OT: deep sea fishing experts

BpOC

Member
i'm going to go deep sea fishing for the first time this friday and i need a new reel & rod set up bad. i know theres a lot of youhere with a lot of experience so i was hoping you can give me some advice on what would bea good set up to purchase.
TIA
angel
 
If you've never used a "conventional" reel, don't attempt to on your first trip. You will end up w/ birdsnests all day long & youur trip will not be enjoyable. Not to mention, the deckhand will be tired of fixing the birdsnest. Reason I'm saying this is I've seen many landings give saltwater rookies conventional outfits as rentals w/o asking if they've ever fished one before. There's an art form to casting a open conventional reel & your first time on the ocean isn't the time to learn it.

Rent or borrow a spinning outfit & rig it w/ 20-25 lb test. Get a set of sinkers (1oz-6 oz) & a couple of size 1 or 1/0 hooks. This should be enough for anything caught off a 3/4 day boat. If you're gonna sand bass fish, get a light (12 lb) bass outfit (8 ft rod too :D ) & have fun.

Steve :D
 
excellent advice thus far.
it really depends on how far/long and what species you are fishing for.

give us some more of the specifics and we can recommend an appropriate rig and how to fish it.

probably best to go with a rental setup as a quality setup is going to cost you, and that may eat into your coral funds!
 
without letting us know where your heading to we cant give any advice but in case you check back and im not on ill just give you an idea of what im going to use tonight.

I head out of Dana point and Lajolla on a reg. The gear i biring usually consist of three rods, one calstar with a coventional reel calcutta 400 with 15lb test. Second rod i have handy is a Gloomis Bacura 8ft rod a tinidad TN40 with 20lb test. Last rod i have is a 7ft rod Gloomis IMX rod in case the bit is slow and i need to fish for some bass. The other two rods are for Yellow tail tuna, blue fin tuna and albacore. If your going on a 1/2 day most likely you will be heading to Horseshoe kelp or hungtington flats there you will most likely be fishing for bass,barracuda and maybe a few other odd fish in between. For that type of fish you can use light gear such as a 6ft rod with a spinning outfit or what we call them, coffe grinders. If you never touched a fishing pole before, well then a spinning outfit is for you. Make sure it is outfited with 8lb test , wait no maybe 15 for you since you sound like you dont know what you are doing. Now if your going on a 3/4 day or full day trip then most likely you will be heading to catalina or maybe even San clamente island and you will need the gear i listed above.

Anyways its nice to get out into the water and i hope you guys go to the Flats, there you are most likely to land a lot of sand bass.

As for me i gotta get some ZZZZ. I gotta hit up a few spots tommrow and catch me a Yellow fin!

Paul
 
Agree about the conventional reel... stay away from it if you can... especially if you've never used one....you'll just get frustrated all day. Also, if you've never been fishing on a boat before, you'll want to think about getting seasick. Unless you're POSITIVE you won't get sick, I'd take some precautionary measures. Being seasick could ruin your entire day of fishing.... all 10 hours (if you're doing a one day trip) of it! Dramamine or Bonine is good for over the counter meds... just be sure to take it a few HOURs before getting on the boat. Better to be little drowsy and drymouthed than self chumming the fish all day.:hmm4:
 
if you're newbie, then just do the rental. If you want to fish more later, then get some quality equipment. You can get some nice Shimano setups at all price range.

usually, i bring two sticks, a good lunch (but not bananas for some reason you wont be too popular) and gears to match what the boat is going for. BTW, you can never bring enough extra reels. :)
 
woa thanks a lot everyone :) My cousins and some friends just pitched in the cash and i took the day off to go fishing. I need to find out the details on the trip. i know its a 3/4 day thing but i don't know where we'll be heading. i've used both reels before but i don't go fishing often enough to be usinga baitcast. i usually fish off the pier or the rocks. Right now i have one of those coffee grinder reels but i wanted to buy a reel that could support a heavier test line. ooohhh yah and i positive i won't get seasick but does anyone know if you can BYOB??
 
BYOB is frowned upon in the local sportfishing industry. The crew wants you to buy beer from the galley because that's how they make a portion of thier money. Deckhands work very hard for the money they make & believe me, if you broke it down to an hourly wage, it's below minimum wage. Besides, since they sell beer on the boat, shouldn't you buy it off the boat?? You wouldn't go to an amusement park or concert venue & ask if you could bring your own beer in, would you??
 
I have used varieties of reels such as Daiwa, Shimano Torium 30, Calcutta 700s...ect. I think the old conventional Penn Reel is your best bet. It's affordable since you don't fish that often and it does the job just fine.

Loc
 
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Thanks for all the advice guys ...i spoke with my cousin and he says we'll be departing from dana pont at 6am.
 
Yep , your best bet is a rental pole. You can always fish the bottom for sand bass, sculpin.No casting....
USE SQUID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You get more bites!!! Try a MOJO jig for the sand bass, they work good.
Good Luck. dont forget your seasick pills.
 
h ehe eh ehyou all keep saying seasick and i think i'mgoing to get jinxed....i've been on booze cruises, and gradnights on boats, is it much more different....

thanks for the link chris, now i cantwait for friday morning:)
 
If you plan to do any casting use a spinning rod... But if you guys are fishing for yellowtail... A spinning reel just doesnt let the bait swim correctly...

You could even drop off the left corner of the boat with just a light toss, and that would get that bait swimming..

Remember sardines hook them through the nose and anchovies hook from the jaw through the nose...

I just checked some reports today, and it looks like some yellowtail are being caught on some paddies 8 miles out from dana, well within the 3/4 day range.

I even hear of scattered reports of bluefin tuna on the east butterfly bank right now.

I will be heading out on tuesday myself on my boat, and might do a little quick paddy hopping in the morning and then come in for some bass...

Something else about spinning reels... I have seen them explode, a 30 lb tuna or yellowtail can easily destroy a spinning reel. Seen it on multiple occasions.... Really makes a mess on the deck and angers some people that get tangled up in it.( especially if they have a fish on )

Another note, I have caught 30 lb yellowtail right off the domes ( dana point ) in about 20 feet of water... so the big guys are there.. so don't limit yourself.

Also My friend last year caught a 55 lb White sea bass in about 12 feet of water.

Good Luck!!
 
I just went out this past Sat. and we caught a few berries and boneheads so I figure you will be doing much of the same. If that's the case, I would go w/ the conventional reels IF YOU CAN ... I just don't trust spinning reels (too many bad experiences w/ them not being able to handle the stress of the 'bigger fish'). Although the 'birdnest' issue brought up above is VERY true ... tough call to make.
 
yeah i hope i get lucky because if i do catch anything it will be just that...do you get to keep the fish you catch? Is there other essentials i should carry onboard?
 
hey franky, i'll help ya clean up the boat aftewards if you let me tag along on one of your future rides!! :) White sea bass (spawning) season is over no?

Bpoc, i think for that trip, you should also bring a spinning reel to catch fish once the boat gives up on tuna and do their stripe bass fishing. Also bring some peas/carrots to catch some of those sea vegetarians.
 
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