First Deep sea trip ever, questions.....

[FishinFireFighter]

I fish freshwater about twice a week so Im not a total noob to fishing but this will be my first deep sea trip and Im not sure what to bring with me so I hope someone can shed some light on me.
We leave on Jan 13-17 out of S.D. to Mexico. I bought an Avet rod and two speed reel so thats taken care of but I dont fish with bait on the lakes here I like to fish lures. I know a lot of the trip will be live bait but what kind of lures will work this time of year out of mexico?? I have a Diawa satwater casting combo Im going to bring along for casting out lures.

Thanks in advance!!

[bassyakker]

You will be codding more likely. Bring plenty of heavy sinkers 12-16oz. Get some Jax jigs, those are killer on the rock fish. Or try some type of knife jig if there are yellows around.

[LA Smoker]

Salas 6X and/or 6X jr, blue and white and scrambled egg are good colors. Jax Jig Copper and Orange. Squid strips will most likely be the most productive. Be gentle with the bait.

[Spaulding]

Speaking of scrambled egg, bring some Bonine. When I went out of SD for Albacore a few years back, dudes were barfing breakfast everywhere due to being seasick. I thought I was in the sick bay unit of the boat! ..NASTY..Their chumming did produce for me though!
Good luck to you.

[DockRat]

6, 8 oz Torpedos too.
Good Luck, DR

http://animatedknots.com/

[FishinFireFighter]

Thanks guys!!! Im pretty excited about this trip I hope I can pull em' in on something other than bait. Im going with my father-in-law and uncle but they only fish bait so it will be awesome to brag about catching on lures :)

[lovefofish]

get a rental rod just in case

[FishinFireFighter]

Uh oh! a Rental? I was recommended by a ton of people for the Avet rod and spent $200 on it so it better hold up lol. My uncle has a ton of stuff so Im sure Ill be covered if it does. What would you guys recommend? Ive already spent $400 on tackle for this trip but if Avet dosent make quality stuff Id rather bring it back and pick up something I dont have to worry about...

[DockRat]

Your OK. Go fot it.
DR

[LA Smoker]

What reel did you get? Whats the rod rated for? What boat? What about the daiwa saltwater combo (reel and rod specs)?

I've never owned an avet rod, but I havent heard anything good about the rods. In fact just the opposite.

If you're not planning on doing a lot of saltwater trips in the future, I would return the rod and reel and just rent a setup from the landing or boat IMHO.

[FishinFireFighter]

My uncle has like 6 Avet reels so hes gonna let me use one for this trip. The rod is rated 20-50lb, the boat is Big Game 90 we leave next thursday :) CANT WAIT!!!! The diawa combo isnt very beefy but I figured Id bring it along just in case, I use it for throwing big (2-4oz) swimbaits into silverwood lake. Its rated up to 30lb i think (cant remember) but its a shore combo I believe. If the rod is crap Ill bring it back after the trip.

[LA Smoker]

You'll probably fish up to San Martin Island for mainly rockfish, maybe some c-bass, yellowtail, and calico. That avet rod should be ok for most species (a little overkill for calicos). However there seems to be issues with breakage on those rods, a client of mine broke his this year while fighting a small yellowtail. If you really paid $200.00 for the rod, I think you paid too much and would return it. There are great rods you can get for $200.00, and there are decent rods you can get in the $40-$80 range.

Your Daiwa combo might be better suited for bass fishing if they fish for bass. Which they probably will, because one can only rockfish for so much on a 3 day trip. They'll probably make some halibut drifts too.

You definitely want to pick up some Salas 6X and 6X jr jigs (for yellowtail, lingcod, and rock cod) in scrambled egg and blue and white, maybe even a green and yellow if you are serious about jigging. 8oz Jax Jig in Copper and Orange can be a really good jig for cod.

I would fish 30 (bait) - 40 (yoyo jig) lb short mono topshot if possible for the cod/yellowtail setup. 15-20 for the daiwa combo. bring an assortment of weights, 4-16 oz torpedo along with some 1/4-1 oz sliding sinkers in case you make squid at night.

If you have questions, feel free to PM me.

[LA Smoker]

Looks like you're going to be fishing further than San Martin on this 3.5. Capt and Crew are calling for big gear, 4/0 reels, 10 -12 oz jigs. Good luck out there, take a book, it's going to be a long ride.

http://www.bloodydecks.com/forums/offshore-underway-schedules-ride-sharing-trip-planning/299547-quality-rock-fish-trips-big-game.html

[FishinFireFighter]

Thanks for the help!! I noticed the post you are referring too earlier today as well so Im gearing up and getting ready. And wouldnt you know it I have a penn senator 4/0 in a tackle box in great shape I didnt know I had so Ill bring it along too. They seem pretty confident in the spot they talked about so hopefully I can bring home enough fish to feed my superbowl party crowd some fish tacos this year!

[LA Smoker]

4/0 senator will be fine, make sure you put some fresh line on there. BTW Berkley makes big grub tails, I think they're about 8 or 10 inches, in white and root beer that work pretty well on ling cod down in that zone, I think on a 6 oz lead head. .

[Marley]

About your lead. Ask if the boat has a supplpy of it for sale. If they do, take only a few (or none) of your own and buy what you need on board. It will save you from lugging around all that extra weight, also from having to move it each time you go fishing. On-board prices are very reasonable, especially if you're buying several.
You are going to have a total blast! Good luck,

BTW, try and have that 4/0 serviced before you leave. Couple of winds off the bottom and it siezes on years of yuck will have you learning new words.
Your ride down will be nice, all downhill and everything, but you will likely have some swell coming home. Do yourself a favor and get a prescription for scopalomine patches. Pick up a bottle of some kind of Meclezine, either Bonine or Dramamine II or even generic Meclezine and use that, too. $13 for a hundred tablets of chewable Meclezine over the counter at CVS. Worth ten times their weight in gold if you (or a buddy) gets seasick and won't hurt your wallet much if you end up tossing out the whole bottle in two years if you discover you're not effected by the motion.

[murrieta angler]

Definately work the jax jig when you are drifting the structure. Try and keep that jig as close to the bottom as possible, when that ling inhales your jig, be ready for a tough pull and don't give it no slack.
Also, are your reels going to be spooled with mono or braided? The braided works better for fishing in deeper depths, you feel the fish muck quicker and thus get your tip up quicker...JMO
Good Luck and you will be bringing plenty of fish for your superbowl party!!
Robert
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p.s. r u gonna be the one cleaning ALL the fish!? : )

[FishinFireFighter]

MAN!! You guys are awesome! Thanks for all the advice and help. I bought a new shimano calcutta 700 from a member on here yesterday so I spooled it with 65# powerpro with 40# top shot and I did the same on the penn. He even gave me a scopalomine 3 day patch for my trip! Thanks Scott!!
I was told they clean and bag the fish for a reasonable charge so Ill probably have them do it unless its too expensive, I dont mind cleaning fish.

I cant wait to report my catch when I get back!!