I am seeking some advice in regards to the gear that I fish with when I am fishing for reds and trout in the rivers and the gear I fish with for surf fishing.
Surf Fishing
12 ft ocean master with 350 yards of 100 lb braid and 250 yards of backing.
9 ft rod with 350 yards of 60 lb braid
13 ft rod with 350 yards of 60 lb braid
Two, 8 ft bait rods with 250 yards of 30 lb braid
</font id=“red”> What would an ideal set up look like for surfishing? Rod sixe? line strenght, ETC… Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Trout/ Redfish
- two, 7 ft rods with 225 yards of 30 lb braid
- 6 ft 6 inch speed stick with 20 lb braid
- 7 ft rod with 200 yards of 30 lb braid.
Again, I really need some advice and tips about what size rods I should be using, what kind of action? what line is best? Currently I feel like my red/ trout rods are either two light action or not big enough.
PS… if you or any one you know of has any old rods and reels that they do not use anymore but are still in good quality condition please let me know! Unfortunately I am pretty tight on my budget right now and have not had a lot of money to purchase new gear which is why I am asking all of you to reach out to me if you have way too many set ups or you have simply upgraded your rods and reels a little bit. Obviously i am willing to buy the gear, work the money off if you need help with and side projects or can go on a payment plan!
Thank you ahain!
The ideal setup is truly only what you are comfortable fishing with. In addition, it depends on what you target species is. So there is no magic rod/line/reel combo to catching fish, surf or creeks.
What I like to use for surfing fishing is an 8 foot with 20 mono test. I will put a 30-40 leader on it to help with sand rubbing and fish lips. I don’t shark fish so I don’t need anything big and don’t need to throw very far past the breakers.
For red and trouts in the creeks I prefer a one piece 7 ft, medium action rod, spinning reel with 12-15lb mono test and a 20-25 lb leader. Leader is about three ft in length.
Braid is okay I just prefer mono.
j
thank you for that information sir. very helpful. and i knew the right gear is based upon every single fishermans preference but just want to try and learn more and more. I have been fishing my entire life, grew up on freshwater fishing tournaments and still can never know everything about fishing. I always enjoy learning more
Jeffrey Wakefield
Jeff regarding the surf. I like 9-11 ft medium heavy rods for fish. Capable of throwing a minimum of 6 ounces of lead. 300yds of 30lb braid with a 30lb mono top shot. Then a 50lb liter after the swivel for cut bait or a double drop rig for bait fishing. Good for anything from a whiting, to big reds, rays, to smallish sharks. You never know whats going to hit your rod and 30 braid will handle most any fish in the surf. For targeting sharks with spinning gear a 11-12ft heavy rod. 500yds of 65lb braid. Capable of throwing 10ounces of lead and more. Reels vary from brand to brand in size. 5000-8000 size for fish. I like them to hold close to 300yds. When chunking for sharks if you are using a spinner go big! Something with a stout drag capable of holding close to 500yds of 65lb braid. Everyone uses a little different rigging and has varying opinions. This is just one. Good luck and catch them up:smiley:
Have to agree with runbabyrun, 9’-11’ med. heavy FAST action rod rated for at least 6oz. Longer rods rated 8-10oz.
Reel and line size is more what you like and are comfortable with. I like to keep things simple.
Small setup - 9’ med heavy rod, 50 sized reel, 15# mono, 50# double drop bottom rig, small hooks. I use this 90% of the time, fresh shrimp, small pieces of cut bait. Have landed 30+" Reds, healthy Sharks and Rays, very smooth and finely adjustable drag is key.
When targeting Bigger Red Drum in the fall, 70-80 reel, 30-40# braid main line, 50# mono rub leader, 60# coated wire single drop rig, 6/0-8/0 STRONG circle hook…you WILL hook Sharks and big Rays…chunks of cut bait, cut blue crab.
I don’t target Shark unless I fish with Pete, but I do have a couple of rods and reels that will stop most Sharks you can CAST to.
Don’t over think it, if the rig will handle Largemouth Bass, Stipers or big Catfish it will work in the surf. Casting 4-6 oz can be the only obstacle.
I have struggled over the past year on tuning into the ‘right’ set up for surf fishing. For me if i had to do it all over again on a budget i would do 2 daiwa bg8000 spooled with 65lb j braid on a 12ft okuma longitude. For all other fish i would use 2 penn ssv6500ll reels spooled with 50lb j braid on 10ft okuma longitude rods.
Jury still out for me on the BG’s. Haven’t made up my mind one way or the other yet. I got the 4500 last year for a mid sized set up. Used it probably 10 times. At the end of the season the reel felt a little gritty. Took in in to Haddrels for a end of the year cleaning seeing how it felt gritty. Was told by the reel guy something wasn’t right whom I know and trust. Instead of them shipping it off or repairing it they just handed me a new reel. Thats the benefit of buying local. Yes they do run a little more but when you have issues often they resolve them quickly and they did so without question. The reason it concerns me is I know I took very good care of it. Never dunked or laid in the sand. Always tightened the drag and washed it off with a low power setting on the hose with the drag tightened after each use. Then I loosened the drag for storage until the next use as suggested by manufacturers. Never store a reel with a tightened drag. I’m just not sold it is a good reel for the surf yet and wonder if it is sealed enough to handle use in the surf. Surf reels go through hell. It may have been a bad one but it does concern me with it being taken very good care of, used very little and only tested on a few smaller reds. I would suggest anyone who has them hold on to the receipt as they have a one year warranty to fix any issues. I would also be very careful with dunking, laying on the sand and maintenance keeping it clean. You don’t even have to dunk it for the reels to get gritty. Sand blowing and rolling down the beach can find it’s way in reels if the sealing is inadequate. Thats why it is important to use spikes that are long to keep surf reels as high up off the sand and out of the spray as possible. I will see how my replacement reel does this year. If it goes gritty. I won’t buy another one. I also dropped a shimano spheres 10000 into my spread this year for a test run. So far I don’t feel the slightest grit in it whatsoever. They are supposed to be a “fully” sealed reel as quoted by Allan Hawk. They als
I got one and fished it twice and havent caught a thing, that must mean it sucks. Lol. But on a serous note i will let you know how they are at the end of the year. The best cheap reels i have bought are the okuma avengers. I only bought the bg because of the line capacity it has.
I had the bg8000 all last year. I layed it down once when i caught a shark not thinking and the waves came up and burried it in sand by the time i got the shark back in the water. It felt gritty after i washed it off so i took the reel off and noticed alot of sand by the bait clicker stuck to the grease. Cleaned it all off and re greased. Good as new. Also the new one i bought this year it fell down today before i could get to it and got the sand treatment as well but is not gritty at all. I got it for the line capacity as well.