Family Vacation? Don’t Leave the Fishing Gear At Home!
Many of the best warm family vacation spots are also great warm water fishing spots and when you go on the family vacation without fishing gear it is like dragging a steak through the pound. We also know that telling loved ones that you will be taking a couple days of valued family vacation time to fish is not always in the cards.
A few years ago, I did an article on how I take the bare bones in fishing gear on my family vacations. This is how, if the opportunity arises, I can sneak away in the mornings before people are up to scratch the fishing itch while not losing too many brownie points.
Gear has changed and got better since that article so it's time for an update!
First off, if you know fishing time is limited, I don’t recommend a fly rod. A spinning rod is the best tool for this situation. This may raise a few eyebrows. I have had a number of purist fly fisherman feel that a spinning rod is cheating. I will leave this debate up to you, but I will say, I love fly fishing, for the most part I will choose fly fishing over gear fishing but for the family vacation scenario or any trip where fishing is not the main focus the spinning rod is king. It is going to maximize both the location and the time you spend away from loved ones.
Rods
If you are a conventional gear angler or a fly fisherman who wants to join me on the dark side what do you need? Depending on your location there are a couple things you want to look for in a 3-4 piece travel rod.
There are three very broad scenarios/techniques you will encounter when fishing in warm waters. The easiest to fit in with the family vacation is the beach casting scenario. Long casts, margaritas and beach chairs are in the mix. Long rods are best for this to get over the surf.
Scenario two is hunting shallow water or rocky beaches where we are casting and retrieving lures. This is my favorite. A medium length rod is best. The last thing you might encounter is boat fishing, where you will want the ability to troll, jig and cast in tight spots. You would ideally have a short stout rod for this application.
With this in mind, we went in search of 3 rods that can do it all but will lean toward one of these scenarios.
#1 The Best All-round Vacation Spinning Rod
If you want an all-round rod that can fish the beach, fish off a boat or hunt flats, something in the 7-8.5 foot realm is perfect. Okuma has nailed the mid-price option with the Okuma Rockaway Travel series. We carry a “do everything 8.6” medium heavy rod and if I had to have just one this would be it. I have an older version of this rod, and it has been around the world a couple times and caught at least 30 different species.
OKUMA ROCKAWAY TRAVEL SURF ROD 863MH
#2 The Best Beach Time Rod
If you know most of your time will be spent hanging on a beach, the above 8.5ft rod will work, however a little longer rod will help get over the surf. For this, we carry the Okuma Rockaway Travel Series in a 10ft Medium heavy. In the perfect beach casting scenario, you might want something a little longer, but we chose the 10ft because if you want to use it as a popping rod or boat rod it is still short enough to work in a pinch.
OKUMA ROCKAWAY TRAVEL SURF ROD 103MH
# 3 The I’m On A Boat Rod
Lastly, if you know that you will be on a boat and may do a combination of trolling and casting, we have the 7ft Okuma Voyager. In the boat, you want something shorter and stronger but again we want versatility. We picked this rod to be heavy enough to troll diving lures, but it comes with an extra softer tip so that casting lures is easier. With the softer tip in a pinch, you could use it to hunt a flat or hang out on the beach.
OKUMA VOYAGER SIGNATURE TRAVEL ROD(includes extra tip)
#4 The Budget Friendly & An Awesome Gift Rod
The above rods have been specially chosen to fill the need of the traveling angler and will last years but as an honorable mention, sometimes it is nice to go to one of these remote destinations, fish for a week and then gift your rod to a young local. For that we carry the 6.6 ugly stick. It’s ugly. It isn’t all that nice to cast but it is bomb-proof, very cost effective and if you lose it or don’t want to travel home with it makes an amazing gift for a young local when your vacation comes to an end. Oh, and it also works! I have caught a bunch of crazy species with this rod.
UGLY STICK GX2 TRAVEL SPINNING ROD
Reels
This is where a BC angler can repurpose salmon gear. Your 4000-5000 size spinning reel will work for this kind of trip. Even a 3000 will get you in the game. Just remember if you are repurposing something from home make sure you rinse it our thoroughly after every day of fishing on vacation. Something about the heat and salt is extra tough on spinning reels.
My rule for all my warm water fishing gear is if I feel salty and need a shower my gear comes with me for that shower.
My go to reel for this application is the Daiwa Saltist or the Daiwa BG MQ in a 4000 or 5000 size. Load these up with 50-80lb Powerpro of suffix braided line and you are ready to fish. Note: You may find guides or locals recommending a much larger spinning reel however when I am traveling, I don’t mind sacrificing some line capacity for weight and convenience.
DAIWA SALTIST MQ SPINNING REEL
Tackle (KISS)
With reels and rods covered, you need to think about tackle. There is a huge selection but for me I like to keep things streamlined. I pick up a medium size plano/flambeau box that I can tuck into my sling pack, and I load it with 4 different styles of lures.
I always have a bait setup that I can cast out, lean back with a beer in a lawn chair and see what comes down the beach. I take 2-4, 3-6 oz dollar weights, a pack of swivels, a bead and 2 sizes of saltwater hooks. One small # 4 hook and one large 3/0 hook. I usually then hit up a local restaurant for squid or shrimp and the setup is ready.
The second lure I bring and easily my favorite is top water popper fishing. These work almost anywhere for barracuda, jacks and a ton of other species. The best method is to cast out and make as much commotion on the water as fast as you can. We have a great selection in the shop, and they are all on sale this week.
RAPALA X-RAP MAGNUM XPLODE (Great Popper Option)
The last thing you will want is sub surface Rapala style lures and some jig style lures for fishing deeper areas off the beach, deep holes on the flats or when out on the boat. We also have a great selection of diving lures, jigs and soft plastic jigs. Finally, do not forget to include wire leaders in your kit. You might have to use them on all set ups if there are toothy critters around.
DAIWA SALT PRO MINNOW (Shallow Water Diver)
RAPALA X-RAP SALTWATER (Shallow Water Diver)
If you have a vacation or a specific fly-fishing warm water trip, come down to the shop. We will show you how to set up the gear. Watching a five-foot barracuda come flying out of the water on a popper is one of the coolest things you will ever see, and it can save a tough day out on the water when the wind is blowing 40 knots.
BERKLEY STEELON WIRE-WOUND LEADERS
See you all in the shop!
Matt Sharp
