Bottom fishing setup - Rods and Reels

Ah yes, I do remember that thread (or several threads) from Mr. Self and his superiority complex.  His monster Ling he was so proud of looked like it was a whopping 26" at best.  He was a special individual for sure. 

That old thread also reminded me how well Rawkfish knows his way around an anal vent flap.  That thread and the thread where he challenged Zeelander to a race because he thought Hobie's were some sort of abomination are both priceless gems of NWKA.org history.  Who was it that renamed him Nanook again? Or did everyone just start calling him that and then he adopted it?

In doing so, I tend to challenge myself using probably the stupidest gear possible with no expectations. The Barbie rod is probably the most ridiculous thing on the planet to take in the ocean, but man is it fun and absurdly effective. You jig 6oz all day with it if you like, and never have a worn out arm at the end of the day. 

I'd never want to tell someone how best to enjoy their fishing time.  Fly, barbie, meatstick, doesn't matter as long as it's fun.  We all make or have our personal challenges.  If I get to the barbie point I think I'll just go on down to the handline.

Does anyone remember the guy who extolled the virtues of the hand line.  If I remember right, all rod using kayak fishers were the unwashed heathens and hand lining was the purest version of kayak fishing.

I'm more of a pagan than a heathen. You can tell the heathens by their Barbie poles.   

Ah yes, I do remember that thread (or several threads) from Mr. Self and his superiority complex.  His monster Ling he was so proud of looked like it was a whopping 26" at best.  He was a special individual for sure. 

That old thread also reminded me how well Rawkfish knows his way around an anal vent flap.  That thread and the thread where he challenged Zeelander to a race because he thought Hobie's were some sort of abomination are both priceless gems of NWKA.org history.  Who was it that renamed him Nanook again? Or did everyone just start calling him that and then he adopted it?

It was Ron (Pelagic Paddler) that was challenged by JSelf (Nanook) for the race.  We all gave props that Ron could paddled his Hobie Adventure faster than Nanook could paddle his SINK.  It was all set to take place during ORC, but before game time, somebody took the wimp route and said their girlfriend got sick and had to get her home. 

My only add here is to go cheap until you decide it's a fishery you like and want to do more of. Then you can upgrade. Yard sale season is not far off!

Also an observation: lots of discussion on this thread about fishing as a hobby v. filling the freezer. Yes, fishing is a lot of fun. However, if the fish in your freezer cost you about $60 a pound, it's time to reevaluate, IMHO

Having started this thread with a novice question, I can say that the input has been invaluable and also pretty amusing. 

Went to the Saltwater Show today just for grins and stumbled across a dude that had a tackle shop that he shut down and had a ton inventory that he was liquidating. I managed to get 2 Diawa SaltigaG rods, one spinning one casting for $100 each and a Diawa BG4500 spinning real for $60.

I am hoping that will be a solid setup for jigging once the ocean cooperates

My only add here is to go cheap until you decide it's a fishery you like and want to do more of. Then you can upgrade. Yard sale season is not far off!

Also an observation: lots of discussion on this thread about fishing as a hobby v. filling the freezer. Yes, fishing is a lot of fun. However, if the fish in your freezer cost you about $60 a pound, it's time to reevaluate, IMHO

When I first started kayak fishing, I did the math - - gas, tackle, etc.  When crab is 12.99 / pound, rockfish is $9.99/pound, and Ling was about 12.99/pound I was regularly bringing home close to $250-300 worth of seafood on each adventure rock fishing at PC.  The crab are huge and limits are easy.  I spent about $15/trip on gas to get there and back carpooling with friends.  After a year and a half, my Hobie Outback, rods, reels, and jigs were paid for in meat.  The seafood I eat each year is probably 60+% of my protein intake. Throw in an average of 12 decent size wild salmon (not farmed crap) per year and you can't afford NOT to fish. That is a over pound of salmon per week for both my son and I since we are the only ones that eat it unless it is smoked.  Then my wife loves it on smoked salmon pizza. Spring Chinook retails for $24.99/pound but to me it is priceless!  

Oh, and it is fun!

My only add here is to go cheap until you decide it's a fishery you like and want to do more of. Then you can upgrade. Yard sale season is not far off!

Also an observation: lots of discussion on this thread about fishing as a hobby v. filling the freezer. Yes, fishing is a lot of fun. However, if the fish in your freezer cost you about $60 a pound, it's time to reevaluate, IMHO

When I first started kayak fishing, I did the math - - gas, tackle, etc.  When crab is 12.99 / pound, rockfish is $9.99/pound, and Ling was about 12.99/pound I was regularly bringing home close to $250-300 worth of seafood on each adventure rock fishing at PC.  The crab are huge and limits are easy.  I spent about $15/trip on gas to get there and back carpooling with friends.  After a year and a half, my Hobie Outback, rods, reels, and jigs were paid for in meat.  The seafood I eat each year is probably 60+% of my protein intake. Throw in an average of 12 decent size wild salmon (not farmed crap) per year and you can't afford NOT to fish. That is a over pound of salmon per week for both my son and I since we are the only ones that eat it unless it is smoked.  Then my wife loves it on smoked salmon pizza. Spring Chinook retails for $24.99/pound but to me it is priceless!  

Oh, and it is fun!

Not only that, YOU know exactly how the fish was handled from hook to freezer.  Hard to do that with store bought fish.

More opinions on bottom fish gear.....

https://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?p=15938873#post15938873

Having started this thread with a novice question, I can say that the input has been invaluable and also pretty amusing. 

Went to the Saltwater Show today just for grins and stumbled across a dude that had a tackle shop that he shut down and had a ton inventory that he was liquidating. I managed to get 2 Diawa SaltigaG rods, one spinning one casting for $100 each and a Diawa BG4500 spinning real for $60.

I am hoping that will be a solid setup for jigging once the ocean cooperates

I'm guessing you ran into Mike Potts at the SSS.  He's a really good guy and has always been a big supporter of the kayak fishing scene in the Northwest.  Man I miss Hoggs, but you scored on the gear!

-Mark-

Spring Chinook retails for $24.99/pound but to me it is priceless!  

On a GOOD year!  It's a weird feeling to have about a grand-worth of meat sitting on the bottom shelf of the fridge. 

This is a good thread.   

At the risk of lowering the overall quality of this thread, I neglected to ask a question or two at the beer fest last week at Next Adv.

Assume everyone is running braid main line with some amount of mono leader when bottom fishing. What #test and how long do you run the mono.

When attaching jigs, I have seen two methods. Direct tie with a variety of knot and hanging the jig off of a loop. Not sure it makes any difference, but thought I would ping what is obviously the most knowledgeable group around.

It was Mike Potts at the SSS and I should have grabbed more stuff.

At the risk of lowering the overall quality of this thread, I neglected to ask a question or two at the beer fest last week at Next Adv.

Assume everyone is running braid main line with some amount of mono leader when bottom fishing. What #test and how long do you run the mono.

When attaching jigs, I have seen two methods. Direct tie with a variety of knot and hanging the jig off of a loop. Not sure it makes any difference, but thought I would ping what is obviously the most knowledgeable group around.

It was Mike Potts at the SSS and I should have grabbed more stuff.

I run straight 20# mono off my medium action bait caster setup.  Then run 10-12# braid main line with 15-20 feet of 10# mono top shot on my cheap spinning reel/UglyStikLite combo.  Barbie is straight 20# braid all the way to the jig.

As for jig attachment, a simple whippy-whippy-over-under-around and back through the loop kind of knot to the jig head and send it. 
I don't fish more than one jig/lure at a time very often as fishing is usually pretty good. And dealing with multiple fish at a time doesn't tickle my fancy.
If it is a stupid slow day, I may add a dropper loop or two and fish some shrimp or squid flies above my weighted bottom jig just to make the day, but it is very rare I do this.

If I were you I’d run 20 to 50 lb braid with a 2 or 3 ft leader of 20-25 lb mono with a snap swivel of your choice.  As Insayn says, fishing is usually productive enough not to need a second offering, but easy enough to add on the water.  That’s the beauty of our very sustainable near shore bottom fisheries.

I’m in PC all summer long if you want to explore the reef and legendary cod beds!

At the risk of lowering the overall quality of this thread, I neglected to ask a question or two at the beer fest last week at Next Adv.

Assume everyone is running braid main line with some amount of mono leader when bottom fishing. What #test and how long do you run the mono.

When attaching jigs, I have seen two methods. Direct tie with a variety of knot and hanging the jig off of a loop. Not sure it makes any difference, but thought I would ping what is obviously the most knowledgeable group around.

It was Mike Potts at the SSS and I should have grabbed more stuff.

If you're within your first couple of years of learning how the ocean works, my suggestion is to not go over 30 lb braid for your mainline, and use 25 or 20 as a mono filament topshot.  For your first trip or maybe two, I would even recommend using 15 or 20 lb for your topshot.  The main idea behind starting off light is that you're likely going to hang up on the bottom A LOT while you're figuring out how the ocean moves.  Having a light line makes it easier for you to break off and move on with your day instead of fighting a snag for 20 min and getting seasick while doing it or possibly flipping your kayak.  As you get a feel for things, you'll get hung up less often and can then bump up the test of your line.  You can still catch very decent sized fish on 25 lb line.

I use 50 lb test for my heavy ocean setup, which has brought in 80 lb halibut.  Anything over 50 is damn near impossible to break off on a kayak in my experience and you'll basically either put yourself in a dangerous situation trying to break off, or end up cutting your line and leaving a length of braid dangling in the ocean.  My mono topshots are 40 lb test.

I run 65lbs braid mainline and breaking it is trivial. In a paddle kayak you wrap the line around a bonker and let the swell break you off. I. A homie just tighten the drag all the way down point the rod tip at the snag and pedal away.

I don’t disagree with going light to start but once you are comfortable on the ocean there’s no reason you can’t run 65 or 80 lb braid.