There are mean old fishermen on party boats sometimes who would yell to the newbies "tighten up the drag, tighten up the drag" whenever a newbie hooked on to a yellow tail off of Catalina Island in California. (rarely the newbies did not lose their poles ) So if you're new, do your homework. Fishermen boot camp is tough on newbies. lol
To start, go to a local city park lake which has bluegill fish, use a light pole, 2-4" test line, small hook , small redworms and just a short leader 12" and just let if float around. Try to fish off a short bridge if it has one if not just off the shore. you can try a very small "white fly" and let it sink by itself using a bobber. My advise is not to try to invest too much money on your kids fishing rig until you find out if your kid likes it. You have an uphill battle going against smart phones and other digital devices. Good luck
That is a beautiful looking holder but... I would recommend the traditional aluminum surf holder2-3' long, they anchor better in any position. another advantage is that your pole sits higher. If do not have deep pockets, PCV valve pipe of a slightly larger dimension of that of your pole handle works great, just angle grind one end to make it into a long spike on the bottom end. (easy to clean, lightweight and one end can be inserted into the other for easy carrying) good luck.
If the rockfish you are writing about is a "sculpin" or a "sheephead" you are definitely on the wrong vessel. These suckers trash about are not easy to handle even on a "cattle boat". A sculpin has a poisonous spike that will send you to the hospital in pain. Kayaks I would think, were not intended to be used for bottom fishing regardless of the fishing rig which you intend to use; but I'm old now and you sound young and adventurous as I was once. Seals and sharks are waiting for you, hurry. I am a Californian fished out on local ocean waters.
YOLO, go for it. (Use a halibut rig it catches most California rock fish)
Let's not over think it, it's complicated, let's just get back to fishing topics.
Too bad that in Southern California, they don't allow dogs in most public fishing spots.
Be careful of what you wish for. I've had some "fishermen" who I have invited which I wish I had not. One had a two hour fishing limit another one just sat on his chair and got drunk and never bothered to check on his gear or rebait his poles, the whole time that he was there; one more who looked to get into arguments with other fishermen for the hell of it. Sometimes fishing along is best, you are the commander of your ship. You do as you please. What's heaven for some is hell for others. lol
In California we mainly use braid for rock cod fishing, you put on a 5# weight and drop it a long way down until you hit bottom. You use a "ganoin" a rig with about 6 massive hooks and hope that you didn't snag other rigs on the way back up or your rig will weigh around 40#. It's like lifting boat anchors. Mono line is used for everything else. Great tasting fish though but you shall need a cortisone shot someplace on your body when you unload off your cattle boat. lol
I suggest that you don't weight yourself down with fishing gear when shore fishing at Big Bear Lake, a light folding chair, two small jars of your favorite Powerbait colors, pliers, a cup of nightcrawlers, very lightweight pole holders (99 cent stores have excellent plant wire holders), a couple of ultralight fishing poles and reels, and a small amount of swivels, torpedo weights etc. Fishing is more enjoyable to me when I don't have to carry all sorts of "what IF" fishing junk. If your fishing buddies are cool all that you need is your fishing poles. If you are a female, all that you would really need to do is to just show up. I guarantee that if you show any type of fishing interest or effort as a female, all sorts of fisherman will come to your fishing rescue. lol
bobber attached to a 4#Line then attached to a rubber band, then attached to more line and then a hook???? I like to try new things but I still can't visualize your dad's rig. Can you describe it in a way which even a 2 yr. old could visualize it. Thanks.
Marty, can you please describe the rubber band rig again, I've never heard of it before. I heard of a rubber band to hold a sugar cube on your line as a weight, the sugar dissolves and you line is now without any resistance due to the lead weights you would have used. I heard of a rubber band to secure a bobber to your line and the line would slip off the bobber if you had a strong bite and then you would have no resistance from the bobber when you reeled the line in. I'm curious about your rubber band set up. Thanks.
Stilt fishing
Necessity may be the mother of invention but monotony is the mother of necessity.(my quote)
It looks great and fun for the millennials but for the older folks, not so much. lol
Hear, hear:
Use Light line 4# plus #2 test leader, use small treble hooks 16 or smaller with yellow power bait to start with. Use a small sliding sinker behind the small swivel. Try an inflated night crawler under a boober with an 18"-24" leader under it and let it drift until it gets too close to be practical and recast. Try a gold medium "phoebe" without any weight behind your kayak or boat but let it drift back about 25 yds. and feel the action of the phoebe. The line WILL kink eventually (a swivel reduces the amount twist but also the wobble, don't use one). I've also tried trolling yellow rooster tails at Big Bear Lake. When they hit a trolling spinner or small spoon it feels as if you snagged something like a branch or weeds so keep an eye on your spool drag, you don't want to it to snap your 4# line. Big Bear trout are typically around 1-2# each. One more thing, if your spot is mossy where you are shore fishing, move to another spot. shore coves and points are great spots to start at Big Bear Lake CA. Good luck.
I would try small worms or cut pieces of a nightcrawler, 4# test line and a floater, small hook with a 24" leader and no weights at first to check for crappies or bluegills just to test the waters; if you get hit, then you'll know that there may be a chance that the larger predators which feed on these fish (bass & cats) may also be around. Keep an eye on fellow fishermen to see how they are doing and ask questions. If you are there for more than, let's say, 2 hours and you get no bites...well you found tombstone's mudhole. Good luck pal.