Conventional Surf rod/reel

[ShoreKasterHI]

The original 113's 2 to 1 drags. Im old so I like old stuff. They work great for me. The only reason I use the 555s is because my son bought 3 of them and leaves them on the boat. I know the ugly stiks are cheap rods but there again they work great and so far in over several years I have only damaged one and it was my fault.

+1 Almost the same here. I use a Penn 555 w/ 40lb mono though and a old 12' Master rod. It works for the surf fishing i do here. Cheap setup for me and does the job.

[beachbob]

there are SO many reels 'n' rods that will more than get the job done for you, it will come down to personal preference and you will just hafta listen to advice and eenie meenie minie moe make a decision and choice.

my first choice is always an abu sweden reel, and a 6500 model (with or without the level wind) is one of the best beach/jetty/pier casting reels around.  next up would be an avet sx mc.  i currently fish bait with an abu 6501 (lw removed) w/20# fireline, on an 11' cabela predator for 3-4ozs, and an avet sx mc w/30# izor line, on an 11' sealine for 5-8ozs.  that sealine casting rod can be had for $60/shipped!!

[CapeFish]

Using a Penn 555 or anything in that series or Jigmaster with braid is not a good idea

[Jeri]

What reel would would be the choice to cast 4 oz lead with cut bait and live bait long distance from piers and the surf with 65# braid?  I want to stay with conventional reels to keep it simple and to have a backup reel for offshore trips.  I'm wanting to have around 20# of drag at max because I can't go after fish like you could in a boat.  Would lever drag or star drag be preferred? 

I have a Torque 200 and thinking about a Torque 300, but what would you think would be a better choice?  I am leaning towards an Avet JX4.6 without MC to maximize casting distance.

Hi Seewhat89,

I would suggest that using braid on a conventional reel for surf fishing might give you problems if you start to go too thin. If I was going your route, I would opt for an Avet 'with' MC, as the magnet will help control a lot of problems with the braid overwinding during the cast - you can control the amount of magnetic damping, by carefully 'shaving' thin amounts off the magnet, start with about 0.05mm, reassemble and then test, unttil you have the right amount of control, but are not getting overwinds.

However, as most folksuse mono for surf fishing  - there is a reason - it is more forgiving, and will suffer poor casts.

Hope that helps.


Cheers from sunny Africa