I live on the Ca Delta and fish mostly Sturgeon/ Stripers. A couple times a year I make it to Bodega Bay for a rock fishing trip. I'm looking to go down south San Diego way and cut my teeth on some 3/4 to 2 day trips. I've got a lot of gear all old school Penn stuff. All reels are upgraded.
I need advice putting together the outfits I would need to enjoy myself and not be under gunned. Ant adviice/ direction would be appreciated...
I just got back from a 4-day. Mostly I used 25lb & 30lb test, also had a backup 40lb and a 50lb dropper loop rig. If the big BFTs are biting (they weren't on my trip) a 60lb might be a good thing to have.
Incidentally, I'm old-school Penn all the way! :)
~A~
When are you going? My buddies are going in September and they are telling me that a 20#, 30# and 40# rig would be sufficient. So we also gave him a 50# rig to round off the family. Note when I say 20#, 30#, 40# or 50# rig, it's either main line or top-shot...so if you have, let's say a 113H with 80# braid, he is fishing with 40# or 50# top-shot, as an example. I suppose he could go as high as he wants.
Quote from: CooldadE on July 31, 2014, 02:02:16 PM
I live on the Ca Delta and fish mostly Sturgeon/ Stripers. A couple times a year I make it to Bodega Bay for a rock fishing trip. I'm looking to go down south San Diego way and cut my teeth on some 3/4 to 2 day trips. I've got a lot of gear all old school Penn stuff. All reels are upgraded.
I need advice putting together the outfits I would need to enjoy myself and not be under gunned. Ant adviice/ direction would be appreciated...
The idea behind the numbers to expand a little bit...
When someone fishes a "30lb" rig they choose a rod that bends the way they like it with appropriate drag for 30lb test leader and around 10lbs of drag. Some fish lighter or heavier rods.
Typically this "30lb" rig is a rod rated either 15-40 (for casting very light baits) or 20-50 or so depending on how you fish the rod and how long your leaders are as well as individual preference. Some prefer 7' rods, others 8 footers. Longer make casting easier, shorter pull on fish harder.
The reel is your standard ~3/0 size holding about 400 yards of your braid choice. the important part is that it be optimized for live bait fishing which is the rule in SoCal and means Anchovies, Sardines or Macs. Spool bearings are important for casting and letting the bait swim.
The "30lb" reel is typically spooled with 50lb braid and then the leader on top depending on your choice anywhere from 100 yards to 4 feet. FWIW I fish very short leaders and softer rods to get bit easier and let your bait swim, imo, but definitely a softer rod helps you stay connected due to no braid stretch.
You can fish anywhere from 20 to 50lb leader on this set up depending on what the fish will bite. You always want to go as heavy as you can get away with. Tuna fishing is characterized by hours to days of boredom followed by a few hours of WFO fishing. You want to boat as many as you can while you can because the bite can shut off as quick as it starts.
Simply having this one rig, plus one spooled up with 60lb braid to fish "40lb" is all that you have to have to catch a ton of fish down south.
To add to the confusion, I fish short Fluorocarbon topshots and prefer a rod on the light end of the "rating" to give me controlled cushion. So far I have never pulled a hook due to the lack of stretch.
Although braid seems to be practically de rigeur these days (mostly, I would guess, to pack sufficient yardage onto the compact-size super-reels) I, being a determined atavist, choose to stick with pure mono... although I did unbend enough to try a fluorocarbon leader. (http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif)
~A~
Quote from: Aiala on July 31, 2014, 06:31:32 PM
Although braid seems to be practically de rigeur these days (mostly, I would guess, to pack sufficient yardage onto the compact-size super-reels) I, being a determined atavist, choose to stick with pure mono... although I did unbend enough to try a fluorocarbon leader. (http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif)
~A~
I fished a lot of Dacron before Spectra so it was an easy transition.
Aiala I'm with you. I use only vintage penn's and mono. If I need more line on the smaller reels like the 100 surfmaster or 501 I use a thinner higher grade mono like Ande tournament or Momoi Hi Catch. Doug
Senators and Mono all the way! ;)
Quote from: Doug on July 31, 2014, 07:34:30 PM
...I use a thinner higher grade mono like Ande tournament...
Doug, I've been using pink Ande for over thirty years, and see no reason to change... ever.
Y'know, several of the old-school anglers hereabouts have expressed (theoretical) interest in a charter at some point using only classic equipment; an interesting notion, eh? (http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/images/smilies/smile.gif)
~
A~
Quote from: Shark Hunter on July 31, 2014, 08:10:53 PM
Senators and Mono all the way! ;)
Hear, hear! (http://www.feathersandphotos.com.au/forum/images/smilies/thumbs_up_smiley.gif)
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A~
Aiala I use Ande pink on most of my old penn senators I just like to get a little more yardage on the smaller ones. An old vintage charter might be a blast. I live in NJ so it wouldn't be possible for me . Doug
swing by the house on the way down and grab a couple of two speed setups. don't go spending alot of money just yet.
Quote from: Doug on July 31, 2014, 09:18:49 PM
I live in NJ so it wouldn't be possible for me. Doug
Well, but with a year or so lead time...? I mean, NJ isn't on another planet. (I went to college there... but now that I think about it... hmm.) ;)
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A~
You are missing out by not converting to Spectra for most of your fishing. Long term it's cheaper than mono and the increased sensitivity is a big plus and there is little stretch. When I went to 20# spectra on my steelhead reels the improved sensitivity increased the number of soft take ups felt and fish hooked. I would never fish deeper than 100' with mono again, well I rarely use more than 20' of mono (more often 10' Fluro) unless on a trolling rig, they have 100' mono topshots.
For older Penn reels I use 60# Spectra and have never had issues with the line getting between the ring and spool, thinner will cause problems. Do not chose your Spectra weight by breaking strength, use diameter, 60# is a good size for up to 50# rigs.
Plenty of fish have been caught on straight mono....BUT a great proportion of the guys fishing live bait prefer braid, as a backing of a long topshot if nothing else.
A bait does swim far better with a super short topshot and Spectra.
Quote from: Keta on August 01, 2014, 12:47:48 AM
A bait does swim far better with a super short topshot and Spectra.
x2, less weight for the bait to pull...
For the type of fishing I do, Braid in not an option. Shark fishing from shore, you have to reel the fish in over the sand bars. One shell will cut 100lb braid like its thread. My only choice is JB hollow backing. I can buy a 5 lb spool of 130lb test mono for $75 shipped to my door. That's 2400 yards. I can pull this off because I have the capacity on the bigger Senators.
(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag93/darondyer/IMG_23391_zps41c2104f.jpg)
Quote from: alantani on July 31, 2014, 09:30:33 PM
swing by the house on the way down and grab a couple of two speed setups. don't go spending alot of money just yet.
Very generous of you Alan ! Thank you all for the advice. I am really looking forward to getting my "Salt" on ! Looks like my old school arsenal will be various sized Jigmasters, 112H Senators and some 113H Senators. Rite now I have 3 standard 4/0 specials and a HLW width Accurate conversion ( I don't know that I will ever have a use for it ) might want to part it out.
Are 6/0 reels of any use down south or is it over kill ? Again thank all of you for your advice and comments ...
Cool
Quote from: CooldadE on August 01, 2014, 05:45:22 AM
Quote from: alantani on July 31, 2014, 09:30:33 PM
swing by the house on the way down and grab a couple of two speed setups. don't go spending alot of money just yet.
Very generous of you Alan ! Thank you all for the advice. I am really looking forward to getting my "Salt" on ! Looks like my old school arsenal will be various sized Jigmasters, 112H Senators and some 113H Senators. Rite now I have 3 standard 4/0 specials and a HLW width Accurate conversion ( I don't know that I will ever have a use for it ) might want to part it out.
Are 6/0 reels of any use down south or is it over kill ? Again thank all of you for your advice and comments ...
Cool
I heck yea on the 6/0's if you want to bring them. Use for your troller when you are up in the rotation or as a dropper loop rig.
Is there a certain brand and supplier you all like for Spectra???
I know and like Jerry Brown so 75% of my Spectra is JB Line One. I also sell it, contact me and I'll give you the prices for you to compare.
Cannot go wrong with Jerry Brown.
All of my 20-80 pound spectra is TufLineXP (solid). My Penn 50V has 135 pound Izor hollow. The TufLine has served me well. I just haven't tried JB. Power Pro has too much coating on it for my tastes.
You'll probably do fine with 40 pound mono on a 4/0, and a 6/0 with 80 pound mono will make a fine troller.
One of the main reasons I use spectra is if you get in a drift with a strong current, 30 pound or larger mono has a lot of drag on it and your offering won't go straight down if that's what you're after. I use 20 pound max diameter mono or 30 pound braid for bottom dwellers up off Trinidad (Calif) or San Diego.