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My Tackle Box

I often get asked ‘what equipment do you primarily use?’ To help answer this I have put together this overview of my personal tackle box and preferred equipment. All of the fishing equipment here is what I personally use whenever I go fishing for fun.

You will notice that I am fairly loyal to brands that have proven their performance and reliability to me. All of my rods and reels are Shimano, my hooks are Mustad, and my line is Dorisea. I have lost enough fish due to shoddy equipment that I always go with the tried and tested options.

Disclaimer – all links below are paid Amazon affiliate links.

Big Game Fishing

When I am going deep sea fishing for tuna, mackerel, or other hard fighting pelagic fish species then I grab my big game fishing setup. This comes with a heavy duty Tyrnos Overhead Reel and a Backbone Elite rod. This is a very heavy duty and short rod and can only be used from a boat.

I use heavy 60lb braid with a stainless steel leader of 80 lbs. This is to protect the line from the sharp teeth of some fishing species or any sharks that happen to be tempted by my bait.

Overhead Reel – Shimano Tyrnos 20

Rod – Shimano Backbone Elite

Main Line – Dorisea Braid Line 60 lb

Leader – Stainless Steel Leader 80 lb

Spinning Combo

My spinning combo is my most versatile setup. It can be used from the beach, from a boat, from a bridge, or any environment. I have an old Shimano Aernos XT 6000 which isn’t made any more unfortunately but it is a durable and reliable reel.

I also use a 15 lb braid line and a 20 lb fluoro carbon to try and provide as much stealth as I can from wary fish.

Spinning Reel – Shimano Aernos XT 6000

Rod – Shimano Trevala 7

Main Line – Dorisea Braid Fishing Line 15 lbs

Leader – Seagar Fluorocarbon Leader 20 lbs

Baitcasting Combo

My personal favorite is my Curado Baitcaster combo. This is a baitcasting setup that I use whenever accuracy is important. If I need to be casting underneath overhanging trees or around structure then this is the setup I use.

I also have a mono leader on this setup because of the likelihood of striking logs or trees and the necessity for improved abrasion resistance.

Baitcasting Reel – Shimano Curados 200E7

Rod – SHIMANO Curado Casting Rods

Main Line – Dorisea Braid Line 30 lb

Leader – Berkley Mono Leader 30 lb

Tackle Box

Tackle Bag – Rogue Fishing Gear Tackle Backpack with Plano Trays for Lures separated by target species

Multitool – Leatherman Multitool

Small Knife – Scanpan Knife

Fishing Lines – Backup spools of all the braid line used above

Leaders – Backup spools of all the leaders used above

Hooks – Hundreds of Chemically Sharpened Mustad Hooks from 2/0 to 10/0 in Size

Sinkers – Dozens of different sizes and shapes of sinkers such as round or arrow shaped sinkers

Miscellaneous

Reel Covers – Shimano reel covers for all reels above

Rod Cases – I travel a lot so I have rod cases for my main rods

Sunglasses – I also have polarized prescription sunglasses to help cut through the glare and see the fish

Conclusion

That is all of my main gear. Obviously I have loads of other equipment that spends a lot of time in my garage rather than going on all my fishing adventures.

I am always attempting to try as much new gear and technology as I can to make sure I am always using the best, but I do fall into old habits with my favorite equipment.

Happy fishing!