# Newbie heaver set up



## saltycraw (Aug 23, 2011)

I've always been a spin cast thrower but I really want to get into a conventional heaver. Any advice on a mid range reel for a beginner? I don't want a cheapo but I don't need to get into changing drag washers, mags etc, at least not yet. Also what length rod is best to get the hang of casting the conventional set up? Any one got an old set up they would like to sell? Thanks.


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## marv1234 (Nov 10, 2014)

Offshore angler breakwater conventional spinning rod 8ft to 12ft.
Okuma spinning reel with 40 to 50lb big game line or 125lb almost shark proof steel leader. 
7 to 10 sized hooks on a fish finder rig.
Cut bait or live bait.


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## DaBig2na (Aug 7, 2011)

I feel a good entry level Heaver for a Newbie... For Drum and surf

Penn Battalion (around 119.00) rod and a Penn Squall 15... Both are pretty forgiving and easy to use


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## 1BadF350 (Jul 19, 2006)

I will agree with tuna on the squall. Battalion is a great rod and a Prevail is a great rod as well for a bit less money


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## saltycraw (Aug 23, 2011)

Do y'all go with the level wind or just open spool? If just open spool, do you just guide the line back in with your thumb?


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## cooper138 (Aug 8, 2012)

No no no on the level wind. Lay the line back with your thumb or finger. Keep it consistent count 5-7 cranks per pass. Or something like that.


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## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

saltycraw said:


> Do y'all go with the level wind or just open spool? If just open spool, do you just guide the line back in with your thumb?


yup after a few times it becomes habit, levelwinds decreases distance


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## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

Akios 656 CTM is a great reel or 757 CTM if you want bigger


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## Islander80 (Mar 27, 2010)

What kind of money are you looking to spin and where do you fish?


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## Benji (Nov 19, 2014)

Penn squall 15 with 16# to 20# line. You want a mag. $150 ish new


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## Benji (Nov 19, 2014)

saltycraw said:


> Do y'all go with the level wind or just open spool? If just open spool, do you just guide the line back in with your thumb?


Open spool & Yes


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## saltycraw (Aug 23, 2011)

It sounds like $300 will get me a decent set up, so I guess that's what I'm looking to spend. I fish anywhere from Sandbridge to 55 at Hatteras. Thanks for all the input.


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## DaBig2na (Aug 7, 2011)

1BadF350 said:


> I will agree with tuna on the squall. Battalion is a great rod and a Prevail is a great rod as well for a bit less money


Very true that the Prevail is less $$$ about twenty dollars less. BUT you are getting a better rod and Fuji guides with the Battalion. Well worth the 20 dollars extra. 

Yes you guide line back with your thumb... After a while it will become automatic and you won't even think about it


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## Mastrbaitr (May 7, 2014)

Squall 15 with prevail was my beginner setup. Thumbing the line truly does become automatic after a while but I still look to make sure I'm laying the line evenly.


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## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

My first one was a 525mag and a Breakaway HDX.....Sometimes I wish I still had them. We get way too caught in "the latest and greatest"....


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

AbuMike said:


> My first one was a 525mag and a Breakaway HDX.....Sometimes I wish I still had them. We get way too caught in "the latest and greatest"....


10ft one-piece Magnaflex and an ABU 10000 from 1985 $220

Do not miss the Magnaflex much, I left it by mistake behind a couch of an ex-girlfriend fifteen years ago.................. probably still there 

In 1987 switched the Magnaflex for a Lamiglas 10'6" one piece and been switching it up ever since.....

In 1987 I paid $120 for the Lamiglas at Tackle Express in Nags Head which is now TW's Nags Head, it was my first custom heaver built on the OBX

Still have the ABU 10000.........it is pretty creaky though.........kinda like me

In 1989 a factory Fenwick SurfStick was around $180 retail but I am pretty sure the SurfStick Fenwick rods were wrapped in the USA in those days...which is why they were so expensive..... the blanks were $90.00 in the Merrick catalog I seem to remember Larry Haack telling me.

Leveling the line becomes automatic and after a few years you do not really have to look at the spool which is a big plus when fishing at night at the Point or when you are fighting a big Shark or something that is more copper in color....and especially Flatosaurus type critters which you need to keep your eyes on the water for so you can break them off as soon as possible

If I had to use my SurfSticks only against the latest and greatest.........I would manage to get a few Drum I reckon.............though I would be twenty to thirty yards inside of the monster casters using CTS rods and the like....you get what you pay for and if you want extreme distance...........distance does not come cheap......$650 or so I would guess for a new CTS stick and decent drum reel....


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## Fishman (Apr 23, 2000)

Daiwa SL30SH


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Fishman said:


> Daiwa SL30SH


 Yep,bulletproof reel.... As a beginner, Tica is an easy rod to load,doesn't cost a ton of $ great to learn with as well.. As said, slosh is a good reel,I like the saltist because of the drag.. If you want a reel with a good drag,cast good,and consistent,also will last a looooonnnng time,that's your reel....


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## joek (Jun 1, 2015)

When your thumbing the line across evenly 
make a quick pass so the line crosses the spool every once in a while..
it will keep the line from digging in when a big fish makes a run.


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## wksetter (Oct 27, 2014)

Fishman said:


> Daiwa SL30SH


I still use my Diawa sealine reels.They are durable and great casting reels!


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## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

I like the forward gearbox on the saltist better than the SLSH rear one


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## Fishman (Apr 23, 2000)

The reason I mentioned the SL30SH is because it is an easy reel to learn on and it's lower cost to get started with.


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## NC KingFisher (Nov 20, 2011)

Meet in the middle and get a seagate, i have a 30 for slinging anchors and drum/small sharks


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## flathead (Dec 18, 2003)

For about $10 more you could step up to the Daiwa SL-X30SHA. I have a couple and they are worth more than the +$10.


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

flathead said:


> For about $10 more you could step up to the Daiwa SL-X30SHA. I have a couple and they are worth more than the +$10.


I have conducted extensive testing on both SL-X30SHA and SL30SH, I am not a paid professional, however I am a professional trash-talker

These tests were all done in a controlled laboratory environment at the end of Rodanthe Pier, under actual fishing conditions (There is a four Drum rod limit on the Rodanthe Tee at times when no one else is around)

Results are SL-X30SHA is a more forgiving reel and a great deal smoother when casting, if I was learning over, I would use this reel.

SL30SH due to its graphite spool (which is actually heavier than the X30SHA Aluminum spool) once you get it spinning 25,000 RPM and with only one white brake installed and a lot of knock in the sideplates, keeps on throwing the line off like a deranged banshee.....reel will moan when it is getting it out there.....

Prognosis.................SL30SH will cast perhaps 5-10 yards further, it is requires a bit more attention when casting and it can really smoke your thumb  if you are not careful, some right-handed casters also have problems with gear box injuries. 

The furthest drum cast I have ever made in my life was with an All Star 13'6" 1509 with Competition Butt and a SL30SH on Rodanthe Pier October 2005, caught a drum on that cast too. I can buy any casting reel and have owned most of them at one time or another but I have SL30SH's on all my dedicated Drum rods at the moment...A tuned Abu 7000 will cast just about as well but it is lacking in the Drag and Clicker department..........I have cast an Akios 666 a few times it was similar to a really broken in tuned (ceramic bearings) Abu 7000C I have owned since 1986.


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## BLACK ADDER (Nov 15, 2006)

My brother gave me a Penn Battalion (new) and I like it. Have an ABU 8600 on it. I was a little skeptical about a production rod, but she casts fine .(8 and bait a bit too much, but I do it anyway...a rod's gotta earn its keep. )Am likely to use it for stripers this winter,too. I think it compares well with the TICA rods (which I have fished with the last ten years as a backup rod.)
Reel:agree with the SL-X30SHA...
BA

PS My brother has a bunch of Rainshadow rods with a variety of reels, but in my surf fishing sphere, I keep the better stuff at home...nothing breaks the heart like a grandson dropping an old Ambassadeur in the sand/surf...makes you want to say bad words.


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## Sandcrab (Mar 20, 2002)

Garboman said:


> 10ft one-piece Magnaflex and an ABU 10000 from 1985 $220...Still have the ABU 10000.........it is pretty creaky though.........kinda like me



Bought my ABU 10000CL new in 1986. Think I paid about $160 for it back then. It has been to hell and back - worked great on my Sabre 8'10" tuna stick for slinging "metal" on the party boats for tuna and barracudas when I lived in San Diego. Still have it as a backup surf reel that I keep in my bag - Holds 400 yds of 30# mono - or a WHOLE LOT more of 17# tri...

Still chugging - doesn't cast like my Akios 656 SCM on my custom Breakaway Omega 10'5" surf rod does but it but will handle ANYTHING! Cow nose rays dont stand a chance with this reel - 2 speed no less!

Sandcrab


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