Guys I took my first 5 day trip this past July - Aug with two outfits. An Avet JX 2speed on a Calstar 700H and an Avet 4/02 on a Calstar 765M. The JX has 40# and the 4/02 has 60#.

Well, I have bragged that my wife gave me a great anniversary gift which was an Avet MXL 2 speed on a Seeker Blacksteel 670 which will be used as my 30# outfit.

I want to get one more outfit. I need help deciding on what it will be. I have thought it would be another 40# outfit but I need the expert advice of you folks here.

haveing another 30 or 40 for back up would be great. accurate 870 2 speeder/ 700m would be a good choice. the accurate , you can pack it with 65/40 or 50/30.

On a 5 day trip 40 setups will be fished the most so I would get myself another reel for 40 and a jig stick to fish the surface iron. Aother JX and a Calstar GG90j would be a good match or a 8 foot stick of your liking. Yep that is what I would do.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SoCalAngler,

looking at your inventory, socal is right.


JIGSTICK IS ONE TO HAVE.

Guys, I will be flying from TN so 7' is the max I can take from what I read about the shipping regs.

Outhouse,

You can ship your rod or rods to the landing and have them waiting for your trip. If you choose this method make sure it or them are protected correctly. Some people use a PVC type tube or rod case made for the transportation. Don't use a cardboard shipping case even is you insure the value you may get to the landing to find your rod or rods busted. A five day trip mostly turn into longer trips down the road and you will want to have a jig stick. Do you want the extra cost in shipping well thats your call but you will want a jig stick and miss it if you don't have one. IMO

Outhouse, I was wondering how you intend to ship your rods on the airplane? Checked baggage?

I took the route that SoCalAngler recommended, and shipped my rods via insured UPS ground. Each stick was bubble wrapped, then put inside 4" PVC pipes, the pipes were then bubble wrapped for snugness inside cardboard boxes. They were insured for their replacement value. I was told that they arrived safely, not a nick on the boxes. This was done with sufficient time to get the insurance money from UPS, and replace them if needed. It was expensive, the one-way cost equaling the price of a grafigher rod! In addition, I had to keep the overall length of the shipped box less than 7' (6' 10", was the maximum rod length), because the shipping cost went up substantially for a box longer than 7'.

You can fish the surface iron on a 7' rod you just won't get the max casting distance offered by a jig stick.

Outhouse, how will you ship your rods on the airplane?

I will shipping them via Fed Ex ground in a SKB rod case. This past year, I used a Frabil case my son gave me for Christmas, but some hinges got busted off. Rods were fine. I am going to use the money FedEx gave me to get the SKB. My research tells me it is the tops.

Appreciate the info. Shipping makes this sport fishing expensive. The cost of shipping the fish back is yet another expense...

Hey, planet, shipping my tackle box and my rod tube from Memphis to San Diego cost about $70 each way. I shipped the gear directly to Fisherman's landing about 10 days before my trip and it took about 4-5 days for it to get there. I wanted a bit of extra time in case the stuff got lost. I carried my reels on the plane with me as a carry on. Shipping cost was about $70 each way.

Shipping the fish wasn't as bad as I thought. Processing was $.75 per pound for the whole fish. I had something around 244# processed and shipped and the total price was just over $200. I ended up with about 110# of filets

Not bad, Outhouse!

Shipping gets steeper every year as you ship more and more equipment.

My cost for processing and shipping was about $3 a pound. Mario handled my fish. There was another outfit there, this year I might comparison shop.

Outhouse,

Heres a thought, call the landing and see if they can rent you a jig stick. If they can just bring anouther 40lb reel with your reel's and your set.

SoCalAngler, great idea, IMO.

Thank you.