# A little (or alot) of help please. New to this sort of fishing.



## KWGerald

Hey all! GREAT SITE by the way!

I'm a long time saltwater fisherman from San Diego who's moved to Texas. I never really considered offshore fishing in Texas, so before I moved I sold all my gear (bad move!). 

Recently, I've been considering starting up my gear collection again, and I figured I'd start with some gear that I can use on the party boat trips out of Port A.

I will be re-building one outfit at a time, so I was thinking I might go with something that I can jig with to start.

In doing some internet searching, it seems we have ourselves a really nice fishery here in the Gulf.

Thinking about something that will fish for Amberjack, Wahoo, Blackfin Tuna, Dorado (or is it Mahi?), red snapper. I'd like it to be heavy enough that I can also fish for yellowfin.

I know that no such rod exists to fish all species, but if you veterans of Gulf Jigging could chime in...

If you had to pick just one outfit that could reasonably fit into the category of jigging for these species, what would it be?

I was thinking a Black Hole Cape Cod Special acid-wrapped with something along the lines of a PE7 or PE8 type of reel. 

Any thoughts on this? And thanks again for making a kick-*** site!


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## hog

Welcome to the site.
Your choices sound outstanding and above the average of a person starting.

Jigg'n is soooooooo addictive. 

Heres about the most knowledgeable written information anywhere about jigging from A-Z
Good Luck, Let us know how it goes..
GMans Jigg'n Bible 101


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## ksong

Slow Pitch jigging rods might be for you. 
Black Hole Cape Cod Slow Pitch B581 jigging rod is only 5 oz, but you can land from red snapper to tuna with the light rod.

Here are pictures of fish I landed with the rod. Due to new technologies and new materials, it become possible to catch small fish to tuna with one rod.













80 - 90 lb yft


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## KWGerald

Thanks Hog and Kil! Leaning towards a Maxel Sea Lion OSL 10. Also considering an Avet MXJ or HXJ, but I hear they don't have infinite anti-reverse.


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## NaClH2O

KWGerald said:


> Thanks Hog and Kil! Leaning towards a Maxel Sea Lion OSL 10. Also considering an Avet MXJ or HXJ, but I hear they don't have infinite anti-reverse.


I would advise against the HX reel. I have one (regular width, not narrow) and it's a big reel, plus with all the line it holds it's heavy. I'm thinking of getting rid of it because it's just too big and too heavy for most of the fishing I've been doing offshore. If you're going after big tuna, it would be perfect. I just found that I haven't been able to do that so I'm in the process of downsizing my gear. My advice is to start small and light and move up to bigger stuff if necessary.


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## J.R

As far as jigs we have been doing well with jigs from striker tackle.com. They also have great prices


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## KWGerald

NaClH2O said:


> I would advise against the HX reel. I have one (regular width, not narrow) and it's a big reel, plus with all the line it holds it's heavy. I'm thinking of getting rid of it because it's just too big and too heavy for most of the fishing I've been doing offshore. If you're going after big tuna, it would be perfect. I just found that I haven't been able to do that so I'm in the process of downsizing my gear. My advice is to start small and light and move up to bigger stuff if necessary.


Pretty much ruled out the Avet line, especially until they address the anti-reverse (or lack thereof) issue. The Hoo-X is great, but in retrospect, it's most likely NOT the type of reel I'll be using on the Party Boats. When I'm rich enough to afford a boat for myself to do these floater trips I might be more inclined to get one for chunking / live baiting.

Speaking of live baiting... Why is it that you guys out here don't have live bait wells on your party boats? Wouldn't a nice live bait be perfect for fishing the yellowfin?

Been curious about that for awhile now.

Really digging on the Maxel Sea Lion. Nice looking reel, and it seems to have what I'm looking for as far as size, drag, gear ratio, etc.


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## hookN

go for it...you wont regret it. TheMaxel , that is.


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## hog

I wanna add one post to this.

Dont rule out a Spinning outfit. Theres actually another thread up on the main board about what brand and what rod.

Skys the limit is the answer. But, there a TRULY some great spinning reels and unbelievable rods out there for $275ish as a combo up to Gold bars needed to pay for it.

Dont know what your budget is but I use Shimanno Spinners. I have 3 Speheros 14000's that Ive used and guarantee you I have put them thru the ringer that are 6-7 yrs old, and other than replacing Carbon Tex Drag Washers, Adding a Dab of Cals Grease, and decent cleanings once a year they work as good now as they did when I bought them. Knock on wood :headknock
They run anywhere from 125- 175ish. The newer models have a much better handle than mine. 
I bought them way back when because one of the top Tuna Guides in Venice recommended it since they used it daily, and I was just getting into serious jigging. 

At the time, thats what I could Afford.

Saragosa are a step in Grade above the Spheros. Im not Mechanic, but they evidently built with better somethings or more of this or that. Heck of a reel about $100 more than the Spheros. Several of my friends have them, especially the 10000sw and love'm.

Now they have another out this year (Shimanno knows us Jigg'n fools will buy most any thing new, even tho what we got will catch the same fish just as good. Guess thats why I have a garage full of fishing rods, reels, jigs, and everything else...  Any way, this new once is priced between the Saragosa and the Stella.

Last, comes the Stella. I have a Stella 18000, heck of a reel, but, If I did it over again, I would buy a different Stella with a lower gear Ratio. The one I have works better for popping or really cranking in the lure/jig faster. With the higher gear ratio, I find, my arm wears out quicker since it takes more muscle to crank the handle when working the jig compared to a little bit lower ratio. Cant remember what it is, thinking like High 5's to 1, rather than a 4ish to one as is offered on some of the others. Of course thats just my opinion.

Rods????????? Skys the limit... there are some unbelievable rods that absolutely almost are unbreakable. Some mentioned by others. I will say this. Ive found a couple of inexpensive ones that after 2 years of not being nice to them are holding up like champs.... 1 is the new Penn Carnage 80-130. runs about $125. My wife breaks poles like they were candy including the Ugly Sticks folks have swore by since i was a kid. But, she hasnt managed to break this Carnage yet and ive seen it in some serious binds. Saw it being used one the Penn fishing show by the Mark fella. Price was right, so figured what the heck. So far, Im sold on the one we have...VERY LIGHT rod.

Another inexpensive is a rod specially made for Stingray Tackle in Jupiter Florida, they run around $99 plus shipping. Ran into it by accident while on vacation over there. I own 3. A 7 1/2' MH popping and two that are smaller for Jigging. Had to replace the tip on one from a bad ride in the back of a truck, but other than that, no complaints. You can type in Stingray tackle on google and pull them up if interested. Their china made rods Im sure, but, work sure good for us.

If those arent of interest, theres lots of others out there that are truly outstanding, but most all are gonna start getting pretty pricey. My Main rod i had hand built. And i am hoping to this year, learn how to build'm my self. I want one of them almost unbreakable Black holes  Blanks can be bought on Mudhole... 

Be sure and let us know what you decided to do and how the fishing/jigg'n is go'n....

Sorry for the long ramble, just bored here at work in my break I guess...haha :rybka:

Hog


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## red34

For long trips out of Port A, I would start with a 300g-400g spinning rod from 5'4"-5'8" paired with a Shimano 8/10k sized reel (look into adding a 12/16k aftermarket spool to add capacity). If you go quality on the reel (Saragosa or any year Stella) and add the capacity with the spool, you will be well-matched for 99.99% of tuna you'll encounter here on jig/pop gear (40-100lbs).

This combo is light with the smaller reel. Strong with the heavyish rod and 65-80lb spectra capability. And versatile with the ability to jig, lob poppers, and chunk or live-bait with. You can also split it up to make both 300g and 400g combos as you add gear.

You can also mimic this for popping gear (once you decide that the surface take is more addictive than crack!) Same reel setup, except possibly switching to hollow core spectra. I like throwing the 40/60 as often as I can get away with it, and switch to the 60/80 in crowded or larger fish situations.

Here are a few guides that might be helpful to read. Glenn's guide has been read by everyone getting into this type of fishing. Mine is what I've learned from others who helped me get into this kind of fishing, and then adapted to fishing in Texas. Hope it helps.

http://jiggingandpopping.blogspot.com/2011/03/intro-to-popping-by-gman-reference-for.html

http://www.oceantackle.net/tips-and-techniques.html


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## KWGerald

Thanks Red! I'm digging that 3107 conventional Fathom Blade rod. Looks like it would be a killer set up with the right Jigging Reel. 

I just can't get into coffee grinders for jigging. Them seem to be perfect for popping, though. Looking at some alternative narrow conventionals. Licking the Maxel the more I look at it, but I also gotta say Okuma Andros reels are really nice as well. It's nice to have choices for quality tackle nowadays.


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## red34

I prefer jigging conventional as well. I was rolling with advice for starting with the most versatile combo possible.

Glad to help any way I can.


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## hookN

KWGerald said:


> Thanks Red! I'm digging that 3107 conventional Fathom Blade rod. Looks like it would be a killer set up with the right Jigging Reel.
> 
> I just can't get into coffee grinders for jigging. Them seem to be perfect for popping, though. Looking at some alternative narrow conventionals. Licking the Maxel the more I look at it, but I also gotta say Okuma Andros reels are really nice as well. It's nice to have choices for quality tackle nowadays.


Andros is not a reel designed for the jigging pounding , the AR will fail fairly quick.

JMO


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## KWGerald

Did not know that about the Andros. Maxel is looking better every day.


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