Gear upgrade

[spangler15]

I am new to this site and new to kayak saltwater fishing. I have fished for freshwater bass for a long time and so all of my tackle is on the lighter side. Should I upgrade to heavier tackle for striper fishing? Looking at the Abu Garcia Ambassador Striper Special reel. I know I can handle 5-7 lb fish on current tackle but i'm hoping for something larger.

[Redfish12]

Welcome to snaggedline! For the most part you'll be fine with your bass tackle, just make sure to rinse thoroughly after fishing the salt. Stripers can be caught on many of the same lures as LMB and lures like sassy shads and flukes are especially productive. If you want to troll heavier swimshads/bucktails then I would suggest going to something like a MH conventional rod rated to 2oz lures and a conventional reel like an Abu 6500 or 5500. Also, save your money, for the most part the striper special is just a regular Abu with a fancy sticker on the sideplate!

[spangler15]

Thanks for response. Part of my concern is that bass gear has much lighter drag and slower retrieve speed. Also smaller line capacity. For now I will try with the gear that I have and maybe put a new reel on my x-mas list.

[Redfish12]

Hmmm, give me an example? Here's one of my most used combo - Penn Sargus 2000 with 10lb braid & a 6'6" M fast rod rated 6-12lb. Works on stripers/specs/perch/etc

[spangler15]

Penn 2000 has max 10lbs force before it reaches a stop position.
line capacity = 125/8
Abu Striper 15-30lbs resistance
line capacity = 275/14
I don't know all of the stats I can only go by what i'm told by sales people and you know what that can be worth.
I asked this question so that I could educate myself by people with on the water experience like yourself. I do have a very nice saltwater spinning rig (Fin Nor Offshore reel. w/Gloomis 7ft med. But considering an upgrade to my small baitcasters.

[daolai]

When I started kayak fishing I bought 5000 sized reels and then slowly downsized to now 3000/2000 sized reels (Penn Fierce 3000) with 20lb braid and have caught stripers and blues up to 36". The key is to go with a saltwater rated reel and rinse afterwards. The max drag on the Penn's are sufficient while I have heard other reels have higher max drag haven't had an issue with drag. Hope that helps and see you on the water.

[Memory Maker]

Stripers are not that strong fighters .......... I've landed fish to 40" on a Stradic 2500 with no problem from a boat ....... The yak is the drag when you fish from a yak. Bass fishing tackle especially mh to h rods are fine.

[Cowpokey]

When I started kayak fishing I bought 5000 sized reels and then slowly downsized to now 3000/2000 sized reels (Penn Fierce 3000) with 20lb braid and have caught stripers and blues up to 36". The key is to go with a saltwater rated reel and rinse afterwards. The max drag on the Penn's are sufficient while I have heard other reels have higher max drag haven't had an issue with drag. Hope that helps and see you on the water.

I didn't start that big (5000 size), but agree completely with 3000 size reels and 20lbs braid. I've only landed striper to 28" so far; but fought much stronger bay tourists* on the same gear and brought them to the side of the kayak after they drug me around for a bit.

*Cow Nose Ray**

**Still behind Dao; I've only unhooked 3 at the side of the kayak in one trip...to his 4 in one day. We are even on breaking a rod doing the same.

[scott taylor]

I appreciate Memory Maker's point, "The yak is the drag when you fish from a yak".....after watching Raptor reel in fish I have gone to getting my rod horizontal (parralel to the H20) and perpendicular to my yak, as soon as I am convinced that I have a nice fish on.... then, rather than winding in, I am looking to transfer the load of the fish to my kayak. When the fish moves forward or backwards, he or she is having to twist the kayak in the water. I have a skeg that is resisting that turning moment. So the kayak is truly the drag. Several of the guys I fish with are catching big fish on small tackle and still releasing fish that are plenty green. To continue this, talk to Col. Bange about catching on his 8wt. The reels on flyrods are almost window dressing.....

Good luck in sorting out your tackle...
ST

[spangler15]

Thank you everyone. I certainly feel like I accomplished my goal. I wanted info and you guys gave to me. I am going to work with my bass gear for awhile. I'll let you know how it goes.

[sega]

Stripers are not that strong fighters .......... I've landed fish to 40" on a Stradic 2500 with no problem from a boat ....... The yak is the drag when you fish from a yak. Bass fishing tackle especially mh to h rods are fine.

^^^ this. I read somewhere that there is no point in using gear rated for over 30lbs in a kayak. Said with the kayak dragging around you couldn't apply more than 30lbs unless you were anchored tight, and the fish was going directly underneath the boat.

Idk about all the specifics but it would seem to make sense. There's a guy on YouTube that catches tarpon and all sorts of sharks with a jigmaster loaded with 30lb BBG.


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[Yak Fish]

Stripers are not that strong fighters ..........

Yeah, I'm gonna have to disagree on this one. Sorry Rick :-) A 40-50" fish fights like a <insert something here that fights hard>
Otherwise I agree that your bass stuff will probably be just fine as long as your rod has some backbone.

[Memory Maker]

Yeah, I'm gonna have to disagree on this one. Sorry Rick :-) A 40-50" fish fights like a <insert something here that fights hard>
Otherwise I agree that your bass stuff will probably be just fine as long as your rod has some backbone.

Sorry Alan ......... I haven't landed a 50" Striper but a blue, tuna, tarpon and a ton of other fish of equal weight will fight a ton harder than a Striper .......... You wouldn't land a 40" bluefish etc on bass tackle. They fight but nowhere close to the others ....... Pound for pound

[Cowpokey]

Sorry Alan ......... I haven't landed a 50" Striper but a blue, tuna, tarpon and a ton of other fish of equal weight will fight a ton harder than a Striper .......... You wouldn't land a 40" bluefish etc on bass tackle. They fight but nowhere close to the others ....... Pound for pound

I agree, mostly, with /\

Any fish with a forked tail would drag a fan tailed fish (of the same weight/size) to it's death, if a string were to connect them "tail to tail".

A very strong fish can be landed with very light tackle. That makes a great story for the angler; the fish...not so much.

[Yak Fish]

A tuna may fight harder, but a striper still fights hard. It doesn't just roll over and let you reel it in.