Gear Talk - Surf Caught Large

[Clogston29]

lightest - allstar 1088, vs200, 30 lb suffix, 28 lb leader, a-salt bomber
heaviest - lami sb 121 3m, vs250, 50 lb suffix, 60 lb leader, 7/0 gami lb hook, eel

favorite - lami gsb 121 1m (full length or w/ 9" cut from the butt), vs200, 50 lb suffix, 50 lb leader

i fish the rod, line and leader combo that will present what i think will produce at a given spot the best. if i'm fishing bombers, its a "light" setup. If i'm fishing riggies, its a heavier setup. sluggos, a whippy setup. Etc. If i'm into big fish and just want to get them in as quick as possible to increase the odds of getting the biggest one (rare occurance obviously), then the lami sb 121 3m comes out.

with the canal and a few other places as exceptions, i feel confident in being able to land a big fish with any of the setups i use.

only issue i've had was a day catching schoolies that had a school of herring pinned to the beach in Maine on a light 8' allstar with a penn 710 and small ryan smith swimmer. hooked a fish that was in the 35-40 lb class in about 2' of water right in front of me. i never stood a chance with that one. obviously i've lost othe good fish, but that was the only time i ever really felt overmatched.

[t.orlando]

My big fish spin outfit is a 120 1M with a SatigaZ4500(or VS 200 when in wetsuit, which aint pretty and is pretty rare) 40# PowerPro, 50# Berkley Big Game mono leader.
Big shad throwing rig 1209 with Calcutta 700, 65# PowerPro, 50# BBG mono leader
Eel rig, 1205 with 7000CL, 65#PP, 50# BBG mono leader
Canal plug rod, Lami SuperSurf 2-6oz, SaltigaZ4500, 30# PowerPro, 50# BBG mono leader.
Of all my large fish, I have only had a few take enough line to get my knees knocking and thinking I could be in trouble with these set-ups. I fish a loose drag, and I've found that the harder you try and horse them in the beginning of fight, the more they head for trouble spots.

[MAKAI]

Handline.
Capt courageous style.

[MikeToole]

1088 Allstar, Penn 5600 Slammer, 50# Sufix braid. - rocks

1088 Pac Bay, Penn 5600 Slammer, 50# Sufix. - sand

SU1208 Rainshadow, 5500 Emblem pro, 50# Sufix. - canal

[afterhours]

i never feel undergunned with my allstar 1208 paired with a zb 25 or vs 200 and 40#braid. can fish 1.5oz stubby needles to 4.25oz needles and can turn 30's around in the canal...