Tactic advice for 10/2 3/4 day Patriot trip

[nixican]

Taking one of my kids on a 3/4 day trip this Sunday aboard the Patriot. It appears that the dorado bite is pretty dead at this point with bass and rockfish taking over on the counts.

Looking for any advice on tackle set ups that I can use on my rigs. I have a Newell reel with 50# braid and 25# mono top shot. Planning on bringing 15 and 20 pound flouro leader for this set up. My other set up is a spinning reel with 50# braid and 25# mono top shot. This is an older reel that I would like to change out for one of the newer spinning set ups for jig casting. I just bought a Daiwa Proteus 8-10 30#-50# rod to use on this set up. I am planning on checking with the landing on Saturday to see what they will be targeting but with the above assumption for species, how would you recommend I set up my rigs? My son will be on a rental stick.

Thanks!

 

[Deadlift500]

If you are looking for a good priced decent quality spinning reel, some places have the Penn Fierce III on sale, for example Meltons has them on clearance: https://www.meltontackle.com/penn-fierce-iii-spinning-reel.html

although for bass and rockfish an even cheaper set up would work great, instead of getting a rental for a kid I’d get him a $50 Ugly Stik Combo from Bass Pro Shops, get the one rated for up to 20lb s and put plain 20lb mono on it, and he’s got a great bass And rockfish set up that would also work for freshwater bass/catfish too. https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/ugly-stik-gx2-spinning-rod-and-reel-combo

size 1 Gamakatsu live bait hooks work well for bass and rockfish, get some torpedo sinkers in various weights if you don’t already have some.

 

[Deadlift500]

to add to my above response, the Ugly Stik Gx2 rod is awesome. Its costs he same $50 to buy the rod separately, so getting a free reel with combo is a great deal, even though the reel isn’t that great.

the rod is only rated up to 20lbs, but I used it on a recent Polaris Supreme 3 day trip to successfully catch mahi and school ie bluefin tuna paired with a 6000 size Penn Fierce reel spooled with 30lb mono. I used the Owner 2/0 ringed live bait hooks for the mahi and tuna.

one other thing tackle wise is to learned how to tie a dropper loop of you don’t already know, that is a good way to rig for rockfish, bass when they are deep, and yellowtail when they’re around.

 

[Encinoman]

If you fish Catalina, definitely bring some smaller colt snipers/megabaits for bonito.

Regarding your set ups, they should be more than adequate for 90 percent of what you may come across. If the larger grade yellows show up, straight 25 mono to a size 2-1/0 mustad 94151 is plenty.

If you’re fishing bass in the kelp line with sardines, fluoro can help, but isn’t necessarily a requirement. If it’s a pick bite and there’s 3-5 inch chovies, small size 2-4 hooks and 15-20 fluoro can make a big difference. If you struggle to get the chovies away from the boat, a small 1/8 ounce slider makes life a lot easier.

Between small shiny jigs, 15-25 flyline/slider rig, and your standard rockfish rig you should be able to cover most things.

If your son has any issues fishing the flyline, setting up a single dropper with a size 4 hook and a 4-6 ounce weight can be great for whitefish and other kelp critters when you’re in shallow.

 

[Isaiah M. R.]

Give deckhand $20 to help you out.

 

[surfgoose]

Check your conversation box, the envelope shape on the top upper-right.

 

[OhWhatNow]

Here is a better dropper loop imo:

 

[Deadlift500]

Here is a better dropper loop imo:

interesting video

 

[jer dog]

interesting video

I would go out of 22nd st instead,
The Newport landing boats, are not the greatest, and the parking at the Pier,
Is not really close, to haul your stuff
To the boat.

 

[Deadlift500]

I would go out of 22nd st instead,
The Newport landing boats, are not the greatest, and the parking at the Pier,
Is not really close, to haul your stuff
To the boat.

Drive farther down to San Diego if you can, boats still getting limits of dorado often

 

[nixican]

Well. Trip just got cancelled due to boat problems. Scrambling looking for an alternate spot. It’s looking like Pierpoint has spots open.

 

[Deadlift500]

Well. Trip just got cancelled due to boat problems. Scrambling looking for an alternate spot. It’s looking like Pierpoint has spots open.

If you afford the extra time and money, The Tribute out of Seaforth in San Diego has a 1.5 day leaving Sunday with about a dozen spots open right now. https://www.seaforthlanding.com