For the past some 15 years I have been vacationing the end of March early April in the Naples area. My folks have a place they winter over just north of Marco Island and South of Naples (we're from Green Bay, WI and i'm going to slip this in......GO PACK GO!!!). In my week and a half long adventures over the past 15 years in FL, I have been slowly getting better at catching fish from the beach. Started with sheepshead off the jetties by Caxambas Pass, over the years I fared well enough (a few reds, black drum, few pomps, lots of mackerel,etc), but my folk’s physical health has been preventing them from joining me on the rocks so I made the change and we started fishing the beaches south of Naples. Here I discovered casting and jigging for pompano….I LOVE IT!! Then last year my folks found some 10’ rods with larger reels on them, so I spooled them up I decided to chuck out some cutbait ladyfish , wouldn't you know I hooked a spinner, might have been 4’ but in my mind’s eye it was 5’. I ended up getting tail whipped right away and broke off, but I saw that fish go nuts on the surface and felt the power…I was hooked
SO this year, I have been lurking on this site and rigging up. I am not purchasing top of the line gear as this is a week or two year investment. I purchased 2- Diawa Opus, a 5000 and a 6000. I have some rigs I purchased from a really helpful man in Texas – Daryl, Double D extreme tackle. After an hour long conversation I was confident I can rig up to land a medium shark
To my point… I am putting 50lb braid on the 5000. Figure it will hold 200 yards or so, I put a short 30 lb mono backing and I am wondering about my top shot for this rig. I have ~ 15 yards of 80 lb mono. This line is stiff like a spring and I am not confident it is long enough but I am out of room if I want at least 200 yrds of braid. I am considering spooling a longer and lighter 30lb mono top shot. Is this sufficient? In this part of the beach there are minimal shells and three sand bars, I often stand on the second and cast for pompanos. I estimate it to be 50 yards off the beach, I can just about cast my little pompano jigs to the third from the second (pomps are in the gut between the second and third) so I guess this one is 80 yrds from the beach (I maybe 10 yrds under w/ my estimates).
The second reel will be spooled with 65lb braid and again a 80lb mono top shot. In hind sight I should have just gone with 2 of the 6000 series, but I can use the 5000 on a downrigger for salmon fishing on the Lake MI, so I was trying to stretch my dollar, might be a mistake, but I’ll find out if I hook a bigger fish on the 5000 and get spooled.
My plan is to cast the smaller 5000 on over the top of the second sandbar on the down slope and the other larger reel over the top of the second in the trough, hopefully on the up slope edge of the third. We may have a third reel that holds more line, but I don’t not know the capacity of it as it is in FL, but I am assuming it will be similar to my 5000, so it may go on top of the second bar. there are two 10' rods and one 12' foot rods at my disposal at my folks place in FL. so I will not be bringing any rods, from my memory last year,they should be sufficient in length and power ( medium with surf casting handles )
Anyways, before I type a short novel, any advice insights, etc you might be able to offer me before I set off on my journey?? I’ll be down the second week of April well into the third. I hope my timing is right