I'm not to good at typing on this darn thing but have been running around the gulf and inland my whole life....I found a few tricks for tons of gear at great prices.my advice might some help to ya.reels,spears,tackle,weights,ect....eBay..I am a big fan of okuma....rods are expensive to ship but academy has some great starter rods...which I promise,my kids have put through the test.from whoo,tuna,snapper,even some realllllly krazy sharks.and I mean cheap rods 25-50 bucks ..for operation. ........just be familiar with your rig pack it full of safety gear.and this is stuff u cannot skimp. On ',-///good gear.get a great set of charts and then shoot me an email and I'll send some way points that ya need to be cautious around.....be safe and have fun with the family

For gear, go the classifieds section of the HullTruth. Lots of used gear at good prices.

You just spent a lot of money on a boat, and you shouldn't have to buy gear for all your friends to go out. You're not running a charter operation. If they want to fish, they should have/get their own gear.

If you like to spearfish, then go spearfishing. There are a lot of local spearfishing clubs in the metro area (Aqua Aces, Frogmen, Hell Divers, Sea Tigers, and others) if you want to talk to people who like to shoot fish and have a lot of experience on the water.

As far as safety: get an epirb! Also, take your boat on the lake several times to get use to using it. It may be in perfect working order, but if it's not, it's better for it to go wrong in the lake than 30+ miles offshore. When you do go offshore, plot your course and make sure you know you're fuel range. There aren't any gas stations out there for you to fill up. Use the rule of 3: If you get 2 mpg and you have a 60 gal tank, then you have a total range of 120 miles. Only plan a trip 40 miles one way. (then you have 40 miles back, and 40 miles in your pocket in case something goes wrong.)

I would suggest to shake a few hands at your local marina. You will be able to find many sportsmen / sportsladies willing to be very helpful. If you are in Venice and see one of our boats just walk up and say howdy. I know many guides and private owners that will be happy to help you out.

Captain Wilk

Thanks for the advise guys taking plenty of notes lol. On the Okuna reels any recommendations?