Must haves in your tackle box

 Last year I tried ocean fishing for a yak for the first time(during the Sonoma Coast Divers fun dive @ Fort Ross). I caught 2 small fish. Now I am hooked. I am going to pick up my first yat tomorrow. I am looking to start putting  together tackle box. I have done so research on the internet.   so what are the must have lures, hooks, weights, bait, ect. when fishing for rock fish and lings?

Big Hammers, 4oz lead heads, and shrimp flies.

Thanks VK for the links. great info.

Big Hammers, 4oz lead heads, and shrimp flies.

Definitely this ^ plus I have good luck with Ahi Assault diamond jigs an B-2 Squid. Oh, and so a search for Andy1976 in the members list, he makes the best lead heads I've found. And they're a super good deal!

ruben

extra large split shots and sharp hooks...caught my best fish with two split shots and a live  octopus....kalins clear/glow 6-8" grubs 1 oz red head hammer jig

Big Hammers, 4oz lead heads, and shrimp flies.

+ 1 and just 6-9" hammers. The shrimp flies will get the schoolies. Add some procure, flavor doesn't matter and you are good to go. Start with green, brown, red, white and black. If you get commercial 2 fly rigs, you can take one fly off and run the hammer on the bottom for a teaser rig. For 1 day of fishing:
5 shrimp fly rigs
6 big hammers
4 - 4 oz jig heads
2 - 6oz jig heads
3- 4 oz torpedo weights
2 - 8 oz torpedo weights
6 - 30# Leaders

This should fit in 2 small tackle boxes or 1 medium. Don't bring too much more than that. Most people bring way to much stuff. It is better to be a master of a couple of lures/tactics than a hack with many lures. Too much tackle can be hard to secure and destabilize your yak and if you do flip, more money wasted. There are other swim baits besides hammers, however, hammers have the best color combinations and have a nice balance between action and durability. I pour my own lures but I can't match the quality of the hammers.

Funny, was just holed up in the garage re-organizing tackle bags. Can never get organized quite how I like, so I started parcelling different types of gear into a bunch of labelled plastic storage boxes (I think they are for photos, ~ 6"x8") I got at a yard sale. That way, I can quickly pack metals/plastics/bottom rigs of different sizes as needed for a trip. My other torso is modular.

btw Do you guys put a stinger hook in your 9" plastics?

Four 6oz diamond jigs and a bag of squid. All you need.

A pair of dykes that can cut thru any hook in your arsenal.

Camera.   

Bug Spray. 

Four 6oz diamond jigs and a bag of squid. All you need.

I love making jig heads and swimbaits  but i rarely fish swimbaits anymore. I've yet to have a bad trip using a 8 oz diamond shaped fish jig i make.  Candy purple red or chartreuse.

Four 6oz diamond jigs and a bag of squid. All you need.

I love making jig heads and swimbaits  but i rarely fish swimbaits anymore. I've yet to have a bad trip using a 8 oz diamond shaped fish jig i make.  Candy purple red or chartreuse.

That reminds me. I'm gonna need to order more jigs from you. The last ones you sent got jacked from my mailbox. All they left me was the shipping box and a bag of eyes.

Big hammer swimbaits 5" 6.5" and 3-6oz Jig heads, lately thats all that I have been using.

Ouch I'm sorry RockHopper. I'll make you another cheap.

On another note my new must have is some scampi heads and four inch bass tubes. If you haven't tried it your missing out.