7/18 Trip to the Jetty

[Fisher_Of_Men]

Well guys, the water was nice and clear. We almost had to go to plan b due to the forecast but in the am we decied to go out in the boat.

Water was so clear and calm, perfect for fishing.
Below is a link to the video I shot at the North Jetty. I will post a full report after lunch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1pKs4oOL3s

Great video.... That area you guys were in is usually a great place to start fishing. I never can get on the water early enough to find a parking spot at the end of the north jetty so we always start working that area starting at about 200 yards from the boat cut on the gulf side of the jetty. I couldn't help but laugh at the struggle with the "Jetty Monsters" with trout tackle. Several things I learned, no more mono on my reels, we now fish mainly with braid. It allows you to "Horse" a little harder than you would with mono. We also carry two or three offshore class rods (15/30 or 20/40) with either the Penn Gti 300 series or the Penn Captiva 8000 series for the Spin Fishers. With this hardware, we turn heads (Fish Heads). The jetties are an awesome place to fish because you never know what will bite your hook. It's great year round and always a great place to take non-fisherman out for a day of fun.

My buddy and I used all our Redfish tags (2 each) on fish caught in this very same area before May of this year. 30" reds grill up nicely and we fry the redfish throats....absolutely awesome....

Also good to hear you had the radio on in the boat. We always have some tunes playing while fishing and always seem to catch plenty of fish.

[PasadenaMan]

Fisher, I ordered a TLD25 and 150 power pro for it this week. I know 150# is over kill buts its a ssthink as 30# mono. I am not sure yet if I should top it off wityh any mono. I will be looking for a offshore class rod this weekend and possibly buy one next friday on pay day.

I have a Penn 320 GT2 on a 20/40 Ugly stick, is that ok for the jetties?
Could you recomend a rod for the TLD25? I am new to the bigger set ups and a, sote sure if it should have all rollers on it or just 1 at the end of the rod.

After this trip we vowed never to take out "trout tacke" out there, only to catch live bait.

[Fisher_Of_Men]

Fisher, I ordered a TLD25 and 150 power pro for it this week. I know 150# is over kill buts its a ssthink as 30# mono. I am not sure yet if I should top it off wityh any mono. I will be looking for a offshore class rod this weekend and possibly buy one next friday on pay day.

I have a Penn 320 GT2 on a 20/40 Ugly stick, is that ok for the jetties?
Could you recomend a rod for the TLD25? I am new to the bigger set ups and a, sote sure if it should have all rollers on it or just 1 at the end of the rod.

After this trip we vowed never to take out "trout tacke" out there, only to catch live bait.

I like those Ugly Stik 20/40 class rods. I believe for the TLD25 that same rod would be just fine. I checked online and there is some TLD25 Combos with 30/80 rods... man that is some muscle for sure. I am partial to the 15/30 Penn Slammer Rods. You can get them at Gander Mountain and Bass Pro. They are usually a 7' rod and you can actually cast with them. Alot of the 6' "Broom Handles" are hard to cast with. Academy had some AllStar 15/30 & 20/50 Rods for $39.95 that looked pretty good. The good thing about AllStar is the warranty, just like Ugly Stik. As for rollers, I have never seen one that you can cast, most are setup up for drop trolling.

Good luck... see ya on the water...

[PasadenaMan]

Fisher, Could I get your 2 cents on the following rod?
http://cgi.ebay.com/TITAN-50-80-BIG-...3A2%7C294%3A50

[Fisher_Of_Men]

Fisher, Could I get your 2 cents on the following rod?

http://cgi.ebay.com/TITAN-50-80-BIG-GAME-FISHING-RODS-CLOSEOUT_W0QQitemZ400061785286QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5d258a64c6&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A1205%7C293%3A2%7C294%3A50

Well, I don't know much about this brand but from what I read on the link I like. First off, this is one of those "Broom Stick" rods. It a 5'6" muscle stick. You would be hard press to lose a battle because of this rod. I don't think you will be casting with it. My experience is that you will just drop the bait straight down and let the current strip out some line. I do like the anodized reel seats. In my opinion, this is the part of offshore rods that really make the difference. I have seen many a graphite seat get pulled out fighting big AJ's..etc..
It looks like a stout contended for sure and the price is not too bad for that class of rod.
Just remember to use quality barrel swivels and strong hooks and leaders as these will become your new "Weak Spots" after getting this rig together. I can't tell you how many times I broke an 8/0 hook or pulled apart a 150lb. sampo swivel at the jetties..... (mostly during the black drum run in Feb-April)

Good luck....

[PasadenaMan]

Good deal, I bought the rod. Now I just have to get leader supplies and a good cimper setup. I will do some research on those swivels. I really appreciate your tips!


Thanks