re: Rig me up for Fourchon/Offshore

Thread hyjack....

Whats opinions on good coastal rod/reel set up for:

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Red Snapper? Mangrove Snapper? Lemonfish/Cobia/Ling?

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Don't need over kill for bigger stuff and don't really like egg beaters, but need something bigger than inshore red/speck rods.

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But ya there is no trip where gas is not put up for. Unless your going to fricking Narnia.

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We put everything, down to the last sabiki on a tab at the marina. When the boat hits land, everyone pays an equal split. I imagine it's saved a lot of bullshite.

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I also don't include the boat owner when dividing up the fuel, I figure he's paid enough

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I feel the same. But this has caused some panties to wad a time or two. I hate a cheap arse at times like this

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Unless your going to fricking Narnia.

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I lol'd pretty hard

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Whats opinions on good coastal rod/reel set up for:

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Budget?

I would get a jigging rod in the 30-80# class or 50-100# class like these:
Shimano Trevala Freestyle Jigging Rod
PENN® Bluewater Carnage™ Conventional Jigging Rod

Paired with one of the over-sized low-profile baitcasters that are becoming more popular (they can dish out 20# of drag and hold 300 yards of braid):
Daiwa® Lexa® 400 Series Baitcasting Reels
Abu Garcia® Revo® Toro™ NaCl Inshore Baitcasting Reels

Spool it with 50-65# braid and top with fluoro. That'll cover everything swimming that isn't a large tuna or billfish pretty much.

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It's actually hard to find people most of the time, it's not something you can plan 2 weeks in advance. If the weather is good you may get a call one night to leave the next morning for 2 days.

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And I work, which complicates matters on week days, which are generally the best (by sheer odds-there are more of them). But you know, some people are game for adventure and some are not.

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If you were thumbing a ride what would you expect to pitch in on a blue water trip?

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What kind of boat/engines?
How long is the trip?
By bluewater do you mean mostly trolling for billfish, or do you mean chunking for tuna and hitting grass patches for mahi?

Most blue water trips with 4-5 people are going to run you $200-400 just in bait, fuel, gear, ice, food, etc... in my experience.

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big calcuttas or torium reels

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A 400 series calcutta is comparable if you prefer the traditional round look. Shimano makes a large low-profile reel similar to the two I linked but it's $500 and I don't think it is worth twice what the other ones are: Shimano TranX

I would go with a tekota 500 or 600 over a torium if you're not used to dealing with a reel without a levelwind, but toriums are solid reels.

ETA: Pretty much all of the reels can be found on eBay for $30-$50 less than what you'll pay in the store with no tax and free shipping. Rods, however, won't be any cheaper online usually.

I second the tranx, they're badass

Just need to be able to take a Friday off on short notice. Doing an overnighter on sat then having to clean fish/boat Sunday night sucks. That day of recovery before work is crucial.