# New Surf Setup



## texasangler07 (May 7, 2007)

I am fixing to buy my first simple and cheap surf setup. Something intended for maybe 5' to 6' foot sharks on down. I am planning on purchasing the Daiwa Emcast Sport Big-Water Spinning Reel comboed with the Offshore Angler Power Plus Surf Rod. This combo cost about $70 for the 9' rod and the reel holds 320 yds of 25 lb test. Or $75 for the 10' rod. Which is best rod? 
For line I was gonna choose the Spiderwire® Ultracast™ Invisi-Braid in 65 lb test( 14lb diameter). So since i will have room on top of the 300 yds of braid should i put something else like mono or buy more braid?? Hell is braid even the way to go? its expensive! 
Thanks for any help.


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## saltymike (Feb 13, 2009)

Spool the mono first then tie the spiderline to it. Surf fishing you probably want the longer pole.


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## fishkillr (Dec 31, 2008)

I'm in the market for a couple of nice 1 piece surf rods myself. Any suggestions in the 9 or 10ft range. 
TxAngler if you live in San Antonio, Sportsmans Warehouse has 8ft St Croix Tidemasters for 90 bucks. That rod is usually up around 200.


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## 535 (May 23, 2004)

I'd do a little research before I put braid over mono... most guys pack the braid on first and top it with mono... braid on top can really dig into the mono... and I'd go with the longer rod too for casting distance...


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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

Braid first then top off with mono. The sand bars really put a toll on the braid.


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## Mustad7731 (May 23, 2004)

*Choices*

TXangler,
Before you put 65 lb braid on that reel, you need to check how much drag you
can get out of that reel...My bet is you will not be able to get more than about
10-12 lbs...That times 3 is about all the line test that you will want to put on the
reel...I would suggest you put maybe 40 lb braid, say 300 yds and then put a
topshot of the remainder of 40 lb mono...That way you will have lots of line, for
that monster if you can get him, and you will not overwhelm the average TEXAS
Coast surf shark 3'-4'... "Fishing Soldier" is right about the braid taking a beating on 
the sandbars...And like "jc" said the longer rod is worth the extra cost...
But in America you can do it anyway you want....
Mustad7731
Jackie


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## texasangler07 (May 7, 2007)

Sweet. So 40lb braid and 40 mono. What kind of knot is best for splicing these together? Thanks guys


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## Mustad7731 (May 23, 2004)

*Knots*

A lot of folks use a uni to uni, I generally use a Blood knot with the Braid doubled
and a drop of super glue...I haven't figured out the uni knot...
Mustad7731
Jackie


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## ronnie collins (May 21, 2004)

should always put a layer or 2 of mono first, to keep the braid from slipping on the spool. plus i always would put mono half the test of the braid, would rather buy more braid than a new spool if a really big one hits or really fast boat. just my 2cents


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## wabo (Oct 11, 2005)

I have 2 ocean master 10' casting rods in San Antonio area I will sale for $50 dollars each. send pm if interested.:doowapsta


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## scuppersancho (May 25, 2006)

wabo said:


> I have 2 ocean master 10' casting rods in San Antonio area I will sale for $50 dollars each. send pm if interested.:doowapsta


PM Sent Wabo


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## jjd79 (Aug 18, 2005)

If any of you guys are interested in some surf casting reels, drop me a line. I have 3 Penn 140 Squidders I want to sale. Two have Newell upgrades and the third is all original with the box.


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## 6396rogert (Mar 14, 2009)

jjd79 said:


> If any of you guys are interested in some surf casting reels, drop me a line. I have 3 Penn 140 Squidders I want to sale. Two have Newell upgrades and the third is all original with the box.


jjd79, Brother now your talk'en surf fishing. Those old Squidders were the way to go. Long before the Newell conversions...Old brass and bakeolite spools. Then they came out with the Penn Jigmaster....great reels.

If I look hard enough I bet I can still find some of that old stuff in the garage.....I changed to the Newell reels in the late 80's early 90's...still have the 9'6" to 11'3" one piece rods...Fenwick, Harnell, Harrington.

Sorry didn't mean to get off track....


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## jjd79 (Aug 18, 2005)

Yea the Penn 140 Squidder use to be my go to reel for bull redfishing in the fall, then I started to put the Newell spools, reel base and support post to lighten the reels up a bit. Those reels would really zing a bait out there. Now, since Ike, I'm not doing that much surf fishing. Alot of surf fisherman are always on the lookout for those one piece rods you mentioned.


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## 11andy11 (Aug 12, 2004)

the ocean masters are good rods. I have a couple along with some breakaways.


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## sabine lake hustler (Dec 17, 2007)

breakaway rods are the way to go.


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## WasabiSS (Dec 28, 2005)

what do u guys think of American rodsmith rods? i was thinking of getting 3 of them. the reels i am planning to use are penn's 320's and 345gti.


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## jjd79 (Aug 18, 2005)

thats the rods I use, for the price you can't beat'em. I would love to own a Breakaway rod, but they are bit pricey for the amount of surf fishing I am doing nowadays.


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## WasabiSS (Dec 28, 2005)

but i cant never find 12ft baitcast anywhere, plenty of spinner rods but no baitcasting....uf anyone knows where to get them, let me know.

thanks


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## SHARKTEETH (Aug 7, 2005)

FTU has 12'. I was looking at thier line of surf rod's and they did not seem half bad. I think the 10' was $135 and the 12' was $159 both were baitcasting.


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## beer catcher (Oct 15, 2008)

WasabiSS said:


> but i cant never find 12ft baitcast anywhere, plenty of spinner rods but no baitcasting....uf anyone knows where to get them, let me know.
> 
> thanks


Can someone please enlighten me on the difference between a baitcaster rod and spinning reel rod?


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## daddyhoney (Dec 4, 2006)

FYI Wassabi those 320 and other Gti reels are great boat reels but not a good choice for surf applications. Penn and Diawa both make great surf gear to choose from at different cost levels. Like was mentioned the Squidder was a "go to" reel for many years, has a slow retrieve but is affordable and reliable. The Jig master was like wise a good buy. You can often pick up factory reserviced jigmasters at FTU for cheap ($25) and they work great for this application. Fill them with 40 mono and dont worry about it. These reels have bushings instead of bearings. For about $129 you can get the penn GS series reel with bearings and they cast great and stand up well to surf conditions. The GS 535/545 and 555 all have the same guts, just different line capasities. FTU also will occasionally have them reconditioned for a fraction of the new cost as well. I have two 535s they sold me for about $75 each that are into their third year and working like a champion. I am currently using the Ocean Master rods from Bass Pro Shops. They are two piece and work fine. I like the big old Harringtons for sharks over 7' but for the run of the mill stuff Ocean Masters work fine.

Beer guy- you asked about the difference in the conventional and spinning rod. The revolving spool bait caster conventional reel sits on top of the reel seet with the line comming off into the smaller diameter guide rings seated also on top of the rod. The spinning reel that is mounted under the reel seat has large diameter guides that accomodate the spiral coils of like that pile off of the open face of the spinning reel. Rods blanks have a "spine" which is determined by the builder and the spine is positioned to give the best function to the rod as the guides are placed. A spinning reel would cast poorly on a conventional rod as the line would be restricted durring casting. A convention reel on a spinning rod would have your friends talking funny about you and your mother. :rotfl:


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## daddyhoney (Dec 4, 2006)

I may have miss informed you about the bearing and bushing thing in the jigmasters. Looking at the two squidders in the classified adds they clearly show to have bearings. Grayhair some times equals I can't remember stuff. By the way those squidders with the up-grades are a fine choice for reds. Chark Bait on the web is a Newell dealer and these are quality reels and great casters. Try the Newell 338 filled with 30#.
Sorry if my info was not entirely accurate.

One of the things about spectra that newbes should know is this. It is tough as a boot and hard to cut. A great quality for it's small diameter however and this is a big however, it does poorly when washing back and forth over a sand bar. Tends to fuzz it up and weaken it in that area. This is why it is best used it as a backing and a sacraficial mono top shot of 100yards+- meets the wear point most often. Pile on a 300yard spool of 40+-# spectra and then add the mono. like some one said earlyier, put on the spool about 10-15 yards of mono first to keep the spectra from slipping, use a uni to uni knot to attach the mono to spectra. If you buy Power Pro, which is a fair priced spectra, there is included photos with instructions about a varity of useful knots. :doowapsta


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## beer catcher (Oct 15, 2008)

Thats what I was thinking Honey (Man i feel weird calling you Daddy or Honey...lol) but just wanted to get some confirmation. So with a spinning reel the guides should be facing down when fighting a fish and the opposite for a bait caster right?


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