Wahoo frequently whack "shotgun" lures.

Canaveral tuna chasers who dial in birds with radar some 100 miles offshore rarely, if ever, run lures tight to the boat. They string ’em out long—way out yonder. Heck, the shotgun line may be 400 to 500 yards back or more. The reason for this tactic is that out here it’s best to drag the lures, not run the boat, through tuna schools busting the surface. If you’ve never done it, have pity on the poor angler who has to reel in the shotgun line. Do this once or twice and you’ll beg for mercy. That retrieve takes on a new meaning when you’ve got a 60-pound yellowfin struggling on the other end.

Although cedar plugs are some of the oldest lures around, recent advancements could once again splash this style of lure into the limelight. Perhaps the most noticeable tweak—and one not possible with wooden models—is honing out the rear of the plug to accommodate ring-eye hooks. For years, trollers rigged these lures with needle-eye hooks that fit into the rear socket. Manufacturing lures out of plastic and machined aluminum allows lure makers to open up the hook socket and lets anglers forego needle-eyes in favor of ring-eye hooks that don’t chafe mono leaders nearly as much. Other design improvements include adding a flange at the back of the bait that manufacturers say increases the action. Weight distribution is also under constant experimentation as is lure size. Check out some of the newer offerings and you’ll see that cedars come in many sizes ranging from around four inches long (perfect for blackfins and bonito) to almost a foot (for full-grown bluefin tuna).

Another refinement likely to catch your eye is the addition of skirts to cedar-style lures. The skirts add visual attraction, but change the performance. It’s imperative to slow your trolling speed when pulling plugs with skirts as skirts take away from the lure’s natural action. Troll too fast and that side-to-side almost disappears and with it the lure’s attraction to many fish. But, if you keep speed under seven knots, skirts add a depth to the action that pleases many striking fish species such as king mackerel and dolphin.

Jetheads, on the other hand, increase the lure’s bubble trail and allow you to kick up boat speed due to the head’s heavier weight. Something to keep in mind when trying to keep up with a moving tuna school.

Rigging-wise, not many lures come close to cedars for terminal simplicity. Many lures come pre-rigged straight from the factory. Most wooden models come with about 8 feet of 125- to 150-pound mono, a Mustad 3412 10/0 needle-eye hook and a swivel to reduce line twist. If you plan on rigging your own, get familiar with crimping. It’s easy, quick and if you carry crimping gear aboard the boat, a great way to remedy any nicks and abrasions caused by the needle-eye hook. Simply clip off a few inches of leader and crimp on the hook.

You can also rig many aluminum and plastic cedars with ring-eye hooks, provided the hook cavity is large enough to accommodate the larger hook eye. LaBonte prefers rigging his favorite aluminum and chrome-over-brass lures with six to eight feet of 150-pound mono or fluorocarbon and a Mustad 3407 9/0 hook. He’s also been experimenting with circle-type hooks, primarily the Mustad 7691, and finds that if you don’t set the hook, tuna hookup ratios almost match J hooks. The secret he preaches, “is to never try to jab the hook home. Tuna hit cedars so hard they set the hook anyway.” Makes sense when one ponders the speeds at which tuna attack bait and lures.

Add a few lures to your trolling spread to get the drop on yellowfin tuna.

Cedar plugs, although old as the hills, are not ready for retirement just yet. Too many species slam them to leave them out of your lure cache. And the new refinements open up more doors. Possibilities include rigging three or more lures as a teaser, a trick some bluewater trollers are slow to reveal and mix-matching plug sizes to home in on the tuna’s flavor of the day. Next time the bite slows, think cedar and you may catch one whopper of a surprise.

FS