Getting OWNED by a MONSTER Cape Cod Canal Striper! 

Dan Stephens so damn true man.

Thanks Brian! I’m itching to get out there again

budman1870 thank you for watching man!

You’re absolutely right my friend. Just another lesson learned

Rosco haha it felt appropriate

Brennan Thompson apparently that becomes irrelevant if you’re a total dunce like me....but thanks bud

I love it, and depending on the guides,reel seat, wraps, etc it can be anywhere from 500-800 dollars

vsonic86 they both have their own qualities that make them great. The Saltiga is smoother due to the mag seal, but the drag on the Stella is unbeatable. I think either the 10000 or 14000 stella or the 5000 Saltiga

vsonic86 and to answer your question about the drag, no I wouldn’t lock the drag. I wouldn’t touch the drag and I would have just fought the fish much more aggressively using rod pressure. With these big fish you have to steer them and constantly fight to keep their heads up. I let that fish control the fight and dictate where it wanted to go instead of vice versa.

Brendan Leung Depending on your Tackle and the rod you’re using, that’s going to depend. This was a fish that lfelt and fought extremely different than any I’ve ever caught to this day....but if I could do it all over in the mexact situation there, I should have been fighting the fish at around 12 pounds of drag with my gear. That’s what I started the fight at but like any big fish it takes them a minute to orient themselves before taking off on a run and I should have braced for that much more than I was. I’m 6’3 230 and it still took me for a ride....12 lbs of drag at 40-60 degree rod angle is so much more than most people can contemplate until you test it....&&I’d say the average canal fisherman uses 5-6lbs of drag. With the confidence I have in my gear, my knots, my terminal connections, etc. I tend to not fuck around with big fish. I don’t horse them but my goal is to keep turning their heads/getting their heads up so that I control the fight. Try to give them nothing, let the rod and the tight drag absorb the big bursts. I’ve found with big (and I mean 30-35lb+) fish and bigger have a HUGE tendency to take you straight to the bottom. It’s a much different line path than a normal fish. The longer they’re allowed to be near the bottom the more likely they’re going to get a chance to bust you off in that graveyard of shit on the bottom. If you watch videos of me even from 2 seasons ago to last this past season, I fight fish much more aggressively.

Sounds good. Yet to hook onto a genuine canal cow yet. I have a 12 MH tiralejo 2-6 oz. 12 lb drag still do the deal?

Brendan Leung I have that rod and I’d say 10lbs would be ideal. You’ve got an extra foot of leverage against you (on the fight) and it’s a very fast action rod. I’ve always wanted to take the 12’ conventional 4-10oz tiralejo and re-wrap it as a spinning outfit lol. It would be such a monster

Mike Pevey Mike Pevey It’s awesome. I’m going to explain some of the pros of using something like the Saltiga 6500h for the canal vs something like a 5000h and why you may consider one or the other because these are things I wish I knew when I was considering such an expensive investment. If I could do it all over again, for fishing the canal I’d get the 5000 Catalina or the Expedition 5500h for plugging, and either the 6500h or Stella 18000 for Jigging. If you want the quality of a Saltiga while having statistically the same reel, check out the Daiwa JDM Catalina. That or the JDM Saltiga Expedition 5500h would be terrific reels. All the reels I just mentioned are stupid smooth and just a pleasure to spin with for hours. I have a Stella 14000xg paired with an 11’6 ODM Frontier X (and before that a Century 1327SS) as my plugging setup for comparison sake to the 6500 Saltiga paired with the 11’ ODM Jigster you see in the video and have handled everything from a 4000-8000 Saltiga, and 8000-20000 Stella. I have realized something that applies to both Daiwa and Shimano in terms of what the cutoff is going from their inshore to true offshore series reels. For Shimano the cuttoff is the 14000-18000. The 18000 is a monster of a reel at 30.9 oz and very comparable to the 6500 Saltiga at 29.5 oz. The 6500 still wins in line capacity and is just a testament to how big Daiwa reels actually are in comparison to others.The body size is considerably bigger than the 14000 (which shares the same body as the 10000) and also considerably heavier. Both the 14000 and 18000 are capable of producing 55lbs of drag. For Daiwa it’s the 5000 to 6500 series where you really see the jump in size/weight. The 5000 is still just about as much reel as anyone could ever need for the canal. It holds over 450yds of 50lb braid, I’m sure well over 500yds of something like Powerpro Maxcuatro. I know personally, that I took the 6500h popping for tuna and spooled it with 300yds of 100lb Jerry Brown Hollow. It has the capacity to hold around 750 yds of 50lb Maxcuatro. The 5000 series Daiwa comes in at 33lbs of drag, opposed to the 66lbs that 6500 is capable of. For striper fishing, you’ll never need anything near either one of those numbers, and the best Tuna and GT rods on the planet are still only going to be able to take 25kg max before they want to fold over. As far as service goes, I haven’t felt like the Saltiga even needed to be serviced yet. I fished the canal with it, jigged with it, and it never skipped a beat, but If I were using it to throw stickbaits at tuna and running 25lbs of drag consistently then I’d have it serviced no question every offseason. That or if I knew that I dunked it really bad. To make it easier I think this is probably how I’d handle servicing for the following reels based on the roles that they’re going to play, because that will be the determining factor. Daiwa Saltiga 6500h - Will handle anything the canal can throw at it and go an entire season without service. Daiwa Saltiga 5000h - As a plugging outfit only, you’d probably be just fine going an entire season without service, but if I were jigging with it regularly I’d have it serviced. The same advice would go for the Stella 18000 in contrast to the 14000. The customer service Shimano provides when you buy a Stella is second to none. Daiwa builds a very solid product but just don’t expect to get it back in less than 2-3 weeks, maybe a month during the season. If you could tell me the setup you want to run the reel on, I might be able to help. If it’s a surf rod in the 10-11’ range, I’d say get a Catalina. Daiwa USA will 100% service them, and they’re literally the same thing as a Saltiga, and in my opinion look even better (and nobody has them).

As far as the Bay Jigger, unless you really wanted the slower gear ratio or the 0.7oz weight reduction, I’d said just get the Saltiga 4000h. It’s a proven model and the line capacity trumps the Bay Jigger, as does the Catalina.

I mostly surf fish down here in Florida mostly using top water plugs . I was looking at picking up a 7 ft St. Croix rod for either the bay jigger or the new Stella fj when it comes out next month. I’ve never used a daiwa or Shimano spinning reel and the mag seal I’ve been skeptical on as I’ve heard about having to send it over seas for service and this and that which I wouldn’t be too happy about . I have bigger reels for boat fishing and shark fishing . I was looking for something that would last me a long time and be something I’m proud to own. I take very VERY good care of my gear and it never gets wet other than the water coming off of the line even though I wade fish all the time . It never sees sand or anything of the like either . I’m currently using a penn slammer 3 5500 and its a huge paper weight to me . I had a Van Staal vr 125 that started making noise then got a vsx 250 which was just too heavy and I didn’t like using a huge rod . Plus I’m not a left handed crank fisherman . I grew up using right handed baitcasters and when I started using spinning reels that technique transferred over . So I need a reel quality reel I can transfer handle sides . Narrowing it down to the daiwas and the Shimanos

Mike Pevey So if you’re going to be casting from a boat, then rod length is def up to you, but from shore, I’d take a Daiwa Saltiga 4000h and pair it with something like a Black Hole 9'2" Striper Cape Cod Special rated for 3-4-3oz. I have that same rod paired with a Catalina 4000h and it’s a monster and the lightest 9’ rod I’ve ever handled. It’s capable of casting 2-3oz topwater lures a mile and has the backbone to land 30 pound stripers. If distance isn’t an issue for you (it always is for me) then you may not need the 9’ rod but that’s just my personal preference. The Saltiga 4000h will not let you down. You’ll hold it for the first time and instantly know you’re holding a tool that is a cut above the rest. It feels solid in every aspect, the bail snaps open and shut, the drag is smooth as silk, the power knob is extremely comfortable, and the reel has endless power. It’s the type of reel that will make you look forward to every outing, if for no other reason than to make a few casts with it.

Thanks for all of your first hand help . I’m out of town now and hoping to get into a few shops that carry them to get my hands on some . Do you know if of any place in the states that services these Magsealed reels to avoid the shipping hassles? That could be a deciding factor.

thanks for the support Dustin!

Craig Dunlap They truly do. It’s amazing how with those big ones you’ve got a very small window of a couple seconds or so before they know they’re hooked and decide to put their heads down. Once they get their heads down they’re going.

East Coast Lure Company No, so actually after some experimenting, I went back to 6x VMCs or I’ll use BKK Raptor Z hooks. But most of the time I’m using 6x VMCs...I’ve only broken one and it was a freak accident. They’re plenty strong and the hook penetration is much better due to the ST-66 having such thick wire gauge. The VMCs are so much cheaper, they’re going to get the job done 99.9% of the time and more rust resistant.

Dan Evan Fishing thanks for your knowledge

OutofWORKoutdoors I can’t wait to get a second chance!

It’s so true. Hard to go back to freshwater....I went run and gun Bluefin tuna popping with heavy spin gear (Saltiga Dogfight 8000 with 130lb mainline, 200lb leader on a Racepoint 250 PE-10 rod) and talk about adrenaline rush man!

About $500

Robert that comment was a real day maker for me. Your kind words and support are something I won’t forget and I’ll do my best to continue to be a both a positive influence and reliable source of information for anyone who cares enough to listen. Thank you 🙏🏼

Credit where credit is due. There is far too much criticism and not enough encouragement throughout the fishing forums and websites. I always feel that you take the time to educate and nurture and it is for that reason that I always look for your next post. If I see you on the Canal this summer, I will be sure to say hello.

PLEASE do exactly that. I’m going to be doing a tackle talk video very shortly where I hope to share some of the plugs and rigging techniques that I’ve used that are not typical and could potentially expand the range of anyone who is watching. Thanks again my friend for commenting. Best ever.

Tsunami Sam which part, me almost going into the water headfirst lol?

thats the intro lol

Tsunami Sam bahaha you might be onto something! And I’ll be the first one to make fun of myself lol....I was thinking in my head “oh dude this is a schoolie I’m going to waterski this thing in pffttt” the fish had other ideas 😂

Guy Fishing thanks for the support man.

Scot Mac Yes sir it was, but it was also shitty angling with zero confidence

Yeah I mean I have both, but it was raining and shitty out so I tried to change the aspect from wide to normal and put it on the chest mount in an attempt to use my big ass head as an umbrella for the camera

Tsunami Sam lol hey if that guy couldnt make the right presentation, I say well done by Sea Money. He made a perfect cast right at 12 o’clock, and played it perfectly. Was that a custom painted mack sebile MS?

Just lost another monster similar pumps like what you had at the end took me around the jetty again me and my buddy believe it was a 40 pound foul hooked fish ( we saw the tail and back side) this time i think yours may have been foul hooked too but also big no doubt hopefully next time I won't panic again at the power man it's rough

Also great vid

Thank you for the kind words man. I prefer to release my fish, but have nothing against anyone that wants to harvest a legal fish and have it go to good use. I’ll only keep a fish if for whatever reason I know it won’t survive, and even then I’ll usually give it to someone that I know would otherwise not be able to enjoy having it on the table.

Dan Evan i respect that man

smokster0604 It is definitely one of the most unique fishing locations in the US....not many places can you pull your car up, and have the ability to cast into 30-60 feet of fast moving, structure filled water. Just by design the canal creates these situations where a biomass of stripers in the tens of thousandsj will push through, shore to shore thick, just demolishing all the trapped baitfish . Has made for some of the most epic blitz situations I’ve ever seen.

vsonic86 by what, how the fish got off? The fish swam to the bottom like big ones do and they try to rip your lure along the bottom to get it off. This particular fish took my lure down and someone’s old magic swimmer that had broken off was down there. The fish dragged my lure across the magic swimmer and got itself free of my pencil popper. I reeled my line in and my lure was connected to a 9” Magic Swimmer and like 200 feet of braided line attached to it

Mike Whitaker considering I didn’t catch it, must have been a world record 🤣

Solid advice

Have A Crappie Day you mean so I don’t almost get pulled into the drink headfirst? Sounds like a plan 🤣