Jig and Lure Recommendation

[hiltonr92]

I am planning to go on 1-3.5 day trips with the following rigs but I need suggestions on jigs etc... I've listed the jigs that I was thinking of bringing along. Please comment and recommend additions or alternatives. I am new and trying to do my research.

Rig 1 (20-25 lb)
Penn Fathom II 15SD 30lb braid, 30lb mono top shot to flouro
Phenix PSX-C 808 8′0″ 15-40 lb Moderate/Fast

Rig 2 (30 -40 lb)
Penn Fathom II 25SD 40lb braid, 40lb mono top shot to flouro
Phenix HAX-C 820H 8’2″ 25-60 lb Fast

Rig 3 (50 - 60 lb, light 80)
Penn Fathom II 40nld2 80lb braid, 80lb mono top shot to flouro
Phenix HAX-C 720X2H 7′2″ 40-100 lb Fast

Rig 4 (100lb)
Penn VISX 16 100lb braid,
Phenix HAX-C 720X3H 7′2″ 60-130 lb Mod. Fast

5xZakana (100g) in different colors

3xRiptide (105 fast sink)

2xMadscad (150mm)

Irons (please comment)
Surface
Tady 45 Mint
Salas 7X Light Green Sardine (Bird Shit)
Tady C Mint/White

Bottom
6x Salas Blue/White
6x Salas Scrambled Egg
Tady 4/0 Mint Swirl/White

Bottom (Cold)
Jr 6X Salas Blue/White
Jr 6x Salas Scrambled Egg
Jr 6x Salas Mint/White Swirl


Flat Falls (I don't know if Daiwa SK is in this class, if so please comment. Also, what weight?)

4xShimano Flat Fall (160g) various colors

Knife Jigs

3xNew Design Streaker (320g) various colors

Hooks (24ea)
Owner Mutu 4, 2, 1, 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, 4/0

I am sure I am missing something or out right got it wrong so your insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sailing La Reina]

Where are you going? Islands? Bluefin grounds? Rockfish?

 

[CI_SeaWolf]

Rip roller in 300-500 gm for night fishing, SK jigs in 250- 300 gm. I like ringed flyliner hooks for finesse fishing, Charlie Brown ringed hooks in 2/0-5/0. Don’t forget sinkers and flourocarbon/ heavy mono for bite leaders.

 

[hiltonr92]

Where are you going? Islands? Bluefin grounds? Rockfish?

Good question. I am looking for bluefin, dorado, and yellowtail at first.

 

[Sailing La Reina]

I see you are from Utah. What time of year do you plan on fishing In our neck of the woods (sea).

 

[hucklongfin]

On your first 3 rigs I’d only add fluoro if fishing bait. You wouldn’t need it for Dorado or YT either. Use fluoro for BFT, they have teeth and are more picky.

Your surface iron choices are dead on! I use 6x more than 6xJr… they get down faster, especially if there’s current. The JRI 66 and 6 are money!

 

[hiltonr92]

I see you are from Utah. What time of year do you plan on fishing In our neck of the woods (sea).

I plan on making 4 trips a year from March to October.

 

[Sailing La Reina]

Things are pretty quiet in March, but pick up in April for bluefin. Plan on doing your most productive fishing at night, using nighttime jigs. I call it vampire fishing. It is best to plan on sleeping during the day after the sunrise sinker rig bite is over. Get up around 2-3 PM and do it over again.
You will need a 200-250 gm. SK setup, a 300 gm SK or rip roller setup, a 400 gm. rip roller set up and an Eddie Bomb. All your set ups should have a heavy, crimped leader with assist hooks at the top and a big Owner ST-66 treble hook at the bottom. Then listen to the captain/crew to decide which rig to deploy for the existing bite. Plan on using 100 lb. rated line, rod and reel. The dorado show up later in the year. Good luck!

 

[Mr. DRE]

Just add water and you are all set. Good luck!

 

[Kevin A]

I plan on making 4 trips a year from March to October.

Why not just do a 10 day trip in the fall??

 

[hiltonr92]

Why not just do a 10 day trip in the fall??

That is another option. Wife wants to visit friends and go to the beach. We moved from Southern California 2 years ago and she wants to visit.

 

[RichG]

You have quite an arsenal started. I agree with most of what has been posted. As far as your irons go you have the correct colors. You can usually get something at the landing if it's a hot jig.

Since you live in Layton, that's quite a distance for a one day trip, unless you are going to SD for some other reason. On a one day, won't need all your tackle.

March is a bit early for the SD season, late May thru October gives you a better shot. Now if your on an early to late fall trip, you have plenty of tackle. I agree an 8 to 10 day is well worth it. If your goal is Bluefin, then target a shorter trip, 4 or 5 days. If you look at the long range fleet schedule, you'll get a better idea. "Bites on" has a list of the long range boats, that have great accommodations. https://www.biteson.com

On your hooks, 2/0 and up, consider other brands that are a bit heavier. Just remember not all 2/0, etc. are the same. Especially Mustads. There 2/0 are the same as 1/0 Owner or Trokar or Hiyabusa. And I'd seriously look at ringed hooks as well. If you decide to go on a longer trip, you'll need a few Sabiki's to make bait. The four or six hook ones.

Oh, if you are going to have your fish processed, make a reservation as soon as you book your trip. The last few years have been a problem with short staffs, etc. The same with hotel accommodations.

It's a great addiction, keep asking questions.

 

[Rubberhook2]

Jigs? Don't even get me started....

 

[Rubberhook2]

 

[alexnieves]

You've almost got everything covered. You do want some j hooks for dorado and yellowtail. Size 2-1/0 Mustad 94151s will do the trick.

I'd also suggest you throw in some 250g and 400g knife jigs. My favorite is the West Coast Jiggerz KB, but the rip roller and streaker are good, cheaper options. Everyone has their own way of rigging jigs for night fishing. I put 6/0 Mustad J-Assist2 hooks on the bottom of the jig only, attached with a size 8 or 9 Owner Ultra split ring. You can kill a big fish in a few minutes if you don't hook it in the side. I also avoid crimps. I fish about 20 feet of 200lb fluoro connected with a FG knot, and then tie directly to the jig with a spangler knot.

I'd leave the flat falls at home and bring Daiwa SKs. Better profile and sink faster. 200g and 250g for the times the tuna are smaller and are eating the small jig better. And I'd say you can skip the madscads if you haven't already bought them.

Make sure to put Owner ST66s on the Zakanas. 1/0 is perfect for 100g. These jigs get bit extremely well on the slide.

Last suggestion is to bring a knot puller. They make a huge difference when tying knots in heavy line.

If you haven't already, check out Captains Concepts. They have a lot of great videos that will get you dialed in.

Personal preference, I'd much rather do 4 local trips than one long range. And don't be afraid to get started in March or April. The bluefin are around and the fleet is going to hit them early next season. My first trip is planned for mid-April. The New Lo-An is a killer boat and has trips open, as do the Shogun, American Angler, Fortune, and some other fishy boats. The Polaris Supreme and Pacific Queen are already full, and it's for a reason. Consider putting yourself on the waitlist for those boats. You can easily get your dorado and yellowtail fix covered in overnight to 2-day trips.

Oh, one more thing. Moon phase absolutely matters when fishing bluefin. Plan your trips around the new moon.

Setups look great. Good luck!

 

[pmurphy]

Love your list. You have been doing your homework.

You won’t need it, but good luck anyway!

 

[Rubberhook2]

This is what I normally bring when I target bluefin at night....

 

[Rubberhook2]

Or these...

 

[hiltonr92]

Love your list. You have been doing your homework.

You won’t need it, but good luck anyway!

Of what I listed what do I really need?

 

[hiltonr92]

Love your list. You have been doing your homework.

You won’t need it, but good luck anyway!

I understand your message thanks.

 

[engelwurt]

What of your list do you already have? Just the setups?

 

[hiltonr92]

What of your list do you already have? Just the setups?

I have the rigs (except #4) and the Zakanas. I have Fluoro for them also.

 

[engelwurt]

Your setups look good, and you'll have the staples covered. You’ll definitely want #4 or similar and a decent selection of jigs for night time fishing. There is not a time of the year where you won't want it on a 1-3 day trip. There are times of the year (especially early) where the vast majority or even all of fish are caught at night.

Along with your rigs I’d recommend prioritizing the jigs following way: nighttime jigs, then daytime jigs for BFT (e.g. zakanas), then yo-yos, then surface irons, then casting plugs.

The irons come more into play when island/coastal fishing. On overnight-3 day trips your most likely to be focused offshore. You can fish them offshore, but probably wont nearly as much. If you start fishing more full day or 4+ days or if you know your taking a coastal or islands trip you may want a few more irons.

The other reality is casting plugs are the things you'll probably use the least. They can be super fun to fish, but they require more skill, especially from a sport boat. They might be the fun choice, but rarely will they be the first choice. You may also want a specialized setup for this (either plugs or surface irons). It is easy to imagine all the ways you might catch a fish and spend a ton on tackle you'll rarely use (something I'm guilty of). It's probably better to keep it simple, focus of bait and night time jigs and then figure out what else you need as you go.

Heres what I'd recommend as the minimum set then build out from there:
1.) 3-6 knife jigs 250-500g or other (I'm partial to the sk i'd say 1x sk 250, 2x sk 300, 1x rip roller 400, 1x rip roller 500g). If the wether is up you may need a 500.
1.a) Bite leaders and upgraded assist hooks. The sk hooks are pretty solid, but many others are total BS. Terminal tackle failures are the worst heartbreaks.
2.) 3-4 daytime jigs (like 2 colt snipers (100-150g) and 2 smaller flatfalls or sks like 160-200g)
3.) 2-4 yoyo jigs
4.) Hooks (if mutu, #4-2/0. maybe 3/0. bigger than 2/0-3/0 are less frequently used locally and at that size you may want to step up to a supermutu or Natilus HD but these run 2-3 sizes smaller). It might take a while to go through 24 of each, up to you.
5.)....

Also, marking your braid on #4 is absolutely critical.

 

[RichG]

I see you don’t have Rig #4. I suggest you think about what you goals are with this rig. To be a bit more universal, especially if you are going to be chasing Cow fish in the future, invest in a 20 or 30 size reel. More line capacity. Down size a bit heavier. Also a rod that would match. That would be my two cents.

 

[tileordie]

Could anyone please tell me the best way to mark your line For night time?