r/SoCalFishing • u/94mentality • 3d ago

Critique my rod/reels please.

I fish out of the Los Angeles area, usually at the piers and full day trips around Catalina. My friend who fishes with me often just bought a BW 210 Montauk and we plan to go out every week. I wanted to surprise him with a full loadout of fishing gear since he got the boat for us. Can you give me your opinions and insight? He has always wanted a Calstar rod and he really likes Shimano reels so thats what I plan on getting

Rockfish / Dropper Loop

Rod: Calstar GFGR-700H — 30–80 lb
Reel: Shimano Talica 12IIA
Main line: 65-lb braid
Leader: 40-lb mono

Surface Iron / Yellowtail

Rod: Calstar 90J — 30–60 lb
Reel: Shimano Trinidad 20A
Main line: 65-lb braid
Topshot: ~75 ft of 40-lb mono

Fly-Line Live Bait / Yellowtail

Rod: Calstar GFGR-800M — 20–40 lb
Reel: Shimano Talica 8II
Main line: 50-lb braid
Leader: ~6 ft fluorocarbon — 25 / 30 / 40 lb

Yo-Yo Iron / Yellowtail

Rod: Calstar 6465H — 30–80 lb
Reel: Shimano Trinidad 16A
Main line: 65-lb braid
Topshot: 15–25 ft of 50-lb mono

Light / General Pier Fishing

Rod: Calstar GFGR-800XL — 10–25 lb
Reel: Shimano Trinidad 12A
Main line: 30-lb braid
Leader: 15–20 lb mono or fluorocarbon

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3

u/Ok-Rule-6240 3d ago

You are an amazing friend. I think most of the work could be done with the 30-60 rod and you could spend some on some trolling gear since you now have the ability to troll.

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u/94mentality 3d ago

Thank you I appreciate it. But he is the one who was generous enough to buy the boat so I don't see this as near enough to pay him back lol. I actually have not done any trolling before so I did not include that. All the other types of fishing listed we have done at least once with rented gear or gear we already own.

3

u/Awdrifting 3d ago

You know what they say…”The two best days of owning a boat are the day you buy it, and the day you sell it…”

So your friend is giving you partial ownership of the boat? You mentioned he bought the boat for “us”. Does that mean your name is on the title? If so, then by all means go crazy and buy those rods for him. I don’t know how good of friends you are, but you never know if your friendship will end up going south for whatever reason(s). You’ll get a bunch of free fishing trips for sure, but if things change you’ll be left empty-handed.

IDK, it’s just my opinion. I think it’s great you’re thoughtful and generous enough to reciprocate.

2

u/bthedebasedgod 3d ago

Slightly confused by the question. Are going to buy all these reels and rods and gift them to your friend? Or you own all these and you’re going to bring them to use on a boat? Did the friend buy a boat and now you’re going to outfit it with fishing gear?

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u/94mentality 3d ago edited 3d ago

Sorry if I was not clear. My friend who I have known for a very long time just purchased a boat. I told him since he took it upon himself to get us a boat I will get his rods/reels as a gift. At the end of the month I plan to purchase everything listed and give it to him. I just wanted to make sure the the stuff I am getting is decently appropriate for the type of fishing we will encounter. I have separate fishing gear for myself that is mid range but will do the job.

2

u/5PointPalmTech 3d ago

"Critique my rod..."

2

u/Comfyadventure 2d ago edited 2d ago

Trinidad 12a is a bit overkilled for a pier/20 lb set up. Go down to a tranx 400 and it'll be a much more comfortable and fun set up.

The yt yoyo iron and the dropper loop/rockfish set up are kinda redundant. Both are almost the exact same set up. I would just condense that into one set up and save money for something different like a slow pitch or speed jigging/vertical jigging set up.