Here is a blue water float system if you ever want to take down really big fish for very little money and very little effort.
I now use it for wahoo in the blue, and if ever a prize marlin or tuna shows up this can handle it easily(hasn't happened yet but it will ). I know this with 100% certainty because I found this one with a 300lb marlin attached to it 50 miles into the Atlantic East of Antigua so I KNOW for sure it does the job.
The French islands fishermen around here use these when they get into it with the big Yellow Fin Tuna and other large pelagic's to allow them too hook then buoy, hook then buoy ect. the fish overboard and keep catching more and more without slowing down while the fish are biting...Afterwards they then go look for the floats and pick up the fish, I think my marlin just moved faster than they could...lol!!
My buddy uses these rigs now for swordfish, and those critters don't play around! Meanest SOB I have ever come across actually. When I buy ANOTHER camera I may get in the water and shoot one coming up on the line.
Here is my rig, almost no drag too tow around and easily you can add more floats for that insane monster fish I keep fantasising about, maybe the one Don that took your rig with it? :@
I use polypropylene ski rope, why you ask? CHEAP I answer, lasts forever, 4k lb shock load, lite and easy to work with AND did I say very cheap? .
Ends
Amazon.com: Kwik Tek Airhead Bungee Tube Tow Rope 50 ft: Sports & Outdoors You can even pick up one like this with a shock cord built into it for between floats for a big fish! Yes awesome is the correct expression! OR you can do tons of research, go with the standard blue water rigs and traditional way(rife, Rob Allen, buy bungee rigs ect.) and spend hundreds and hundreds of your hard earned money(I assume hard earned as it said DIY in the title :laughing:) and way overcomplicate what I have found out to be a simple thing my fellow speros by watching how the commercial local fishermen do it day in day out!
I found this out after doing tons of research and spending hundreds of $$$. Trust me don't fall into that commercial money pit.
Disclaimer: Many Wahoo(not big enough) were harmed in the making of this guide but sadly no Tuna(yet)(of any size) :thumbsup2:
Edit: I need to add the yellow floats that I found are deep water floats and not cheep, not break the bank, but not cheep... So for my second rig shown here I bought one of the pricy deep floats for the middle(yellow) and used the cheep bullet lobster floats as the ends(lobster floats I tested to 200ft depth on an anchor and although they did compress a bit they did not loose all buoyancy)