DarthBaiter:
I’m gonna venture into the ocean soon. My first quarry will be a halibut.
I have bass fishing rods. I want an ocean dedicated fishing combo. One multi-tasking setup. I’m hoping a rockfish rod and Hali rod can do double duty.
I’m comfortable w a 7-footer.
Shop suggest a Daiwa VIP 870(?). But they didn’t have one. Reel? Tranx 200? 300?
Line is what? 50lb braid?
jremi:
depends on what you think u will be doing. for trolling, heavier fiberglass. for live bait, lighter fiberglass. fiberglass is better for these, more bend and more tough is better. for jigging, graphite for stiffness and sens.
a lot of rods can do it all and it comes down to preference, you will get a lot of suggestions.
trolling for halibut you use 12-16oz lead depending on where and how deep so too light of a rod makes it a pain. I use a 12-20lb ugly stik bigwater conventional which is on the light side but it does double duty for me for live bait. for live bait i use 2-4oz lead so softer rods are better. So paired with the conventional i also use the spinning version of the same ugly stik. halibut can pull hard but normally do not, 2-4lbs of drag on live bait setups. for jigging u will be jigging 1-2oz of weight probably and heavy bass frog/flipping rods are really good for this paired with a bass baitcaster, just use an old one that is kind of cooked already and is ok to see saltwater, you dont really need to cast anyway.
for rockfish/ling i bring 1 fiberglass and 1 graphite and swap depending on what i want to fight fish on. the same bass jigging rod and reel can be brought with u rockfishing. the trolling rod i use also works for rockfish, i have used heavier fiberglass than that but i don't like the loss of sens. last time i brought along a salmon rod and that was a lot of fun.
i would skip the tranx and get an avet sxj as a starting point. very reliable, simple to clean, and good in the salt. if you fish often, baitcasters just don't hold up that great in the salt when kayak fishing.
40/50lb is fine, realistically nothing pulls hard enough to break that, break offs come from teeth and abrasion on line.
basically my suggestion is buy a fiberglass rod that won't blow up but is light enough to still feel bottom and fill in the gaps with an old heavy bass setup. and get an avet/saltwater conventional
divenfish:
I am not disagreeing with jremi however here are my dos centavos: If you're new to ocean fishing fishing I would start with a more economical set-up than the one suggested by the shop, in case your set-up ends up in the soup. By the time you get your sea legs and feel comfortable in the ocean you'll figure out what works best for you. I would not discard the idea of repurposing some of your bass gear, rods and reels. As far as line goes, I believe 50 pound braid is an overkill and could be potentially dangerous if you get snagged (quite common when rockfish fishing), and attempt to break it off in windy/choppy conditions. If you have not done it yet, I suggest checking out the link under articles "Catching Halibut from your Kayak" https://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?page=9
cheers!
SpeedyStein:
--- Quote from: jremi on February 16, 2025, 05:16:10 PM ---I use a 12-20lb ugly stik bigwater conventional which is on the light side but it does double duty for me for live bait.
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I use the "Tiger" version of this rod, 8' Ugly Stik Tiger, medium light, 12-20lb. I really like this rod, and if I could only choose one rod for inshore, it would be this one. Excellent for double duty - sensitive tip and TONS of backbone. I use it for jigging up to about 3oz, live bait to 3 or 4oz, and trolling up to about 10oz. I have an older Penn Baymaster on it now, but baitcasters work well too. 30-40lb braid works great with this rod, with a 40lb mono leader for rock/tooth abrasion.
For heavier applications, I use a 6'6" Ugly Stik Tiger Medium, 20-40lb, with a Penn Jigmaster. This rod is much stiffer, but handles the heavier weights very well. I use this rod for 8-16oz jigs (the heaviest I ever use), and any trolling application requiring more than about 10oz. 40lb mono works great on this rod/reel combo, but 40 or 50 lb braid also works fine. I like older Penn reels because they are pretty much indestructible. Easy to service, simple to use, and very robust. For inshore work, the smaller ones work great. Baitcast reels work well too, if that is what you prefer.
Spinning setups can be super fun and versatile in saltwater too - don't overlook a medium light setup for use with 20lb braid for tossing swimbaits. Works great when you want to target pockets/holes near rocks and don't want to get too close.
SpeedyStein:
--- Quote from: divenfish on February 16, 2025, 06:21:39 PM --- As far as line goes, I believe 50 pound braid is an overkill and could be potentially dangerous if you get snagged (quite common when rockfish fishing), and attempt to break it off in windy/choppy conditions.
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Gotta pay very close attention when using heavy line, and be ready to cut your line at any moment. I carry line cutters within easy reach, as well as a bait knife on my PFD.