Newbie in need of advice...

[BPB21]

Alright. Just want to start out by saying this site is just a wealth of useful knowledge and information. I've only been a member a little less than a week now, but I've been trolling the site for about 2 months now, and I've enjoyed every minute of it. My wife just asks me now if I'm on "that" website :smilegrin:

So, I went to Backpacker here in BR last week and finally pulled the trigger on a Hobie PA, and got the wife into an Outback. Wife really wanted just for peddling / paddling on nice sunny days, but now that she here's me talking about going fishing for redfish or trout, she's equally excited. :spin:

Just to give you a little background on me...I really haven't done any saltwater fishing, unless it's been with a charter, which I usually do about 4 times a year. The fishing I've done on my own the last few years (non-charter), has consisted of going out to False River or Old River and doing a little bass fishing in my soon to be for sale stinkpot. The boat with the maintenance, insurance, storage, etc, just got to be obnoxious for the # of times we were actually able to take the boat out. The idea of being able to throw a kayak out of my garage on top of the truck and just go (even if it's a few hours away) sounds incredibly appealing to the both of us.

My questions for the fountains of knowledge that reside on this board....

Where should I start as far as a rod and reel go? Want to get something decent I can keep and be happy with for a while. Probably want to stick with spinning reels for now. Artificial lures okay on a spinning? For bass fishing, I had 2 open face conventional reels (Quantum) that I always found my self pulling backlash out of. Don't know if it was the quality of the reel or the caster...I suspect the latter. Not even sure what kind of line I should be using on the reel for redfish or trout.

What should I start with as far as tackle? Hooks, corks, artificial lures, etc. I'm a complete newb to saltwater fishing, so I hope the questions are not too dumb to even be in the Newbie section. Any suggestions on where to go? When I walk into tackle sections at BPS or Cabela's, I tend to get overwhelmed at all the choices. I would rather support a sponsor if there is one close to BR.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your patience. Brian

[Glwlsu]

You will recieve more information than you can handle.

I fish with okuma reels (get them online for $19) love Berkley Lighting rods (they have a buch of problems with them) make sure you have floats on everything. Doubt your gonnas go over in a PA but rods have a tendency to flip out of my yak at times.

Any TTF product is great, love gulp curley tails. I fish with cocohoes whenever I can. Under a cork popping.

Come to the Outcast in February and you will have a free guide since it's a team competetion.

Welcome to the addiction !!!

[marshdaddy]

Try to hook up with someone for your first couple of trips. Whether it's the Outcast crowd or someone announcing they're going and inviting anyone that wants to attend. Everyone has there own favorite lures that work for them. Most used lures are gold spoons, jig heads and soft plastic, some form of topwater or suspending hard plastic, and lures under popping corks. Use equipment that will hold up to salt water, fit your budget and that you can fish with comfortably. Some like Shimano while others like Ambassadeur. Some like Quantum and others think they're junk. You will find what you like after a few trips. Put about 4" of pipe insulation around your rods right above the reel and secure it with zip ties. Everything that you have in a kayak will try to jump overboard at some time or another. Follow GLWLSU's advice and put floats on everything you don't want to lose.

[MDR]

Welcome to the addicition.

GW and Marsh got you started with some very good info. Academy is hard to beat for finding stuff especially when getting started. Selections are very good without being overly mind-blowing. (Send me a PM and I can meet you at one of them one day to give you a hand making some basic selections)
As far as reels go you will find personal choices all over the place for any number of reasons. With open face, baitcasting, reels a lot of the backlash problem is the caster more than the reel. It is simply getting it adjusted to you and the weight of the bait you are throwing. I love mine, a Curado, but I can still get some nests in there that would make a bird proud.
I have never been in the position to spend a ton of money on rods so I'm not sure if they really make a big diference or not. I have used Berkley rods for years and found them to be fine. I also have an Academy Tournament Choice that I like a lot. It was about $ 10.

[brian22]

Congrats and welcome! Very exciting times, I also traded my stinkpot for my PA(good choice btw), and have used the PA more times THIS YEAR ALONE (all 31 days of it) than I'd used my stinkpot over 365 days. Catching more fish too! I love the Berkley Lightning also and that's my go-to rod, however, treat them like glass; I've broken 3 tips on them and am looking for something a little more durable. Longer rods will give you more of a swing circle when fighting a big red by the boat and he decides to circle - might want to make sure you can swing your bent rod around the front and back of the PA while you're in it. Longer rods will also cast further, remember, you're basically sitting right at sea level. On the other hand, longer rods take up more room, can be tougher to manipulate, etc.... make sure the rod and yak work together as a unit to suit how you want to fish, sit in your PA with some different length rods... better yet, come to an event like others have mentioned! I learn so much at those events and meet great people, they're like a beer drinking "kayak fishing 101", and occasionally "Aquatic swim team meet"(almost became a member of that this weekend).

Reels - I have had a small Abu Garcia spinning reel forever; I like lighter tackle, it's more fun. I haven't gotten into the spincasters either b/c of the backlash also and I'm pretty happy w/ the spinners.

Line - I like braid - no stretch, smaller diameter(meaning I can hold more on the smaller light tackle reels)

Lures - You're gonna get a bunch of responses here. I use jig heads in 1/4, 1/8, and 3/8 oz sizes. Saltwater plastics I use are TTF(go check out their site for a good color chart in diff. conditions/water clarities), H&H cocahoe minnows, Saltwater Assassins, and Gulps. We used live cocahoe minnows at Outcast6, as well as dead shrimp. Some used artificials as well. Gold spoons are a must as well.

Corks - I used to buy the long green corks w/ the green stick going through the middle, they would spin w/ my bait like some bolos and constantly get twisted up. I'll never buy them again. I've gone to a cork with a wire going through the middle of it - I can adjust depth on the fly and I haven't gotten tangled up near as much as w/ the other style.

If I were you, I'd hold off on buying too much tackle before coming to an event, just bring enough to fish, natural colors, glo's(more for out west in the Lake Charles area) and blacks all w/ chartreuse tails are a good place to start. Look around at what everyone else is using and go from there. Save yourself wasting money trying to figure it out and get a jump on getting into it!

[Crow]

I use mostly Castaway rods for saltwater fishing. They are very sensitive and fairly tough. I have only broken one and Castaway will replace their rods no questions asked, you just have to send them back to Castaway and they will send you another one. The downside is they are fairly expensive.

For reels just don't try to use a bass reel in salt water, at least not if you want to keep the thing for very long. Besides the corrosiveness of salt water the extra line capacity of the larger salt water reels makes a difference when trying to tame a bull red.

For lures, spoons, rat-l-traps, top waters, soft plastics all will work on salty fish just don't use freshwater hardware unless you like having rusty baits in your tackle box. Make sure what you buy is intended for salt water use.

I know from painfull personal experience on most of the above. I had a bull red wreck a little Diawa bass reel down in Cameron and used my bass lures when I first started fishing saltwater. Reds and specks will hit just about anything a bass will, the hooks just won't last long before they become balls of rust.

[papawd]

Good advice already given floats on rods --- I love my Curados by Shimano by far the best reel I have used and I have tried a bunch... as for fishing top water baits like a "she dog , top dog top dog jr, gold spoons and 1/8,1/4 3/16 ounce jigs with a bag of purple, one clear some type of chartreuse soft plastics will get Ya started and pretty much anything Ya catch a bass on a redfish will usually hit, when feedinf they are not picky..Come by one day and see my wall for ideas...as far as rods go the more Ya can spend the better rod Ya can get and when the trout bite is slow and soft (lake Ponch hogs in the fall) the more You will feel the pick up this I learned first hand the hard way,now I use Falcon rods and I also have a custom job for a birthday present I like the Falcons but if ever buy a new one it will be Kajun Limb which is made here locally , sold at Bowie Outfitters and the owner is a sponsor of the club..hope this helps Ya

[jpoucher]

My wife just asks me now if I'm on "that" website :smilegrin:

:welcome:
My wife used to say that before I got my kayak. Now she has her own kayak and her own membership in the club. Kayak fishing is a great family activity...my kids love getting in the kayaks.

Good idea on getting the best kayak the first go round. Most people upgrade to those after a while.

I wouldnt go too cheap on a reel. Spend the money on a good reel and save some money on a cheaper rod. I have a couple curado's and I love them.

If you have enjoyed the site you should definitley come to the next Outcast. You will love it.

[Speckled_Tiger]

been fishing the salt for almost ten years now, nearly 5 of those out of the kayak, and I have NEVER spent more than $50 on any rod/reel COMBO. Simply unnecessary to me. Quantam makes some very affordable reels that will last many years if taken care of. Now, I only fish spinning reels so that may make a difference. The key is to rinse them with a low pressure spray from the hose soon after you return home and use some Reel Magic on the inner workings every 3-5 trips.

[Coomz]

Try to get a rod with a lifetime over the counter warranty. It is well worth the price. I have broken 4 rods in two years. They all got replaced free if charge. If they are in stock I get it on the spot. If not I have to wait but I don't have to send the rod back to them. Shipping a rod can be expensive.

[Cobia 1]

If you in New Orleans, stop by Chaq's on Vets and check their specials.

[uncleyak]

Rods and Reels are matter of preference, with prices that range from 10 to 500 dollars. I kept 12 rods/reels in my boat and the majority of my reels were Curados and Calcuttas. My rods ranged from G Loomis to Falcons.
After the prices of Shimano reels sky rocketed (I use to get Curados for $79) I started looking elsewhere.

I tested a few rods from acadiasports.com (but one get one free) and have been very satisfied.
For reels, I settled with Pflueger for my bait casters, and remain loyal to Shimano for my spinning gear.

BTW, The Pfluegers I use are very similar to the curados, but are less than half the price.

Hope this helps.:welcome::welcome::

[jpoucher]

I kept 12 rods/reels in my boat and the majority of my reels were Curados and Calcuttas.

WOW!! Please tell me you are talking about 12 rods/reels on a stinkpot not a kayak.

[revredfish]

Start small and build up from there.

Reels - lot's of options out there for starters a Shimano Sonora or two will do you good.
Rods - I use the TTF Speck Killer II but I started out with the cheap rods at Academy - go 7ft you need the rod length to get around the tip of your yak (you'll see).

Lures - I fish TTF (link in my signature) must have colors: purple and gold, avocado and chartreuse, chicken on a chain (TTF East Beast), and glow chartreuse. I'd get them all in cocaho (or Killer Flats Minnow), and Hackberry Hustler is getting to be my favorite. Also love - Texas Roach, morning glory, and geaux gleaux

Spoons - small gold and black spoons - (club members get 20% off when ordering by phone) - but I fish the 1/4 ounce gold and black spoons you can get the 1/8th ounce Johnshon at Wal-mart but watch for line twist.

Get a a milk crate rig rod holders on it and keep those reels up out of the water.

Fish an event and look at what everyone else is doing.

[Gnatless]

My brother are you tired of reading yet, well you asked for it so here is some more. Like Rev said shimano sonora's and also pflueger president are perfect spinning reels. I will tell you boat position is every bit as important as tackle. More people fight with their gear trying to defy physics and cast against the wind with a bait caster using a lightweight lure. DON'T DO IT! Set an anchor or stakeout pole with the wind to your back and cast almost anything. I also like seven foot rods and to minimize tanglation with spinning reels spool your own line the proper way usually spool laying flat with label up no stick in the spool that is for bait caster only. Here is a link that may help http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=kwGSTZ-c4Rc

[uncleyak]

WOW!! Please tell me you are talking about 12 rods/reels on a stinkpot not a kayak.

If that's what you call it, a "stinkpot (aka bass boat), then yes, I am talking about one of those. I also kept all my gear, thankfully, when I sold my stinkpot. This yak rigging is starting to add up quickly $$$

Being a newbie to kayak fishing as well, I'll leave the rigging advice to the experts on this forum.

I would, however, offer another bit of advice when it comes to rod/reels. Go light.
Unlike fishing from a Stinkpot where your arms are comfortably by your waist when working baits, you now have to hold those arms up in order to work that top water lure.
A 7 foot ugly stick with a calcutta 200 attached to it is a lot to handle during a day on the water.:eek:

[Blue in Green]

Do you guys like graphite or fiberglass for your rods? Good point about the weight, I may need to get a replacement back up for my penn.

[Crow]

Graphite all the way, glass is way to heavy for use in a yak. Uncleyak is 100% correct on that one.

[OlDog]

As you have seen, you've come to the right place. There is a lot of info gladly shared by the experienced
members of this club. I have benefited a lot from the info located here. Use the advanced search
for just about any topic. From getting rid of gnats to how to get back in...Whatever it is, It's probably been asked
and answered before.
One of the posts on lures that was especially helpful was:
http://www.bckfc.org/showthread.php?1738-What-lure-is-working-best-for-you&highlight=

The discount for nimire lures is great, don't see that too much.