# Gearing up for BTB - Questions!



## wacowade (May 27, 2004)

OK.. This will be my first year with a decent Kayak to fish from. Ive been a beach front fisherman for a long time now. I have either walked baits out as far as I can and put them in PVC rod holders in the sand or I had someone Kayak baits out 200-400 yards for me. I like big fish.. Bull Reds, Sharks etc.. So my question is.. What are the essentials I need to have when I start fishing out Beyond the Breakers? Most of my gear is 4/0 - 6/0 Pens or Sealine w/ 500-1000 yards of line. Do I need gear that big when fishing from the yak? 
Also.. What other things do I need to have on board to make sure im prepared for everything?


PS.. Heres a pic of my first real Kayak. I should have all the goodies installed later this week. Seat, Fish Finder etc. I also picked up this small trailer from Northern Tool last night. (Some assembly required)
I think it will work out perfect.


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## scuppersancho (May 25, 2006)

Here you go

http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=58&sid=24cdc857d8d80e80274ccd9b6a527825

http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=76584


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

TKF is definitely the place to go for your BTB questions. However, I'll answer one of them here. Penn Senators are way too big for BTB. My go-to BTB reels are an ABU 7000 and a Daiwa SHV 30, and I've caught sharks up to 7 feet. Anything that holds 200 yards of line if adequate. If you hook anything that will strip that, you're going for a sleigh ride anyway. That's part of the fun.


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## mullethead00 (May 31, 2010)

Wow, amazing shark pics BF. I usually paddle back, but those pics are good motivation to stay off the sand.


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

Dawia sealine 30
Ugly Stick tige rod 20-40lb
25-30lb mono
your casting surf leaders will work. 
most often do not need weight


Need to do a search for anchors on TKF, your anchor set up is important.


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

mullethead00 said:


> Wow, amazing shark pics BF. I usually paddle back, but those pics are good motivation to stay off the sand.


The numbers and quality of fish that can be caught from a couple hundred yards off the beach out to a couple of miles is awe inspiring.

I still love my surf fishing, but BTB fishing opens a whole new world of possibilities. I don't fish as hard as some of the guys and I've had two dozen shark days and 20 bull red days.

Try it, you'll like it. Just make sure you get hooked up with some experienced people. It can be very dangerous to fish out there by yourself. We've had injuries, flipped yaks, sunk yaks, etc. It's nice to have somebody who's got your back out there. Heck, my very first time out I thought I had everything, but had to borrow a knife from Jolly Roger to cut my bait. You never know.


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## newsharker (Oct 31, 2009)

bigfost said:


> TKF is definitely the place to go for your BTB questions. However, I'll answer one of them here. Penn Senators are way too big for BTB. My go-to BTB reels are an ABU 7000 and a Daiwa SHV 30, and I've caught sharks up to 7 feet. Anything that holds 200 yards of line if adequate. If you hook anything that will strip that, you're going for a sleigh ride anyway. That's part of the fun.


I love my diawa saltists 30's.


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## Razzorduck (Oct 14, 2005)

Love that Hammer pic Bigfost. What was that 2-3 years ago?


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

Razzorduck said:


> Love that Hammer pic Bigfost. What was that 2-3 years ago?


Yeah, I'd have to go back and look to know for sure, but it was about three years ago.

The shark fishing last year was different than usual for me. I caught more sharks than most years, but they were smaller. My average shark was probably four feet. I did have one day when I caught about two dozen between four and five feet. That was a good day. :mpd:


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## bayou assassin (Feb 2, 2012)

bigfost said:


> Yeah, I'd have to go back and look to know for sure, but it was about three years ago.
> 
> The shark fishing last year was different than usual for me. I caught more sharks than most years, but they were smaller. My average shark was probably four feet. I did have one day when I caught about two dozen between four and five feet. That was a good day. :mpd:


Where?


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

bayou assassin said:


> Where?


99% of my BTB fishing is done along Bolivar peninsula. That particular day(first week of July, 2011) we were fishing out from the old Dirty Pelican pier. There were huge school of pogies milling around. As long as we could stay in a school of pogies, the sharks were there. Funny thing is we got chased back to the beach just before midday by a thunderstorm. By the time we got back out, the action had slowed down, but we still caught another half dozen plus between two of us.

Just as a correction, or clarification, I went back and looked at my log. My partner and I each caught about a dozen sharks between 4 and 5 feet. We also each caught about that many smaller sharks and pups.


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