rock fish rod and reel?

[jase33]

what type of set up would be best for rock fishing?
mostly been going on full day charters out to the Channel Islands.
seems like 200 feet has been the deepest we've gone.
what setups are you guys running?
fishing a shimano set up right now.seems kinda light though.
lot of guys fishing the big Penn setups.are they over kill?

thanks.Jason

[smokehound]

You can get a shakespere ugly-stick combo. it's cheap and good for rockfish. It comes spooled with 15-20 lb cajun red line.

Its black, you can get it at walmart.

I'm not sure how much you're willing to spend, but money-wise, that's a good choice.

I think you can get it for 30 bucks.

if you purchase it after christmas, its often way cheaper-- i got mine for 25 bucks. Not bad at all

[jase33]

thanks for the reply.more towards the higher end stuff for me.
my largemouth set ups are mostly Powell and Abu.
was looking at the Seeker line of rods paired with a Toruim maybe?

[jowo]

800M grafighter
99-sized reel with power handle, loaded with 50-65# spectra to the brim.
Tie on a heavy duty swivel and use a 5-6 foot mono leader

[jase33]

ok cool. 99 size reel. penn jigmaster looks about right.

[Ricky-Ray]

My rockfish setup's are cheap and simple as possible. For rods I use a 6'6" - 7ft heavy rod, I use a couple of Diawa beef sticks that I picked up used for 30 bucks. For reels I use a levelwind so I don't have to worry about thumbing the line back and forth, and keep the gear ratio around 4.1 or thereabouts so you'll have enough torque to wind them up and at the same time you won't be winding them so fast so they won't be "helicoptering" when they come up. I use a Penn 320GTi and a Penn 209 as a backup. Both are fully loaded with 65# spectra which will be more than enough capacity to fish the 60 fathom limit in CA and also fish in Mexico.

I'll rig it with a 500# barrel swivel and then tie on a 10 ft leader of 30 or 40# mono. The reason I use the 500# barrel swivel is so that the swivel will not be able to go thru the guides. Rig up either a double dropper loop right, or reverse dropper loop or even a jax jig and a teaser on top of it and drop to the bottom and have fun.

[Ricky-Ray]

You can get a shakespere ugly-stick combo. it's cheap and good for rockfish. It comes spooled with 15-20 lb cajun red line.

Its black, you can get it at walmart.

I'm not sure how much you're willing to spend, but money-wise, that's a good choice.

I think you can get it for 30 bucks.

if you purchase it after christmas, its often way cheaper-- i got mine for 25 bucks. Not bad at all

For shallow water rockfish you could get away with that but if your fishing deep towards the 60 fathoms I'd go with a heavier setup. You'll most likely be dropping at least 12oz's of lead down there and the rod better be able to handle that much weight and the fish coming up too. And fish heavier line too. You'd wanna put heavier line on for the abrasion resistance from the rocks, unless you like getting sawed off from the rock at 360ft. down. The lowest I'll go is 25# to fish for the rockfish. Fish with anything lighter and IMO your just asking to lose gear.

[midgettosser1]

You definitely dont need an expensive setup for rockfish.

I have a couple of rods I'd normally bring.
jigmaster/ 7' tigerstick combo w/ 30lb line. cheap and effective.
Like mentioned above, 40lb line is always a good bet.

I have other setups that I will bring with me, like a seeker 870/ torium 16 (faster retrieve, but less cranking power). I bring them along just cuz I have them. I'll usually set one up for jig fishing.

If you are looking for a rockfish set up for fishing bait... its not really necessary to buy anything super nice.

But if you want to start fishing jigs, a stiffer rod and quicker retrieve (torium) might be a good option.

levelwind reels might be worth looking into. makes life a bit easier.

I'd also recommend 65lb spectra backing to feel all the bites better. If you do use that, the levelwind would be that much nicer since you dont have to worry about spectra cutting your finger.

If you want cheap and effective, I have an old jigmaster sitting around that I can sell you for $20. I put newer chrome crossbars and the newer aluminum spool on it. tore it down, cleaned it, regreased and lubed it. It has some older 30lb p-line on it. You could probably get another trip or two out of it.

It says you live in bakersfield. But I'm pretty close to Ventura/Channel Islands Harbor, if you want it.

[jase33]

thanks for the info.last few trips ive seen most guys using the set up your talking about.just seemed huge.
i guess im just used to the fresh setups.