Being a charter vessel, there is a wide range of species targeted, so versatility through the range of outfits on board is a must.
Heavy Gear
The heavy (80 lb) outfits we use mainly to target Kings, and strangely enough, these tend to be used more in the harbour than offshore due to the structure the fish are generally sitting on in there.
The heavy outfits consist of Diawa Hyper Saltist rods in PE 6-8 coupled with Shimano Saragosa 20 000’s loaded with PE 8 depth braid with a colour change at every 10 mts, this is indispensable when the fish are sitting in a narrow band of water.
Medium/Heavy & Medium/Light Gear.
The medium/heavy gear (40-50lb) is usually used for Kings in the harbour and offshore. The medium/heavy’s are Diawa Hyper Saltist’s coupled with Shimano Saragosa 10 000’s loaded with PE 4-5 depth braid. Both these sets of outfits can be used in any situation where some grunt is needed.
For the medium/lights (30lb) we use a pair of Diawa Saltist’s in the PE 2-3 range coupled with Shimano Saragosa 5000’s loaded with PE 3 depth braid, these have become increasingly used for Kings when they are being picky.
They are also handy for casting live baits for the larger Dollies on the FAD’s.
Rounding out the gear in this weight range is another Diawa Saltist with an 8000 Saragosa loaded with PE 3 depth braid, it’s extra length is handy when casting poppers, big plastics etc.
Slow Pitch
The slow pitch jigging has become popular lately and we have had good success with this approach on the deepwater reefs , the Inchiku style of jig has proven a hit as well as the slow fall or flutter type. The outfits for this approach are Gomoku Kaiten’s coupled with Saragosa 5000’s and PE 3 depth braid.
Wash Fishing Outfits
For our specialty type of winter fishing, the Wash fishing, gear is very different due to the nature of this style of fishing. The rods are Abu Garcia Muscle tips in the the 8ft range coupled with Shimano Saragosa’s loaded with anywhere from PE 3 to PE 5 depending on the territory and size of the fish, the gear needs to be serious as these fish and the terrain they are found in offer no quarter to those a bit slow off the mark or not willing to be “assertive” enough straight up.You could hook anything from a Bream to a 20kg Blue Groper on any cast, so you have to be ready. I’ve had days where 50lb flourocarbon leaders are still not enough to get it done…..
Light
The light outfits are real workhorses and cover all bases from catching bait to casting metals and soft plastics for Salmon or Flathead to casting small livey’s for Dolphinfish at the FAD’s. They are also my go to outfits for Snapper, both with soft plastics and baits. These are Gary Howard Flats specials 7 footers coupled with Shimano 4000 Baitrunners and PE 0.5 depth braid. All leaders and terminal set ups are Flourocarbon in the appropriate weight ranges for the target species and rigs.