Florida & Georgia - Offshore Bottom Fishing Rods and Reels

Am a newcomer to THT and recently moved back to Florida. Would appreciate some opinions on all-around gear for 65-100' water. Was thinking a 5'6" rod coupled with Penn 320GT2 spooled with 30#. Bought 6'6" Crowder rods with TLD 20s for chasing Kings on the beach.....looking for a similar quality setup for bottom fishing. Thanks in advance.

Might want to consider some good spinning outfits. I have a Saragoosas 10k on a star parallax rod that I use on just about everything. It's got balls e ough for ajs and grouper and you can use it for cobes or anything else that rolls up

The Penn 950 on a star rod is a good choice as well.

5'6 is really short for bottom fishing, i dont know how the "pros" on here fish but we use a 7-8 foot 20-50 or maybe 30-50 with a little bit of play in the top 1/4 . The other reason we use longer rods is on most big center consoles you can fish from the bow if need be and not have to sit on the gunnel.

I'd rethink your bottomfishing rigs. As said, I think 5'6" rods are too short -- they can work, but you'll have to be real aggressive with the "pump & wind" technique and use reels with relatively high gear ratios, certainly 5.0:1 as a minimum.

I'd look at 6'6" or 7' rods rated for 30-50lbs from Crowder -- Rob builds a great rod.

For reels, IMO the BEST bottom fishing reel on the market today is the Penn 113HN "Baja Special". Some folks like Penn's GTI series, and I'm sure they work, but the 113HN is just so much better a reel. I'd also look at the Penn Fathom reels; all metal construction and less money than the Torques star drags.

Good luck

PB

I like about a 6'6 medium heavy Star rod with a Shimano Torium 30 with 65lb Power Pro. We do a lot of bottom fishing in the islands where you gotta get the fish up fast before very large sharks eat them and this combo gets it done for a very reasonable price. Of corse if price wasn't a factor I would go for the Shimano Torsa 30 on a 6'6 Star Plasma rod

Many thanks for the comments - going to stick with Crowder and try their 7' length rods. Still stuck on Penn v Shimano but just need to get out and wear them both out for myself. Star drag v lever drag is my preference. thanks again.

WOW.
Ok we do a lot of bottom digging..

2 distinct styles, fast and up, or torque and slow.

Meaning you need to have a pretty quick stiff rod if you have a high speed reel. You need to have a softer shorter rod if you have a lower gear reel.

What depth water are you focusing on?

sorry saw the depth now.

look a seaker rods.. pricey but the best. i love my saltist 2 speed 50.. very functional.. i use a jigging rod. low gear gag grouper hi speed mango. easy peasy.

i prefer lever drags now.. used to be a star reel guy.

I'm a fan of Avet reels and have paired them with a number of different Pinnacle and Connley rods.

Connley:
http://www.thehulltruth.com/fishing-miscellaneous-items/437997-connley-fishing-rod-special-7-kingfish-light-series.html

I have one of his rods for my mid-weight bottom setup.

Pinnacle:

http://www.thehulltruth.com/fishing-miscellaneous-items/372084-spiral-wrapped-jigging-baitcasting-rods-pinnacle-marine-outfitters-new-40-60-class.html

I have four (2 + 2) of his rods for my light weight (2- Spiral rods, love em) and heavy setup (2- Stand up tuna rods).

Both are THT sponsors and very easy to do biz.

bearohs - thanks for the comments. I go out of Ponce Inlet 2-3 days/month and been bottom fishing last couple months and consistently getting flounder and snapper in the 5lb range in 65 feet of water.......have three weeks in August and we'll try our luck further out in 125' of water......just looking for good reliable/versatile gear that will last while we figure out what the heck we're doing.......used to fish kings in Jax and never did much bottom fishing and trying something new. Any tips on braid v mono and # test for this depth/kind of fishing appreciated as well. Thanks again

bearohs - thanks for the comments. I go out of Ponce Inlet 2-3 days/month and been bottom fishing last couple months and consistently getting flounder and snapper in the 5lb range in 65 feet of water.......have three weeks in August and we'll try our luck further out in 125' of water......just looking for good reliable/versatile gear that will last while we figure out what the heck we're doing.......used to fish kings in Jax and never did much bottom fishing and trying something new. Any tips on braid v mono and # test for this depth/kind of fishing appreciated as well. Thanks again

I love my Penn Torque conventional (20 or 30) size on a jigging rod 80# to 130#. The jigging rod is sensitive enough for me to feel light bites, but has enough guts to tackle some really big grouper and snapper. I also have a Shimano Trinidad narrow special 40 on a 6'6" Star rod and that thing will get anything that swims!

I have a couple Fin-Nor OFC20L's on Pinnacle Marine spiral wrapped rods loaded with 65lb braid that I love for bottom fishing. As for king's, I absolutely love my Avet MXL's on 7' Connley king-lite rods. Those make fishing fun. Also - definitely get a pair of good spinning set-ups

Wow!!! The Fin-Nor OFC20L is a hot looking reel if it holds up to the test of time?! Did you put them on 6'6 or 7' rods? Re spinners I have some old Shimano Baitrunner 6500s that I take great care of and use for spot casting cobia and intermittent with the TLDs with live bait. Thanks for commenting.

OK.
So since we are talking what we enjoy...

I LOVE DIAWA Saltist 50/2 speed.
Good 3:1 low gear ratio to get teh big gags,
great high speed to gain line on a snapper thats coming up really quick (they come off the hook alot of the time by floating and swimming up somehow).. Or if you need to use lighter lead, and longer leaders for the hard mango bites.. All around great reel.

I have a trevala jigging rod. never used it much. But I do have a (forgot right now) jigging rod - crowder thats it.. Much more my style.. Yes they got gets and sensativity.. The only down side i found is that the reel torque wants to turn the left and right on the stick on BIG fish. (20lbs gags)..

Not sure if that is the reel or rod.

The best offshore bottom fisherman I know for grouper is using newell/seaker combos.

BUT for flounder you dont need that much torque, and are in lesser relief.

Id think that a jigging rod might be ok, with a medium to high speed reel.. you wont need to have crazy torque.. Should be fine in my eyes.

Lots of guys are mono only.. I like the fins stretch braid. Great for light lead dropping.

Avet does make some good quality stuff..

No cheap date, but great gear.

Diawa seems to be getting awesome these days. Not sure what happened to Penn, I wont buy anything they make.

I like the toriums for the money.. trinidads are nicer. Good high gear reels. With different line cross functional for pelagic stuff too..

I put those Fin-Nor OFC20L's on 6'6 rods... ordered the reels from Craig aka Killer&Griller for around $180-190 ea. Tough to beat so far.

I have a couple Fin-Nor OFC20L's on Pinnacle Marine spiral wrapped rods loaded with 65lb braid that I love for bottom fishing.

I have the FinNorOFC20 as well on the same jigging rod that I have the Torque 20 on. I just like the Torque a little more, but the FinNor will get it done most of the time. Really good reel for the money.

Sent Craig aka Killer&Griller a PM for reels; Pinnacle Marine Outfitters is closed this week for hols but will chase for Getting closer each day to a decision. Thanks a bunch for the inputs. If anyone has numbers for PG and beyond they want to share and join me on a calm day in August - please shout.

Get the Halifax Sport Fishing Club's fishing chart. You should be able to get it from the Club at their Thursday night meetings, or one of the local fishing shops.

Here's one of the Party Ground numbers PG N.W. 29-10.649 N 80-36.436 W

My set up is a Saltist High Speed 50 spooled with 80lb braid with a 10ft 80lb mono shock leader, terminating with a 6ft 100lb Fluorocarbon leader. I make my own Roberts Wrapped 7ft rods using Calstar blanks

MrPat - thanks for the post! I'll drop you a PM later in the day and see if we can hookup next month.

I have the setup you were proposing for a spare rod on my boat. The Penn 320 gt2 with one of those real thin TC4 jigging rods about 6ft. Its like a Shimano Trevala but it was $80.

Everyone fights over it. Its a real light strong set up and people like the level wind. I just bought for myself the high speed Shimano Tranx with a Shimano Trevala rod 6ft heavy with 80lb braid. It's like a bass real thats been on steriods for about 10 years.

Houlester - thanks for the input. After days of internet searching jigging reels - it has really done my head in with the amount of information and model numbers out there available - may just go back to the bullet proof 320 gt2 for the summer months when I can actually get offshore with the YF.

Nice Grady. Fit and finish from those guys is superb. Our first boat was the 24 Offshore back in the 90s with the Grady Drive and 250Y. Their 316 grade stainless is consistent with the quality throughout their boats. My 2nd boat will most likely be a Canyon 336. It is the bomb. Keep in touch.

If you purchase the Fin-Nor OFC reels you'll need change the drags to carbontex..check out alan tani web site, he has a tutorial on the Fin Nor OFC.

I love my Shimano Calcutta 700 paired with a 6'6" rod for bottom fishing. I have it spooled with 50# braid. I also like the Avets.

You will like that setup. You can get real carried away on these reels and rods. Im starting realize that. Sometimes the tried and true is the way to go.

I do like the Grady. The fit and finish is nice on these boats. The 336 is a beast.

Houlester - thanks for the input. After days of internet searching jigging reels - it has really done my head in with the amount of information and model numbers out there available - may just go back to the bullet proof 320 gt2 for the summer months when I can actually get offshore with the YF.

Nice Grady. Fit and finish from those guys is superb. Our first boat was the 24 Offshore back in the 90s with the Grady Drive and 250Y. Their 316 grade stainless is consistent with the quality throughout their boats. My 2nd boat will most likely be a Canyon 336. It is the bomb. Keep in touch.