Ep. 9: Marc Higashi of Performance Tackle on Rods, Gear & the Local Fishing Community

Guest: Marc Higashi (Performance Tackle) Hosts: Daniel Dahlin ([FISH]rx), El Charly, Luke Dean (Bait Slingers / Artemis Charters)

Performance Tackle’s Marc Higashi joined Episode 9, recorded live on March 7, 2023, for a wide-ranging breakdown of how to actually set up for SoCal fishing. Marc has been running Performance Tackle in Los Alamitos for 28 years. That experience comes through in how he talks: not what to buy, but how to think about gear, what questions to ask, and why a rod is only one quarter of the system.

In This Episode

• Rod, reel, line, and lure as a system — Marc’s framework: a rod is only a quarter of the setup. The right reel, the right line, and the right lure for that rod is what makes the whole thing work
• How to help a first-time angler — don’t overwhelm with options. Start with something that handles 8 to 12 pound mono, one simple presentation, and let the experience build from there
• Why experience is the only real teacher — you can read, watch YouTube, and spend freely, but you won’t actually learn until you’re catching fish and building a reference point
• Baja fishing — Marc’s Tony Reyes trip to the Sea of Cortez: cabrilla, pargo, and the gear required when fish are wedging themselves into rocks on every hookup. 65 pound braid, short heavy mono leaders, 400-size bait casters
• Calico preferences — boiler fishing at the Channel Islands on iron and swimbaits, Clemente in June and July during the spawn, inner harbor night fishing on the skiff
• Performance Tackle at PCS — two booths, meet and greet format, Sudden Impact, Pearl, Viking lead heads, iRod, and Graphtech rods
• Rod building and repair — Tommy has been the shop’s rod builder for 22 of Marc’s 28 years. Turnaround is typically four to five days; now is the time to get repairs done before summer
• Performance Tackle voted one of the best tackle stores in Southern California on Wired to Fish — Marc found out from a friend, characteristically low-key about it

Beyond the Rod & Reel with Performance Tackle

The gear framework Marc laid out in this episode is genuinely useful and not something most fishing content covers clearly. His version: a rod is one quarter of the system. Match it with the right reel for the application. Put the right line on it for that reel and that rod. Then pick a lure that makes sense for all three. Get any one of those wrong and the whole thing works against you.

He uses a golf analogy — you wouldn’t play 18 holes with one club, and you wouldn’t pick a club without knowing the shot. The tackle store’s job is to ask enough questions to figure out what shot you’re trying to make. That’s why he’ll spend two hours with a customer who doesn’t buy anything. He’d rather you leave educated and come back later than leave with the wrong gear and blame the shop.

The beginner advice was equally direct: don’t overwhelm. The hardest customer is someone who wants to go fishing but doesn’t know what they want to catch. Give them something simple that will work, get them catching fish, and let the experience do the teaching. The gear progression follows naturally once someone has a reference point.

Watch the full episode on the Time On The Water YouTube channel. New episodes every Tuesday at 6 PM.

Note: This episode was originally recorded as part of Is This Mandatory, the show that became Time On The Water. Daniel was fishing and building baits under the name Dahlin Baits at the time — the brand is now [FISH]rx.