There has always been a friendly rivalry between the conventional and the spinning reel diehards. Since the beginning of sportsfishing, going for the monsters means using massive conventional reels. It is still true today, if you're going to target really big monsters in the hundreds of pounds. Massive amounts of high rated fishing line is a must. In this area, conventional reel is king. But with the advent of small diameter braid and spectra lines, the limitation of spinning reels as a monster hauler due to the limited amount of line you can spool on it is diminishing. Bigger spinning reels like the Accurate Twin Spin 50 has been around and proven to be capable of tangling with cow tuna. Even bigger are Penn's new Spinfisher V with the largest size at 10000, and the rumored New Saltiga Dogfight coming out with a bigger 9000 size. These reels have gobs of fish stopping drag north of 40lbs. But then you'll say conventional rod and reel combos have the luxury of getting strapped with a full harness, and spinners don't. Surely a full harness is a must for fighting big fish where success is a matter of an angler's endurance. Well, not anymore...here comes the spin strap. A simple inexpensive strap has increased the capability of spin anglers!
It's a simple contraption that allows the spin angler to strap-on with a full harness. I've only seen two spin straps so far at our local tackle shops--the Braid and Aftco spin straps. I'm quite sure there are other brands out there. Wearing a full harness while playing tug-o-war with a big fish is more comfortable, and increases your endurance to stay in the fight. Of course, there are many young anglers out there who are capable of fighting monsters with just a fighting belt.
Positioning the strap: The ideal position for the strap is under the front part of the reel foot as shown on the pictures below. Although I've seen some anglers position it up on the front grip area of the rod. Make sure the non-slip surface of the strap is in contact with the rod. I've used the spin strap once to put on a full harness while hooked to a striped marlin that bit my PE5 rated casting rod. A bit under-gunned. I used it more to help cradle the rod. It worked without a hitch.
Now that you have the strap in-place, all you have to do is connect the strap to the harness and you're ready to tango with your monster.
Look ma, no hands!
If you wish, you also have the option to strap on a shoulder harness instead.
Aftco spin strap with harness in action with a striped marlin on the line.
Reel: Saltiga Dogfight
Rod: Ocean Revolution Kevlar Stealth PE5
Line: JB Hollow 80lb
Leader: Jinkai mono leader 100lbs
Have you used the same set-up in fighting big fish? How'd you like it?
Look into an angler's tackle box and you're likely to find soft swimbaits. Soft swimbaits like the Big Hammer, Yum, Storm, Berkley, and Basstrix are quite popular and used by freshwater and saltwater anglers. Some are scented and biodegradable like Berkley's Gulp Alive, and has been proven to be real deadly. I could attest that the Gulp is indeed very productive. I've even used Gulp to tip my hooks like cut bait; works all the time. I've a friend who even use creatures used by bass anglers and have hooked barred sand bass and rockfish with it. On a multi-day trip I was on for Albacore tuna, soft swimbaits on the troll and on the slide were getting bit more than other trolled lures and live bait. Amazing! Soft swimbaits are also more affordable than hard bodied lures and offer anglers the flexibility to switch color patterns and shapes. All you need are a few lead heads and you're good to go. Castability will depend on the weight of your lead head. The swimming action of that paddle tale is more realistic compared to hard bodied lures. So on your next fishing trip, add a few in your tackle box and give it a try.
Nothing
beats heading out to the beach very early in the morning to go surf fishing.
The smell of the fresh salty air, cool breeze, and near empty beach to
yourself is always bliss! Every beach has its own kinda flavor. Some beaches
have huge surf slamming the shore most of the time, some don’t. There are
beaches that get pretty deep very near the shoreline, there are some that are
shallow all the way to the surf break. Some have very fine sandy bottoms, some
are course, and some have flat hard bottoms. Identifying specific characters of
beaches is key not only in catching fish, but also for your own safety. Before
you commit yourself to wading-in and surf fishing a beach, I recommend you
survey the area during low tide. Pay attention to deep holes where water is
pooling. These areas will be deep during high tide and most likely will hold
bigger models of fish as they wait in ambush for bait fish. Look for sandbars
and shallow areas where it will be safe to wade during high tide, and the route
you can safely walk out through to reach deeper waters during low tide. Take
caution if you walk out far during low tide to always check the water level
behind you all the way back to the beach. The areas near the shore are most
often lower than those further out. The areas near the beach gets carved out by
the surf and the changing tides. So if you’re out there on a sandbar during low
tide in ankle deep water, the route you took from the beach, may already be in
knee deep water as the tide begins to change. The turning of the tides from low
to high and vice versa is very subtle. So be very careful. You don’t want to be
caught out there and have to swim back.
The Kastmaster (KM) is my #1 choice for light surf fishing. Smooth,
polished, and aerodynamic, it’s the best dang lure ever devised by man. It’s
the attack jet of lures. Versatile; you can jig it, fish it topwater, do the
walk the doggy, troll with it, fish it slow or be explosive via slash and hack;
it’s the universal lure that produces time and time again. It’s my go-to-lure
if everything else fails. During windy days, like a bullet, it’ll outcast all
the lures in your tackle bag. It has the reach and accuracy to get to that
distant boil in the water or to get over that surf break. Even the mighty Kroc
can’t out-distance the Kastmaster. The Kroc will be fluttering in the wind and
start its downward trajectory long before the speedy KM loses steam. The KM
will also sink faster than any of the count down lures in the market and will
get to the deeper strike zone faster.
Rod: The longer the rod, the farther you can cast. For surf fishing, I prefer 8 to 9
foot medium/light action rods rated for 8 to 12 lbs test line. The longer rods
will also enable you to raise your line above the incoming surf. I recommend
spinning rods made for salmon and steelhead if you can get a hold of some. Rods
like the Berkley Air IM7 salmon/steelhead spinning rod has awesome sensitivity.
I’ve also used 7 foot Shakespeare Ugly Stik Intercoastal rods, they’re
indestructible and cheaper, although they don’t cast as long as the Berkleys.
Reel:
I’m a spinning freak. For surf fishing, I recommend the use of light spinning
reels rated for 6 to 12 pounds. Surf fishing involves casting in rapid succession
and covering large areas when using lures. I’ve walked many miles along the
beach surf fishing. I’ve never really counted how many casts I make in an hour. I'm not really fond of baitcasting reels; I'm afraid I'll spend more time untangling bird's nests than fishing.
So, you’re out there on the beach
armed with your favorite rod, reel, and the magical KM. Now all you need is a fish on your line to make your
day. Hopefully you’ve done your homework, and know where they might be
holding in deeper holes along the surf. But, first things first. Always be
methodical. Scan the surfline where you’re at. Do you see any boils or any
commotion on the water as baitfish scatter to flee from their bigger neighbors?
Are there any birds diving and congregating in a specific area? If you see any
of these, it should be your very first targets to aim and fire your KM. Most of
the time you’ll get instant hook-ups.
If you see none of these easy giveaways,
then always stick to the plan; be methodical. I usually start from one end of
the beach all the way to the other end, and back. Surf fishing is also my form
of exercise. For starters, I draw an imaginary half circle from where I’m
standing out to the water. I then make imaginary slices (like slicing a
pepperoni pizza, hmmm now you’re making me hungry) from right to left or left
to right, whichever you prefer. You can make it as thick or as skinny of a
slice as you like. The thinner the slices the more cast you’ll make. This is
also what you call fan casting. Once you’ve covered your first half of a pie,
you move on a few yards and do it again. Make sure your pie overlaps a bit, to
cover as much area of the water as you can. If you reach one of your favorite
deeper holes, you can concentrate on it and make more casts in that area.
The
type of retrieve you do with the KM depends on your target species of fish.
After surf fishing the beaches here in SoCal often, I’ve observed certain fish will more often strike at a specific type of retrieve using the KM. The
beautiful Yellowfin Croaker will often strike a KM when hopped
across the bottom of the surf. The feisty Bonito will often strike
either right as the KM is dropping after a cast or when retrieved a little bit
faster. The California Halibut (aka the “Butt”), requires a little bit more
finesse; its eyes are on top as it lays in ambush covered by sand. The KM must
be retrieved like a swimming baitfish as close to the bottom as possible above
the watchful eyes of the Butt. More often, I start with straight in slow retrieve.
Whatever type of retrieve you use, the most important thing is you’re
constantly feeling the swimming action of your KM or whatever type of lure
you’re using. This is key! If the wind is a little bit strong resulting in
stronger surf and you can’t feel the KM at the end of your line, then you might
need to change to heavier and bigger size. Always make sure you’re feeling the
action of your lure, the “wiggle.” If not, you’ll need to find out why. Most
often the cause will either be the wind/surf conditions, the weight of your
line, the weight of your lure, or the length and action of your rod. These variables need to be in harmony to get the most out of your retrieve and the action
you’re trying to impart on the lure to get the fish to strike. Remember, time
out in the surf (even if you’re skunked) beats the heck out of staying at home
staring at the boob tube. Now get out there and fish!
This was my first test of my Major Craft KG Evolution rod in the surf. I hooked a Shovelnose shark! I used a dropper looped cut squid on this one. Enjoy!
The first time I saw the Lucanus jigs at my local tackle shop, I was like WOAH! It's a weird and alien looking jig. Awesome paint scheme! Equipped with two puny assist hooks, and rubbery skirts. Surely the weirdest looking jig/lure I've seen on planet earth! But in my mind, it'll most likely hook more anglers than fish. A skeptic at first! Before I plunk down my hard earned jingles, I decided to do a bit of research. It turned out this is another product of Japanese ingenuity. By far the best tackle and fishing gadget designer and producer in the world. If you've been to a tackle shop in Japan, you know what I mean. Some of their fishing gadgets you'll need a tech manual to figure out how it works. A design based from jigs used by Japanese commercial fisherman to catch bottom dwellers. A jig recommended to be fished slowly with an up and down motion, and just reel-in slowly when you see the tap-tap-tap on your rod tip. Armed with these info, I decided to give it a try and picked-up a couple. To increase the chances of hookups, I decided to tip the hooks with cut squid. Visual presentation coupled with some scent trail would surely entice more fish. On our first outing, I was extremely impressed with the results. We were getting hookups instantly at every drop. Even the the one we didn't tip with squid strips was consistent. Double hookups were common. The Lucanus is one deadly jig! I've hooked all sorts of fish with it--sand bass, rockfish, halibut, sand dabs (flounder), sharks, lingcod, ocean whitefish, grouper, etc... My wife even caught a huge humboldt squid with it in Cabo San Lucas. Folks have even reported catching yellowtails and mahi-mahi with it; amazing! The only cons about this jig are: 1) It's prone to snagging especially when fishing rocky structures. 2) The skirt easily gets destroyed and you'll need to replace it. 3) The hook size is not strong enough if hooked to a monster. I've had one monster hookup that got away because one of the assist hooks broke. Now, I always change the assist hooks to a bigger size if I think there's a possibility a big one might take the jig on my fishing trips. Other than that, the Lucanus is indeed a constant producer; a skunk avoider, a deadly jig. Loads of fun jigging with it. A jig you certainly want to add in your tackle box on your next fishing trip. Fish on!
