Spinning Tackle
For the majority of the fishing calendar I use 7-8' rods on 3000-5000 size reels spooled with 15lb pound braid. This is a great set up for casting lures for striped bass and bluefish around the islands as well as jigging porgies, fluke, and sea bass. I have caught bluefish up to 15lbs on this set up. This is also my go to for albies. These are my workhorse rods that I take with me every time I go out, I just change the leader depending on the type of fish I am pursuing.
Fly Fishing Tackle
I normally use 8-10 weight fast taper rods, paired with corresponding Lamson reels spooled with 20-30lb backing and weight forward, or shooting taper lines from floating, intermediate, and full sink.
Leaders: 4-9' of mono or fluorocarbon.
Flies: Various patterns imitating silversides, bay anchovies, peanut bunker, adult bunker, and herring.
Medium Heavy Spinning Tackle
I use 7 foot Trevala jigging rods for casting large plugs and live lining bunker on 5000-8000 sized reels spooled with 30lb braid with a 50-60lb leader. This set up is good for large bluefish and large striped bass.
Medium Heavy Conventional Tackle
I primarily use 7 foot Trevala jigging rods paired with Shimano Tekota 500 reels spooled with 50lb test and a 50-60lb leader. These setups are mainly for chunking bunker around structure.
