These trips give him an opportunity to test new tackle or to test the limits of tackle he’s already using.
For example, when Shimano introduced the Tranx 300, he started off using it with larger swimbaits like the Huddlestons, and is now experimenting with what it can do with 10XD- caliber crankbaits, but by taking it into other venues he can put it through its paces much more quickly.
Similarly, a G.Loomis 956 with a Shimano Calcutta 300D is the combo he uses most often for castable umbrella rigs, but it’s also his go-to saltwater bottom fishing rig.
He’s also tested out lighter tackle in those same places, like a medium-heavy pitching stick for dropping 1-ounce diamond jigs down deep.
“You can cast ‘em and you catch ‘em that way,” he said. “The ‘problem’ is that when they’re eating it on every drop, you don’t want to cast back down ten times. It wears you out.”
He and his brother, an avid saltwater angler, even bet on the lightest line they could use to successfully land a ling cod. Upon return from a trip with the Loomis crew to Kauai for tuna, he brought a spinning rod and Shimano Stella out on a trip with his brother.
“I caught one on a spinning rod with 8-pound Sunline Shooter,” he said. “It’s like catching a 15-pound smallmouth 100-feet deep.”
While he was proud of the achievement, and now knows what his tackle can handle, he noted that a feat like that “doesn’t end well for anybody.”
Lintner likes the Calico trips, because it allows him to throw many of the same lures that he’ll use for bass.
“With swimbaits, it was the exact same thing,” he said. “We were throwing weedless lures comparable to an Osprey or Top Shelf, rigged with a big old 9/0 Trokar, winding it around the kelp. Around the jetties we were using an 8XD, a 10XD, even the KVD 8.0 Magnum Squarebill.
“We also threw big Warbaits swim jigs, anything from ½- to 1½-ounces, with a swimbait trailer. We
20 ®