Tackle for Puget Sound fishing

What rod & reel set ups do you guys prefer for fishing the sound?  I've got a ton of gear sitting in Maine and I'm just trying to figure out what I should have shipped out here...

Thanks!

Depends on the what you're fishing for and how, and what your personal preferences are.

The rod that I reach for the most is a GLoomis HSR1021C.  Yes, this is a "river rod".  HSR stands for Hot Shot Rod.  This rod was meant for pulling hotshot plugs on the river!  The specs for the rod are as follow: 8'6", 3/8-4 ounces, ex-fast action tip, medium power.  I actually think the action is more medium than fast.  So on a kayak, anything longer is hard to handle when you get a fish to the boat.  Remember, you cant back up so a longer rod will hold the fish away from you so anything longer than 8-9 feet can be problematic (although this doesn't stop me from using longer rods from time to time).  Anything shorter than about 7' and you can't get the tip around the end of the kayak when a fish runs under the yak.  I use the 1021 rod for mooching and for bottom fishing.  But I would say that it is NOT an ideal jigging rod as the action is too slow.  And with weight >6 ounces it is a bit too soft.  I'll use it for 6 ounce jigs; it's not the best here, and it certainly sucks for 8 ounce jigs.  For salmon, the medium action is just right.  I don't like a fast action rod for salmon as it doesn't have much "give".  The weight of this rod is about right, nice and light.  I was fishing on Monterey Bay (CA) this morning and I was using the only saltwater rod I had left down in CA.  The rod was a bit heavy in weight and got tiresome after a while.

I say ship all your rods out here and experiment until you figure out which one (or ones) is best for you off a yak!

BTW, it was nice meeting you the other day.  I hope to get together with you on the water some time soon.

-Allen

Thanks for the advice Allen, I probably wil just have everything (except for the shark & tuna rods) shipped out!  Right now I have a couple of shimano 3500 baitrunners with 7' St.Croix boat rods, and an Abu Garcia 6500 C3 out here. 
I'm actually taking the kayak out tomorrow morning around Olalla/Purdy for SRC's & salmon. I'll let you know how I do!

Thanks,
           Wayne

That 6500 would work just fine.  It's what I usually have on my rod, but I broke the level wind earlier this year and haven't had a chance to fix it (that's winter time work).  I slapped on a Pro Gear 255 for the time being, but I'm actually enjoying that reel on there so it will probably stay.

Those tuna rods will probably work great when we chase the halibut next spring.     I use a 7' tuna rod rated 20-50 for the butts.

-Allen

  Any recomendations on a Salmon - Rockfish set up for the sound.  I'm always borrowing my buddies baitcasting setups and need to get one of my own.  I would like to get a setup for under $100.  Would a Penn GT reel nd Ugly Stik 7' Med Rod be a good combo for this?

Aaron

$100 is going to be tough for a GT plus Ugly Stik.  Something like a GTi310 is a $90 reel.  Are you looking for a level wind?  A Penn 209M will run you about $50, maybe less at a fall clearance.  It's has been a very popular reel for a long time now.  I have 3 sitting in my garage waiting for my winter time rebuilding.  These date back to my childhood.

Which Ugly Stik were you thinking about?  Ugly Stiks are a good, no-nonsense value rods IMO.  I've owned a few over time.

-Allen

    GI joes has a  Penn 220 GTO Level Wind Reel for $70 and a Penn 320 GT2 Levelwind Saltwater Conventional Reel for $85.  I'm not hooked on Penn's or anything it just seems they are so common I assume they must be good.  If there is a better value I am open to anything. GI Joes also had some Okuma's on sale in the paper. 
   As to the rod I saw Boater's world had a Shakespeare Ugly Stik Lite Inshore CAL11701ML 7' Casting Rod 10-20lb line weight Med-Lt for 39.00 I used to own a Berkley Cherrywood and they always seemed decent Amazon has this one Berkley Cherrywood Casting Rod (7'0", Medium-Heavy, 10-25 lbs) for $20
  It's a bit overwhelming with the choices out there so any advice is much appreciated.

Aaron

Ah ... I forgot about the 220 GTO.  There is also the Penn Jigmaster 500L which is not levelwind, but runs ~$60.  It's very much a workhorse real.  Any of the Penn reels that have been talked about will work just fine.  I have no experience with Okuma's.

I've not used that particular Ugly Stick although the specs seem in the range.  I'd suggest that you go into the store and clip 4-6 ounces of lead on the end and see how it feels.  The lure rating for this rod doesn't go this high, but that doesn't mean much in my book as I routingly use more weight than the rating.  The way rods are rated is so inconsistent anyway.

-Allen

I've had experience with Okuma fly reels- cheap, and a lot of value for the money. I bought an Okuma levelwind rod and reel combo, on sale at GI Joe's, this summer, but haven't had a chance to give it a workout, yet. The package was $70. I expect that hard use will burn out the drag or (brass?) gears, but I don't fish the west side enough to worry about that. The rod seems to be medium fast (graphite!). I think it will be ideal for jigging Chelan macks.

I've got a bunch of old Penns, dating back to my childhood, too. They're crude, with slow gear ratios (3:1, for the 209, if I remember correctly.) Still, I use one for my halibut rig, as it's the biggest levelwind I own.

Although I haven't fished the sound I have a little xperiance with okuma. I have a TCP40 I bought several years for the silvers in alaska. Its a spinning reel and not the one I was after. I was looking for EF30, my uncle recomened it for the trip. The one TCP40 was a reel supposably made just for Turner's outdoors in SoCal. I have to say I like it. It stood up to all the fish that we caught that week. (Up to 30 fish a day, no BS) and it has absolutly no back peddle to it. A good and tight reel.
Its rated up to 12# test but I know it will take a heavier line no problem.
Anyway for what its worth.

Matt