# Kayak Rods



## Larry56 (Jun 25, 2014)

Newbie here to Yakin. bought a new Jackson Coosa HD back in the spring and the plan was to be ready for the Fall Fishing. 
So I'm looking to purchase a new rod and reel for inshore coastal bay fishing targeting Spec's and Flounder.

Thanks
Larry


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## rwh (Dec 10, 2012)

I am sure that you will get lots of opinions on which rod & reel is better, but there are so many options. If you are like me when you first start out, you aren't going to want to break the bank on your gear after forking out the cash for the kayak & all the necessities. For the fishing you mentioned, I think a 6.5' medium action spinning rod with a 4000 size reel will be pretty much all you need to start with. This is my 3rd season and I started out with a Penn Fierce 4000 on a 6.5' medium action Ugly Stick. That was all I needed for my 1st season and then when I started jigging deeper waters and fishing the structure around the tunnels and bridges, I realized that I also needed something a little heavier, so I got a 7' Med Heavy Ugly Stick casting rod and put a Daiwa Lexa 300H casting reel on it. When I fish top water lures, that is the outfit I put them on. Between those two, I pretty much have all my fishing covered. Occasionally I take my old $25 Walmart 7' pier rod & reel combo to pull minnows along under a float while I use the other two. I like the Fierce and I bought the same for my wife to use, but with both of them, the bail occasionally won't close when you turn the handle, you have to flip it over by hand. It doesn't happen all the time, just randomly. I took both apart and re-greased them and it seemed like it helped. It seems like they do that if perhaps water gets down inside that little arm that connects the bail after a little use. Other than that, they are a good reel for $60.00. As for the Lexa 300H, I cannot say anything bad about it. I absolutely love it and at about $200.00, it's a great deal. Congrats on the new kayak, but be careful, it's addictive!! Once you get going, your yard work, maintaining the garden , vehicle maintenance and all the other weekend chores are things of the past.


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## Larry56 (Jun 25, 2014)

thanks for the reply! 
I've done some research and I saw where some guys were stating 7'6" rod was all they ever use to get enough distance on their cast.
I know in my experience so far a 6'6" rod I had a difficult time landing some fish (without a net). I'm thinking I'll overcome this though with experience.


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## Dan Voss (Sep 14, 2014)

I'm new to kayak fishing but in my very short period of time I have learned that you have to really balance casting distance with ease of handling. Long flexible rods are not just harder to handle landing fish, you can overcome that pretty easily, but you also have to think about handling the rod while rigging. I have been using an 8' light-medium rod and on my next trip I am going to go to a 6' medium just for the easier handling of both fish and rigging.

I figure the I can give up casting distance, that's the point of being in a kayak. Get to where the fish are.


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