By Dave Brown

Getting Rigged Up for Rockfish Season

In this weeks Tune-Up Tuesday, Dave walks us through his go-to set-up for rockfish season here in SoCal.

Having the Right Gear

Rockfishing is a lot of fun. With the new regulations out in Southern California, there are a few things you need to know.  The big key change for 2021 is that you can now fish in depths up to 100 fathoms.  That is 600 feet deep!  Yikes!

It really doesn't take a lot to fish the deep drop for rockfish.  A nice stout rod...I love the PCH Custom 7' XH, matched up with a reel with good capacity.  I use the Cavalla 5II. 

I like to use Soft Steel Eminent Braid as my main line, attached to Soft Steel Super HT Monofilament or Ultra Premium Monofilament.  For the mainline, I will use 50lb braid and the leader, 30 or 40lb mono. 

The reason I use braided line is that at that deep of water, you still have a direct connection to your baits and you can feel each and every bite. 

In that monofilament leader, I will generally tie two dropper loops. This gives me double to chance to hook up at that depth.  Remember, in California, you can only use two total hooks.

And at the end of my line, I will tie a heavy torpedo style lead weight.  Depending on how deep we are fishing and the current, I will use anything between 8oz and 16oz or more.

That is my basic rockfishing setup.

The Video

Fishing that deep requires the right gear.  In this video, Dave talks about his favorite set up for rockfishing.  A Cavalla 5II matched up with a PCH 7' XH rod.  For him, this is the perfect set up for doing our local rockfish trips. 

We hope this video gives you a little insight on to what you might need for your next...or first rockfishing trip.

Good luck and we'll see you on the water.
Dave