Oh man . Thanks for posting ! How far off shore do you have to go ? Any days of bad weather ! I have a kicker and VHF radio but man that big water makes me nervous if I was too far out ! What are you running on the lead rods ? How much line out on the lead rods ?
There is tons of stuff online regarding setups for lead…most bait shops will also help you. We had one day where it was questionable and decided to try it…we got out there in solid 4 footers with the occasional 6 foot roller. It was the first time i’ve taken a wave over the bow in my new boat (Trophy 195) and that was enough for me. At the time we were only in 60 FOW about 2 miles off shore. It wasn’t worth it to continue in my opinion, especially in the afternoon knowing we would be out past dark. We made the right call no doubt. If you’re going that way and do not have truly BIG water experience….it is a whole different ballgame and you can get into trouble quickly. Know the forecast and your abilities and STICK to them.
In general we were 5-10 miles from the ramp at any given time fishing. You will be making this run in complete darkness in the am and when coming back in at night…
This particular trip we ran 3/4/7/8/10 color lead setups. Each was spooled with 300 yards of 40# braid backer. The backer is important to clip the board onto and to have sufficient quantity if the fish runs (which they do). It is not uncommon for a king to rip 2-300 feet of line in a single run, multiple times.