Gear For The Trip

[MarkT]

guys, don't spend money on rods and reels for this trip.  there will be plenty of gear.  get an assortment of 1/0, 3/0 and 5/0 hooks, maybe some a few 4, 8 and 12 ounce sinkers, some 30, 40 and 50 pound fluoro leader if you want, and a goofy straw hat.  you could literally board with a shaving kit and clothes for the week and do just fine.  don't forget plenty of sunscreen.

Come on Alan, we like to fish because it gives us an excuse to buy more gear.  Why do think we come to your site? We're seriously dedicated, although our wives may have another term for it! My wife certainly did but then she was a "seriously dedicated" Springsteen fan.

[MarkT]

Irons: Salas 7x and Tady 45 are good surface irons. Bird #### (Sardine) and mint are good colors.  Salas 6x and 6x jr for yoyo. Blue/white and scrambled egg are good colors.

Plastics for Calicos.  1oz lead heads with 5-7" swimbaits in bait colors.  I like Warbait lead heads and MC swimbaits.

I'll be bringing Megabaits, WaxWings, slashbaits too.  All the usual stuff in my tacklebag.

[maxpowers]

some megabaits would be good too.  Been on too many trip when a guy have drop them deep and hooked up with either tuna or opah.

[Ron Jones]

Opah!
Hadn't thought of that, they may be around. Never caught one of them but LOVE eating them!!
Ron

[alantani]

this may be a little too much info for some, but others have never been on one of these boats.

the evening routine - at the end of the day, you stink!  you've gotta shower.  likely 4 of the 5 nights the boat will be on the run.  three of the four heads have showers so we will all have time to shower.  i wear flipflops into the shower, but i also take time to wipe down the floor with the t-shirt that wore that day to clean up a little.  you will need the usual floss, toothbrush and tooth paste, bar soap, shampoo, wash cloth and a bath towel or two.  i always wear jeans when i fish and will wear the same pair of jeans all week.  all the rest of the clothes that i wore that day will get tossed into the trash.  once i change into my jammies, it's cocktail hour, then off to bed.  

getting some sleep - the cabins are small.  decide between you and your cabinmate who gets the top bunk and who gets bottom.  the cabins are also cold.  they are air conditioned and it's hard to regulate.  some guys tape off the vents a little.  i wear a sweatshirt at night, but you will have extra blankets and pillows in each cabin.  somewhere, within easy reach, you should keep your glasses and a flashlight in case there is an emergency overnight.  when i sleep, i use wax ear plugs.  don't forget a small alarm clock.  if you have trouble sleeping in your cabin for any reason, you always have the option of sleeping in the galley.   someone always does that.  if you go out onto the deck at night, stay away from the rail.  don't try to puke or pee over the rail.  the deckhands can always wash the deck later.  we do not want anyone going overboard.  

wake up call - get up, get dressed, eat something, slather on the sunscreen and the chapstick, find a hat and get ready to fish.  dean and danny will have breakfast going, but you also have your choice of fresh fruits and cereals.  our first and fourth fishing days will likely start out trolling.  our second and third fishing days will hopefully be at cedros, which means jig and live bait fishing.  lunches and dinners will also be first call, second call and last call.  we will have slow times during the day to practice your knots, rerig or just kick back a little.

gearing up for the day - sunscreen, and lots of it.  a wide brimmed hat and sun glasses.  i always wear jeans to keep my legs from burning.  shoes are always a question.  my feet cook in xtra-tufs and they make me miserable.  i have old running shoes and i just do my best to try to keep my feet dry,  the deck gets bloody and the crew is constantly out with a hose to wash away the blood and slime.  you will get wet.  with flipflops, your feet will burn and could get cut up.  with sneakers or deck shoes, your feet will get wet.  and with xtra-tufs, your feet will cook.  i sometimes use a gimble belt and it's nice because it holds my needle nose pliers and wire cutters.  and i always carry a pocket knife.  

rods and reels - i'd recommend a pair of 30 pound rigs, a pair of 40 pound rigs, a pair of 50 pound rigs and maybe a 60.  if you want to bring an 80 pound troller instead, that's fine, but i will have 5 trolling rigs for us.  you can also bring a 20 pound rig for calicos if you wish.  we may or may not get a chance to use it.  your "go to" rig will be your 40 pound set up.  i will be bringing plenty of extra rods and reels, and will likely be setting them up once i see the bait we are getting and have a chance to talk to the captain about the fishing that we can anticipate.  

terminal tackle - bring 1/0, 3/0 and 5/0 live bait hooks.  i like ringed owner flyliners.  you can also use circle hooks, but circle hooks are hard on my blood pressure.  1/0. 3/0 and 5/0 circles are fine.  we won't need that many swivels but i will bring my crimping kit in case we need to rig any trolling leaders, and there is always a wide assortment of jigs that we all have.  

line - you can bring leader material in mono or fluoro.  i have some soft steel monofilament from tony garza that i used last year.  good stuff.  i also have berkely big game, some fluoro left over, some jb hollow spectra, some solid spectra and some of alan chui's hollow thunder.  i'm likely not going to bring the winder.  your reels should be strung up before you board.  we only have monday to rig up.  the next four days will be spend fishing!

[Ron Jones]

Reading this is driving my crazy!! June, gget here already!!
Ron

[maxpowers]

I may be on a 2 days trip prior (coming in on Sunday June 15).  Either way I planned on making a bunch of 30, 40, 50 and 60 pounds wind-ons with about 20-30 feet of Berkeley big games and 60 lbs hollowcore.  Will meet up with you all on Sunday and leave it for you guys to try if you like.  If I can't make it to the 2 days trip or can't come down that Sunday, if someone is driving through Orange County, just give me a holler and I can meet up with you to hand over the wind-ons.  They have been tested on batrays up to 50+ inches wing span and held up fine.

Mike

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

found this at BD, Erik Landesfeind recommendation. i am hoping this will work at our trip. my rod and reel combos are not the same as his but the lure recommendation is what most of the anglers use in Southern California.

http://www.bdoutdoors.com/article/spring-yellowtail-tackle/

btw my reels are 3/0 4/0 and at least one spinner.

[Big Tim]

I knew it!!! I should NOT have looked at this page prior to going to work....I have to drive to Modesto and my brain is already spinning...TADY, SALAS, 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, 30,40,50,60, FLOURO, MONO!!!!

IS IT JUNE YET

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

BIG TIM

[alantani]

how is fishing like a craps game? 

at the casino, the best bet in the house is to play craps.  you play the pass line and take odds.  that's it.  nothing else.  that's it!

but if all you do is play the pass line and take odds, then craps is the most boring game in the entire world.  everyone around you is placing bets, taking big 6 or big 8, or the worst sucker bet of all, playing the field.  and here you are, playing it save and patient, on the pass line and taking odds.  this long range fishing stuff is the same.  nothing produces better than soaking a live bait.  but if that's all you do, long range fishing is nothing but hours of boredom, and if you're lucky a half dozen 10 minute bursts of sheer terror, while you are watching people around you hooking up on jigs, or plunking, or doing something else just to change it up.  and here you are, soaking that damned bait! 

but if you do that, and you are dilligent, if you listen to the deckhands and do what they say, if your gear is in good shape and if you can cast, your pile of fish will be the biggest at the end of the trip. 

oh, wait.  we're not giving out numbers!  ok, go spend as much money as you want!!!!   

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

...oh, wait.  we're not giving out numbers!...

that's why i'm on this trip...

[Big Tim]

Calico Bass set up for SOA trip...Thank you Alan, Bryan for the parts...I really appreciate all the support


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[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

nice! is that a 349 handle?

[Ron Jones]

That will certainatly work for calicos, but it would be a perfectly acceptable yellowtail rig also.
Ron

[Aiala]

Beautiful set-up, Big Tim!

Meantime, I see that you upgraded the handle... any chance you might be interested in selling that old one with the amber knob? If so, PM me.   

~A~