Ep. 99: Wall Fishing Setup, Beast Hook Rigs & [FISH]rx Cabrillo Killer Rod

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

Episode 99, recorded live on September 2, 2025 — one before the milestone — is a technical wall fishing breakdown. The Beast hook as a jig rig for the wall, Luke’s 5-inch paddle tail approach when small bait is in the water, and the Cabrillo Killer — a custom [FISH]rx-branded rod that Waterman’s Collective built and that has since become one of the more-discussed rods in the community.

In This Episode

• Beast hook jig rig for the wall — Charly’s setup: lightest Beast hook available, J-rig on the front, fished at the Long Beach wall. The Beast hook allowing a weedless presentation that still has the weight ballast to get down. The J-rig as a complementary head that changes the fall angle
• Luke’s 5-inch paddle tail system — Luke’s wall approach: quarter-ounce straight braid for spotties, scaling up to 5-inch paddle tail as the default search bait. When small bait is present in the water, staying on the 5-inch rather than sizing down — flash-matching over size-matching
• Small bait in the water — lots of small bait at the time of this episode. Luke’s observation: with small bait everywhere, you don’t necessarily want to match the exact size — you want to be the biggest thing in the water column that looks like food. The 5-inch with flash became the answer
• Cabrillo Killer — the custom [FISH]rx-branded rod that Waterman’s Collective built. The rod’s name printed on the blank. The partnership between [FISH]rx and Waterman’s producing branded gear that represents both identities
• Sand bass and calico at the wall — Luke’s breakdown: 60lb line when targeting big sand bass, scaling up to 1.5 oz when going specifically for sand bass. The different weight approach for the different species holding at the wall simultaneously
• Spotty fishing setup simplicity — Luke’s spotty fishing distilled: quarter-ounce, straight braid, no complexity. The contrast between the elaborate wall setups and the stripped-down spotty approach as a reminder that simplicity often outperforms optimization

Beyond the Rod & Reel on Wall Fishing

The Beast hook jig rig conversation is practically useful for anyone who fishes the wall. Most anglers go heavy and weedless or light and exposed. The Beast hook with a J-rig head is a middle path — weedless enough to fish structure, heavy enough to get down, light enough to feel the bite. The J-rig geometry changes the fall so the bait doesn’t spin in current. That’s a real solution to a real problem at the wall.

The small bait flash logic is worth remembering. When there’s a ton of small bait in the water, matching the hatch by size means you’re one of thousands. Going bigger and flashier makes you the exception — the one bait in the column that stands out. Luke’s read was right: the 5-inch with flash outperformed smaller presentations in a session where you’d think smaller would be the answer.

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