In this video I break down my top 5 favorite ways to fish for yellowtail here in Southern California. Fly line, Yoyo/Heavy iron, Butterfly & Vertical jigs, Stick baits, and Surface irons! If you found this video helpful and have any other recommendations on videos for me to cover in the future, please let me know in the comments below! Thanks for watching! Please Subscribe and Like the Video! Follow me on Instagram: @RaySharifi instagram.com/raysharifi?igshid=k9y8mop58kc0
Love my SoCal fishery! I wish FishHub was still around. That was my buddy's company and I loved rocking his merch! Still do, but not as much because id be bummed if it ripped or stained now
I agree surface iron fishing for yellow tell about as much fun as you can have fishing most of the time that's all I'll do when there's yellowtail around older guy been doing this a long time meant was my go-to color for so many years the last few years it changed for me scrambled eggs all the way
I have noticed that scrambled egg and blue/white jigs trigger some bigger bites on some days! I know a lot of people think “color doesn’t matter”, but I’ve seen plenty of times when color definitely plays a roll!
Really glad you found this helpful! I will be dropping a tuna break down video as well this week, probably Wednesday or Thursday so keep an eye out for that one!
Thanks for the explanation… I love coming over to SD to fish, and it gets pretty confusing for an AZ desert dweller to understand all the differences in irons. Just got an Axis 909HJ/Saltist 35H combo..put straight 50 mono to start…but really psyched to try irons this year
Hope you get to break it in soon! Glad this video helped you out! I’m gonna try to do another one here soon, hopefully a little more info in that one as well
Phoenix fishing supply on N 16th. 4810 N 16th St, Phoenix, AZ. Great owner. Amazing west coast salt water gear. They have more salt water (along with fresh water) tackle than the shop I go to in Oceanside.
DH -- this is your best video to date. Great info & advice. I am East Coast from Montauk, Long Island, but hope someday to fish your side of the continent. Suggestion: please get some hats / T-shirts / and Dirty Hooker LOGO rods on your Home Page. You would sell-out and keep your subscribers happy. You must know local rod builders that will gladly build and supply you with custom LOGO rods. Start with 1 stick 20 - 40 lbs. surface iron 8' 6" w/ best quality components. Set your price reasonable, enough to cover costs, and make enough profit so that you can expand and grow.
Thanks for the kind words and support brotha, much appreciated! I don’t think I would be able to do rods for profit unless I personally wrapped them myself, but I am looking into hopefully dropping a clothing company soon. Need to do some more research and figure some things out before pulling the trigger, but hopefully soon!
@@Clambelly that would literally be a dream come true! Really trying to post as much as possible lately to do my best to make it happen. 1-2 videos a week, a 3rd if I have time for it. Hardest part for me rn is getting the content lol. Fishing hasn’t been the best for me lately, really tough putting in these hours and not getting any footage out of it
I’ve been trying to get a yellowtail on a swimbait for about a year now. My only issue is when they boil I always want to chuck a jig lol. But I do know it’s very affective for a lot of people!
I chartered a boat out of Oceanside for a full day trip at the end of August and I have a lot of 1st timers. I was looking for a video to share with the same fishing techniques as mine. I’m still doing a hands on class for the group prior to. I have a flyline knot that’s devastating to fish.
@@HM-ji7le well hopefully this video helps with the first timers. Most the boats out there do a little seminar on the way out to the grounds, so that should be helpful too. Hope you guys get on them! Fishing is really good lately
I’ll try my best to explain that a little bit better in my next one. Gonna do a tuna video hopefully next week. And thank you for the support! Really appreciate it
Sick video dude! You sorta skipped over fishing a dropper loop but a) that’s not people’s preferred way to catch yellows and b) you could probably just use the heavy setup 🤙🏽
Dropper loop is definitely an open effective way when fishing is slow. Definitely would wanna use the same set up for yo-yos to fish a dropper loop, since your bait is already positioned just a few feet from the rocks. So a heavy set up with heavy line will be able to pull the fish up away from the structure a bit better
It’s just a different fishery here on the west coast. Spinning reels will work fine for the right application, but as far as surface irons, yo-yos, and fly line, all 3 of those are bust on open face conventional reels
I was thinking about doing another video on my favorite knots actually! But until I get around to that, Braid to mono knot- RP knot Mono to flouro knot- uni to uni knot Hooks and lures- San Diego jam knot
For Tuna in the East I have begun to love spinning reels for jigging. Something about the way I have brute power over very radical cadences (vertical). I do love my baitcasting as well, limited to Lexa300 bottom fishing rig.
The spinning reels these days do put off a crazy amount of drag! Only thing that scares me with them though is if you hook a bigger tuna, you can’t use the rail on a spinner
@@williampadilla8384 for California yellowtail, I use the set ups listed in this video. For bluefin tuna, I use the set ups and tackle that I walk you through in this link czcams.com/video/jQW2HLkMsmY/video.html
What baitcaster reel do you use for jigging? You mentioned you like it like a heavy bass set up. What size line do you use on that reel and what’s the weight rated for max drag? I only have one rod/reel for tuna for mainly fly line but would like one for jigging/yogi as well
Hey man great vid, learning alot from you. If i could have two must have setups for taking with me on yellowtail trips what do you think they would be? Im thinking a live bait combo and a surface iron combo? Thanks again bro, love the vids.
Really appreciate the feedback and support thank you! If there were 2 must haves over anything else, 1, would definitely be a Fly line set up 2, either surface iron or yoyo. Yoyo might be a little more beneficial so that you can have 1 set up for the fish on surface and 1 for when they’re down low. But if you wanna go, 1 fly line set up and 1 surface iron set up, that’s probably how I would do it. I just like the visual surface fishing too much to not be casting at something
Spinning reels are fine for certain styles of fishing. Like a bait runner style spinning reel would work for fly line. Other than that, casting jerkbaits would be fine, and slowpitch set ups also work well with spinning. As far as casting surface irons and working yo-yos, I do think that conventional is alittle more ideal for getting the proper cadence to work the lure more effectively
Really cool tips and video - I have most of the rigs you discussed - I love the Lexa-400 with an Okuma 8’0 rod to throw some of finesse baits - have you tried some of the soft baits that have come out? I have some and looking forward to trying them when I am at Cedros Island this summer as well as offshore and at the islands. Thanks for making the video.
Really glad this video was able to help you out. When you say soft baits, do you mean the new surface irons by shimano and nomad? Or do you mean bigger swimbaits?
@@michaelniemiec5235 oh okay so swimbaits, no never used them for yellowtail, but definitely very effective for bass! Calicos, sand bass, and spotties will all eat soft plastics
I'm Eastcoast intrigued on Westcoast fishery. Still haven't figured flying 8'-10' rod in air, recommend a 2-3 day charter, coming into San deigo in May 23, I hv access to private boats but don't know where to fish, advise please (seeking halibut, calico, sheepshead, lingcod, yellowtail) this is my 1st trip west. Sounds like 3 setups. Now to work on casting komodo 471a 100' and
If you’re hoping for a shot at all of those fish, might be worth looking into either the Fury or Thunderbird out of Long Beach County, as they’ll most likely stick around the island fishery unless the bluefin tuna pop up. Most of the boats out of San Diego for a 2-3 day trip will do strictly offshore fishing looking for bluefin, especially around that time period.
Thank you for your time with the video. May I ask what model Saltist that was for the surface iron setup? I’ve been searching for a used setup for surface irons and what not. And what would be your main reason for not using a 400 size baitcaster vs. the Saltist? I’m new and always learning. Appreciate your time. 🎣🤙🏼
So I actually learned how to fish surface irons with a Lexa 400, just because I didn’t know how to cast conventional during that time frame. 400 size bait casters are capable for yellowtail up to 15-20 lbs and tuna up to 30-40 lbs, but usually you’ll be using a inshore style rod paired up with it, which just adds for a little harder fight. Any bigger of fish and you’re going to want a reel with a little more line capacity and matches with a heavier rod. Even though I can catch yellows up to +20lbs on a 400 baitcaster, I don’t really fish it for yellowtail bigger than 10 lbs.
If you’re in the process of learning how to cast conventional, I would encourage to go the baitcaster route. Or you can get something like a Daiwa Saltist 35 star drag, or a Shimano Torium 16. Those are the 2 more cost efficient reels that cast pretty easily. Just start with the spool tension a little on the tight side, and everytime you get comfortable loosen up on the tension a little bit at a time.
What set up do you recommend for catching yellowtail for the pier or surf. I fish at Redondo beach pier, Ive caught mackerel, leopard shark, banjo shark and round stingrays. I’ve been using sabiki rigs and double dropper loop been also trying to get halibut with the double dropper but no success.
I wish I had an answer for that, I’m not sure what people do to catch yellowtail off the pier. I’m from Ventura county, so we don’t get that luxury unfortunately lol.
Hi Ray, I was hoping to get some advice from you but I am deciding to either buy a torium 16 or a saltist 35 and I was wondering which reel you would recommend out of the two if you had to choose 1. Thank you!
Hey sorry, just seeing this! If you’re able to find a saltist black gold 35, that’s my all time favorite surface iron reel! The new saltist, and torium, are pretty matched in my personal opinion, but I just get the toriums because there’s so many good deals on them.
The only time I use a lever drag reel for any fish under 80lbs, is for fly line fishing. My next smaller lever drag reel I’m going to invest in is a Daiwa Saltiga LD 15 or 20. A lot of people also really like the shimano Talicas 8 or 10, or even a more affordable one would be the new Shimano Speedmaster 8 or 10
Coronado islands, definitely one of the craziest yellowtail bites I’ve ever been apart of! Thanks man really appreciate it. Here’s the full video of that day if you wanna see the chaos czcams.com/video/eB-E5LuDQpg/video.html
Hi Ray : First let me say love your videos , I caught my first bluefin last season out of Newport (Dave’s locker) it was 65lb on a 2 piece rod and a penn spinning reel yea I was shocked too LOL , but know I am hooked buddy and watching your videos I am getting set to do a week long trip in calif starting in San Diego working my way down the coast Long Beach , San Pedro , balboa etc. So I had a 7ft 30-60 custom rod built and also a 8 ft 20-50 I was gonna use my penn fathom 30 on the 7ft and I have a lexa 400 Winn for my 8ft what do you think about the penn on that size rod ? I also geared up over this past weekend with all the surface iron jigs ( all the popular colors ) mint white , scramble egg , dorado , wounded warrior etc . I have shimano tekota 600 I was gonna use in my bottom rod paired up with a 15-30 shimano blue water Tallus. Everything I have is all brand new any suggestions would be awesome my only though is that my penn fathom 30 wouldn’t be fast enough for jigs? Also what do you film your videos with a go pro ? Thanks ray for any help
Everything sounds fine, and as far as surface irons goes, you actually don’t need a fast reel. Fishing surface irons is a more controlled and steady pace. With yoyo fishing, is when you’ll want a faster reel. A fathom 30 is plenty big enough for anything you’ll come across in SoCal and is fast enough for yoyo fishing. I will say, if you haven’t already tested out casting a conventional reel, make sure you go out to your local harbor or pond or lake and get some casts in. The last thing you wanna do is be learning how to cast a jig on a boat while the bites hot. I do use GoPros, currently have the hero 9
Hi first off thank you for the great videos I really enjoy watching them but I have a quick question do you think that the Trinidad 20A is a good reel for throwing surface iron at 50-80lb bluefin tuna.
The 20a should be fine. Once you get above 80lb, might wanna step up to a slightly bigger reel. But if you have 350-400 yards of line with a heavy top shot like 60lb mono or heavy leader 60-80lb, the 20a should handle up to 100lb fish
@@Dirty.Hookers PCS was eh. Not many deals to be had. Saving point was picking up some nice show special blanks from Phenix. 3 for $120 #20-40, #30-80, sick purple, pink and white
Is Izorline platinum good for tuna and yellowtail on a top shot. Ik that the xxx is used by a lot of people but if I have izorline platinum is that ok too
Thanks for checking out the videos. Hope you’re able to get some solid kingfish with our Southern California style of fishing! JRI Stinger - www.bluepacifictackle.com/product/stinger-surface-light-weight/ Tady 45 - www.basspro.com/shop/en/tady-lure-model-45 Salas 7X Light - www.tackleexpress.com/products/salas-7x-light-surface-irons?variant=17379336880187 Tady C - www.basspro.com/shop/en/tady-lure-casting-lure-model-c
@@Dirty.Hookers Thank you guys. We used to have something similar in Australia in the eighties, and now are collectors items. Worked a treat on so many species.
@@SuperTAmbro I know nomad just came out with their version of surface irons too! We got quite a few on those this past week. And shimano just came out with the side kick. That one was doing really well for a lot of people over this past week!
For a all around stick, like if you wanted to be able to cast stickbaits, surface irons, and still fly line with it, it’ll work. For a strictly surface iron rod, 8’6” to +9’ rods are usually more traditional jig sticks
Fly line, also known as free line or live line depending on where you’re located, Is where you have just a live bait hook tied to the end of your main line with no weight. Pin a live bait on the hook, and leave the reel in free spool that way the bait can freely swim. When it gets bit by a fish, count a few seconds and put reel in gear, and HOOK UP!
You can use spinning reels, surface irons are easier to get into the right cadence with conventional. Everything else can get away with spinning and bait runners.
Would using a 15-40lb bass stick and surface iron rod still be good to use for the techniques mentioned? I currently own the California rods rated 15-40
@@Dirty.Hookers I have the Californian tri helix composite 9ft medium heavy 15-40 deckhand style rod paired with the trinidad 20a and the other 15-40 tri helix that has the same handle grip as the black diamond series paired with a lexa 400 hd. Thanks for your reply!
@@sgvlowk7492 the 9ft will work for a lighter surface iron rods for like open water fish not on structure or kelp patty fish. Can even be used as a long fly line rod if you’re comfortable casting a live bait. The one with a reel seat, does sound like a perfect fly line set up. If you fly line with a baitcasters, and get bit, make sure you do at least a full rotation of the handle when putting it in gear and setting the hook.
@@Dirty.Hookers thanks for your help brotha ! Last question on your Yoyo set up what do you recommend spooling it up with? I also have the same set up with a trinidad20a
@@sgvlowk7492 Trinidad 20a is a great yoyo reel. I usually have 65lb braid on a reel that size, and for yoyo, I run about a 40-60 yard top shot of 40# or 50# monofilament
Hi Ray ; Man I was really looking forward to going to the Fred hall show in Long Beach for the first time this year and when they cancelled I was bummed , hopefully the San Diego show will happen . I was wondering where the best place is to buy the Zman or MC swim baits and what kinda of heads do you prefer for the swim baits and what set do you like to use for them? Thanks again keep making those videos 👍
Hey man yeah unfortunately the show was canceled which was a big bummer. I was really looking forward to it too. Not sure if the San Diego show is happening or not, really haven’t heard about anything for that. As for ZMan swimbaits, you can probably find those at your average tackle shop, turners, or even dicks. MC swimbaits are gonna be a bit tougher to find. I know some of the tackle shops in the Long Beach area and San Diego area Carries them, but not 100% sure which ones because I’m not from either of those areas. As for the jig heads though, I really like War Baits jig heads for the weed guard heads. And VMC boxer heads for open hook heads
Tady 9’s are heavy “YoYo jigs”. Depending on what area your local pier is, they might produce. SD gets bonito, cuda, and occasionally yellows around the piers year around which would be the right fish to target with those. But not too sure about halibut.
When I’m casting at tuna I always have flouro carbon. For yellowtail, I only use flouro carbon leader with fly line and prefer to fish straight mono for yo-yos and surface irons
As far as spinning rods go, you probably won’t need anything longer than 8ft. We use the longer rods with conventional more so for surface irons and the longer rod helps cast those lighter jigs with conventional. With spinning, there will be no resistance or backlash so you’ll be able to get the same distance casts with a shorter rod
Surface irons are gonna be a lot lighter than yoyo irons because surface are made of aluminum, and yoyo are made of lead. If you get a chance to see some at a tackle shop, feel acouple of them out so you can get a feel for the difference.
@@fvaldez714 my buddy fished the 25 heavy or the 15 heavy last year at cedros and he did some serious damage! Not sure exactly which one it was, but he was saying it’s almost like a heavy surface iron, where you can still cast and retrieve or sink it out and fish like a yo-yo
I have a Shimano Spheros 14000FA and a Daiwa BG 8000 on a Daiwa rod and honestly, what I have learned in the past on charter boats is a simple rule 1st one in and farthest out wins. Now, that I have my own boat I still use the reels that I just mentioned. Coronado Islands is gonna be good this year....Good luck
Those reels are more than enough to fish yellowtail. Spinning set ups are really good for fishing stickbaits and poppers too, helps cast those lighter lures quite a bit further. Also can fly line a bait more freely with a spinning rod as well. Nothing wrong with it, if you’re using the right size tackle
Colt snipers are really good to have in the box just incase the yellowtail are feeding on smaller size baits. But for the most part they do like bigger presentations. Colt snipers are really good to have for both bft and yft though.
It was discontinued for some reason unfortunately. Really wish that rod was still being made. Still have it, but my dad uses it now since I’m with phenix
100%! If all someone can take is a single set up, all you’ll need is 1 rod and a pack of hooks for fly line! That’s how I fished yellows and tuna for the first 2 years of targeting them
Lol, what I meant by that was nobody will ever be done learning about fishing. There’s always something new to learn. I consider myself to have a decent amount of knowledge, but still only know the basics as I’m only acouple years into yellowtail and offshore fishing.
Just as others have mentioned, it does need a dab of oil before you use it czcams.com/users/postUgkxSlytCJqozTF7EbdP4LWP-HUXf9WRDJ0e - put a few drops in through the convenient screw cap and you are good to go! I have fished several weeks with a couple of these, and I will be getting more in the future. I put these against my Abu Garcia Pro Max reel, and they actually perform a bit better than the Abu with some of my lighter cranks, and definitely just as good with the rest of my lures. My Abu is a bit more low profile and fits my hand better, but these are definitely not bad at all. You can almost get 3 of these for the price of my Pro Max. My only complaint is the thumb bar sits pretty high compared to my traditional profile Abu. Bring that thumb bar down a little and I’m sold on these all day long.
![SoCal Yellowtail Fishing - Choosing your BEST Rod and Reel Setups [Sav On Tackle]](/img/n.gif)
In this video I break down my top 5 favorite ways to fish for yellowtail here in Southern California.
Fly line, Yoyo/Heavy iron, Butterfly & Vertical jigs, Stick baits, and Surface irons!
If you found this video helpful and have any other recommendations on videos for me to cover in the future, please let me know in the comments below!
Thanks for watching! Please Subscribe and Like the Video!
Follow me on Instagram: @RaySharifi
instagram.com/raysharifi?igshid=k9y8mop58kc0
Trying the yellow tail bite ony my kayak but this will work. Soooooo helpful and clear with the equipment and styles of fishing thanks!
Glad this video was helpful for you! Best of luck out there, would be so cool to get a yellow on the kayak!
Let's go west coast California fishing 🎣 I love that fish hub T-shirt
Love my SoCal fishery! I wish FishHub was still around. That was my buddy's company and I loved rocking his merch! Still do, but not as much because id be bummed if it ripped or stained now
Information is gold thank you so much!
Thank you, Always happy to help!
Nice to finally meet you at the show yesterday!
Good to finally meet you to brotha! Gotta try to link up some time this year for sure
@@Dirty.Hookers For sure bro!
@@Dirty.Hookers Hell ya! Let's make it happen.
I agree surface iron fishing for yellow tell about as much fun as you can have fishing most of the time that's all I'll do when there's yellowtail around older guy been doing this a long time meant was my go-to color for so many years the last few years it changed for me scrambled eggs all the way
I have noticed that scrambled egg and blue/white jigs trigger some bigger bites on some days! I know a lot of people think “color doesn’t matter”, but I’ve seen plenty of times when color definitely plays a roll!
This is a great video for myself who is new to this style of fishing!
Really glad you found this helpful! I will be dropping a tuna break down video as well this week, probably Wednesday or Thursday so keep an eye out for that one!
GREAT breakdown explanation !!!
Thanks,,, Tight Lines.....
Thank you! Really glad this helped.
Best of luck this season
Can’t wait till you upload vids on the boat!
Hopefully that starts soon! Starting to get really antsy lol
Thanks for the explanation… I love coming over to SD to fish, and it gets pretty confusing for an AZ desert dweller to understand all the differences in irons.
Just got an Axis 909HJ/Saltist 35H combo..put straight 50 mono to start…but really psyched to try irons this year
Hope you get to break it in soon! Glad this video helped you out!
I’m gonna try to do another one here soon, hopefully a little more info in that one as well
Phoenix fishing supply on N 16th.
4810 N 16th St, Phoenix, AZ. Great owner. Amazing west coast salt water gear. They have more salt water (along with fresh water) tackle than the shop I go to in Oceanside.
Bro,.... great vid. All the info I needed. Fisherman ,..... good fisherman always learn from others! God bless, kill fish!!🎣🎣🎣🎣
Thanks brotha! Hope you can put these tips to good use and get on them!
DH -- this is your best video to date. Great info & advice. I am East Coast from Montauk, Long Island, but hope someday to fish your side of the continent. Suggestion: please get some hats / T-shirts / and Dirty Hooker LOGO rods on your Home Page. You would sell-out and keep your subscribers happy. You must know local rod builders that will gladly build and supply you with custom LOGO rods. Start with 1 stick 20 - 40 lbs. surface iron 8' 6" w/ best quality components. Set your price reasonable, enough to cover costs, and make enough profit so that you can expand and grow.
Thanks for the kind words and support brotha, much appreciated!
I don’t think I would be able to do rods for profit unless I personally wrapped them myself, but I am looking into hopefully dropping a clothing company soon. Need to do some more research and figure some things out before pulling the trigger, but hopefully soon!
@@Dirty.Hookers Cool ! I would love to see you get 1 Million Subscribers and make a living posting videos promoting your passion for fishing.
@@Clambelly that would literally be a dream come true! Really trying to post as much as possible lately to do my best to make it happen.
1-2 videos a week, a 3rd if I have time for it.
Hardest part for me rn is getting the content lol. Fishing hasn’t been the best for me lately, really tough putting in these hours and not getting any footage out of it
Great info. Don’t forget swimbaits and HUB’s 👍
I’ve been trying to get a yellowtail on a swimbait for about a year now. My only issue is when they boil I always want to chuck a jig lol.
But I do know it’s very affective for a lot of people!
Totally way to go setup can't wait for this season to get started officially I'll start mine after Fred hall show stoked to get back
Hell yeah! Can’t wait for the season to kick off!
This cat really knows his stuff!
Thank you! It’s been a lot of years of headaches and taking down small mental notes to get where I’m at
I chartered a boat out of Oceanside for a full day trip at the end of August and I have a lot of 1st timers. I was looking for a video to share with the same fishing techniques as mine. I’m still doing a hands on class for the group prior to.
I have a flyline knot that’s devastating to fish.
@@HM-ji7le well hopefully this video helps with the first timers. Most the boats out there do a little seminar on the way out to the grounds, so that should be helpful too.
Hope you guys get on them! Fishing is really good lately
Speed jigging in Sea of Cortez is
pretty effective
Slowly adding speed jigging to the Arsenal! Taking time to learn as I am a hands on learner, but definitely effective!
That about cover's it !! Thank you brother !! I'll be ready for them next time.!
Glad you found this video helpful!
Best of luck to you this season👊
Great tips Ray!
Thanks victor!
Thank you for the tutorial
Always happy to help! If you have any suggestions on a future tutorial please lmk!
I’ve learned so much from you, thanks man 🤙
Always happy to help! It’s been awhile since I’ve tried to do an informative video, definitely felt like we should have an update
Can talk about what lines you spoil with and why backing line is used ? I love your videos keep em coming 👍🏽
I’ll try my best to explain that a little bit better in my next one. Gonna do a tuna video hopefully next week.
And thank you for the support! Really appreciate it
Always great information
Thank you much appreciate!
super helpful, thanks 🤙
Always happy to share!
Sick video dude! You sorta skipped over fishing a dropper loop but a) that’s not people’s preferred way to catch yellows and b) you could probably just use the heavy setup 🤙🏽
Dropper loop is definitely an open effective way when fishing is slow. Definitely would wanna use the same set up for yo-yos to fish a dropper loop, since your bait is already positioned just a few feet from the rocks. So a heavy set up with heavy line will be able to pull the fish up away from the structure a bit better
@@Dirty.Hookers fr you're talking $200+ to go on a group boat to see what works... This vid for a googan is two crisp $100 bills.😮
@@scottleggejr hope this video helps you stick some good ones in the future!
I noticed you didn't show or bring up any spinning rigs, maybe you can share your opinion on why they aren't popular
It’s just a different fishery here on the west coast. Spinning reels will work fine for the right application, but as far as surface irons, yo-yos, and fly line, all 3 of those are bust on open face conventional reels
Nice info, thanks. What's your favorite knot to tie ?
I was thinking about doing another video on my favorite knots actually!
But until I get around to that,
Braid to mono knot- RP knot
Mono to flouro knot- uni to uni knot
Hooks and lures- San Diego jam knot
@@Dirty.Hookers have you tried the AG Chain Knot? I’ve been using it and I’ve liked it so far used 50,60,80,100 and it worked perfectly
@@ismaeljimenez6670 I’ve never tried that one unfortunately
This content gold bro
Thank you! Been awhile since I tried to make an informative video. Figures I should try and bring that back with my more updated knowledge!
For Tuna in the East I have begun to love spinning reels for jigging. Something about the way I have brute power over very radical cadences (vertical). I do love my baitcasting as well, limited to Lexa300 bottom fishing rig.
The spinning reels these days do put off a crazy amount of drag! Only thing that scares me with them though is if you hook a bigger tuna, you can’t use the rail on a spinner
What type of set up do u use ?
@@williampadilla8384 for California yellowtail, I use the set ups listed in this video.
For bluefin tuna, I use the set ups and tackle that I walk you through in this link
czcams.com/video/jQW2HLkMsmY/video.html
Nice!!! Hoping you come out with a similar video for BFT/YFT
Thank you, and Hopefully will be getting around to each here soon!
Great video
Thank you, I really appreciate it!
Thanks for the information, keep up the awesome videos, eagle8994 from el paso, tx.
I appreciate your feedback man, Thank you!
What baitcaster reel do you use for jigging? You mentioned you like it like a heavy bass set up. What size line do you use on that reel and what’s the weight rated for max drag? I only have one rod/reel for tuna for mainly fly line but would like one for jigging/yogi as well
Either a Lexa 400, or for conventional, a narrow reel!
like a Shimano Torium or Trinidad 16N
Great vid
Thank you! Glad you were able to find this helpful
Hey man great vid, learning alot from you. If i could have two must have setups for taking with me on yellowtail trips what do you think they would be? Im thinking a live bait combo and a surface iron combo? Thanks again bro, love the vids.
Really appreciate the feedback and support thank you!
If there were 2 must haves over anything else,
1, would definitely be a Fly line set up
2, either surface iron or yoyo. Yoyo might be a little more beneficial so that you can have 1 set up for the fish on surface and 1 for when they’re down low.
But if you wanna go, 1 fly line set up and 1 surface iron set up, that’s probably how I would do it. I just like the visual surface fishing too much to not be casting at something
I see people using a big spin casting set up? What do you think about a spin cast? Thanks again for your great advice...
Spinning reels are fine for certain styles of fishing. Like a bait runner style spinning reel would work for fly line.
Other than that, casting jerkbaits would be fine, and slowpitch set ups also work well with spinning.
As far as casting surface irons and working yo-yos, I do think that conventional is alittle more ideal for getting the proper cadence to work the lure more effectively
You're a great man thank you so much
@@dewaynemeyer1446 always happy to help however I can! if you ever have any questions or video requests, please do not hesitate to ask!
don't forget the ice fishing set up!😂
Lol haven’t put that against a yellowtail yet actually! Maybe one day
@@Dirty.Hookers haha who knows, maybe one this season 🤔😂😂
@@victor_clark eh we’ll see. I like casting rods 9 time longer too much for yellows lol
Nice vid! Any tips on halibut and White Sea bass fishing at Catalina?
I wish I did, I know it’s pretty good there. I’ve only fished catalina once unfortunately. I’d really like to start getting out there more often.
Really cool tips and video - I have most of the rigs you discussed - I love the Lexa-400 with an Okuma 8’0 rod to throw some of finesse baits - have you tried some of the soft baits that have come out? I have some and looking forward to trying them when I am at Cedros Island this summer as well as offshore and at the islands. Thanks for making the video.
Really glad this video was able to help you out. When you say soft baits, do you mean the new surface irons by shimano and nomad? Or do you mean bigger swimbaits?
@@Dirty.Hookers the soft baits with jig head - I am looking forward to using them soon
@@michaelniemiec5235 oh okay so swimbaits, no never used them for yellowtail, but definitely very effective for bass! Calicos, sand bass, and spotties will all eat soft plastics
As soon as the water gets better I am gonna get on the San Diego and go for YT
@@michaelniemiec5235 I’m definitely gonna try to book a Coronado trip as soon as the water and weather warms up!
I'm Eastcoast intrigued on Westcoast fishery. Still haven't figured flying 8'-10' rod in air, recommend a 2-3 day charter, coming into San deigo in May 23, I hv access to private boats but don't know where to fish, advise please (seeking halibut, calico, sheepshead, lingcod, yellowtail) this is my 1st trip west. Sounds like 3 setups. Now to work on casting komodo 471a 100' and
If you’re hoping for a shot at all of those fish, might be worth looking into either the Fury or Thunderbird out of Long Beach County, as they’ll most likely stick around the island fishery unless the bluefin tuna pop up.
Most of the boats out of San Diego for a 2-3 day trip will do strictly offshore fishing looking for bluefin, especially around that time period.
you should try to catch a yellow on a a Sturgeon rated centerpin set up
Is that the reel that looks like a fly reel?
@@Dirty.Hookers yup its like a fly reel with a drag
Thank you for your time with the video.
May I ask what model Saltist that was for the surface iron setup?
I’ve been searching for a used setup for surface irons and what not. And what would be your main reason for not using a 400 size baitcaster vs. the Saltist? I’m new and always learning. Appreciate your time. 🎣🤙🏼
So I actually learned how to fish surface irons with a Lexa 400, just because I didn’t know how to cast conventional during that time frame.
400 size bait casters are capable for yellowtail up to 15-20 lbs and tuna up to 30-40 lbs, but usually you’ll be using a inshore style rod paired up with it, which just adds for a little harder fight.
Any bigger of fish and you’re going to want a reel with a little more line capacity and matches with a heavier rod. Even though I can catch yellows up to +20lbs on a 400 baitcaster, I don’t really fish it for yellowtail bigger than 10 lbs.
If you’re in the process of learning how to cast conventional, I would encourage to go the baitcaster route.
Or you can get something like a Daiwa Saltist 35 star drag, or a Shimano Torium 16. Those are the 2 more cost efficient reels that cast pretty easily. Just start with the spool tension a little on the tight side, and everytime you get comfortable loosen up on the tension a little bit at a time.
Bro that was a sick ass boil!! 😢 I shoulda been there 🤣
What set up do you recommend for catching yellowtail for the pier or surf. I fish at Redondo beach pier, Ive caught mackerel, leopard shark, banjo shark and round stingrays. I’ve been using sabiki rigs and double dropper loop been also trying to get halibut with the double dropper but no success.
I wish I had an answer for that, I’m not sure what people do to catch yellowtail off the pier.
I’m from Ventura county, so we don’t get that luxury unfortunately lol.
Any recommendations on budget surface jigs rods ?
The most budget rod imo is the California tri helix, but it is pretty stiff.
Everything else is gonna be $200+
@@Dirty.Hookers Thank you!!
Ray have you done any knot tying videos ?
I have not, but I do plan to. Hopefully some time this week I can post my first one
Hi Ray, I was hoping to get some advice from you but I am deciding to either buy a torium 16 or a saltist 35 and I was wondering which reel you would recommend out of the two if you had to choose 1. Thank you!
Hey sorry, just seeing this! If you’re able to find a saltist black gold 35, that’s my all time favorite surface iron reel! The new saltist, and torium, are pretty matched in my personal opinion, but I just get the toriums because there’s so many good deals on them.
What lever reels do you suggest?
The only time I use a lever drag reel for any fish under 80lbs, is for fly line fishing.
My next smaller lever drag reel I’m going to invest in is a Daiwa Saltiga LD 15 or 20.
A lot of people also really like the shimano Talicas 8 or 10, or even a more affordable one would be the new Shimano Speedmaster 8 or 10
Dude!! Where were you fishing on the intro? sick boil at the bow 🤯 cool content 🤙🏼
Coronado islands, definitely one of the craziest yellowtail bites I’ve ever been apart of! Thanks man really appreciate it.
Here’s the full video of that day if you wanna see the chaos
czcams.com/video/eB-E5LuDQpg/video.html
Hi Ray :
First let me say love your videos , I caught my first bluefin last season out of Newport (Dave’s locker) it was 65lb on a 2 piece rod and a penn spinning reel yea I was shocked too LOL , but know I am hooked buddy and watching your videos I am getting set to do a week long trip in calif starting in San Diego working my way down the coast Long Beach , San Pedro , balboa etc.
So I had a 7ft 30-60 custom rod built and also a 8 ft 20-50 I was gonna use my penn fathom 30 on the 7ft and I have a lexa 400 Winn for my 8ft what do you think about the penn on that size rod ?
I also geared up over this past weekend with all the surface iron jigs ( all the popular colors ) mint white , scramble egg , dorado , wounded warrior etc . I have shimano tekota 600 I was gonna use in my bottom rod paired up with a 15-30 shimano blue water Tallus.
Everything I have is all brand new any suggestions would be awesome my only though is that my penn fathom 30 wouldn’t be fast enough for jigs? Also what do you film your videos with a go pro ? Thanks ray for any help
Everything sounds fine, and as far as surface irons goes, you actually don’t need a fast reel.
Fishing surface irons is a more controlled and steady pace.
With yoyo fishing, is when you’ll want a faster reel.
A fathom 30 is plenty big enough for anything you’ll come across in SoCal and is fast enough for yoyo fishing.
I will say, if you haven’t already tested out casting a conventional reel, make sure you go out to your local harbor or pond or lake and get some casts in. The last thing you wanna do is be learning how to cast a jig on a boat while the bites hot.
I do use GoPros, currently have the hero 9
Hi first off thank you for the great videos I really enjoy watching them but I have a quick question do you think that the Trinidad 20A is a good reel for throwing surface iron at 50-80lb bluefin tuna.
The 20a should be fine. Once you get above 80lb, might wanna step up to a slightly bigger reel.
But if you have 350-400 yards of line with a heavy top shot like 60lb mono or heavy leader 60-80lb, the 20a should handle up to 100lb fish
Is there going to be a Fred Hall? Everyone seems to be signing up for Costa Mesa instead
There will be a fred hall this year
Long Beach will be March 2 - 6
@@Dirty.Hookers PCS was eh. Not many deals to be had. Saving point was picking up some nice show special blanks from Phenix. 3 for $120
#20-40, #30-80, sick purple, pink and white
@@emarroquin77 damn that is a killer deal! $40 a blank is great deal
Is Izorline platinum good for tuna and yellowtail on a top shot. Ik that the xxx is used by a lot of people but if I have izorline platinum is that ok too
It all comes down to personal preference. If you have the right line size, and you trust it, that’s all that matters
@@Dirty.Hookers thanks
Nice work. Where can we source the casting Irons you showed please? Cheers from down under!
Thanks for checking out the videos. Hope you’re able to get some solid kingfish with our Southern California style of fishing!
JRI Stinger - www.bluepacifictackle.com/product/stinger-surface-light-weight/
Tady 45 - www.basspro.com/shop/en/tady-lure-model-45
Salas 7X Light - www.tackleexpress.com/products/salas-7x-light-surface-irons?variant=17379336880187
Tady C - www.basspro.com/shop/en/tady-lure-casting-lure-model-c
@@Dirty.Hookers Thank you guys. We used to have something similar in Australia in the eighties, and now are collectors items. Worked a treat on so many species.
@@SuperTAmbro I know nomad just came out with their version of surface irons too! We got quite a few on those this past week.
And shimano just came out with the side kick. That one was doing really well for a lot of people over this past week!
What are your thoughts on the Phenix 809 20 - 50lb for a casting rod? Mainly for surface irons and jigs
For a all around stick, like if you wanted to be able to cast stickbaits, surface irons, and still fly line with it, it’ll work. For a strictly surface iron rod, 8’6” to +9’ rods are usually more traditional jig sticks
Question whatta you mean fly line ? Where I lose you.. is that basically fluorocarbon.. in 30 lb test .. and how many yrds roughly ..
Fly line, also known as free line or live line depending on where you’re located,
Is where you have just a live bait hook tied to the end of your main line with no weight. Pin a live bait on the hook, and leave the reel in free spool that way the bait can freely swim. When it gets bit by a fish, count a few seconds and put reel in gear, and HOOK UP!
When I fly line, I do about 50 - 80 yards of mono and connect about a 4-6ft leader of matching fluoro carbon, then my live bait hook
So no spinning reels?
You can use spinning reels, surface irons are easier to get into the right cadence with conventional. Everything else can get away with spinning and bait runners.
Would using a 15-40lb bass stick and surface iron rod still be good to use for the techniques mentioned? I currently own the California rods rated 15-40
Depending on which California rod and how long it is would determine what it would be ideal for.
Whats the length and which California series is it?
@@Dirty.Hookers I have the Californian tri helix composite 9ft medium heavy 15-40 deckhand style rod paired with the trinidad 20a and the other 15-40 tri helix that has the same handle grip as the black diamond series paired with a lexa 400 hd. Thanks for your reply!
@@sgvlowk7492 the 9ft will work for a lighter surface iron rods for like open water fish not on structure or kelp patty fish. Can even be used as a long fly line rod if you’re comfortable casting a live bait.
The one with a reel seat, does sound like a perfect fly line set up.
If you fly line with a baitcasters, and get bit, make sure you do at least a full rotation of the handle when putting it in gear and setting the hook.
@@Dirty.Hookers thanks for your help brotha ! Last question on your Yoyo set up what do you recommend spooling it up with? I also have the same set up with a trinidad20a
@@sgvlowk7492 Trinidad 20a is a great yoyo reel.
I usually have 65lb braid on a reel that size, and for yoyo, I run about a 40-60 yard top shot of 40# or 50# monofilament
Hi Ray ;
Man I was really looking forward to going to the Fred hall show in Long Beach for the first time this year and when they cancelled I was bummed , hopefully the San Diego show will happen .
I was wondering where the best place is to buy the Zman or MC swim baits and what kinda of heads do you prefer for the swim baits and what set do you like to use for them? Thanks again keep making those videos 👍
Hey man yeah unfortunately the show was canceled which was a big bummer. I was really looking forward to it too.
Not sure if the San Diego show is happening or not, really haven’t heard about anything for that.
As for ZMan swimbaits, you can probably find those at your average tackle shop, turners, or even dicks. MC swimbaits are gonna be a bit tougher to find. I know some of the tackle shops in the Long Beach area and San Diego area Carries them, but not 100% sure which ones because I’m not from either of those areas.
As for the jig heads though, I really like War Baits jig heads for the weed guard heads.
And VMC boxer heads for open hook heads
Are you yo jigs great for Pier fishing 🎣 and halibut fish I just bought 2 TADY 9 surface IRON jigs are they good for Pier fishing 🎣
Tady 9’s are heavy “YoYo jigs”. Depending on what area your local pier is, they might produce. SD gets bonito, cuda, and occasionally yellows around the piers year around which would be the right fish to target with those. But not too sure about halibut.
why 40-50lb mono? any reason nothing lighter? 30?
Are you asking in regards to surface irons and yoyo fishing?
Great vid. New sub
Thank you! Very much appreciated
Do you use flourcarbon leader when throwing jigs or coltsnipers or flatfall
When I’m casting at tuna I always have flouro carbon. For yellowtail, I only use flouro carbon leader with fly line and prefer to fish straight mono for yo-yos and surface irons
Do we ever use 8'-9' spinners for long range
As far as spinning rods go, you probably won’t need anything longer than 8ft.
We use the longer rods with conventional more so for surface irons and the longer rod helps cast those lighter jigs with conventional.
With spinning, there will be no resistance or backlash so you’ll be able to get the same distance casts with a shorter rod
How do you know the difference between yo-yo and surface? They look the same
Surface irons are gonna be a lot lighter than yoyo irons because surface are made of aluminum, and yoyo are made of lead.
If you get a chance to see some at a tackle shop, feel acouple of them out so you can get a feel for the difference.
have you had any experience whit the kicker 25 light by chance ? I've heard they swim really good
I personally have not. My local shops don’t carry kicker jigs so I never really had the chance to test them out.
They swim similar to tady c’s they’re great. They’re 25 heavies are also great yo-yos
@@fvaldez714 my buddy fished the 25 heavy or the 15 heavy last year at cedros and he did some serious damage!
Not sure exactly which one it was, but he was saying it’s almost like a heavy surface iron, where you can still cast and retrieve or sink it out and fish like a yo-yo
@@Dirty.Hookers yup I think they’re the same mould just different metal Bryan timm uses em too he talked about em in his jigs video they get bit
@@fvaldez714 him and Afran both hang quite a few fish with them
Do you have a link for the rods you use and model numbers ???
All 4 rods were phenix rods. I’ll list the model numbers.
Fly line: PSW-C 809H
Yoyo: PSW-C 700XH
Butterfly/vertical jig: PSW-C 700XH
Stick bait: PSW-C 869H
Surface iron: HAX1009H-J
Do you prefer J hooks over circle hooks?
For yellowtail I do prefer J hooks over circle hooks. For tuna I fish circle hooks.
Am I wrong for attempting to use a spinning rod combo to go after yellow tail?
if you have enough backbone in your rod to turn its head and enough line you should have no prob
I have a Shimano Spheros 14000FA and a Daiwa BG 8000 on a Daiwa rod and honestly, what I have learned in the past on charter boats is a simple rule 1st one in and farthest out wins. Now, that I have my own boat I still use the reels that I just mentioned. Coronado Islands is gonna be good this year....Good luck
Those reels are more than enough to fish yellowtail. Spinning set ups are really good for fishing stickbaits and poppers too, helps cast those lighter lures quite a bit further.
Also can fly line a bait more freely with a spinning rod as well. Nothing wrong with it, if you’re using the right size tackle
Would a 100-120g colt sniper be good?
Colt snipers are really good to have in the box just incase the yellowtail are feeding on smaller size baits. But for the most part they do like bigger presentations.
Colt snipers are really good to have for both bft and yft though.
@@Dirty.Hookers thank you
What happened to the SCT inshore 8'6? Looking to sell that rod? Tat was a great vidankseo!
Th
It was discontinued for some reason unfortunately. Really wish that rod was still being made.
Still have it, but my dad uses it now since I’m with phenix
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
🙏👊
🤟
ghe phúc hát thấy ấm âp quá殺
while this is very good advice, but I would say take what one can afford and go fishing :)
100%! If all someone can take is a single set up, all you’ll need is 1 rod and a pack of hooks for fly line! That’s how I fished yellows and tuna for the first 2 years of targeting them
Yew!
Yeeww👊
👍👍👍👍👍
👊
If you really don’t know what you’re doing this all sounded like a foreign language 😂
Lol, what I meant by that was nobody will ever be done learning about fishing. There’s always something new to learn.
I consider myself to have a decent amount of knowledge, but still only know the basics as I’m only acouple years into yellowtail and offshore fishing.
Hey Ray I have a question when you get beck from your fishing trips do you take off all the mono? Or do you just wash it along with the braid?
Just as others have mentioned, it does need a dab of oil before you use it czcams.com/users/postUgkxSlytCJqozTF7EbdP4LWP-HUXf9WRDJ0e - put a few drops in through the convenient screw cap and you are good to go! I have fished several weeks with a couple of these, and I will be getting more in the future. I put these against my Abu Garcia Pro Max reel, and they actually perform a bit better than the Abu with some of my lighter cranks, and definitely just as good with the rest of my lures. My Abu is a bit more low profile and fits my hand better, but these are definitely not bad at all. You can almost get 3 of these for the price of my Pro Max. My only complaint is the thumb bar sits pretty high compared to my traditional profile Abu. Bring that thumb bar down a little and I’m sold on these all day long.
Which set up?