New to kayak and west coast fishing - tips/advice? - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

StinkyMatt · 07-10-2014, 08:25 AM

Welcome to California.

You will be surprised how many techniques and gear work just as well out here.

Bass fishing in fresh and salt is similar in many regards. Bring your medium/ light setup to Alamitos and throw whatever jigs, lures, spinners you have......sand spotted and calico bass will hit it.

There are some more specific ways to target fish....Hali's on live bait, fly lining...others...

Do not spend money on gear before you know what to buy. Buy some used gear on here...you will save a bundle and get what is commonly used out here.

One thing that many west coast guys do is buy gear that is way way too big and heavy.

Have fun, post up.

5-20 · 07-10-2014, 08:48 AM

Was kinda in the same yak as you a year ago when i moved here. Had always fished for bass, almost all of the time, really, with the occasional (2-5 x a year) saltwater trip mixed in. It was a little daunting at first walking into all of those saltwater oriented tackle stores around here and feeling a little stupid, not really knowing what i needed or should be looking for.

But the forums are your best friend, initially. Bloodydecks is another site with tons of great info stored.

The people at squidco are great and will help you get some basic gear together.

But yeah, if you're going to start out in the bay, your bass gear will work just fine.

You might want to hold off on buying any type of expensive gear for the bigger fish until you have an idea of what you really need and the type of fishing you're really going to want to do the most. But it seems like a 7' rod rated for 20-50 with a size 30 reel is something that everyone has in their arsenal so thats where you might want to start. You'll be able to do a little of everything with that type of rod/reel.

Welcome to san diego, dude!

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07-10-2014, 08:25 AM	#1
StinkyMatt Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Under a bridge Posts: 2,169	Welcome to California. You will be surprised how many techniques and gear work just as well out here. Bass fishing in fresh and salt is similar in many regards. Bring your medium/ light setup to Alamitos and throw whatever jigs, lures, spinners you have......sand spotted and calico bass will hit it. There are some more specific ways to target fish....Hali's on live bait, fly lining...others... Do not spend money on gear before you know what to buy. Buy some used gear on here...you will save a bundle and get what is commonly used out here. One thing that many west coast guys do is buy gear that is way way too big and heavy. Have fun, post up.

07-10-2014, 08:48 AM	#2
5-20 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 241	Was kinda in the same yak as you a year ago when i moved here. Had always fished for bass, almost all of the time, really, with the occasional (2-5 x a year) saltwater trip mixed in. It was a little daunting at first walking into all of those saltwater oriented tackle stores around here and feeling a little stupid, not really knowing what i needed or should be looking for. But the forums are your best friend, initially. Bloodydecks is another site with tons of great info stored. The people at squidco are great and will help you get some basic gear together. But yeah, if you're going to start out in the bay, your bass gear will work just fine. You might want to hold off on buying any type of expensive gear for the bigger fish until you have an idea of what you really need and the type of fishing you're really going to want to do the most. But it seems like a 7' rod rated for 20-50 with a size 30 reel is something that everyone has in their arsenal so thats where you might want to start. You'll be able to do a little of everything with that type of rod/reel. Welcome to san diego, dude!