From the first offshore grouper fishing trip I can remember, the rods, reels, line and terminal tackle did not change much until the invention of braided line. Braided line was a total game changer in my opinion. Not only were the broomsticks and wenches (rods and reels) heavy, awkward and tiresome to fish several days in a row, they were not very ergonomically manufactured compared to today’s smaller and lighter weapons that are made for braid. I have scaled back considerably on the size and weight of my rods and reels and scaled up on the power.
All of this has been made possible with braided line. Not only can I pack more line onto a smaller reel, I can control the grouper much better with this lighter gear and zero stretch line. For example, if you were to step off 100 feet of 100# mono, tie it to a tree and pull the other end, you could get a full 4 or 5 feet of stretch out of this line, compared to zero stretch of the braided line. If you are lucky enough to find a stack of grouper on a slick flat sand bottom, then you have nothing to worry about. Heck, you could catch them on a snoopy rod and small mono. Being from the offshore ledge and rock capitol of the east coast, I don’t see this scenario very often. I constantly fish in and around ledges and rocks that will cut line easily if they get you back in there. The first 5-10 feet of the battle with a grouper is the most important part of the event. What I find to be important in catching grouper (vs. hooking grouper) is getting their head pointed upward. If you can get their head pointed up, most of the time, you can seal the deal. This smaller gear with the braided line does exactly that. This is where you need the proper rods and reels that make this all come together. I have been very fortunate in being able to fish and or test many different rods and reels. Both Shimano (shimano.co) and Diawa (daiwa.com) have absolutely perfected the rods and reels for the masses, without spending a fortune for the combo. The Shimano Torium and Torsa and the Diawa Saltist are great reels with heavy-duty drags that can do the job on a budget. Avet (avetreels.net) and Canyon Reels (canyonreels.com) are two others that are emerging as the “drag monsters” on today’s scene. All of these reels are small in size, but huge in line capacity and drag. Some say you get what you pay for, but I still use a set of Diawa Saltist 30’s and 40’s with very little, to zero problems.
As far as rods go, there are far too many to mention them, however, I have experience with the Diawa, Shimano and Barefoot (circlehookjig.com) stand-ups in the 5’6″ length with turbo guides. NOTE: No roller guides with the braided line, or you could have issues. One other rod that I have fished (abused) is the Black Hole (blackholeusa.com) Cape Cod Series. This rod is more expensive, but indestructible—believe me, we have tried to destroy them, with max pressure, and almost zero drag—but nothing ever breaks. The bigger the grouper, the more it shines. Being a former rod producer, it is extremely impressive to see how far we have truly come in the blanks, reel seats, guides, butts and wraps on today’s rods. My hat is off to the folks that have completed the R&D to get us where we are today.
If you are still bottom fishing a broomstick with a wench on it and 100# mono, consider trading up to get the most out of your fishing experience.
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