Surf Rods Im a beginner

[Lavafish]

I am a fresh-water fisherman from Nebraska, Ill be comming out for some fishing in mid-october.
I hope to get into some stripers and blues or what ever is biting. I have very little experiance with salt water. A few days on the long-beach pier in NC. and some pier fishing on the oceanside CA pier. At Cabo on the Pacific beach a few mornings.

What would you recomend for a must have for rods and reels. Im not much of a Casting rod fan.

Thanks John( Lavafish)

[Smoothbore54]

Depending on Where You're Going...

You can rent surf tackle at a lot of the bait shops.

There are just too many variables to take into comsideration.

Your type of question comes up a lot on this board, and there are lots of guys who will tell You that their favorite outfit is the one to buy.

But the rod that works great for a skinny, 6'3" athlete, will be nearly useless to a barrel chested, 5'10" couch potato.

A 12' Conventional "Heaver" might be the right choice for the "Point" at Hatteras, but is useless for casting to a surface "Blitz."

You have to remember, that a lot of what You read on here, is info about a Very Specialized, Very Narrow Segment of Surf Fishing.

Until You're sure about where and how You want to fish, don't be in a hurry to get someone elses ideal rod.

[Manayunk Jake]

Greetings Lavafish!

Ol' Smoothbore gave you a great piece of advice there. Surf fishing means a lot of different things to a lot of different folks up and down the Atlantic Coast. The first step would be to figure out WHERE you'll be fishing....

Now if your question is about an all-purpose surf set-up for ocassional fishing in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf (something you can keep in the garage until a trip comes up), you'll get answers. But again, these answers will be subject the the anglers' local preferences.

My "all-purpose" (as in one and only) surf rod for 20 years was a 9.5 foot Garcia Conolon spinning rod (rated 2 to 4 oz) matched to a Mitchell 402 spinning reel spooled with 12 lb test. Since I fished freshwater, this combo looked like a monster rig. But after breaking off some hard hitters (and sending a lot of rigs sailing off towards the horizon) I upped it to 20 lb test, which limited the casting distance. It was OK for Jersey beaches and later the Long Island Sound, but I probably missed out on a lot of fish that were outside my reach. The only good thing was that it was good quality gear (for that time) and never broke down.

In essence, figure out where you'll be fishing, then by the best quality combination you can afford. You can catch fish on a $60.00 combo from Walmart, but you probably won't recognize it the next time you dig it out of the garage. And gawd help you if you hook anything that puts a strain on the drag...

Another suggestion is to try and "hook-up" with one of the over 2,000 members of this board. Many have spare combos to lend, and most are more than willing show off in front of an out-of-towner (Nobody shows their best spots to anyone in a three hundred mile radius - that's the nature of the game!) And finally, there a a few self-proclaimed surf fishing "guides"....

So what do you fish for in Nebraska?

[TRIGGERFISH]

jake, do you still have that combo and why would you go from 12lb. to 20lb. test why not try 16 or 17 lb.test and one other thing Lavafish fishs for walleye that's what he posted. I'm not trying to get on the bad side of you that's not my thing,us BIG BOYS have to stick together) a.k.a. teddy bear. TRIGGER

[Lavafish]

Yea I guess that was kind of a general question.
Walleyes are my favorite but I do have tackle for heavyer species. I would like to do a little fishing with a guide--mybe jamaca bay or off the tip of montauk. My daughter lives in Manhattan,
and I was hopeing to do a little shore fishing close to there. I cant aford to hire a guide for probebly more than a day. I do have an old Garcia 11 ft 2 1/2 to 4 oz surf rod and a new Pen 9500 spinning reel and another old shakespear surf spinning reel. I also have a heavy fresh water cabelas 7ft 5/8 to 1 1/2 oz spinning outfit.And a 10 ft 9wt fly rod.

[Lavafish]

Thats a great suggestion getting hooked up with a local.
I would be glad to even trade a trip out here.
I fish Angustora Res. by Hot spring south Dakota for Walleyes, Crappies and Smalle mouth bass. I have a 22 foot tri-toon with a 125 merc.
I also do a lot of deer hunting White tail and Mule deer,and Antelope.

[Digger]

Ah you said where you were going to fish, in the second post. I was going to ask that. Now are you planing on Artificals or Bait? I have a couple of idea's and since you may come back every now and again it might be better than jjust renting.
Do you fish for muskie's?

[Manayunk Jake]

Greetings Lavafish!

Ignore that other guy! If you're just making ocassional trips to see your daughter, the gear you have sounds fine.

If you sign up with a good guide, you only need him for a day! Nowadays experienced guides spend just as much time teaching as they do putting you on fish. Your one-day seminar will prepare you for fishing the rest of the week... In addition, there's a ton of information about fishing Montauk out there.

I'm not a walleye or crappie fan, but I love smallies. I have a river full of them five blocks from my house....

I wouldn't be surprised if you get a half dozen offers for the trade-a-trip. We have a lot of closet freshwater fishermen on the site, and plenty of hunters.

Good luck on your trip to Montauk this Fall! You just might bump into our NY/CT moderator -- he's hoping to be Montauk-bound this Fall, too!

[Manayunk Jake]

Greetings Digger!

I still have the reel -- its in "retirement" in the basement. The rod was "lost" when I loaned it to a friend who had moved to NJ. He left it in the trunk of his car when he sold it. The reel is an original "Made in France" Mitchell 402. If I live long enough to see my kids leave the house (and finally get a say in how the place is decorated), I'll have all my collectible gear on display. Its all insured, but with three pitbulls and an SKS I don't anticipate intruders!

As for your other question, thirty five years ago we didn't have the 17lb test option. Line went 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 20, 30, and 50 lb test. My 20lb Garcia Royal Bonnyl line was THE premier monofilament (being a freshwater fisherman I had only seen ANDE in advertisements in Field & Stream!) Mono has come a long way since then.... Hell, my True Temper Ocean City conventional reel (also a collectible now) was spooled with 27 lb test dacron "squidding" line from Gudebrod's in Philadelphia. You had to pour water on the spool and let it soak in before casting... Once in a while I'd get some extra distance and burn the hell out of my thumb!

Strange how I hung onto the fishing gear but sold my '65 Mustang and '69 Camaro for junk... But I guess you have to have priorities. Besides, it would be tough keeping a couple of cars in the basement!

[Lavafish]

Thanks Digger and M-Jake
No I dont fish muskies but I do look for a big Northern every spring, but havent connected on that 30 pounder yet. Oh I did take a vacation to upper wisconsin about 20 years ago and tried for them but with no luck, the beer was still good though. As far as the live bait or artificials?
What ever is working, Im like a mud-flap--(flexable)! Just want to catch some fish.
Thanks John

[Digger]

I think the long rod should do fine for light bait dunking. Sand Worms and Clams in that area. So I would suggest a plugging rod. I will post some info tommorrow since I'm getting ready for work.
The reason I asked about Muskie is the lures(as long the hardware can hold up) transfers to the reagion you are going to.

[Lavafish]

I see that cabelas has a Ugly stick 11 ft in a 6 to12 oz . From watching the discussion on bait rods, Maybe that one would fill the gap? I dont own a ugly stick, are they worth a damn. Most of my fresh water rcds are IM-6 rods.

M-Jake
I do have that extra reel so I would like to add a rod to my collection. Thanks for the support on the guide-seminar thing.

John

[Drum Bum]

Hey Lavafish

Steer clear of the U-S. Mostly E-glass, butts to short, heavy, floppy on cast, not for distance work. OK in shorter lenghts for boat or pier, fights fish allright I guess. DB

[Digger]

Here are several idea's for you for a plugging rod. Tica makes a rod that is rated 1/2 oz to 3 oz in a nine foot rod that is very popular for a entry level plug rod and is quite affordable. In this class I have a Conv 9 foot Lamiglas 1-3oz(they make it in spin) that I got for 160 plus shipping and a 10 foot Fenwick Saltstik(spinner)1/2-4 that I got for about 90 bucks it really tops out at 3 oz but it plugs well. I like both of these rods alot and think they could serve you well. Fenwick also makes a 9 foot rated 1/2-4 . Look for a spinning reel that weighs about 16oz and hold between 200-230yrda of 15 lb class line with a slower retrive ratio.
Alos tsunami builds similar rods to the tica with better hardware(I have not seen these rods)
The ugly Stick is Ugly Althougn they have a new line coming out which I have not seen. It you want a heaver the Tica heaver has alot of happy customers.

[Lavafish]

I have a few light fenwick rods,It's tough to go wrong with that brand. Ill see what Cabelas has for fenwick heavy rods. Thanks John