Rod & reel setup for a noob? - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

taggermike · 05-07-2009, 06:43 PM

I don't know if I'm a pro but I have been at this for a while. Your question might be broader than you know. There are many styles of local kayak fishing. Live bait, heavy and light irons, and plastic are some. some techniques require specialized equipment. There are also plenty of fish species to target locally as well. There isn't one out fit that will do every thing perfectly. Eventually if you continue ocean yak fishing you will need a few more out fits, but to start out you might want to concider a 7' rod rated for 20-30 lb line and a conventional reel to match it. A basic Penn stroker or power rod with a Penn 500 reel will get you started and you can catch about every thing you can hook locally with it. If your budget is higher there are loads of great rods and reels available in the same line ratings. For summer/fall fishing most of my better fish, yellow tail are my usual target, have been caught slow trolling live bait with a rod the size of the one I recomended. It would be a bit heavy for throwing plastic baits and too light and short for surface irons but it will work for most bait fishing and trolling. That's a start. Mike

JrBasser · 05-07-2009, 06:57 PM

You can't go wrong with a penn jigmaster 500 and a seeker american live bait 7 foot rod. 30 pound blue izor line and you can fish pretty much any technique and this will handle almost any fish you run into. The combo can run you about $150 if you find deals. Sports authority usually has good sales on the rod as well as the reel.

njovin · 05-07-2009, 08:15 PM

That's exactly the kind of start I was looking for, thanks a lot for the advice. I'd mainly like to start learning to fish yellowtail, now I know what gear to start with.

See you out there!

steveooo · 05-07-2009, 08:57 PM

Welcome to the sport and the board. For what it's worth, yellowtail are not tuna, they are part of the Jack family. Pretty common confusion. Last year, yellowfin tuna were close enough to get a good shot on a kayak, but I don't think anyone locally got some off the yak.
I would encourage you to get involved in the MLPA process as well. It is a very real possibility that our fishing grounds are going to be shut down. Now is the time that it is important to get involved to try to save what is important to us. There is strength in numbers and persistance. Check out the info on other threads of when and where meetings will be held.
See you on the water.

MarkT · 05-08-2009, 06:30 AM

Rods are rated with a range like 12-30, 15-40, 20-50. In each case the rod tends to be best at the middle of the range. Traditionally a 12-30 is a 20# rod, a 15-40 is a 25# rod and a 20-50 is a 30# rod. In a Sabre/Calstar/Seeker these would be the 270, 870, 670 respectively. Oher manufacturers have followed these naming conventions (originated with the original Sabre rods back in the 60's). The cheaper rods are lower on the range. I've seen 12-30 rods that I wouldn't use for more than 15#, 20# on a 15-40, etc. Pull on them so see what they fell like. You could go to Big5 and check out the Penn Sabre (not the same as the original Sabres!) or Ugly Sticks both of which are low cost rods.

In your case for a YT rod, I'd look at nothing less than a 20-50 rated 670 or other rod that's up to pulling 10# of drag fishing 30# line.

A Penn Jigmaster 500 or 545GS, Shimano TLD15 or 20/40 or Daiwa SLX40 would be good reels for this. These are all solid reels up to the rigors of yak fishing. Some of the more high-maintenance, expensive, metal reels don't really like all the saltwater you get into on the yak.

Holy Mackerel · 05-08-2009, 06:34 AM

Njovin, Please attend the MLPA meeting if you can, it would be a good place to meet some local LJ, and OC kayak fishermen.

But to answer your question, it depends on your budget. As stated, generally, for live bait, I prefer 7ft, 20-50ish rod, with a Shimano TLD 15 lever drag, it is nice when you want to use weighted baits.

These are some nice reels too, I have a few of these, I use for surface Iron, and YOYO: Torium 20/30, Daiwa Sealine 40/50, or you can upgrade to the Trinidad, or Saltiga repectively. (saltiga does not have a clicker)

FWIW, I caught my biggest WSB on a Penn 500, on a BIG 5 $30 7ft rod. So if money is tight, that is a good start.

Chris

lapulapu · 05-11-2009, 10:41 PM

Sealine 40 or 50 ha or sha, with Ugly Stik Tiger rod, 6'6" or 7' rated 15-40 or 20-50. You can probably get a good deal on the Sealine off Craigslist ($80 or so used, $110 new), and the rod should cost less than $60 almost anywhere (big 5, Turners, Walmart). If Boater's World is still open, they might have one left.

Hunters Pa · 05-12-2009, 02:19 PM

Get to a Boaters World ASAP. They are getting pretty lean on the sticks but I picked up a Seeker last week for 40% off

05-07-2009, 06:43 PM	#1
taggermike Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Chula Vista Posts: 1,589	I don't know if I'm a pro but I have been at this for a while. Your question might be broader than you know. There are many styles of local kayak fishing. Live bait, heavy and light irons, and plastic are some. some techniques require specialized equipment. There are also plenty of fish species to target locally as well. There isn't one out fit that will do every thing perfectly. Eventually if you continue ocean yak fishing you will need a few more out fits, but to start out you might want to concider a 7' rod rated for 20-30 lb line and a conventional reel to match it. A basic Penn stroker or power rod with a Penn 500 reel will get you started and you can catch about every thing you can hook locally with it. If your budget is higher there are loads of great rods and reels available in the same line ratings. For summer/fall fishing most of my better fish, yellow tail are my usual target, have been caught slow trolling live bait with a rod the size of the one I recomended. It would be a bit heavy for throwing plastic baits and too light and short for surface irons but it will work for most bait fishing and trolling. That's a start. Mike

05-07-2009, 06:57 PM	#2
JrBasser Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 260	You can't go wrong with a penn jigmaster 500 and a seeker american live bait 7 foot rod. 30 pound blue izor line and you can fish pretty much any technique and this will handle almost any fish you run into. The combo can run you about $150 if you find deals. Sports authority usually has good sales on the rod as well as the reel.

05-07-2009, 08:15 PM	#3
njovin Junior Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 11	That's exactly the kind of start I was looking for, thanks a lot for the advice. I'd mainly like to start learning to fish yellowtail, now I know what gear to start with. See you out there!

05-07-2009, 08:57 PM	#4
steveooo Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 1,922	Welcome to the sport and the board. For what it's worth, yellowtail are not tuna, they are part of the Jack family. Pretty common confusion. Last year, yellowfin tuna were close enough to get a good shot on a kayak, but I don't think anyone locally got some off the yak. I would encourage you to get involved in the MLPA process as well. It is a very real possibility that our fishing grounds are going to be shut down. Now is the time that it is important to get involved to try to save what is important to us. There is strength in numbers and persistance. Check out the info on other threads of when and where meetings will be held. See you on the water.

05-08-2009, 06:30 AM	#5
MarkT Deep Release Specialist Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Mission Viejo Posts: 94	Rods are rated with a range like 12-30, 15-40, 20-50. In each case the rod tends to be best at the middle of the range. Traditionally a 12-30 is a 20# rod, a 15-40 is a 25# rod and a 20-50 is a 30# rod. In a Sabre/Calstar/Seeker these would be the 270, 870, 670 respectively. Oher manufacturers have followed these naming conventions (originated with the original Sabre rods back in the 60's). The cheaper rods are lower on the range. I've seen 12-30 rods that I wouldn't use for more than 15#, 20# on a 15-40, etc. Pull on them so see what they fell like. You could go to Big5 and check out the Penn Sabre (not the same as the original Sabres!) or Ugly Sticks both of which are low cost rods. In your case for a YT rod, I'd look at nothing less than a 20-50 rated 670 or other rod that's up to pulling 10# of drag fishing 30# line. A Penn Jigmaster 500 or 545GS, Shimano TLD15 or 20/40 or Daiwa SLX40 would be good reels for this. These are all solid reels up to the rigors of yak fishing. Some of the more high-maintenance, expensive, metal reels don't really like all the saltwater you get into on the yak.

05-08-2009, 06:34 AM	#6
Holy Mackerel Señor member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 1,627	Njovin, Please attend the MLPA meeting if you can, it would be a good place to meet some local LJ, and OC kayak fishermen. But to answer your question, it depends on your budget. As stated, generally, for live bait, I prefer 7ft, 20-50ish rod, with a Shimano TLD 15 lever drag, it is nice when you want to use weighted baits. These are some nice reels too, I have a few of these, I use for surface Iron, and YOYO: Torium 20/30, Daiwa Sealine 40/50, or you can upgrade to the Trinidad, or Saltiga repectively. (saltiga does not have a clicker) FWIW, I caught my biggest WSB on a Penn 500, on a BIG 5 $30 7ft rod. So if money is tight, that is a good start. Chris

05-11-2009, 10:41 PM	#7
lapulapu Junior Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 6	Sealine 40 or 50 ha or sha, with Ugly Stik Tiger rod, 6'6" or 7' rated 15-40 or 20-50. You can probably get a good deal on the Sealine off Craigslist ($80 or so used, $110 new), and the rod should cost less than $60 almost anywhere (big 5, Turners, Walmart). If Boater's World is still open, they might have one left.

05-12-2009, 02:19 PM	#8
Hunters Pa Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Fullerton Posts: 1,361	Get to a Boaters World ASAP. They are getting pretty lean on the sticks but I picked up a Seeker last week for 40% off