In the Mid Atlantic, the green machine is said to have caught more offshore fish than any other lure. On thousands of sportfishing boats, green machines are essential lures for catching tuna and other fish.
The original green machine was a lure produced by Sevenstrand. The rig is simple and durable, with a bullet shaped acrylic head, large eyes, and a long green vinyl skirt.
Today the green machine comes in a variety of colors and variations. Although an array of companies produce nearly identical lures, many anglers prefer the genuine Sevenstrand version.
Rigging is simple, the lure gets a 8/0 – 10/0 southern tuna style hook, and 28-32 red beads on the line to properly space the hook.
Green machines are extremely popular along the Mid Atlantic coast. They are often rigged in tandem with a large bird and daisy chain of artificial squid. This rig is sometimes trolled far back on the center line and is known for catching fish in that position.
Green machines are sometimes combined with other rigs. Local anglers rig a green machine behind a spreader bar or daisy chain of artificial squid.
Green machines are also run on the flat lines behind a bird, or without other teasers, anywhere in the spread. A single green machine on the long rigger is often the lure that saves the day, when fish are fickle and bites are scarce.
Green machines catch a wide variety of offshore fish, including tuna, dolphin fish, bluefish, cobia, skipjacks, bonita, false albacore, king mackerel, wahoo, and billfish.