# Bulls on standard gear?



## danthrc (Jun 19, 2007)

I have never caught a Bull Red and would love to. I am not geared for true surf fishing with the long rods and big reels. 
Is it possible to catch them on regular gear? 

I seen a TPW video where a guy had regular gear and was hooking live finger mullet through the head and casting in about 2 foot of water just off the beach and catching them. 

Any suggestions from the experts?


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## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

tough question, if they are in that close prob yes, landing them another story.

use something that rates as a heavy catfish R&R and you will be fine, just try to cast into the gut and not onto the bar

braid line would be a plus, #30 is plenty heavy


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## BadBob (Dec 16, 2010)

I've caught 40" plus reds on 30-35 dollar combos from academy,
biggest problem is line capacity on "regular gear"


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

For bull reds it isn't so much the rod/reel combo as it is line capacity and drag on the reel. The surf generally is pretty clean so getting fouled or cut off usually isn't a problem. If you can keep a bull from spooling you, you can generally fight them long enough to land them in the surf. The rod is the other tool, in a perfect world it needs to be heavy enough to cast the heavier baits. I know guys who have caught them up to 40" on trout rods and 12 lb line while trout fishing. A good smooth drag at max capacity will get it done. Like Coastal says, a catfish rod is about right for casting distance, rod backbone, line capacity and drag.


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

Smaller gear is fine, if that's all you've got. I've caught bull reds on everything down to small spinning reels. My normal surf fishing bait outfit is an ABU 5000 or 6000 on a trout rod, and that rig has many bull reds and big black drum.

It never hurts to have a bait in the first gut. Sometimes the biggest fish of the trip come from there. The bigger gear is so we can get baits out farther, not because catching the fish demands it.


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## 535 (May 23, 2004)

enjoy! Like the other have said it can definitely be done and its hard to beat the thrill of a big fish on small gear


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## TomCat (Jan 6, 2006)

bigfost said:


> The bigger gear is so we can get baits out farther, not because catching the fish demands it.[/QUOTE
> 
> Bingo...we have a winner.
> My first Bull Read was caught on a Zebco 808 mounted on an old Ted Williams heavy spinning rod. Talk about a mismatched rig, that was it. :headknock


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## bubbas kenner (Sep 4, 2010)

TTr28 mirror lure landed me a 40plus inch bull red on the beach wading on the 3rd sandbar using a curado 200 on a 7'allstar walked it to shore and threw my stirofoam hat off like a golfer.it happened around 1994.


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## danthrc (Jun 19, 2007)

Thanks for all of the info! I'm using mostly trout type wading gear. I can see the weak spot may be line capacity if anything else. I'm tossing a Shimano Core, and a Corado. Both with braid line.


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## speckrunner (Jul 22, 2011)

I have caught a 41" on a curado beltram with a 7' castaway


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## SurfRunner (May 22, 2004)

If you are wadefishing and accidentally hook into a bullred, you can handle them. However, if you are fishing off a pier, beach, or jetty for bullreds, I would highly recommend surf casting gear.


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

danthrc said:


> Thanks for all of the info! I'm using mostly trout type wading gear. I can see the weak spot may be line capacity if anything else. I'm tossing a Shimano Core, and a Corado. Both with braid line.


Again, I've caught many bull reds on 10 and 12# line. I've never had one run off more than maybe 20 or 30 yards. They're not long runners, they just slug it out and make short runs. After you get your bait out, if you've got 50 yards of line left to fight them with, you'll be okay.


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## saltwatersensations (Aug 30, 2004)

I have caught many bull reds on medium action trout rods and 12lb test. It is 100% on how you allow your gear to work for you, drag etc....... I use trilene big game and change my line 2-3 time a years depending on use.


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## Jean Scurtu (Dec 6, 2011)

I have caught a 40 inch,23lb.red fish (C&R)with FIRELINE SMOKE 4LB. on a ABU CARDINAL STAMINA DRAG 600U (ultra-light) reel at ROLLOVER PASS

http://www.fishingworld.com/News/Read.php?ArtID=000010715

Thanks to ED SNYDER


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## danthrc (Jun 19, 2007)

Jean Scurtu said:


> I have caught a 40 inch,23lb.red fish (C&R)with FIRELINE SMOKE 4LB. on a ABU CARDINAL STAMINA DRAG 600U (ultra-light) reel at ROLLOVER PASS
> 
> http://www.fishingworld.com/News/Read.php?ArtID=000010715
> 
> Thanks to ED SNYDER


Now that sounds like fun!


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## That Robbie Guy (Aug 11, 2009)

Woah.

_John, an ultra-lite enthusiasts, was using a telescopic type rod of high modulus carbon, which was a Triana Special Competition GRANDSLAM VHS 140 rod made in Italy by Gabriele Tubertini. The telescopic rod of 16.4 feet weighed only 6.7-ozs. _


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## 535 (May 23, 2004)

impressive to say the least!


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## krfish (Sep 27, 2011)

As everyone has said it can be done, and it sure is fun! I caught a 40" red in September on my 6'6" rod using 12 pound Berkley Big Game, with a 40 pound test leader. I was fishing for trout in the Matagorda Surf when I caught him. Put up a heck of a fight. I hope i'm lucky enough to catch another bull on light tackle!


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## troutless (Feb 17, 2006)

I've cauaght them on 6000's and 6500 and a med 7' trout rods. But I've went to Daiwa SEALINE 30 SHV AND SHA 50 for the beach and kayaking I use the SHV 30.


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## Mustad7731 (May 23, 2004)

*Choices*

Danthrc;
As bigfrost said, the bigger gear only allows you to fish futher out...It also
increases your chances of hooking up...All things being equal...For every Bull
Red you catch in the 1st gut, you will catch 4-5 in the 2nd gut and 15 or more
in the 3rd gut...
If you want to accept those odds...It's your choice...You may want to get a
modestly priced Long Rod - n - Reel and increase your catch and hook up rate.
Again It's your choice...

Mustad7731
Jack


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## SurfRunner (May 22, 2004)

Mustad7731 said:


> Danthrc;
> As bigfrost said, the bigger gear only allows you to fish futher out...It also
> increases your chances of hooking up...All things being equal...For every Bull
> Red you catch in the 1st gut, you will catch 4-5 in the 2nd gut and 15 or more
> ...


X2.....I think it is a cool thing to have a light line in the first gut while beach fishing like Bigfost does. Great idea! However, if you ever decide to fish for reds from a jetty or pier, you will need the heavier tackle to hoss them a bit. You also want to consider if fighting them for a long period of time on trout tackle is safe for the fish if you plan on releasing them.

You can buy some decent surfcasting tackle for really cheap if you look around. For bullreds, I like 20lb. surfcasting tackle for the surf, which you can cast a country mile and is a blast to fight a bullred with from the beach. I have caught 5 foot sharks with this as well.

I use 30lb for the piers and jetties because you will need the extra strength to lift their heads up and away from pilons and rocks. In this situation, you are usually fishing among others and it is common courtesy to get your fish in as quickly as possible.

And if you are paddling baits out, which i don't do for reds, you might want to step it up to 40 or 50lb tackle to reduce cutoffs.

Mine may not be the best advice, it's just the way I would do it.


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

SurfRunner said:


> You also want to consider if fighting them for a long period of time on trout tackle is safe for the fish if you plan on releasing them.


Excellent point. Especially in the hot waters of summer, the reds get stressed pretty quickly.


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## johnmyjohn (Aug 6, 2006)

Good advice on this read. I will add that if fishing from the beach keep it as light as possible, it adds to the fight and you tend to hook up more. I seldom take anything over a 7000 abu with 25 mono anymore unless someone wants something a lot bigger than a red. The leader is where it's at. If a bull turns in the right dirrection they can pretty well cut themselves loose from most light mono leaders. It's a chance but I use 80lb mono because I also target trout. The surf holds nothing back as far as the type of fish you catch and there's nothing stopping them between you and Cuba if they are big enough. I can't imagine all the fisherman on the beach left staring at an empty spool.


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## BlueHeron (Dec 20, 2011)

In Oct. and November I was knee deep in the reds. I was using 40lb power pro braid which was great because I could hall the reds over the pier railing 20-28" fish. On another reel I have 20lb braid on and it held up great. Now there were a couple of nights and days where I hooked into bulls and they bit right through the 40lb braid so im tempted to use a hvy mono or steel leader with my jigs at the end. Just sharing my experience because once they hit that 30"+ mark the bite offs increased and I lost 3 really nice fish to bite off's. I plan on using a somewhat short leader. Nearly all of these were site casted to in about 1ft of water till the end of november. My main reel because I love the casting is a Calcutta - my absolute favorite and a curado which is a so so reel in my opinion. I like to work light myself and with the braid you can work them quite aggressively. It's all what you are willing to risk.


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## monster (Apr 11, 2008)

Bull Reds can certainly be caught with lighter gear. It helps if you have 20 or 30# braid. I think the biggest concern is taking a lot longer to land the fish. Heavy gear can get the fish in failry quick. Using light gear means you're probably going to take longer to get the fish in, and this can put a lot more stress on the fish, making it less likely that the fish will survive the release. If money is an issue, you can get a simple combo from Academy for $30-50, or keep your eyes on the classified ads. Good luck!


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## skooter2 (May 3, 2011)

My wife caught this 40 incher on a 7' 6" ft rod, Penn 6500 with 17# line yesterday morning at the turn of the tide on the first bar. She was expecting an 18 inch drum. Fish recovered, wife is not moving so fast today!


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

Just gotta love surf fishing!


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## TomCat (Jan 6, 2006)

One more comment. 
To catch bull reds with any consistency you need to use bait larger than a peeled shrimp. Large chunks of cut mullet or other bait fish work best. Unfortunately you can't cast bait and 6 or 8 ounces of sinker with bass gear. You can use a shock leader on your light reel but you need a substantial rod to cast all that weight.


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