# Travel Rod and Reel



## Denny Mac (May 20, 2012)

Any experience with the Okuna 6'6" travel rod with the AQ-30 reel? Would that work for some casual surf fishing if I lined the reel with braid? I'm traveling to Destin by plane and this comes in a nice case making it easy to transport. My only other thought was to buy something at Bass Pro Shops in Destin and ship it home when the trip ends. I would like some recommendations on that too if possible. I'm looking to fish mostly Kastmasters, Gotchas and jigs with gulps or fishbites so I want something I can walk and toss with.

Thanks.

Denny


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## repair5343 (Jul 8, 2001)

6'6' is not a rod to surf fish with too short, that's a pier rod.
8, or longer is what you want to surf, and a thickness at the tip about the thickness of a pencil IMO.
Destin has some big fish off the beachs and you need something big enough to reach them and fight them.


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## Denny Mac (May 20, 2012)

Perfect, thanks for the input. I will just buy something down there and ship it back.


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## MiddleburgCouple (Jun 19, 2011)

I've done good with the 6'6 rod and reel combo when I was down in Juno Beach and West Palm. Was catching Pompanos left and right but I did have to get out into the surf to get it to cast far enough.


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## repair5343 (Jul 8, 2001)

West palm area and the Gulf of Mexico are two completely different type of waters.
The gulf you can walk out two and three hundred yards in some spots and be only knee deep at high tide.
On the Atlantic side with the same conditions your in 10 to 20 feet of water.


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## MiddleburgCouple (Jun 19, 2011)

repair5343 said:


> West palm area and the Gulf of Mexico are two completely different type of waters.
> The gulf you can walk out two and three hundred yards in some spots and be only knee deep at high tide.
> On the Atlantic side with the same conditions your in 10 to 20 feet of water.


That's crazy! I've never fished on the gulf side, only place I know that's like that around here is huguenot park. I can drive my Land Rover a few hundred yards in some parts if I wanted to.


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## panhandler (Jan 2, 2009)

repair5343 said:


> West palm area and the Gulf of Mexico are two completely different type of waters.
> The gulf you can walk out two and three hundred yards in some spots and be only knee deep at high tide.
> On the Atlantic side with the same conditions your in 10 to 20 feet of water.


Where in the panhandle Gulf can you wade 2 or 3 hundred yards out and be knee deep? Cedar key or somewhere like that maybe, but thats a long way from Destin and certainly not in the panhandle. I dont know about the okuma rod mentioned, but a light 6.5 to 7' rod is perfect for surfcasting with jigs and spoons for pompano spanish macks blues ladyfish etc. You wont even need to get your feet wet.


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## Denny Mac (May 20, 2012)

I usually wade out 15-20 yards because I love the surf and toss from there. Do you think 15# - 20# test should be enough?


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## MiddleburgCouple (Jun 19, 2011)

Denny Mac said:


> I usually wade out 15-20 yards because I love the surf and toss from there. Do you think 15# - 20# test should be enough?


15-20 is ok... But I use 50lb PowerPro, can fit way more than regular mono and have a stronger line incase you hookup to something that you need it.


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## panhandler (Jan 2, 2009)

Denny Mac said:


> I usually wade out 15-20 yards because I love the surf and toss from there. Do you think 15# - 20# test should be enough?


Don't wade too far, the fish may be between you and the beach. Pompano are often right in the wash. For the kastmasters, pompano jigs and such that you would normally use in the summer surf for smaller fish, 8-10 lb mono or 15-20 lb. braid would be perfect. You mentioned shark fishing in another post, thats a whole different game. Plenty of big bulls, blacktips, spinners out there, tackle depends on just how big of a shark you want to target.


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## Denny Mac (May 20, 2012)

I plan to stop at Half Hitch when I get there to look around at gear. I want good decent gear, but don't need anything crazy expensive. I would like something that is comfortable to carry and walk the beach with and toss, but strong enough to handle something that I may be lucky enough to hook. I would like a two-piece rod so I can just ship it home and not bother taking it on the plane. Any thoughts or opinions?

Oh, stupid question. By "wash" you mean between the beach and the first bar?

Thanks for all of the input. It is really appreciated.


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## MiddleburgCouple (Jun 19, 2011)

Denny Mac said:


> I plan to stop at Half Hitch when I get there to look around at gear. I want good decent gear, but don't need anything crazy expensive. I would like something that is comfortable to carry and walk the beach with and toss, but strong enough to handle something that I may be lucky enough to hook. I would like a two-piece rod so I can just ship it home and not bother taking it on the plane. Any thoughts or opinions?
> 
> Oh, stupid question. By "wash" you mean between the beach and the first bar?
> 
> Thanks for all of the input. It is really appreciated.


Yes the "wash" is between the beach and first bar. My Okuma Avenger ABF 40 on a 12ft cheap medium pole does great. With the PowerPro I have one spool with 50lb and a spare with 65lb incase bigger fish are biting but I have had no problems bringing in decent size sharks with the 50lb. The Okuma is cheap and can be bought for $40-50 sometimes cheaper now.

I can cast quite far with it as well. I usually use a 4oz weight and can cast beyond the break with ease and see people with much more expensive gear barely casting half the distance. When I went out the other yesterday a bunch of guys had really nice expensive Penn spinning reels and bait casters and we were all using same type of bait and me and my fiancee were the only ones consistantly catching.

My finacee was using a cheap shimano rod/reel combo she got at walmart and it's only 6'6 pole and she was catching fish just fine even though I was able to cast 2-3x further.

Not everything is about the gear, how you use it plays a big role and being able to read the beach is much more important when surf fishing than the gear.


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## Denny Mac (May 20, 2012)

Thank you so much for the information. This has been great.


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## Denny Mac (May 20, 2012)

You guys have any luck using a jig head with a piece of either the Gulp or Fishbites? If so, which color do you prefer? Also curious on colors for Gotchas and Kastmasters?

Thanks.


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