Game rod and reel for kayak fishing

[Secala]

Hi
I am a keen kayak fisher in NZ. Mainly target snapper, gurnard and blue cod for the table that are fairly abundant in my region. In the summer months (warmer waters) tuna and kingfish are added to the menu. During these months there is also Marlin off our coast and with a few years of experience under my belt now, I would like to get equipped to tackle a Marlin if the chance presents itself.
Obviously kayaks are constrained by speed so the most likely method to employ is live baiting. Also, there is no way of applying the rod leverage on a kayak as you could on a boat.
With this in mind, can anyone offer any experience/advice for the type of rod and reel setup that would best suit live baiting for marlin? A key feature of a reel should be robustness and relative simplicity as it will likely be subject to a harsher life on a kayak. I imagine the size of the reel will be somewhat smaller than a boat variety, not only from a weight point of view, but the line weight should not need to be as strong!? Quality of gear is more important than price ........within reason!
Any advice welcome.
Cheers
Brent

[Bill B]

Welcome Brent....as for a reel, the first choice would be a Penn Jigmaster 500, there are many upgrades to push it to the moon, but start with steel gears, stainless gear sleeve and greased carbon fiber drags....as for a rod, something in the 20-40 lb class at about 8' should do it......good luck....Bill

[coastal_dan]

Keep it simple   I went the all out way and could have saved a lot of money, As your all around go with a Penn 501 Jigmaster with maybe a CF drag kit and upgraded Penn Power Handle, I used 55 lb braid and it held 450 yards.

As far as a Marlin reel its going to be personal preference.  Quite a few folks are using a Penn International 12 2 speed or 16 VSX.  Both are still fairly heavy being right around 40 oz or so...then add line.  You could give the new Squall VSX reels a chance.  Or switch it up and go with old trusty (being a TLD 25 or 50 2 speed).

Your options are endless, also think about what line you'll be using...the braid vs. mono will be your biggest guy to size, cost and availability of reel.

The only thing I'll say on the rod is make sure its long enough that you don't have to move to much to swing the tip around the front or back of the boat.

Good Luck!

[exp2000]

Some thoughts from Grant Ashwell (The Legend)

I use both OH and spinning reels.

For live baiting I think that I prefer the spin and use reels about the size of the old Penn 7500. No over run and hardly any resistance or I have the bail open. 30lb is plenty and a shorter rod better I believe.

My main rod is Saltist ST30TH, 50lb braid on a TCurve Deep Jig 400 for lures and livies. I went to the heavier TLDs and Tyronos TCurve but I am going to sell it. I even find the TCurve Deep Jig 400 too heavy.

I am about to buy a second rod for spin but will scale down to the TCurve 200 and 30lb line. I had my heart set on a Saltiga dogfight 6500 but after holding one in the shop there is no way I could handle it on the yak. I am now going to the SALTIGA Z4500H with 30lb braid.  

[Shark Hunter]

Brent,
There is a gentleman on here named Professor Salt.
He has posted a lot of video's on here and I have to say, he is one of the most talented Kayak Fishermen I have ever seen.
There also use to be a guy here named Rob that fished in Hawaii. He has caught Marlin from his Kayak.
I do have a decent yak, but I just use it to deploy baits and then come back to shore.
It is a Ocean Kayak Trident 13.

[Billyhill]

Hi Brent
Been done a few times up here in the bay of islands.You cant go past a Penn Senator 6 or 9, either can be brought reasonably of Trademe and are bulletproof.My rod choice would be a 24kg stand up rod, wont put you under as much stress as a 36kg rod will.Be prepared fpr a wild ride though, expecially as it nears the yak.

[Bill B]

I recently bought an inflatable two seat kayak by Airhead....gonna try to use it for chasing salmon here on the Sacramento River.....stable as all get out, but doesn't paddle very well in the river current.....It may not be very productive, but it sure will be interesting....