It helped to have the Capt with me helping carry them on the boat, as he saw them also, he went 1 way and I went the other we met in the middle and there they were, the people who had them had no idea how to use a lever drag Avet.

I think all of us that fish headboats have had that happen a few times. Some people like to tie a rag on their's when they put them in the rod holder to signify "these rigs are taken".

Never tried that but it may work.

It's one thing I like about having Lefty gear. There isn't any doubt that it's mine. I have had more than one deckhand pick one up to give my setup a test cast ( as some of them like to do) and the look on their face is priceless when they go to reel and the handle is on the other side.

you guys that carry your own what exactly would you recomend some one new to head boats start buying, been 4 or 5 times and want to get my own gear with the goal of being ready for one of the tuna trips

Shimano Torium 30 w/ 40# - 50# test line. On a good 7' 30 - 50# rod. Won't break the bank as a first purchase.

I would buy a Penn Senator 114H combo from Bass Pro or Cabelas it's economical and reliable and great for bottom fishing. I personally buy the 114H and combine it with a 7ft Tuna Stick that I get from Academy. One word of warning is that some head boats don't allow braid on the boat because it cuts when you grab the line and it can be hard to die-tangle when you get wrapped up with everyone else. I use 40lb Suffix mono that I buy from Academy for about $14. As far as baits definitely bring cigar minnows and snapper slappers if it's snapper season or if your on one of the boats that has an extended permit which some operators do. I personally use Deep Sea Headquarters in Port A and do their 5hr afternoon trip during Snapper Season.

Get an USA made Penn not the Chinese junk. There is lots of them on Ebay. Put 50-80 mono on it and your set.

Personally I've seen little or no use for a 6/0 on a head boat. In fact, the 6/0's on the boat I fished were the reason I brought my own gear. I used Ambassadeur 7000's mostly and never had a problem with anything. I still use reels in that size range, even for tuna. I only own one 6/0 and it is electric. I've caught a 170lb shark on an Accurate 270 (about the size of an Ambassadeur 6000) with 40lb line and never felt the need for a bigger reel. If you like holding big heavy reels all day for no reason, have at it, but I'll stick to my smaller reels

A 7000 just doesn't hold enough line and isn't geared low enough, if you want to go around the boat 3 times fighting a 12lb snapper have at it for me I want to winch it in and drop down for another or be capable of reeling in a 80lb AJ.... Leave the glorified bass reels at the house

I also own my own boat and all I do is fish offshore, I go Snapper fishing more than most people in state waters. If you don't get that snapper up off the bottom fast and furious there's always an 8ft bar shark lurking around to eat your snapper

On a headboat a quality medium size reel is plenty big, like a Senator 113HL or a Shimano TLD-25. Both have enough line capacity & drag power to handle a ticked off AJ while being light enough to handle all day.

I fished 7000's offshore for over 15 years and have caught plenty of 20+ pound snappers with no problem, without moving from my spot, so I guess I was doing it wrong. BTW, I replaced the 7000's with TLD 5's, 10's and 15's, also no problem. I admit when I fish for AJ's I use a stouter reel but not larger than a 4/0. I do agree the TLD 25 is good for offshore, though I much prefer the TLD 20. A little lighter and narrower, making it easier to handle.

The Penn Senators are not big reels, they are however low geared and tough for the money you spend. They only hold around 300 yds. of 50lb mono. Me personally and most of the charter captains I have fished with over the years use Lever Drags for Trolling and the Star drags for bottom fishing. I don't like for the inexperienced fisherman I bring on my boat to be touching the drag each time they drop the bait, like wise when I am trolling I like to set the drag to strike or back off on the drag to let line out. I have both Senator 113H and the Shimano TLD25's, but each for its own purpose. I also have Avet's and Large Penn Spinfishers for chunking baits offshore. At the end of the day the rod does the bulk of the fighting which is why I use a 7' Tuna stick with lots of backbone to it for my bottom rigs, on my trolling set ups I am using a 5-1/2' rods with TLD's but rarely do you get to troll on a head boat, some of the mates will put a boat rod out the back as they are motoring.

Would love to see the pics of your 20lb plus snapper your catching, I have been fishing the Texas coast for 10 years now and have only been able to pull up a 16lb personal best. 15 years in FL

I have fished these boats for many years and never used their rods & reels. I have had a Penn 209 smoked from an 83# AJ, 309 spooled 2 times, 9/0 spooled 1 time and an Avet 30wide spooled 1 time. You never know. I fish large baits not the small squid they have. I usually take 2 rods with me for a day trip 3 for the longer trips. I have broken the 150lb fish weight 3 times in the last 3 years. For most anything will do to me a 6/0 is about perfect and no problem to fish all day. I have a trip in Aug drifting shrimp boats all day and will take my Avet 30w and a Senator 6/0 for backup and do not feel overgunned. In Florida some years ago I took a 12/0 Senator and got on some really big fish with it, I needed the line where we fished on deep drops. I like fishing big tackle like others do the smaller reels. I am considering taking a 500 jigmaster also in Aug just to fish it again and probably will do so. good luck on your tackle hunt and better luck fishing.