what would be a good rod for sea trout fishing down in the gulf area of mexico.. never build or fished this type of species so any help is greatly appreciated and what types of techniques are used for sea trout.
shane

More specific about location - Louisiana Marsh
Do not head out withou a good map or a guide.

Call them "specs"

Popping Rod - 7 foot - med lite/med - moderate action. No cork tape allowed on grip!

Built it - rig it with Speculizer under a cork or free line live croaker - chunk it out and hold on!

Catch a limit of 25 in an hour! Fillet - fry or pan sautee! Consume!

Call home and tell them you ain't coming back!

Gon Fishn

Edited post after learning of you final destination: On that side of the Sabine you will be hampered with having to share the water with Old Men with Purdy Rods and Bald Lathe Operators! You can not keep 25 of the critters either! Good luck!



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2005 03:10PM by Bill Stevens.

thanks bill but the area im talking is texas coast area

Get yourself a Rainshadow IP843 or an American Tackle AMP842. Both are really great rods whether you choose to build a spinning or casting rod. I would use either titanium coated guides or the Titan guides . They are better suited for saltwater fishing.

Lance

You will likely encounter redfish while fishing for trout on the Texas coast. I would beef up to a P844 popping rod, either 7- or 7.5-ft long will work. Most guides that use livebait will throw either croakers (small member of the drum family) or piggy perch this time of year. Another alternative to a poppin' rod are Hotshot rods. These were developed for salmon fishing up north but work really well for trouts and reds....extra fast light tips with some backbone for larger pesca's. The GLoomis Hotshot rod I use is an HS9000. Titanium guides are nice, but really not necessary if you wash down your equipment after being in the salt. I've found that most guide replacements are not due to corrosion, but rather accidents involving coolers, large feet, or carelessness. I routinely fish the TX coast and have used Fuji Alconites with no problems for several years now.

Good Luck......Bret

You have some good advice here... you did not say what type of baits/terminal tackle you will be using, that would be helpful. I have been using popping rods exclusively for 15 years now. For an all-around speckled trout rod, a popping blank / rod such as the Rainshadow IP843 or one with similar specifications would probably be the best choice.

The IP844 would handle bigger lures and redfish better, but may not cast as far as the IP843 with some of the smaller baits / terminal tackle commonly used to pursue that species.

If you would normally be using 14lb. or smaller line, and free line live shrimp or small bait fish and use small lures around 1/4 oz. or less, something like the Rainshadow IP842 or a rod with similar specifications would be optimum.

As I suggested above, if you don't know exactly what you need, a rod like the Rainshadow IP843 or one with similar or the same specifications would be your best bet.

Shane,
If you are live lining small baits or jigs our IMP843 is the model you want. If you are using larger baits or a popping cork the IMP844 will fill your needs.

Todd

Regards,
Todd Vivian
Mud Hole Custom Tackle

todd@mudhole.com

Shane,

I'm not sure who Bill Stevens is talking about when he mentions old guys with purty rods or lathe operators with bald heads, so I will add my two cents worth. According to the time of the year I fish 842's, 843's, or 845's. I use the 842's in the winter and early spring and the 843's all summer, I will go to the 845 in the fall because of the bruiser size Redfish that begin to show up. I fish mostly casting rods with 12 pound test line with Curado or Chronarch reels for the most part, but do occasionally trade off for a spinner. I use the same blanks for both kinds of rods.

You have gotten lots of good info, so all you need to do is start building.

Later,
Gerald mc

Shane;
About the blank. Give Andy Dear ( Lamar Real Seats ) a call. He has, what he is calling a "no name blank".(7ft. rods) These blanks ( I think ) came out of the Allstar plant. Reguardless they are wonderful blanks. I have built a few of them for specs, reds, blues, weakfish, and spanish. You may want to specify the action and power your looking for. I would recommend a Med. to Med./Hvy. ( but that is my preferance ) Allot of guys like a little less stiffness in the rod for throwing live shrimp. Any how; give him a call. Oh yea; for the price he has on these blanks you can build a couple and not do any damage to your wallet.

I hear alot about live bait rods here and some of the blanks mentioned will work well for lures also. I am no expert when it comes to building rods but have been spec fishing the texas coast many years. If throwing lures, 3/8 lead heads with norton bull minnows are hard to beat. Top-waters are my bait of choice, especially early in the morning (Black/Chartruesse She Dog, Clown spook jr.) When throwing these lures you would be best served with a rod that has light action and an ex-fast tip. These baits are alot lighter than a popping cork with a weight and bait. Go light but don't forget backbone. Anything loomis 7-7.5 ft long Mag light, ex-fast. Can't go wrong. Just my opinion