Catalina Sportfishing... Equipment Questions!

[addicted2sp33d]

My friends and I are planning to catch a Full Day boat out of Long Beach, headed out to Catalina.

We're going before the end of the year, and having never fished there, we have no idea what to expect.

What kinds of fishy friends will we meet out there at this time of year?

I tried looking online but the recommendations run from "10-lb line should be plenty" all the way to "bring the heaviest gear you can afford because you might hook a Tuna out there".

What kind of equipment should I bring? I'm pretty sure my current reel will not have enough line capacity (maxes out at about 100 yards of 25lb mono)... but maybe you don't need to reach the bottom?

Help me fishmasters!

[Bigfishhunter96]

When going to the island you should have a 20 and a 30 pound set up. Each reel should hold at least 300 yards of line. This time of year theres almost no chance of tuna mostly calico and rock fish and sometimes yellowtail.

[ful-rac]

Originally Posted by addicted2sp33d

My friends and I are planning to catch a Full Day boat out of Long Beach, headed out to Catalina.

We're going before the end of the year, and having never fished there, we have no idea what to expect.

What kinds of fishy friends will we meet out there at this time of year?

I tried looking online but the recommendations run from "10-lb line should be plenty" all the way to "bring the heaviest gear you can afford because you might hook a Tuna out there".

What kind of equipment should I bring? I'm pretty sure my current reel will not have enough line capacity (maxes out at about 100 yards of 25lb mono)... but maybe you don't need to reach the bottom?

Help me fishmasters!

Don't expect anything great, although it's possible to catch a seabass or yellowtail out there too, but your going to have to be that lucky guy. You'll probably catch blue perch, sheephead, whitefish, calico bass, rockfish, groupers...the usual bottom grabbers.

I would definitely bring the 10 pound and 15 pound 20-25, 30....I think that should cover it for a full day but if you want you could bring a 40 pound outfit just in case but your probably not going to need it unless there is a bite in progress. Check the reports before you go, don't see anything exciting happening at catalina for the full day guys at the moment.....and no...no tuna. And don't forget to bring some heavier sinkers...

hope this helps.....

[addicted2sp33d]

Thanks guys!

As I feared, my main problem is line capacity... oh well... looks like it's time to finally pick up a second reel.

Thanks for starting me down that slippery, never-ending slope of I-Need-More-Gear Mountain!

Should I bring Irons or anything like that? I saw some videos of people pinning sardines or squid onto the treble of an iron and then casting them both together.

[bus kid]

Originally Posted by ful-rac

Don't expect anything great, although it's possible to catch a seabass or yellowtail out there too, but your going to have to be that lucky guy. You'll probably catch blue perch, sheephead, whitefish, calico bass, rockfish, groupers...the usual bottom grabbers.

I would definitely bring the 10 pound and 15 pound 20-25, 30....I think that should cover it for a full day but if you want you could bring a 40 pound outfit just in case but your probably not going to need it unless there is a bite in progress. Check the reports before you go, don't see anything exciting happening at catalina for the full day guys at the moment.....and no...no tuna. And don't forget to bring some heavier sinkers...

hope this helps.....

X2

size 8 hooks, perch have small mouths.

[ful-rac]

Originally Posted by addicted2sp33d

Thanks guys!

As I feared, my main problem is line capacity... oh well... looks like it's time to finally pick up a second reel.

Thanks for starting me down that slippery, never-ending slope of I-Need-More-Gear Mountain!

Should I bring Irons or anything like that? I saw some videos of people pinning sardines or squid onto the treble of an iron and then casting them both together.

Sure bring a couple of irons, you never know, but most likely you probably won't use them. Since you guys are probably going to catch mostly rockfish, whitefish and sheephead....you'll be using mostly your 15-25lb outfit, with 2 dropper loops a couple strips of squid and 2 small hooks. Try using your 10lb outfit with a tiny hook and catch those blue perch!!! Damn those things can pull!!!

[Fiskadoro]

When I fish SMB I fish 15-20 pound gear, when I fish La Jolla I fish 30-40 pound topshots with spectra, when I fish Catalina I take both. That time of year they will target Seabass or Yellows if they are around. If not they may target bass or shallow water Rockfish. Fishing Yellows and Seabass there is pretty much the same as fishing them at La Jolla, same Irons work, dropper loop works, sliding sinker rigs, flyline all can work etc...

The big difference is bait. At Cat you'll probably be fishing sardines or Squid, which you can fish with the same gear as we fish macks. If the bait situation is screwed they might only have anchovies, then drop down to fifteen and twenty pound. Also if the fish are acting line shy you might want to drop to lighter line. Another thing you need to remember is you have all the bait you want. Put out a bait, if you don't get bit in a few minutes reel in toss the bait and put on a fresh one. When you choose a bait look them over and always choose the biggest best looking bait you see, and change them every drop.

If they set up shallow on any kind of flat or sand consider halibut fishing. Catalina has better quality halibut then most of the inshore fishing, most neglect fishing them but those who do win a lot of jackpots doing it.

I've soaked squid all day for seabass for nothing, then pinned a squid on the dropper and instantly nailed a legal Halibut. The last time I fished Cat from a sportboat we were on the backside fishing for 40-50 pound seabass. They were only biting on squid flylined on a 1/2 ounce sinker. I spent all day with every other fool flylining squid trying to get a C and only one big one was caught.

In contrast another guy got three halibut including a fortyfive pounder about an hour before we left fishing on the bottom. After he got the big one I broke down and fished them as well and I ended up with a decent butt a fifteen pounder, but what still kills me is a hooked and landed a 20 pound seabass as well. Two fish off the bottom in less then an hour compared to all day flylining for nothing. In hindsight should of been fishing dropper loop all day long. Just because everyone else is fishing one way does not mean you have to.

Another thing that's different is that you can't chase fish. That's why you need a lot of line on your reels. Probably every seabass over twenty I've landed there has taken at least a 100 yards on the first run, and I've hooked fish on twenty that I couldn't even stop there.

Also take a lot of terminal tackle, some smaller but strong hooks, and lots of sinkers up to eight to ten ounces. Depending on current and conditions you may need some heavy weights then your used to.

Cats a great place to fish. It can be very hit or miss depending on currents and the weather. I've caught more Yellowtail at Cat then anywhere, more big Calicos there then anywhere, and it's excellent Seabass fishing if they're biting. Hopefully you'll get a good Captain and catch some fish.

Good luck!

[addicted2sp33d]

Follow-up question!!!

I took a look at the 6000/8000/10000 class spinning reels out there and remembered why I didn't get one of them sooner - they're huge (that's what she said). So now I'm basically looking at a smaller round conventional so I can get the line capacity without the large form factor.

What do you guys recommend? Oh... and I would really prefer a lefty crank. I tried out a Cardiff 401 at Big5 and it looks like it will be able to carry 300+ yards of 40lb braid.

What are some other options for round conventionals with lefty cranks? Thanks!

[Bigfishhunter96]

I like the sea line series by diawa the sea line x forty is perfect for its price. Line it with 65 pound braid with 75 yards of 30 pound test. You will have over 400 yards on a smaller reel and perfect for any fishing. Had mine for 6 years caught rock fish to 40 pound bluefin and haven't had to oil it yet

[Mackerel Masher]

AVET MXJ (they make lefty models). $169 MSRP. All Aluminum and Made in the USA. I spend most of my life in China making cheap plastic shit so that's really important to me. Everybody sells for MSRP but you can usually get "free braid" depending on who you buy from (Squid Co.).

Caught a lot of yellowtail, halibut, dorado, and yellowfin on my SXs and MXJs this year.

I took 65#spectra on my 3/4 day, that way when I hooked my Dorado and my tuna, I didn't have to worry about losing it to some rookie tourists getting tangled.


I would run spectra, 20# should be fine. That way you can cut through anyones lines who's getting caught up, if its rock fishing though, it should go pretty smoothley. Straight up and down isn't as big a deal as finding YT/Dodo/Tuna/WSB