Ocean Fishing for Newbies

best tip yet.... lancer jigs. I fully agree with this ! I rescued our charter boat trip a week ago by bringing my own Lancer jigs. Lancers put 80% of the lings in the boat as well as the 4 biggest ling.

I will be there on Saturday. I agree with the tackle recommendations from above. I use basically a salmon rod with 50 to 65 lbs braid, to about 3 feet of leader, I usually go with like a 25 lbs test leader as yes, breaking it off can be difficult from yak. I will probably be a little later than most, but will try to be there by 730 or so. I hope to be ahead of the fleet of charters that will be headed out at 8.

I’m at government point at the moment. Looking bumpy out there! Although swells fairly flat lotta whitecaps. Needs to calm down dammit. Tomorrow’s another day.

I don't fully understand the need for anything heavier than 20lb line for rockfish, ling, or cabezon.   

Braid or mono you can yard up everything down there with 20lb or less.  To keep things fun, simple and cheap I fish a mostly with just a $9 (on sale) Shakespeare Pink Barbie pole with 20lb braid. 

Second favorite is my 6.6 UglyStikLITE with 10lb braid main, and 10lb mono top shot on a cheap Shimano Sienna 2500 spinning reel.

Keep it simple, keep it cheap.   

+1 on the Siennas. I treat those things like chit, never clean them and they just keep catching fish. 25 bucks for 25 years of use.

I think 20 lb braid is as light as you should go, with at least 20 lb leader material.  These lings have really sharp teeth and the rocks can do a number on your mainline.   I use 40 lb with 25 lb leader and its a great combo. 

1+ with Insayn. If you have a 20 lb leader of 3 or 10 feet, that’s your breaking point. 50 lb main is just thicker line making it harder to reach bottom, causing a “ bottom drag” and more snag potential doesn’t it?

I run 65lbs braid and I do ok. You can easily break it in a pedal drive. Thumb down rod tip pointed at the snag and pedal away. If you are paddling it’s as easy as reeling in to almost tight, wrapping your line around your wood shampooer, bracing, and letting the swell break the line.

Whatever test you run you need to know how to break off a line like this. It’s really not hard. At all.

What VHF channel do most folks use there at Depoe? Going to buy one tomorrow from Englunds and be there Saturday AM. Anyone fishing Sunday?

What VHF channel do most folks use there at Depot? Going to buy one tomorrow from Englunds and be there Saturday AM. Anyone fishing Sunday?

80 for the USCG and ingress/egress traffic. Inbound has right if way. Kayakers are on 69 otherwise.

I run 65lbs braid and I do ok. You can easily break it in a pedal drive. Thumb down rod tip pointed at the snag and pedal away. If you are paddling it’s as easy as reeling in to almost tight, wrapping your line around your wood shampooer, bracing, and letting the swell break the line.

Whatever test you run you need to know how to break off a line like this. It’s really not hard. At all.

I realize a guy has ways of breaking off 65lb braid, but what is the point of using such a high test line for bottom fish?  Sure Lings have teeth, rocks have sharpies, but a spool of 20lb mono, or even a top shot of 20lb mono on 20lb braid is more than enough for both. 

Again, a person can yard up anything out there shy of a huge halibut with 10-20lb line, it's done all the time.  That and lighter rods make the fishing that much more fun. 

What VHF channel do most folks use there at Depoe? Going to buy one tomorrow from Englunds and be there Saturday AM. Anyone fishing Sunday?

80 through the hole. 
69 on the water if you want to talk to other kayakers.

I run 65lbs braid and I do ok. You can easily break it in a pedal drive. Thumb down rod tip pointed at the snag and pedal away. If you are paddling it’s as easy as reeling in to almost tight, wrapping your line around your wood shampooer, bracing, and letting the swell break the line.

Whatever test you run you need to know how to break off a line like this. It’s really not hard. At all.

I realize a guy has ways of breaking off 65lb braid, but what is the point of using such a high test line for bottom fish?  Sure Lings have teeth, rocks have sharpies, but a spool of 20lb mono, or even a top shot of 20lb mono on 20lb braid is more than enough for both. 

Again, a person can yard up anything out there shy of a huge halibut with 10-20lb line, it's done all the time.  That and lighter rods make the fishing that much more fun.

Heavy braid is easier to fish in kelp.  It was more of an issue when we actually had abundant kelp

You are entitled to your opinion on fun light tackle vs. an unfun heavy meat crane setup, but it isn't about safety.  I don't recommend a new guy in a paddle kayak run that heavy without practicing breaking off lighter line first but once you have the technique down (and no matter how you fish, you need to have the technique down) its not any different of a safety concern than lighter braid.  20 lb braid is just as capable of slicing your finger clean off if you get wrapped up or dumping you in the drink sideways if you are trying to break off with poor technique.

+1 on the Siennas. I treat those things like chit, never clean them and they just keep catching fish. 25 bucks for 25 years of use.

+2, I love Sienna 2500 reels, have at least 4 plus extra spools (the rear drag version, same low cost, has interchangeable spools!).

I spool mine with 30# Tuf-Line XP for jigging (plus 12# rockfish leaders or 20# lingcod/calibut leaders) or 20# Tuf-Line SuperCast for salmon/steelhead (plus 12# max leaders).  Hit mine with some light reel oil now and then to keep them turning smoothly, otherwise I just abuse them.
 

Since salmon seem to dominate the northwest, a lot of us have our reels spooled with heaver (40-65lb) braided line.  To spool and respool reels can become costly if you are wanting to switch with a lot of frequency.  If you have the money to buy multiple reels than this problem can be solved.  Since i lost a setup earlier in the year and the Daiwa reel i bought broke at the base I only have a couple of reels.  I have 50lb braid on one line and 65 on the other.  When fishing for salmon or linfs i typically use 30lb leader.  I run my ocean rigs with a bit of a longer leader in case it somehow gets wrapped on rocks.  For example i typically have 5-6 ft of leader from the braid to the bottom hook.  I will typically have a few 3 way swivels in between so i can add different presentations. 

I have had no issues breaking off with this method.  I could see a scenario in which 5-6 ft of leader may not be enough but it would be rare and i have not come upon one yet.  However, a longer length leader never hurts and can be safer for those scenarios, just watch to make sure the leader is not longer than the rod.  If it is and you still want extra space, then add a bumper like previously mentioned.

Since salmon seem to dominate the northwest, a lot of us have our reels spooled with heaver (40-65lb) braided line.  To spool and respool reels can become costly if you are wanting to switch with a lot of frequency.  If you have the money to buy multiple reels than this problem can be solved.  Since i lost a setup earlier in the year and the Daiwa reel i bought broke at the base I only have a couple of reels.  I have 50lb braid on one line and 65 on the other.  When fishing for salmon or linfs i typically use 30lb leader.  I run my ocean rigs with a bit of a longer leader in case it somehow gets wrapped on rocks.  For example i typically have 5-6 ft of leader from the braid to the bottom hook.  I will typically have a few 3 way swivels in between so i can add different presentations. 

I have had no issues breaking off with this method.  I could see a scenario in which 5-6 ft of leader may not be enough but it would be rare and i have not come upon one yet.  However, a longer length leader never hurts and can be safer for those scenarios, just watch to make sure the leader is not longer than the rod.  If it is and you still want extra space, then add a bumper like previously mentioned.

FYI-  my level wind reels, that I troll salmon with and also use for lingcod, are always spooled with either 50# or 65# Tuf-Line XP, I just always have 20# leader or a 20# break off segment in the rigging.  At the very most, I will use a 25# pre-tied mooching rig.