[GTR]

Hi Folk,

i m about to get on board my first 15 day trip with RR3 at the end of this month. i think i got tons of stuff to buy. Where should i go? i ve seen most stuff online but when it comes to the real thing, i ve never even seen them before. pls recommend me a few shops in SD and LA that i should go.

btw, pls dont tell me to go to super fancy shop with overprice item.

cheers,

Ben

[divegod1]

If your coming into LAX, you have Baja Tackle 15 minutes down the 405 and they will match anybody I mean anybodys price.
As far as the big 50-80 series stuff call the boat tell em what you need and they will normally rent it to you and you can save the bucks.

[The Fish Seeker]

FishMore Tackle Center in Vista - 5 miles east of the 5 on Hwy 78, South on Vista Village Dr right into the parking lot. Mike is a veteren long ranger - Tackle is custom and prices are great.

[tackle junkie]

Check out Baja Fish Gear in Lomita, 310 517-9897.

[titan05]

The guys at Baja Fish Gear are right on and they go the extra mile for you.

When you hit San Diego.......you need to stop by Noahs in Kearney Mesa.

Kevan is a really good guy and knows his stuff....if Curt is there....it's a bonus.

If you have time.....Squidco....you won't be sorry.

Up in Oceanside, off the I-5 at O'side Harbor......Kens Custom Reels.........awesome. Ask him to show you the "Backwrapped" uni knot.

Have fun

[Ready4TheYellow]

Ben if you're in the LA area stop by and see us at Baja Fish Gear. 310-517-9897
I have everything you need in stock...

If in SD..Noahs Tackle would be the second best stop...

[Old_Truline_Guy]

Hey Ben, congrats on your first 15-day trip. All of the above tackle stores are good recomendations. Ive been fishing on the Rooster series of boats since 1975 and if I knew then what I know now I wouldn't buy ANYTHING for my first 15-day trip. Make some phone calls, see who is sponsoring the trip. You might find 50 bitchin Accurates all spectra'd up just for the asking. Assuming you have all your rods and reels together, then that's different. In that case you need some terminal gear. If you don't have your rods and reels together I'd go with nothing and use the boats tackle. Make sure you call them in advance, I'd ask to talk to Andy and let him tell you what to bring. That being said I swear you can go with nothing, have the crew rig you up, use thier trolling gear, kite outfit, hell that crew is so good they will even help you find that hot bait, hook him for you cast out all you have to do is show up and talk to them.

P.S. On the Rooster they like you to use ringed Super Mutu hooks. Call Guy at ringedhooks.com he will telll you the right hooks and won't steer you wrong, nice man and his wife is a sweetheart.

Good luck, Jeff

[titan05]

Originally Posted by Old_Truline_Guy

Hey Ben, congrats on your first 15-day trip. All of the above tackle stores are good recomendations. Ive been fishing on the Rooster series of boats since 1975 and if I knew then what I know now I wouldn't buy ANYTHING for my first 15-day trip. Make some phone calls, see who is sponsoring the trip. You might find 50 bitchin Accurates all spectra'd up just for the asking. Assuming you have all your rods and reels together, then that's different. In that case you need some terminal gear. If you don't have your rods and reels together I'd go with nothing and use the boats tackle. Make sure you call them in advance, I'd ask to talk to Andy and let him tell you what to bring. That being said I swear you can go with nothing, have the crew rig you up, use thier trolling gear, kite outfit, hell that crew is so good they will even help you find that hot bait, hook him for you cast out all you have to do is show up and talk to them.

P.S. On the Rooster they like you to use ringed Super Mutu hooks. Call Guy at ringedhooks.com he will telll you the right hooks and won't steer you wrong, nice man and his wife is a sweetheart.

Good luck, Jeff

Now that is an endorsement of a boat if I have ever heard one.

BTW- Steve....that Seeker is smoking...Thank you

[Texastuna]

Ben, I will be on the trip. As you know Accurate brings gear on this trip. If you need info about the the trip let me know.

[Fishpuppet2]

Not much more to say here other than Good Luck bro !

[dennykrb]

You should also check out YO'S Tacckle in Gardena. one of the pioneers of Long Range fishing. Plus a lot of experienced anglers hang out there all the time .....Martin and Jimmy have been there and done that on many trips....Good Luck....Denny

[lasparky11]

Save your money, use the tackle on the boat! Try out there tackle see what works for you. Ask some of the people on board if you can try there's. I spent a lot of money on tackle I never used.

[brn2fis]

What you need to do is 1st tell us what you have? If you have nothing call the Boat and reserve a Tackle Package. They have everything you will need for a minimal charge. And remember what ever you do have a great time. Get Some

[Captn John]

I second Yo's Tackle. I would say Jimmy and Martin are experts LR. Tell them you need terminal tackle and this is your first trip. When you look around the store you will pick up on what I'm saying. No nonsence stuff the kind of equipment that glitzes and glows and catches more fisherman than fish. They will set you up with what you need from loading up with spectra to weights. Don't forget a squid jig and Sibuki's for catching bait. One thing they have that I have not seen in any other store that is a must. A short sleeved sweat shirt. Great for cold mornings and evenings for dipping into the bait tank and not coming out with dripping wet long sleeves. Hope you come back a member of the 200 pound club. I proudly have that moniker on the window of my pick up truck.

[iconpyro]

Originally Posted by Captn John

I second Yo's Tackle. I would say Jimmy and Martin are experts LR. Tell them you need terminal tackle and this is your first trip. When you look around the store you will pick up on what I'm saying. No nonsence stuff the kind of equipment that glitzes and glows and catches more fisherman than fish. They will set you up with what you need from loading up with spectra to weights. Don't forget a squid jig and Sibuki's for catching bait. One thing they have that I have not seen in any other store that is a must. A short sleeved sweat shirt. Great for cold mornings and evenings for dipping into the bait tank and not coming out with dripping wet long sleeves. Hope you come back a member of the 200 pound club. I proudly have that moniker on the window of my pick up truck.

Honestly these guys have been doing it for so long they will give you advice on what to and not to buy. I have two heavy duty cow rods being made by Martin and should get them at the end of the month. I don't know how much you intend to spend on terminal tackle. If you are going for variety and have a huge budget, you can go to other places like Noah's, Longfin and pick up stuff. But if you are looking for advice and no nonsense basics go to YO's. Their prices are a buck or two more expensive, I think its because the shop makes a majority of money on custom rods. If you do end up getting into this thing, Martin makes THE TOP NOTCH RODS... He puts his reputation them. Nuff said.

[fisherman103]

Everyone said it so just plan on using the Accurate gear Its all in great shape with new line. I will see you on the boat my first June Heat. Was just down on the boat today and the now have that cushioned deck its really cool no mats. Boats looking great. See you on Sat. oh yeah bring lots of hooks sounds like the sharks are real bad.
Archie

[medunn16]

I love Baja Fish Gear!

But Martin is the man and will hand you his own gear if you need it!

Ed's pretty much the same!

[REK]

Originally Posted by iconpyro

Honestly these guys have been doing it for so long they will give you advice on what to and not to buy. I have two heavy duty cow rods being made by Martin and should get them at the end of the month. I don't know how much you intend to spend on terminal tackle. If you are going for variety and have a huge budget, you can go to other places like Noah's, Longfin and pick up stuff. But if you are looking for advice and no nonsense basics go to YO's. Their prices are a buck or two more expensive, I think its because the shop makes a majority of money on custom rods. If you do end up getting into this thing, Martin makes THE TOP NOTCH RODS... He puts his reputation them. Nuff said.

Lot of R&D by the best of the best IMO.

[fishordie]

Ben,

You are going on your first 15 with Accurate. You chose well grasshopper. Contact Accurate in Corona, Ca. and find out who will be the charter master for them if it is not already posted on the RR web page. Tell him what you have as far as tackle and see how much Accurate will be bringing. Reserve some stuff from the boat as well once you find out from Accurate how much stuff they are bringing (Which is usually tons). I would also ask the Charter Master if he know most of the folks on the boat to see if most of them have their own gear. Usually folks going on this long a trip already have a bunch of gear. If this is the case you will have much of the Accurate stuff for yourself. Contact the boat as to what top shots you might need or if they will have plenty on the boat, made by the crew. I also would recommend you bringing some Flouro as on your ride down south you will have plenty of time to learn how to make your own top shots. If you want to make mono top shots they will have plenty on the boat. Most of the folks are more than happy to teach you how.

You have a great opportunity to try out some of the very best equipment on the market (Accurates) with no cost to you. The boat will also have some other manufacturer's equipment so you can judge for yourself what is the best gear for you.
As others have stated, it is so easy to buy lots of stuff you will never use and for Long Range that can get expensive. Once you go on an ultra long range trip you will want to go again and this way you can purchase your own gear with the knowledge of how to set up the fore and aft grips at the right distances for the type of fishing (Rail or harness) you will be doing. Ask tons of questions so you will know what to buy for your next trip. Also start looking at color combinations for the threading on the rods. Its great to have your own custom colors so you can recognize your gear while they are in the racks. Your rod builder will also put your name and other information on the rods you can request. You may also find the use of 3M Cold shrink on foregrips work better than the standard hypalon normally found on factory wrapped rods. Looking at how some experience Long Rangers are setting up their rods will help you a ton for your future purchases.

Bring a small tape measure with you to see how long the center or end of the reel seat is in relation to the butt of the rod. Measure the length of the foregrip which works best for you especially if you like rail rodding which I am sure you will. Write down these lengths for the Rods you find work best for you so you can give any of the noted rod builders the custom lengths.

For hooks and jigs I would contact Guy and Annette at Ringedhooks.com (on the net) Not only will they hook you up with all the information on hooks you will need but they can provide you Spanyid Raider Jigs, which are some of the best for Tuna and more importantly Wahoo. Guy will give you the low down on anything you want to know for long range. Additionally, if you are coming into L.A. they are on the way down to San Diego. I would also recommend a few pairs of their fishing gloves which are cheap for around 4 dollars and last for many days. Its way better than putting on tape every day, several times a day. If you are unsure of your hand size buy several in sizes you think you might need as these are cheap insurance against cuts which will ache for days and days. I buy one size smaller than a normal glove you might use but again I would purchase several pairs.

I do not doubt many folks will have Hollow spectra on the boat for you to learn how to do Hollow connections, loops and splices. Make sure you learn all the cool stuff in that regard as I am sure there will be many folks willing to teach you. If they offer, take them up on it.

When you talk with the boat find out if they have plenty of lead on the boat. I am sure they probably do so you don't need to worry about that.

I would suggest a Braid, auto ratcheting, crimping tool for attaching line to hooks on the bigger gauge lines. You will need to purchase the appropriate sleeves as well. These can be purchased at the landing though Fisherman's landing next door to where the RR is moored is better equipped. (I am not sure if they carry the Braid ratcheting tool but you can call the Fisherman's Landing tackle shop). If you have a day or two before you need to be at the landing the shops noted in the other threads are all great and will save you a few bucks over the landing. If you do buy the Braid crimping tool make sure the store shows you how to use them and what slots to use for what size sleeve. You will probably be crimping everything over 80 pound test and if you are fishing for big tuna most of the line you will be using will be in the 135 pound range so get the appropriate sleeves. Your Kite rigs can be purchased from the boat.

I would purchase a Pull gauge that will measure up to 50 or a hundred pounds. It should have a sliding indicator to show what your pull tests at. Shimano makes a good one. With this you can practice your knots and crimping connections. Your hook to line connection is one of the most important things you will need to practice before getting to the fishing grounds. This pull gauge will also be used to setup and check drag settings. Again, others on the boat will show you how.

Im sure you have a ton of questions. You are welcome to P.M. me and I will try and answer any questions you may have over the phone if you choose.

One other note, only go to shops that specialize in long range. There are many shops but only a few really know what they are talking about in this regard. The ones noted in the other threads are good ones. Also, as someone else noted, Buying stuff cheap is not the same as buying the right stuff unless it is good used equipment.

Best of luck

Jamie

[Newportlocal]

Baja Fish Gear, Mako Matt's Marine, Longfin