I know in “advice” many equipment questions have been answered, but I have a slightly more specific ask. Given I travel with rods, I need 2-piece construction to fit in the “family truckster”. I was thinking I would like two rods for fishing the variety that is in the surf (whiting, reds, small sharks, etc) and possibly one slightly larger setup for throwing a cut whiting a bit further out for larger shark or other larger fish.
Fishing will mostly be on IOP with some young boys eager to catch a few and a dad looking to add a few nice ones too.
Thanks for your .02
I love my Penn 8500 on a 12’ Star surf rod for the bigger guys.
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ugly stick will always take a good pounding and is pretty cheap. i have a 10 footer in MH that breaks down to fit inside if need be and is light enough to pick up whiting bites, but heavy enough to take a beating from sharks too. reel i have an okuma avenger spinning reel ($65) that has a bait feeder to allow big fish to pull out line, but holds about 400 yards of 65lb braid. of course i have several more rods, but that combo is very versatile and will work for almost anything you can find in the surf.
I use two rods for surf fishing, but I do not target sharks. I have a 7’ medium action Penn combo I bought at Haddrells a couple years ago. 7’ Penn Slammer rod with Penn Sargus 6500 reel. I fish this with double drop or fish finder rig with 3 or 4oz pyramids. My lighter rod is a 7’ Ugly Stik Intercoastal from the marts with a Penn Battle 3500. I fish this with double drop rig with 2oz pyramid. This rod is medium light action, and very flexible at the tip. I have caught everything from 9" whiting to slot sized reds to a 3’ bonnethead shark in the surf on these setups. Both rods are 2 piece. Big fan of Penn reels, and no complaints with either rod, and I am pretty tough on both.
9’-11’ Star 2 piece rod with a Penn Spinfisher V 5500 or 6500 loaded with 20# mono backing and about 250 yards of 50# braid is what you need for catching 90% of the fish that swim off the beach. Use a 7’ 30# florocarbon leader, fish finder rig, 80# swivel and a snelled 5/0 circle hook 6"-8" past the swivel. If you can find 2oz-4oz frog tongue weights, they hold the best. I haven’t found any around here; order mine from a buddy in NC. Bait up with shrimp or fresh cut mullet and you’re doing it.
21’ Maverick Master Angler
“There’s a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning” -J. Buffett
Thank you all for the tips and advice. I decided to try out a couple combos to give me some flexibility and to learn from each. One is the lighter option and the other MH. Will be fishing Wild Dunes in a couple weeks and will be sure to post results. Fingers crossed. I should be able to get out ~5 times. Tide schedule is not great for early morning (I always seem to do better a couple hours into incoming, early in morning), but beggers can’t be choosers.
7 foot ugly stick tiger rods are my go to rods on the beach and on the boat. Very versatile and tough.