Would my set up be ok for shore fishing?

[Wldcat10]

Heading down to RP in July. Would like to do some fishing. Shore fishing more than anything. Mostly wanting to catch some fish to fry up for some tacos. Would love to go out on a Panga but not sure if my current set up would be ok?

Spinning Reel w/ 12lb mono is what I'm running right now. Kastmasters & drop shot set up w/1 oz pyramid sinkers & squid is what I plan on using.

- Do I need to upgrade to heavier line? What would you recommend, Fluro, Mono, or Braid?

- What hooks should I use for my drop shot set up?

Any info is greatly appreciated...

 

[audsley]

You will cast much farther with braid than with fluoro or mono. Go with the braid. You need to get it out there.

I'd think 12 lb test would be adequate for anything you're likely to catch from shore around Rocky Point. If you were starting with an empty reel I'd go a little heavier, but 12 lb will probably do.

Avoid sinkers with Kastmasters or you'll be losing lures on the rocks. Kastmasters should be an ounce to an ounce and a half.

For baitfishing, Gamakatsu hooks in about size 4 would be my choice, but I'll defer to others with more experience fishing with bait from shore. I only throw lures when I fish from shore at all.

For corvina, fish Kastmasters early and late when the sun is just above the horizon. Incoming tide is preferred.

On bait you will probably catch small sand bass and possibly triggers if you catch anything at all. But you could get lucky and hit on a school of corvina, although July is a little warm for them that far north.

Rubber minnows with the single hooks on top (Walmart) will bring in a sand bass on almost every cast at La Pinta estuary, but take plenty as the tails get bitten off pretty quickly. If you don't know where La Pinta is, search this web site and find out. Half hour drive from Las Conchas.

And do read the recent thread about sting rays on this forum.

Just had another thought. Do roosterfish every show up around Rocky Point in July? If so, forget the 12 lb test.

 

[Kelney]

One of my shore fishing rigs has 12 lb flouro. It will be sufficient for 70% of what you will catch. The 1/2 - 1 oz lures work great for casting. Obviously the larger the lure the further you can cast. Smaller lures catch more fish for me but they can be of the smaller variety. I have never bait fished from shore as I figured that would be a recipe for getting hung up on the reefs (where the fish typically hang out). I get hung up enough throwing lures. Look at the thread regarding Cheap Fishing Tackle Company and you will see some lures that have worked for me as well as others . If you like to fish a lot, bring 3X the amount of lures you will think you will need because you will not find much if anything in RP once you run out.

Don't be afraid to wade out to your chest (while doing the stingray shuffle) as deeper water can be further out unless it is high tide. You will also get hung up so you have two choices, swim to where you got hung up and once you are on top of the lure it will free itself or just tie on another lure. I swim to the lure myself and I still go through a lot of lures! That being said, your reel will get dunked in the water quite a bit if you wade out in the water. Either bring extra reels or a screwdriver and lube as it will need some maintenance after a few days. Also wear a good water shoe as you will be on a lot of sharp rocks if you are venturing out.

Last summer I tried out for the first time using a float tube and that worked better than I imagined while in las Conchas. It is light, allows you to get out as far as you need to and gives you plenty of exercise! You can message me if you want more details on my set up. There are a surprising amount of grouper hanging out in those rocks just 100-200 yards off shore. That is where I would recommend stepping up to a 20 lb. outfit.

 

[Stuart]

Do roosterfish every show up around Rocky Point in July? If so, forget the 12 lb test.

They do, but they are little tykes. We've caught them when making bait close to shore on sabikis. The el grande models don't seem to come that far north, but can be caught further south at Lobos. Have hooked up some righteous size ones down there.

 

[Mexico Joe]

Heading down to RP in July. Would like to do some fishing. Shore fishing more than anything. Mostly wanting to catch some fish to fry up for some tacos. Would love to go out on a Panga but not sure if my current set up would be ok?

Spinning Reel w/ 12lb mono is what I'm running right now. Kastmasters & drop shot set up w/1 oz pyramid sinkers & squid is what I plan on using.

- Do I need to upgrade to heavier line? What would you recommend, Fluro, Mono, or Braid?

- What hooks should I use for my drop shot set up?

Any info is greatly appreciated...

12lb Mono is ideal IMHO for shore or kayak. I have 3 setups for the yak and only my open face level wind Penn gets the 20 lb for bottom fishing the inshore reefs or rocks in the Cholla Bay area. From shore in July I really wouldnt mess with bottom fishing a drop shot rig unless you're certain that you can drag it through a sandy area without getting hung up. Only time I recommend trying bottom fishing from shore with either a drop shot or looper rig is for Flounder in the winter/spring months. You can use 2/0 bait saver or circle hooks. From shore I also wouldnt recommend pyramid sinkers as they don't get along with rocks. Stick to casting lures like big bass jerk baits and aforementioned Kastmaster's or any similar type metal spoons.

A spin reel on a 7 or 8 ft rod with 12lb mono or similar is perfect. Braid is overkill. You're going to be catching fish in the one pound variety. As mentioned above a float tube or kayak can bring your chances up 10 fold by getting outside of the shore casting distance just a bit further out.

Good luck tight lines.

 

[Wldcat10]

Thanks everyone for the info, I really appreciate it. I will report back hopefully with some success!