The Nomad Madmac: A Tuna Trolling Weapon

It’s no secret that the yellowfin and bluefin tuna bite in New England has gotten more and more exciting and productive in recent years. These tuna have moved in close enough so that daytrips in 20-foot class center consoles are an easy option on a good weather day, and longer overnight canyon trips have been filled with memory-making action. Catching tuna on the jig and on topwater are obviously very popular, but as any seasoned tuna angler will tell you, there are just some days when those things will only eat on the troll. Enter the Nomad Madmac high-speed trolling plug.

Deploying a variety of trolling gear, including side tracker spreader bars, daisy chains, and maybe some rigged ballyhoo, ensures a variety of color presentations, and depths are being engaged. The Nomad Madmac is a perfect addition to this spread and can also function well when run on its own. Anglers in this situation typically run multiple Nomad Madmacs. After getting the boat up to speed, typically 12-15 knots, a Madmac is deployed and let out. Avoid free-spooling the reel to prevent tangles, but set the drag loose enough so the Madmac is taking line. Count off to 70, and then put the reel nearly at “Strike” but not all the way there. This way, a striking fish can take some line without breaking off. After the first Madmac is deployed, drop another until a 100 second count, then do the same. Putting them at different lengths ensures no tangles when turning the boat. This is just one simple way to run a Madmac, and the 70 or 100 count deployment can be used for individual Madmacs which are being added to a spread of other trolling gear.

It’s not unheard of by any stretch to find wahoo in New Jersey, New York, and other New England waters. A massive, nearly six-foot long wahoo came out of New Jersey waters in the summer of 2023, and king mackerel can also be found in some surprising northern spots. The Madmac is an excellent, easy-to-deploy lure for checking areas with promising water temperatures. The New Jersey crew caught their wahoo on the way back from a canyons trip on a trolling dart. A Madmac can be worked at similar speeds and in similar stretches of water.

Popular Madmac colors include Sardine, Spanish Mac, Wahooligan, and Red Bait. Rigging options vary for the Madmac, but multi-strand cable to a split ring, single strand wire with a haywire twist, and heavy attached with a crimp are all options. Because of the high speeds the Madmacs are trolled at, ensuring a neat rigging job is essential, so take care with crimps and tag ends so that these things run straight and true.

In terms of speed, Madmacs operate well at a variety of trolled speeds. The 6-8” models can be trolled up to 20 knots, whereas the 10” models are usually going to top out at 15 knots. A very cool note is that all of these Madmacs can still troll effectively at speeds as slow as 5 knots, and even then their action and vibration is bite-inducing. The Madmac is a shallow trolling bait, running 3-4 feet under the surface at high speeds and 8-10 feet at slower speeds. For deeper diving trolling plugs, Nomad also makes the DTX Minnow. The DTX 110-S dives up to 13’, whereas the 220-LRS can dive up to 50’ down. There are models of DTX minnow that cover ever part of the water column between those depths as well.

So, the next time you’re wondering what to add to your tuna trolling spread and want to try something with pedigree, a variety of rigging options, and a simple deployment, grab a few Nomad Madmacs and send them out!