Tackle Basics

What kind of tackle to I need to fish La Paz. Right behind $$ and what kind of beer we supply, this is the question most often asked us when people book trips. While you could spend $20K and not have everything that could be used down here, many of our best fishermen travel light, keep it simple, and still catch world record fish. In this article it is my intention to outline the basic tackle requirements for fishing down here. We have tackle available, but somewhere in your development as a fisherman you will want to have your own. Trusted equipment that you are familiar with the operation and maintenance of is part of being prepared to catch the next fish, quite possibly the largest of your life.

REELS

Fishing reels have gone through rapid development in the last few years, with new technology and materials being used to make them lighter, stronger, and more expensive. I see reels every week that cost more than my first three cars put together, and while I am often envious, I also know that some of our biggest fish are caught on good ol’ standby equipment, well maintained and handled by people that have taken the time learn to use them well. The strongest, most maintainable, and reliable reels around are in my opinion the Penn 113H and Penn 114H. The 113H, or 4/0 reel, is a real “go to” reel. Simply loaded with 40lb. line and clamped onto the right rod they are capable of catching 80% of the fish that we have here. For the other 20%, requiring a larger reel with more line capacity, the Penn 114H, or 6/0 reels, loaded with 60lb. line will do the job for a fair price. These reels have been standards for years, and there are many used ones on ebay, at your local reel repair shop, or at garage sales. Keeping these maintained, clean, salt free, and properly lubricated is the key to having no worries for many years. I will go at length into the fancier equipment available, and thoughts there on, in subsequent articles, but for now, that’s enough reel to handle the fish here.

RODS

Matching these two reels with rods is pretty easy. You need a 7 ft. long rod, live bait action, rated for line 30-60 pounds to couple with the 4/0, and a 5 ½-6 foot rod with roller guides at least in the first (stripper guide) and last (tiptop) positions for the 6/0. This heavier rod should be rated 50-100 or so. Different makers rating for line vary, but my experience down here has shown me that the line weight that you are using should be a in the bottom 1/3 or so of the rod rating. The fish down here require a lot of lifting, and going to light on the rod will just make it harder on you. I would opt for buying the rod new, and the big catalog outlets have the best prices, while your local tackle store will allow you the opportunity to “try out” the rod, at least by trying to lift a salesman or two.

TERMINAL TACKLE

Line -- Probably the area of tackle that has moved the furthest the fastest over the last few years. Rule #Only: DO NOT BUY BARGAIN LINE. I talk to guys every year that spend $2000 on a trip and many times that on tackle and then brag about finding 1000 yard of FisheeFine line for $3.49. Your line is about the most important part of your connection to the fish. There are many fine quality lines, buy some, and then change it frequently, depending on use, at least once a year. We used to champion the Chameleon Green Maxima down here because it was the best at catching the very line shy pargo, and it is very good line. With the invention of fluorocarbon line we have changed. Maxima is not a very customer responsive group, in fact at a tackle show I had the president of the company tell me that he wasn’t interested in hearing about my difficulties in dealing as a customer with his company. On top of that it is very expensive. Those negatives were worth dealing with when it was the line that worked best (See Rule #ONLY). With the advent of fluorocarbon leaders we can now not only use something that is superior to Maxima in it’s fish catching ability, but it allow us to use one of the other hi quality lines that doesn’t have the high price and “I don’t care” baggage. At Fishermen’s Fleet we recommend Izorline. It is made and sold by guys who fish, and guys who care. It is a premium quality line at a fair price. That coupled with a couple of yards of the proper caliber Seaguard fluorocarbon as a leader (carry several different sizes between 30 and 80 pound in 25 yard spools) and you have a superior fishing tool set, and also get to deal with good guys at a fair price. Touchdown.

Lures -- You don’t need to buy every lure at the store. Do your best to select the ones that catch fish as well as fishermen. As far as lures go down here, it depends on what season you are coming but if you have a box with

--3 or 4 each of the Rapala CD14 and CD18 in your favorite colors

-- A couple of 7” and one 10” marlin jigs rigged by someone who knows how. Colors are absolutely up to you, many people say that fish can’t even discern the difference, but that takes half the fun out of it.

Hooks -- You can go fancy here too, with the designer hooks by companies with lots of vowels in the name, or you can go with Mustad #94151. These are good solid hooks that you can buy very reasonably in boxes of 50 or 100. They are not quite as sharp “out of the box” as the boutique hooks so spend a buck on a pocketful of emery boards and touch up each hook before you tie it on. The hook size depends on the bait to be used, but if you have #1, #1/0, #3/0, #5/0 and #9/0 with more of the smaller sizes than of the larger you will be set for anything we do.

Other doodads -- You should carry some good quality ball bearing snap swivels, buy them at twice the rating of the line you plan on using, just a small handful. We occasionally use rubber core sinkers, a dozen of them in ¼ ounce and ½ ounce and you’ll be covered.

Accessories -- There are a few other things that will make your fishing more efficient and comfortable. You should have a good pair of needle nose pliers. What about the $250 titanium plated molybdenum reinforced floating diamond jawed pliers that Kit uses? Forget it, you’re gonna lose them anyway. Buy good quality shop tools, squirt ‘em with WD40, keep ‘em clean and rust free, maybe whip the handles for better hand traction. They will get lost or tweaked in a year, then buy some more. You’ll be way ahead. A good pair of cutters is also important for cutting mono. The cutting surfaces on your needle nose will be the first part on them that fails. Trimming your knots makes a difference. Use dikes or a fingernail cutter. You will need a rod belt. Unless you are fishing big marlin or big tuna you don’t need the Howard Hada autograph model fishing bondage suit. Get a good middle size belt from one of the mail order catalog outfits and put your name on it. I often use a rubber knobby thing that fits on the butt of the rod in lieu of a belt on fish under 100 pounds. I like it because it’s easy, cheap, and because it’s called a “ButtHead”. I like that.

YEAH, BUT WHAT ABOUT…..

Cirlce hooks, knife jigs, spreader bars, lever drag reels, custom built rods, spectra line, the “right” knots, Gortex hats, Marsh Bierman, acid rod guide alignment, crimping, upgraded hooks, custom rigging of marlin jigs, light weight roller guides, windon leaders, outriggers, downriggers, upriggers, gaffs and gaffing, bait rigs, gloves, high speed reels, sun glasses, Randys’ Mirrorlures, lure spreads, short stroking, Freds’ Hebrew Hammer, 2 speed reels, high priced Hawaiian lures, bondage belts, IGFA rules, catch and release, Blue Lizard, custom reel hot rodding, scorpion hooks, teasers, $1000 spinning reels and things I cannot think of right now? Well, it shouldn’t surprise you that I’ve got opinions and even some experience with each of these (except Marsha), and I’m looking forward to sharing both of these with you in future pieces, but we had to get started first. Stay tuned.