an edge battling a 800+ lb. Bluefin Tuna, they are a must. There are some good affordable roller guides from Sea-Guide, Pacific Bay and ALPS. I have some in stock for sale. The Sea-Guide roller guides are a bargain.
The reel seat is a vital component and secures large reels to the rod. Aluminum alloy is the absolute strongest material. It's also corrosion resistant and even more so when anodized. Sea-Guide, ALPS, American Tackle and Pacific Bay make really good heavy duty reel seats with double locking rings. They are "bullet proof".
Rod grips are a little less critical although they must provide a comfortable grip and be non-slip. Comfort is PARAMOUNT because a large bluefin tuna will battle for several hours before being brought to boat side. EVA is an excellent material for grips. It's super "grippy", pretty rigid and tough. It can take some abuse and still look good as new. However it may not be the ideal material for the butt grip on a bluefin tuna rod where the rod sits in a rod holder frequently. Rod holders can scratch or wear EVA whereas the Slick Butt or other Nylon Composites are more resistant to physical wear and/or damage. The nylon composite is super tough but still non-slip.
Most Bluefin Tuna Rods will feature an aluminum butt gimbal to accommodate a fighting chair or fighting harness. Most aluminum alloy gimbals are very good. There are some nylon gimbals too. Rubber gimbal caps come with the aluminum gimbal in case stand up tuna fishing is in the cards.