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[Bigcat]

For all the experienced party boat goer's what should I take with me? I'll be on the party boat out of P Mansfield July 21st and one out of P Isabel the 22nd.

I have a Penn 309, 4/0 wide, a 6/0, and a diawa 50hsd. I am leaning towards the 4 wide. The Diawa is the most user friendly but I have 30lb test on it. I figure the 4 wide with 40lb would be better if I hook into something big. Any thoughts?

I have plenty of 400 lb mono to make leaders with(and 480lb cable). What are the chances of hooking into a big shark on a party boat? Would I be wasting my time trying or should I just target whatever they are fishing for? Should I use provided bait or bring my own fresh bait?

And the big question, what hooks should I use? I have a few 16/0 and 20/0 circles but am leary about hookup ratios. And being on a boat where they will gaff the fish anyhow am thinking there may be better choices. I do not want to go too big but definatley would like to hook on a big live bait if I catch something.

I can bring 2 poles if I get the wife a licence. Will cost an extra 30 bucks per trip but it might be worth it.

Thanks for any input. I'm a jetty fisherman and can use any offshore advice. BTW - I target big fish with real bait lol.

[Jervonormy/dodge]

I would take the biggest reels you feel comfortable with. There is less chance of lossing fish if you are confident in your tackle. 40lb test should be fine. As far as leaders and the such find out what they are going to target. There is no sense in taking 400lb mono's unless you are going for shark. most likely it will be snapper of king may be a few stray sharp nose will be around. Bottom fishing it is better to use there rigs that way when another patrion tangles you up the will replace it and straighten you out. If you must take your own an 80lb triple drop with 8/0 circle hooks should do fine with a 16oz. bell weight. As far as bait if you are going bottom fishing take a bucket full of pin or piggie pearch. they work wonders on sow snapper and amberjacks.
Best of luck JEr VOn Ormy

[Bigcat]

Do you think I can bring the piggy perch live onto the boat? And are NIG perch too big? I'd hate to waste too much time not getting bites because my bait is too big. But then again I guess thats the risk I'd take trying to get a big one.

[awesum]

I agree that 40# test should be sufficient. I'm not familiar with the Diawa reel but if it holds at lest 200 yards of 40# by all means take the one that you're most comfortable with. The rod should be something 6' to 7' long and in the 30 - 50# range. You want a little backbone. Longer rods can be difficult to carry on/off the boat and uncomfortable to fish with in a crowd.

They may let you put out a rig for shark....it depends. If it's a big crowd I wouldn't try it.

The above rig should be plenty to catch what you would "expect" to catch. However, it's the "unexpected" that always gets you. I noticed on the site someone posted that they catch a lot of grouper. A 75 lb. Warsaw on 40# test would be the tussle of a lifetime. So would a 50# AJ. Red Snapper fishing gets pretty tough about now, if they are like most head boats here and up the coast some emphasis will be placed on King and smallish sharks. The 4/0 filled with 50# would be a good reel to throw in the ditty bag in case you run into some bigger fish. Yes they will usually let you take 2 rigs. And no, your perch won't be too big. Not by any means.

Have a good time and post a report when you have completed the trip.