Basic saltwater angling gear

A kayak guide from Japan visited my wife and I recently.  I expressed an interest in kayaking fishing, and he showed me his set-up. (Here is his page: http://www.k-kayaks.com/staff/staff.htm in case you were curious.)

Basically, he recommends the "Tsuri-baka-nishi" set-up. "Tsuribakanishi" is based on a Japanese comic book and they have a new movie out every summer.  See http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203174/. Anyway, there's a fishing kit you can buy that's 980 yen (about $8), which from what I recall is a telescoping rod with reel and some lures.  This is what he recommends for fishing for small rockfish around Vancouver Island.

For my week-long camping trip (in a decked boat) in similar places, I was inspired to buy my equipment and give it a shot.

I'm just starting out and simply aspire to augment my typical camp meals with some fish, shellfish, and sea urchins. I don't really want to catch anything larger than I plan to eat for dinner and maybe cook for breakfast, in the neighborhood of 3 pounds of food for the group I'm going to be with. And although I would love to see a salmon, I don't want to catch something too large I'll end up feeding half to the gulls.

From what I've learned in the past week, the key in buying gear is understanding the capacity of the line, in pounds. This determines pretty much the rod, reel, and lures to use.  Had I had the clue to ask, the kayak guide would have told me the size line to use.

So, I went to the fishing store to ask and it seemed that I really needed a larger (expensive) set-up for salt water, even for bottom fishing. The telescopic rod I looked at he was sure would break.

Looking online, I think I can put together a decent (freshwater) set-up with telescopic rod and cheap reel for about $50, then add on lures and a net. This seems a bit more than $8, but might survive a few more trips and might be more versatile if I'm not bobbing around in a boat.

My question is, is what sort of equipment do you recommend?

I'm also thinking that being a boat allows you to work with less length strength.

A basic rod I would shoot for is a 7-8' rod rated for 20# and capable of handling 2-6 ounces of weight.  Since you're in a decked boat and you want to carry it for week long trips, I'd suggest a 2 piece rod.  If you're on a budget, an Ugly Stik is a great choice.  For a real an Abu Garcia 6500 class reel should do you well.  Or perhaps a Penn Jigmaster 500, a bulletproof reel.

So you'll probably fish for bottom fish of some sorts, rockfish or perhaps a lingcod.  I suggest a selection jig heads in 2,4, and 6 ounces and 6" rootbeer (or black or white) curly tail rubber worms.  Jig this on the bottom at the edge of the kelp beds.

If you want, you can even go very basic and just use a handline wrapped on a wooden spool.  I know a few people that do that from decked boats and avoid the hassle of handling a rod.

Have you fished before?  Just curious because it sounds like you haven't so much.  And if that's the case, it will affect the answers you get.

-Allen

P.S.  Welcome!

Thanks for the reply and gear recommendations, I'll check online.

The last time I went fishing about 7-8 years ago basically somebody handed me a couple of rods in a boat and I just babysat them. I know absolutely nothing about fishing, I actually had no idea you could fish without bait and that there were two kinds of reels until a week or so ago.

I'll report back with what I caught (or not) when I make the trip in a few weeks.

So, something on the order of a 12-14# rod would be too light? I would think that a 20# rod to catch a 3-4# fish (which I'm aiming for) would be almost too much. But perhaps I don't really have any choice in what I hook.

Also, when angling from a boat, why would you recommend a conventional/baitcast reel over a spinner?

Elias,

Just curious.  Where are you going?

I like 20# as an all around line for a couple reason.  It handles heavy jigs better.  It gives you more pulling pressure if you snag and are trying to free yourself.  If you tie directly to the jig, it gives you more abrasion resistance against teeth and rocks.

Conventional is just a personal preference.  But I'd have to say I think more people use them than not.

-Allen

Thanks for the hints, I'm looking at a Penn Squidmaster/Jigmaster reel with 20# line, etc. I haven't bought the rod, but I'm considering a telescoping rod for a few reasons. The biggest concern is that I want to keep my reel and hooks off the deck when dealing with adverse conditions. It doesn't seem to safe to leave all that on the deck if for whatever reason I end up in the water. Plus, when I'm not fishing I don't see the point of exposing equipment in salt water and damaged by the sun.

I'm going to settle for a telescoping $20 rod and if it breaks I guess I can simply use part of the rod, which wouldn't be a disaster. Maybe when I get more comfortable about it, I'll get a rod holder and 2 piece rod.

I bought a bunch of lures at Fred Meyer, they have a 3 for 1 sort of special, so hopefully with the 9 or so I bought, one of them will be able to catch something effectively. I got some spinners, spoons, and plugs, plus weights, leader line, fake bait, folding pliars, waterproof tackle boxes, etc.

I do wonder about getting a net. The Sea Kayaker Magazine article recommended a dive catch bag, but I think I need a sturdy rim if I plan to harvest sea urchin by pulling them off rocks.

Also, a somewhat morbid concern of mine is what to do with the fish; do I simply let it die in my cockpit?

Good thoughts on storing the rod.  However, I've not seen a telescoping rod that I thought would work as they're usually made for lighter fishing.  If you don't think you can fit a 2 piece, what about a 3 piece.  Here are some 3-piece options from Cabela's (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0024387316082a&type=product&cmCat=searchFeat&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=travel+rod&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=travel+rod&noImage=0)

Regarding Jigmaster ... I was thinking about this too.  If space/weight is a concern, the Abu 6500 makes more sense.  A Penn 109 is a decent option as well.  The jigmaster is a sturdy reel, but is bigger and heavier too.

I'm not sure how well the spoons/spinner/plugs will work out.  They tend to be hard to get down deeper.  If you find fish suspended or feeding on the surface, they may work out.

When bottom fishing, I use a hand gaff.  I do have a net handy if I get a large hitchhiker ling.  Still, most of the time, I'll just grab the jig and lift the fish into the boat.  Careful about the teeth on lingcods and the spines on most fish.  I "bonk" the fish on it's head with a club, dispatching it quickly help keep them from bouncing around on your lap ... remember the spines.  Tie a stringer thought its gill and out its mouth and tie off to your yak.  Fish have a tendancy to come back to life at the worse possible time.  Don't hang the fish in the water as it can/will attract seals and the like which will try their hardest to steal your hard earned fish.

-Allen


-Allen

I actually got some "buzzbomb"s as well and some lead weights in the mix. I actually thought that spoons could be jigged not just trolled. I really don't know what I'm doing, but hopefully I'll learn what works and what doesn't.

Thanks for the advice by the way.

Buzzbombs will work just fine for jigging.     And will catch almost every species of fish.  I should have thought of that.   

Spoons can be jigged, but they tend to be too light.  Some spoons, like kastmasters, are more like iron jigs and jig ok.  Others are just thin pieces of metal and are too light to jig effectively.

Good luck.  You never did say where you were going, but please do let us know how it goes and post some pics too!

Oh ... and I hope I'm not stating the obvious, but remember that you probably need a fishing license wherever you are going.  It's not something that some newbies are even aware they need.

-Allen

I should have been explicit that I was headed to Vancouver Island, more specifically the outer coast. I figure I'll need a license. The part I worry about though is understanding the regulations.

I did get a Penn reel, but it came with no manual. So I have no idea how to use this thing. I'm pretty confident I can get the line in the water and up again, there's some sort of drag control and a  gear switch I figured out, obviously a handle and the star dial I figure controls the tension. I'm not sure how to cast with it. This reel is a monster. Looking at the Penn website, I can see that the basic design hasn't changed in 70 years.

The spoons I got were pretty heavy duty bronze deals which I figure would sink.  But one's pretty light.

I probably ended up with more plugs since that's what the Japanese guide recommended. He did throw on some weight (small one though) so maybe that gets the lure down deep enough. Perhaps I got excited at the store and thought the designs for them looked cool.