Newbie looking for Rod and Reel advice

[fearnofish]

I am a rookie when it comes to saltwater kayak fishing and need some input. I do allot of freshwater bass fishing and can appreciate good equipment. I fish Shimano curado, castaic, and stradic reels mostly on Gloomis rods. I have to say though this saltwater equipment can get out of hand!!

Here is what I have currently for the salt:
Daiwa Saltist STT30TH mounted on a Seeker black steel graphite rod G970-7' 20-25-30lb. I use this mostly for jigs but do some trolling with it also.


Curado 300DSV on a Shimano Teramar inshore series rod. Medium action extra fast 10-20lb. 7'6". This is for the smaller stuff but I do want to hook something a little bigger to see how she holds up!!


Do I have a good start or am I way off base?? I am out here in the AZ desert with no mentor so my meager knowledge all comes from the internet.

I am looking for input on some new gear. Possibly another conventional setup for trolling or live bait. I also want to get a decent spinning setup as well.


Again I know the value of good equipment but don't want to break the bank. Like everyone else I am looking for the best bang for my buck! I only get out a few times a year but maybe some new gear will change that!


Any input is appreciated! Thanks!!

[KennyHill]

I fish a calcutta 700 on a 9' seeker spooled with 40lb test for the big boys. and a calcutta 400 on a 8' Dobyns Heavy swim bait rod spooled with 15lb test for calicos. seem work alright for me.

[Matt]

Hello and welcome to the sport!

If you are looking for some super durable reels on the cheaper end of the spectrum check out the TLD 15 Star drag from shimano or the lever drag version, also check out any of the diawa sealines 20-40. These are super, super durable reels that will deal with day in and day out punishment for years without a re-build and are super cheap and easy to service yourself.

If you are wanting to spend a bit more I have had great luck with the torium 16 and 20 from shimano, and trinidads in the same size are also great reels although definitely on the expensive side. Accurates are way expensive but great reels and do need to be maintained, Avets are also extremely popular but also require a bit more care, but if you pay attention you shouldn't have any problems at all, other than routine maintenance.

In regards to spinning reels, most people in LJ don't use them for anything other than a sabiki stick, I know they can work I just don't have much experience with them.

As far as rods go, you can go to BIG 5 and get some of the cheaper Penn stoker rods they work fine, you can also go to squidco and get some great deals on some less expensive rods. If you want to pay for them Seekers or Calstar are often a good rod of choice.

For line you will find alot of people using bait reels spooled up with all 65lb braid such as powerpro leading to a short topshot of 5'-6' of 20-40lb flouro via a swivel and a sliding sinker of 2-6 oz for the bottom rig depending on the conditions. For jigs most people spool up 30-40 straight mono on their jig reels.

And as far as kayak fishing supplies their is only one chain of stores to go to and that is OEX, whether it is the location in O'side, Mission Bay, Pt. Loma or Kearny Mesa these are the dudes to help you out!!

This is all just what I use when going after pelagics and such and not necessarily the end all be all, but it definitely works well. If you use the search function you will find lots of info and helpful hints throughout the website and probably more suggestions and ideas that would take you years to learn otherwise, good luck and have fun fishing, I hope this helps!!!!

[taggermike]

I'll have to second what Brother Matt said. Both the Shimano TLD and Daiwa Sealines reels are very affordable and hold up great under kayak fishing conditions. I'm partial to CalStar and Seeker rods. They're made in So Cal and they work in So Cal. That said there are many great rods and makers out there. I checked out Okuma's Baidarka rods a few days ago and they were pretty sweet. They're made for kayak fishing and they actually float. Longer rods are usually no too handy on a kayak and can be impossible to store under hatch for rough landings. Generally 61/2 to 7 feet is fine. Just long enough to lead a fish around the bow of the yak. I do bring an old school 9' jig stick and have caught many YT on it. It's fun but clumsy and if I didn't own it already I wouldn't have bought it just for kayak fishing. It sounds like your ready to fish with the 2 out fits you have. Get out there and add gear as you find you need it. I used to paddle out to the kelp on a long board with one rod in my teeth and I usually caught fish. Use what you have. Mike

[PescadorPete]

Saltwater fishing in Phoenix? I'm guessing you must wander out here to the edge from time to time. It depends somewhat on what/where/when you fish. Bass fishing in the kelp or boiler rocks, I use a Calcutta 250 and 400 and Seeker inshore graphite rods. Bigger fish hunting, I use a Daiwa SL-X40HA and a Torium 16 or 20 and Calstar graphite rods.

[Billy V]

Matt's recommendations are solid advice.
-Add in the Dawia Saltist Series too. $180

-I fish mostly the reel mentioned above, and the Dawia Sealine-X in 4.9:1 ratio 40 class, or the 30 class in 6.1:1 ratio.
These reels stand up to saltwater kayak fishing and are priced somewhere around $110.

You could spend much more but You don't have to.

[fearnofish]

Originally Posted by taggermike

It sounds like your ready to fish with the 2 out fits you have. Get out there and add gear as you find you need it. I used to paddle out to the kelp on a long board with one rod in my teeth and I usually caught fish. Use what you have. Mike

Good advice Mike I am with ya on that! I have been out some and am haulin the yaks down to San Carlos Mexico next week and will be fishin with what I have. They have been catching some yellowtail and corvina so hopefully I will get lucky. If not it will still be a blast.

What I am looking to do is add to what I have so I can have things rigged and ready to go when I switch methods instead of having to re-rig. I may go with a torium like Matt suggested on a Calstar or another Seeker.

Pete you are right I "wander" out every now and again but am wanting to do more. I have my eye on one of those mothership trips one day but want to have a little more experience first so I get my money's worth! I also want to get over to the LJ area and check that out too, never been there!

Glad to see so many Saltist fans... mine casts like a dream!

Thanks to all that have replied so far.

[Rusty]

I agree with Matt. Specifically I think 7' Seeker Black Steels with matching toriums are sweet cause they work for the yak and the sporties.

I have a 870 with a Torium 14 for 20#, a 970 with a torium 16 for 25#, a 670 with a torium 20 for 30#, and a 6470 John Grabowski Model with a torium 30 for the yo-yo and 40 flyline 'dines. I've caught yellows and varius tuna on all of these sticks and they're all great, and relatively inexpensive. These work for tuna and paddy fishing on the sporties and yellows on yak... They're forgiving on the back compared to calstars graphiters, but they still put the heat on the fish.

[yamafish]

We are using Shimano 6000 and 8000 spinners on 60 - 100+ lb tarpon along with 700S calcutta's. GLoomis, Shimano and Choas rods have worked well and have both good action and results depending on your model selection.
We have found the key is using Power Pro with Seagar Fluorocarbon leader material on the spinners and Stren or other quality mono on the Calcutta reels.

Power Pro does not stretch and is hard to cut with small diameter size vs strenght. Sizing down on the leader size depending on the fish type will increase the bite dramatically.

Tight lines!