Charter guides need dependable gear, especially offshore where big fish can really dish out the abuse. Bobby Terrebonne is no different.
For conventional bottom fishing, his reel of choice is the Shimano Tekota 600 level wind (although he owns a few Penn Formula 10LDs) mounted on 6- or 6 ½-foot Ugly Stick rods.
He calls Ugly Sticks “very good rods that can handle big fish, very durable, great feel.”
The reels are spooled with 50-pound-test Berkley ProSpec Offshore Monofilament tipped with a 3-foot fluorocarbon leader.
The leader is attached to the main line with a swivel, above which is threaded a 4- to 8-ounce (size depends on water current strength) egg sinker, effectively creating a giant-sized Carolina rig.
For targeting mangrove snappers, Terrebonne uses spinning reels because some casting — or at least accurate flipping —is involved. The tools of choice here are Bait Runner 6000 or 8000 series reels slung under 6-foot Ugly Stick Rods. Line choice is 80-pound test PowerPro braided line and a 3-foot fluorocarbon leader.
He stressed that fluorocarbon is important for mangrove snapper fishing.
“Mangroves have great eyesight, and fluorocarbon disappears underwater,” Terrebonne said.
And he chums a lot for mangroves snappers, so most of them are caught near the surface, where visibility is good.
He also uses a 3/0 circle hook (his preferred brand is Mustad), which is smaller, lighter and less visible than the 5/0 hooks used on his level wind reels.
