Hi all,

I am relocating to Long Beach from Houston in October. I've passed all my equipment down to my son in Houston, so I'm looking for suggestions for a new rod and reel.

I've read a bit on here and on the Allcoast message board. I will be primarly fishing from the beachs/bays, wading and from jetties/groins. (Party boats and piers are not my style) Target species are all new to me...corbinas, halibut, mackeral, etc.

So...before I hit the local tackle shops or any of the online shops and get the sales pitch, I'm interested in suggestions for rods, reels, line weights, to include specific brands if you wish...my price range is moderate to expensive. I've learned my lesson with cheap equipment more than once and I'm at the age where I can splurge a little. I also found that when I try and get the "best of both worlds", I end up getting neither.

From what I have read, it seems that I may have missed the season. Please don't tell me I have to wait until spring to start fishing again...

Thanks in advance!

Bob

I fish similar waters to your target areas. I'm an old time spin fisherman and a recent fly fisher and I enjoy fishing the beaches and bays of Southern California. I like fishing light equipment and am typically throwing 6lb test or at best 8lb test.

For the surf I use a 9' GLoomis Steelhead rod (rated for 6-12 lb line and 1/4-1/2 oz lures - model STR1082S) and a Shimano Symetre 2000 spinning reel loaded with 6 lb test. I'm usually throwing a 3" Big Hammer plastic bait on a 1/4 oz jig head or a small curly tailed grub rigged carolina-style (1/4 oz weight). I catch mostly barred surf perch which are fun on a light rig. Hopefully, if I ever do come across a legal halibut or a decent corbina, I'll be able to stop these with my 6lb test.

For fishing bays (Newport Harbor, Cabrillo Beach, Santa Barbara Harbor) I haul my Buck's Bag Bronco pontoon boat down to the water and shorten up my rod a bit. I use the same spinning reel and the same baits but toss them with a 7' GLoomis Popping Rod (rated for 6-12 lb line and 1/4-1/2 oz lures - model PR842-2S). Early this summer, I had a grand time catching halibut and white sea bass (to 20") at Cabrllo Beach with this gear. I don't know if I could have stopped a legal (28") WSB with this gear but I would have had fun trying if given the opportunity.

For fly fishing, I use a 9' 9-wt rod and throw a fast sinking (type 6) shooting head attached to a mono-type running line. In the surf I use a short (4-5') leader of 10lb test mono. I toss a variety of small weighted flies - anything with orange in it. I've had some success catching surf perch with my fly rod but have yet to find anything of great size with.

In summary - I believe that light is the way to go and have fun fishing my 6 lb test spinning gear in the surf and protected bays of Southern California.

Hey Richard. If you don't mind I'd like to get my stepdad in touch with you. He has been flyfishing for a couple years and has got an itch to catch the salty fish. We went for BPs once, but I'm of no help to him. Perhaps you wouldn't mind passing on some useful info.

Amish Ed
You Can't Catch it again if
it's Dead!

No problem AmishEd, I'll be glad to share what little I know. I don't by any stretch of the definition, consider myself an expect flyfisherman, especially in the surf. However, I'm beginning to feel that I can share my experiences. I started tossing flies in the surf this summer. The best thing I did was take advantage of a club outing we (the Kern River Flyfishers) had to the beach this summer. 13 or 14 of us drove over to the Santa Barbara area and took a surf fishing clinic that Gary Bulla, a noted surf flyfishing guide, puts on. That really helped the learning curve. Your stepdad can reach me at cullipr@aol.com. I live in Bakersfield so I don't get over to the beach too often, but, when I do, I always have my fly rod along now days.

I know that Bob Marriot's Fly shop (714-525-1827), in Fullerton, can provide lots of good information on surf fishing the southern California beaches. Also there are a couple of websites (www.fliflicker.com and www.garybulla.com) that have lots of info on southern Calfornia fly fishing opportunities.

Perhaps we might see each other one of these days. I'll most likely have a fly rod in my hand.

Welcome to LoCal, the land of fruits and nuts...

You sound like a perfect candidate for float-tube fishing.
Much better access to more and bigger fish, no need for the
expense and more importantly hassle of storing, launching,
fueling and trailering a boat.

The BIG halibuts should be moving in to the shallow beaches and
bays soon, and there are other year-round species as well.

see www.baytubers.com


JR.

You'll have fun. After ya got the freezer stocked with halibut & bass have a look at some of the posts on King Harbor/Redondo. Bonito are a real kick on light tackle.

I predict it's only a matter of time before you decide to ride the party boats for the real drag smokers! :D If that's not yer bag have a look at the six pack charters. When the white seabass start heating up this spring I think you'll REALLY wanna have a go...

Fishslayer