Do you guys have any advice on the "ideal" shallow water rockfish setup? I'm talking about fishing in the 100-200 foot range with bait (cut squid, anchovies) and dropper loop. Any rod/reel recommendations? Type/length of rod and stiffness? Does Calstar or Seeker make some suitable rods for this? Is a fast retrieve, level-wind reel important or a large capacity, slower reel better?

Advice much appreciated... my existing Penn rod is too light in the tip and bends too much under 6-8 ounces of weight.

I would get something like a stiff jigstick. Something like a Sabre 585 will work good. And for a reel, a Penn Jigmaster will work fine.

Thanks Yellow fever... Anybody else have any advice? Come on, I know you guys are full of good info. Hey, I know you all have salmon, white seabass, calico bass, etc. on the brain but the rockfish are still the mainstay right now...

Hey dude, I'm not ashamed to like a little shallow water rock fishing. If I'm in less than 150 feet or if it's really calm or the boat is anchored, I like to just use my calico bass rods and 1 to 2oz leadheads with 5" swimbaits. Catches rockfish like crazy! Light line in this case is better than heavy. I use 16 mostly.
If you're just out to fill the sacks I'd just use a heavy short 7 foot rod. Noting too fancy. Jigmaster is a great reel for cheap. I don't have any particular recommendations, I'd just use what you have.

a penn Jigmaster 500. And a m/h action saber rod.

I don't judge by feet, but by weight used:

1-8oz of weight: 700XL w/ CT400 15#
8-16oz of weight: 800L w/ GS535 25#

Leif

I know you said 100-200' but I'll run the gammet(sp?) for you.
Under 100', on a private boat, for fun, I use my Flippin stick with a Abu 6500c-3, 10-15# line 1/2-2oz jigheads and any kind of plastic thats handy and 3-6"(WK-AA's since they have my initials on 'em).
100-200', on a private boat for meat and fun, I use 2200 7'6" rod, a Jigmaster 500, 20-30# line and Diamond or hex bars or a Ding-a-Ling in the 4-8oz range.
200+', on a cattle boat, for meat, I use a 870 6' rod and a 4or6/0 Senator loaded with 40-60# line, a shrimp-fly, hoochie, or barehook/bait gangion with a 8oz-3# bar or Ding-a-Ling for weight and Jackpot fish.

Tight lines,
Wade

PS A Ding-a-Ling is a flattened Torpedo sinker painted black, blue, white, or orange with a split-ring attaching a 2-8/0 hook with a Scampy threaded on that is almost as long as the FLATTENED sinker.

What I use off my kayak in depths up to 500' is my quantum iron reel filled with 300yds of 14# fireline. The rod is relatively unimportant, but I generally use something with rollers since the superlines have so much friction with regular guides. With that rig, I generally fish 2oz and depths of around 270' for the vermillions in Scripps Canyon. It's amazing how well you can feel the bites with that rig even when you're down a few hundred feet.

Whatever rig you choose, seriously consider using some type of superline on the reel. It'll let you fish lighter weights and feel much more pronounced bites. Makes the rockfishing a lot more fun.

TL,
Adam