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Posts: 17
Location: Philly
Location: Philly
Tue Feb 16, 2021 7:03 pm
Having just bought my 1st boat, id like to get a baitcasting rod and reel for the deeper water ( and hopefully bigger fish) than im used to fishing from the surf.....looking for something solid that wont break the bank..... im aware or of the shimanos and st croixs and the diawa s of the world and most of them cost as much as my boat....any suggestions?
Posts: 89
Location: Topsail Beach
Location: Topsail Beach
Thu Feb 18, 2021 7:44 am
“Baitcast rod” used with “deeper water” may be causing the lack of responses. Do you mean you’re looking a jigging combo, are you planning to bottom fish or will this be for trolling. Stating specifically what your target species is or what method of fishing you’re planning for may help with response. Lots of very knowledgeable folks here that will surely help if they have a little more info on the specifics.
Posts: 17
Location: Philly
Location: Philly
Thu Feb 18, 2021 11:12 am
Well, im not exactly sure Cash....been surf fishing for so long using spinner rods and reels that were great for weakies and spot etc....assumed as i went out deeper id need bigger baitcast rods and reels as id be looking to catch bigger fish. Thats the reason i bought a boat. Whenever id go on a deep sea trip on a charter...they were all outfitted with baitcast reels on pretty heavy rods.....and we were bottom fishing most times.
Posts: 17
Location: Philly
Location: Philly
Fri Feb 19, 2021 8:12 am
Ill rephrase.....does anyone have a suggestion of a brand of fishing rods and reels that are solid , that wont break the bank?
Posts: 473
Location: Carolina Beach
Location: Carolina Beach
Fri Feb 19, 2021 8:21 am
One of my favorite inexpensive combos is an Ugly Stik with a Penn reel.
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Posts: 2584
Location: Pittsboro, NC
Location: Pittsboro, NC
Fri Feb 19, 2021 9:17 am
yeah - I was kinda confused as well. I don't think there's any confusion when you say "spinning" outfit.
And we all probably know what a spincaster is and wouldn't dare have one of those offshore unless we had a 4 year old on board and wanted to use it as a prop for them.
Baitcaster to me means a small open face reel that probably backlashes all the time and you take a bait and sling it a long way. it's meant mostly for 'casting'.
Once I get outta sight of land, if I'm casting, I'm using a spinning reel.
If I'm dropping I use what I call a "boat reel" or an 'open face reel'. I've never referred to my Penn GTi levelwinds as 'baitcasters' although, technically, I guess that's not wrong with regards to design.
Ok - after all that extra gibberish -
I typically go with the cheapest BassPro/Cabelas style bottom rod I can find. I recently had a Penn bottom rod have the real seat seize up on me and I had to deform it to get the reel off. I decided it'd be pretty stupid to try and put another reel on it after that. For about $100, you can typically get a 5'6-6' MH bottom rod that can double for trolling from BassPro/Offshore Angler.
I would say - get you a nice Penn/Shimano/Daiwa reel. Don't skimp there. Generally with the rod - it'll put up with just about anything, and unless you get into a real hoss that you're overmatched for - it ain't gonna break (especially on the troll - if you break a rod while trolling - either you don't know what you're doing to play fish or you don't know how to set the drag).
The above mentioned ugly stick is a great starter if you don't want something with a super stiff backbone.
Just like any fishing - there is no one size fits all. If you get the equivalent of an iron pipe with no flex, you may be able to horse up everything in the world, but you'll miss/won't have fun with the normal size fish. And if you get something a little lighter, you'll have a blast with the normal fish, but when Mr 40 lb grouper hits, you're in deep doo doo.
And we all probably know what a spincaster is and wouldn't dare have one of those offshore unless we had a 4 year old on board and wanted to use it as a prop for them.
Baitcaster to me means a small open face reel that probably backlashes all the time and you take a bait and sling it a long way. it's meant mostly for 'casting'.
Once I get outta sight of land, if I'm casting, I'm using a spinning reel.
If I'm dropping I use what I call a "boat reel" or an 'open face reel'. I've never referred to my Penn GTi levelwinds as 'baitcasters' although, technically, I guess that's not wrong with regards to design.
Ok - after all that extra gibberish -
I typically go with the cheapest BassPro/Cabelas style bottom rod I can find. I recently had a Penn bottom rod have the real seat seize up on me and I had to deform it to get the reel off. I decided it'd be pretty stupid to try and put another reel on it after that. For about $100, you can typically get a 5'6-6' MH bottom rod that can double for trolling from BassPro/Offshore Angler.
I would say - get you a nice Penn/Shimano/Daiwa reel. Don't skimp there. Generally with the rod - it'll put up with just about anything, and unless you get into a real hoss that you're overmatched for - it ain't gonna break (especially on the troll - if you break a rod while trolling - either you don't know what you're doing to play fish or you don't know how to set the drag).
The above mentioned ugly stick is a great starter if you don't want something with a super stiff backbone.
Just like any fishing - there is no one size fits all. If you get the equivalent of an iron pipe with no flex, you may be able to horse up everything in the world, but you'll miss/won't have fun with the normal size fish. And if you get something a little lighter, you'll have a blast with the normal fish, but when Mr 40 lb grouper hits, you're in deep doo doo.
Posts: 17
Location: Philly
Location: Philly
Fri Feb 19, 2021 10:00 am
Thats the info i can use...thanks guys....im gonna look into the ugly stick MH and pair it up with a decent reel for bottom fishing. I didnt want to be out a mile off shore fishing with a light spinning rod and reel ....they’ve been great for the little guys i catch in 6 feet of surf, but was looking dor something with backbone for what i hope to be catching.
Posts: 17
Location: Philly
Location: Philly
Fri Feb 19, 2021 10:07 am
I think my confusion is that i call any rod witht the guides on top a baitcast rod.....probably wrong..... but seems to me the weight of a heavier fish would be transferred to the rod blank with the guides on top as opposed to the line pulling on the guides on the bottom of a spinner rod...which id assume is preferable.
Caught an almost 4 ft dogfish off the surf last fall and he damn near ripped the top 2 guides off my rod...I figured if that can happen in 5 feet of water...100 feeti better have something stronger.
Caught an almost 4 ft dogfish off the surf last fall and he damn near ripped the top 2 guides off my rod...I figured if that can happen in 5 feet of water...100 feeti better have something stronger.
Posts: 90
Location: Lockwood Folly / Lawndale NC
Location: Lockwood Folly / Lawndale NC
Fri Feb 19, 2021 11:34 am
You may be surprised at how many little critters you'll find further out. Your light spinning combo should be fine bottom fishing on most of the near shore (2-5 mi) artificial reefs, which usually hold a lot of small fish and an occasional surprise. We have caught and released a few 36"+ red drum using a Penn Battle 2500 spinning reel loaded with 15# braid. With the drag set correctly, it can be a hoot. A spinning rod has the spine on the opposite side of the eyes, so your rod should be fine for a hard pull. Just be sure not to put a conventional reel on a spinning rod and vice versa. You might find a deal or two at yard sales this spring, just watch out for junk.
Posts: 17
Location: Philly
Location: Philly
Fri Feb 19, 2021 11:55 am
Thanks Joe....
Im thinking a 7 foot lenght of rebar and duct tape a penn squall on it and i should be able to bring anything over the side...lol...
Seems the more i learn about fishing, the less i know.
Im thinking a 7 foot lenght of rebar and duct tape a penn squall on it and i should be able to bring anything over the side...lol...
Seems the more i learn about fishing, the less i know.
Posts: 17
Location: Philly
Location: Philly
Fri Feb 19, 2021 11:59 am
For drifting and trolling the bottom.........would you guys recommend the penn squall? Looks like what i need...it also has a levelwind model....not sure what the difference is
Posts: 89
Location: Topsail Beach
Location: Topsail Beach
Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:26 pm
When I first started fishing outside the inlet I caught my first 2 kings on $19.99 Walmart surf combos so don’t think you have to dump tons of money just to get started ( NOT recommending that by the way). The levelwind has a guide that moves the line back and forth on the reel, something you don’t want if you hook a smoker king, hoo or anything that’s gonna run a lot if line off. In the other hand the levelwind might be what you want bottom fishing. I knew once you got a little more specific the guys on here would be of great help. In fact, let us know when and where you’ll be shopping and we’ll go help you spend YOUR money LOL. Good luck to you Keelshot! Just don’t get discouraged, keep asking the questions here and learn something new every time you go out.
Posts: 17
Location: Philly
Location: Philly
Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:30 pm
Thanks Cash....wasnt trying to be vague...as i said...ive only surf fished, so when i started looking at rods and reels for my boat, it seemed there were 2 choices...spinner , which i had , and baitcaster....now my head is spinning ( no pun intended) at the variety of rods and reels and gear ratios and bearings and brake systems and drag systems....whoo ....i figured you guys would know.
Posts: 17
Location: Philly
Location: Philly
Sat Feb 20, 2021 10:30 am
Going with Diawa Seagate....compared slightly better than the Penn Squall. Looks like a good solid entry level conventional reel...probably put it on the ugly stick and see how it goes...
Posts: 17
Location: Philly
Location: Philly
Sat Feb 20, 2021 10:57 am
Just looking at rods....i see some casting rods priced at $ 600 ! On what planet is that even necessary? I suppose if you have a 52 ft Viking 3 deck yacht....you need that kind of rod .....ugly sticks on board will get you kicked out of the yacht club.
Posts: 709
Location: Elm City
Location: Elm City
Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:12 pm
Look at the Shimano TLD 25 combos. That and the Penn Squalls are used by a ton of people. The combos are usually around $250.00 and sometime less on sale. Can use on the troll or bottom bouncing. I still have 4 of them I’ve had for a long time. Good luck, just have fun, stay safe, it’ll work out!👍🏻
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Posts: 17
Location: Philly
Location: Philly
Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:48 pm
Thanks lookin...i will ....i compared the penn squall to the diawa seagate and it seems like the seagate is the slightly better option...ill check out the shimano combo....that sounds like a good deal.
Posts: 709
Location: Elm City
Location: Elm City
Sun Feb 21, 2021 7:12 pm
| Keelshot wrote: |
| Thanks lookin...i will ....i compared the penn squall to the diawa seagate and it seems like the seagate is the slightly better option...ill check out the shimano combo....that sounds like a good deal. |
Keelshot, PM sent👍🏻
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Posts: 209
Sun Feb 21, 2021 8:09 pm
The Penn Senator Reels have been around for a long time nothing fancy but tough for bottom fishing or trolling. You can usually find them for sale as a combo set. I use the 4.0 and 6.0 for both. Like said the Shimano’s are good as well, some prefer one over the other but both are good in my opinion.
Posts: 2584
Location: Pittsboro, NC
Location: Pittsboro, NC
Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:01 am
I'm not dropping $600 on anything that isn't super specialized. I'm gonna ruffle some feathers here but...
I think folks who spend that much money on something when something 1/3-1/2 the price will easily do the job do it so that they can tell you they spent $X on a setup.
It's kinda like the Yeti cooler to me. Do they keep your drinks cold longer? Yeah - probably. Enough to justify how much they cost? I dunno. I've never had issue with my coleman cooler and a bag of ice. It's not like I'm staying on the water longer than 14 hours tops. So I think a lot of people get a Yeti (or eat at Ruth'c Chris) simply to let people know that they can have/do those things.
Anyway - you can make do with much more economical tackle.
I think folks who spend that much money on something when something 1/3-1/2 the price will easily do the job do it so that they can tell you they spent $X on a setup.
It's kinda like the Yeti cooler to me. Do they keep your drinks cold longer? Yeah - probably. Enough to justify how much they cost? I dunno. I've never had issue with my coleman cooler and a bag of ice. It's not like I'm staying on the water longer than 14 hours tops. So I think a lot of people get a Yeti (or eat at Ruth'c Chris) simply to let people know that they can have/do those things.
Anyway - you can make do with much more economical tackle.
Posts: 17
Location: Philly
Location: Philly
Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:27 am
Agreed Bilzo....i can’t possibly see a $600 rod bringing a fish over the side any better than a $100 rod..... but i guess you cant have an ugly stick on your 1.5 million dollar Yellowfin 3 deck yacht with helipad and bowling alley......they’ll kick you right outta the yacht club for that...
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