Non-Fly Dirtbag Saltwater Salmon Gear

speedbird

speedbird

Life of the Party
Thinking about selling some of my dirtbag salmon gear and maybe buying some new ones. For downrigger trolling I have completely switched over to Canadian Knucklebuster setups, Shimano Technium 12-25lbs one with a Daiwa M1 and one with an Islander TR3. Couldn't be happier with both of them.

I'm keeping my 10'6ft Okuma Guide Select Classic and Tekota 300 on the boat as a shotgun diver or mooching rod, but thinking about adding a second mooching rod, and curious to see what those who are really into it like to run. I am especially open to vintage old school gear. I've also wanted to get into jigging for salmon, but was quite surprised to see the completely different choices of setups each fisher uses. Some people like to use Steelhead rods, others have dedicated saltwater jigging setups. I'm curious if a medium Trevala would be overkill
 
When I'm using gear I'm mooching 99% of the time. I prefer a direct drive level wind reel, like a 5000D. Any older level wind can be used if you take the reverse cog out and crank the drag all the way down. I feel like it gives me more control using my thumb. I use longer rods 10'6" to 12'3" with moderate to slow action and light to med-heavy ratings. I use 10-12lb mono and run 2-6ozs. Feel free to PM me if you want anymore info on rod or reel models.
 
Currently running a gloomis salmon series mooching rod in 8'6" and shimano tekota a 400 with line counter. In the past I've used old penn 109 reels. I use 8'6'' rods because I primarily fish alone from a smaller boat. Netting fish is easier for me with the shorter rod.
 
I have like 7 or 8 Travela rods in various power and reel configurations. My favorite salmon jigging one from the mix is the ML. It's the perfect size for it.
 
Pretty much an old school moocher. Rod of choice would be an 8.5 or maybe 9-foot medium weight rod (rated for say 8 to 17# line paired with a Bantam 1000 or 1500 LC. I fish either reel in direct drive mode and for Chinook definitely prefer the 1500 LC (line counter) model.
 
Mooching - Gloomis HSR1025C

Jigging - Gloomis BB904 I built about 30 years ago with an extended foregrip and a hidden reelseat.

I use a Shimano Bantam 50 spooled with 50# powerpro on both setups.
 
I use 10’6 Rainshadow rods with Avet reels for downrigging. Have a couple of Canadian moochers too but newer people don’t take to them too well.

My jigging rod is one of the old Lamiglas Puget Jiggers with a Tekota 500lc. Wish I could find another one somewhere.

Really hoping this next upcoming season is as awesome as it was last year.

SR1
 
I have seriously caught the coho salmon jigging bug now, which means I found myself an excuse to buy more gear. I’m on the hunt for something light enough that a 3lb resi or pink are still fun, but heavy enough for some limited lingcod and rockfish use so I don’t have a one trick pony rod on our boat. Sadly, my beloved Trevala Medium has assumed this fate as I find the action a little heavy for anything below lingcod jigging.

I think I have streamlined my boat gear for next season:
  1. Salmon Troll/Mooch: Canadian mooching duo
  2. Halibut/Tuna trolling: Cheap and Nasty Chinese meatsticks (“Aquaman” 5080) paired with the cheapest reel I can find up to the task for the guests, Daiwa Proteus 8HF/Tekota 800 and Daiwa Eliminator/Penn114H for me and my dad (Or experienced guest).
  3. Tuna/Halibut jigging: Trevala Medium
  4. Lingcod/Rockfish: (Assuming four fishing) 4oz jigheads/live bait setup on an Okuma Connisoir 15-25lb/Sedona 4000 and my new light weight conventional jigger, 8oz jigheads/live bait setup on the Aquamans and Trevala. (I learned last year to think twice before giving a rod I don’t want to loose to an inexperienced guest while jigging - I made the mistake of using the words “let go” to mean “open the drag” and now my ugly stick is at the bottom of the San Juans)
  5. Salmon jigging: New medium light conventional jigging rod paired with the Okuma spinning setup.
  6. 6wt Echo Boost Blue as needed
A couple options have caught my eye - The talavera type J medium light, previously mentioned Trevala Medium Light, but also some more out there ones like the Grappler J and Harrier medium light. There is always a classic 7’6 graphite SST type stick that would probably be ideal for salmon but iffy for rockfish and lingcod
 
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