# Surf Reels



## duck6611 (Mar 23, 2011)

I am fairly new to surf fishing a little over a year into it. I have been fishing the bay mostly my whole life but my wife and I go down to sargent a lot and I am hooked. I have the 10 and 12' rods, I know the baits to use and the rigs I am confused on reels and what size. I don't have a yak so I have to wade out as far as I can and cast out. So I am needing a good casting reel that can hold some 30 to 40lb. mono and still have quite a bit left over after walking bait back in to holder. I was thinking Daiwa Sealing, Penn Jigmaster if so what size and any other recommendations


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## jimj100 (Dec 1, 2012)

Daiwa Sealines are very popular. I like the avet MXl with magnetic cast. For me, it is the right size. you can put 300 yards of 30 or 40lb braid and a 100+ yards of 30 or 40 lb mono topshot. The avet LX is a bit large. SX a bit small.


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## fishingcacher (Mar 29, 2008)

Used Calcutta 400B with power handle. It is good to have at least two set-ups to cover more area and double your chances of catching fish so you can either buy two reels and rods. The trick is finding the right rod as you will want at least 8.5 but probably 10 foot with some flex in the tip but not so much that you cannot get any casting distance. It is good to have a second reel just in case you birdnest one of the reels and an extra rod just in case the tip breaks.


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

Penn 4/0. Cheep, tough, cast good, and hold 440yds of 30# mono. More than enough reel to handle 90% of what your gonna catch in the surf.


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## ellisredfish (Jul 5, 2005)

Jim, which of the MXL reels is the one you have? I found the MXL 5.8 MC in single and two speed and an MXL 6/4.


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## jimj100 (Dec 1, 2012)

I have the single speed. I also have an MXJ single speed, but i don't see the advantage in having less line on basically the same size reel. I like the MXL size.


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## duck6611 (Mar 23, 2011)

*surf feels*

seems like a lot of the people I talk to are raving about the The Sealine Models by Daiwa the x40 or X50. When I look these up it seems like they are used for jigging and trolling and that is not what I am trying to do. I need to cast it out there a good ways. If this is the case on the x40 or X50 or whatever sealine model there is also the abbreviations after HV, HA, or even SHA what is that


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## ellisredfish (Jul 5, 2005)

Thanks Jim. I recently built a surf rod using an FTU blank. It will handle six ounces ok and I am looking for a reel to put on it...something easy to cast. I am 74 years old now so I need all of the help I can get. I still catch my share of fish on the surf and in the bays. During the summer and fall I fish the bays and in the winter I head for the surf.


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## Greatwhite (Mar 28, 2011)

sharkchum said:


> Penn 4/0. Cheep, tough, cast good, and hold 440yds of 30# mono. More than enough reel to handle 90% of what your gonna catch in the surf.


yessir. this right here


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## Mustad7731 (May 23, 2004)

*Surf Reels....Don't Mortage Your Home!*

Duck...
I've been fishing the TX Surf since the 60's...What I've found that most
guys tend to buy way tooooooo much reel.

Without a Yak you're going to be fishing within about 100 yds or so of the
beach....

A reel the size of a Penn (500 or 505) Jigmaster will catch over 95% of the 
fish you're after...You can easily put 300 yds of 30 or 40 microbraid and
finish off with the same lb mono and have 400 + yds of line...A standard
4/0 use to hold 400 yds of 30 lb mono...

That my friend is a lot of line....Will it hold a 8' bull shark?...Maybe if you
play your cards right...Plus for the average fish...A 40" Bull Red/Jackfish or
a 6' blacktip you'll have a WHOLE LOT more fun with a smaller reel than
a 4/0 winch (Most guys put 50 lb line on them)

I've moved back toward newer Penn reels like a 525 and 535...and use
20 and 25 mono over braid....I can say the last time I came close to
loosing all my line I hooked a bottle nose dolphin...And he would have
stripped a 6/0 with 50 on it...

If your are rolling in the cash and can spend $300+ on a reel, get you an
Avet....But you don't need it...If you're like most on this board there are
more important things to buy than a reel like that...

Fortunately in America we have lots of choices...I'd tend to get a good
serviceable moderately sized reel and save your money for more important
family expenditures...

My $0.02
Mustad7731
Jack


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## Surf Rodder (Jun 28, 2013)

I liked what Mustad7731 said and I learned a thing or two from his words. I tend to overkill on line size (50 lb. mono) and even with I I have been either stripped or lost the fish (likely large shark) via tail-whip, in spite of using about 5' of 120 lb. leader with the rigs I create. 

As for your original question, again I like anything PENN or the Okuma CV 45L Convector. I removed the level-wind from one of them and prefer using it. I also like the over-sized handle knob (see picture). Costs: $75-$84, depending where.


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## Greatwhite (Mar 28, 2011)

Mustad7731 said:


> Duck...
> I've been fishing the TX Surf since the 60's...What I've found that most
> guys tend to buy way tooooooo much reel.
> 
> ...


This is good sound advice for any new guy. Wish soemone had told me that several years ago. 
I do have alot of different gear and a few big reels. But I can tell you first hand that its my smaller reels that get most of the use and I flat out enjoy them most often.


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## bubbas kenner (Sep 4, 2010)

I have 3-4/0 senators HLW's for sale .Nice shape.


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## jimj100 (Dec 1, 2012)

I think everyone struggles with balancing having appropriate equipment for 99% of what's in the surf: nice jacks, nice reds and drums, smaller sharks, which can be caught on a small surf caster or spinner with 250 yards of 25lb mono with no problem, with the small but very important chance that you will hook into a trophy hammerhead or tarpon and really, really wish you had that Avet Raptor with 40lbs of drag w/ braid backing and heavy mono topshot. 

This can be scaled up for sharks. If you always yak out 80w and 12/0 reels on unlimited class rods, man, you can't even tell you have a 5' shark on the end of your line until it's in the wash. If you catch that 5' on a 4/0 class reel, that's gonna be fun. But again, if you hook into that rare monster, say good bye and you will wish you had your 12/0....


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## fishingcacher (Mar 29, 2008)

I use 17 to 20 ln suffix. The lightly line with give you a lot more distance. Of course I am amazed at how close some of the fish come. Often on a miscast I find the fish in the first gut. I would recommend trying a friend surf reel before buying one just to make sure you like it. The power handle is a must as you will get tired reeling with those small paddle handles.


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## SaltwaterTom (Jun 23, 2013)

Penn Squall 15. Not the cheapest reel in the world, but mine holds 300 yards of 30 pound braid topped with 100 yards of 30 pound mono, plenty of drag for blacktips up to 5-6 foot, and will cast a mile with minimal chance of backlash due to their magnetic cast control.


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## topwaterczech (Jun 20, 2014)

Penn 185 seaboy with a 12 ft shakespeare. I have had mine for 10 years and its been great for trout and reds at sargent beach. I make my own double rigging with 5/0 circle hooks. More and more folks are discovering sargent. I miss fishing cedarlake cut ( except for the bullsharks!) Good luck too you!


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## Greatwhite (Mar 28, 2011)

jimj100 said:


> I think everyone struggles with balancing having appropriate equipment for 99% of what's in the surf: nice jacks, nice reds and drums, smaller sharks, which can be caught on a small surf caster or spinner with 250 yards of 25lb mono with no problem, with the small but very important chance that you will hook into a trophy hammerhead or tarpon and really, really wish you had that Avet Raptor with 40lbs of drag w/ braid backing and heavy mono topshot.
> 
> This can be scaled up for sharks. If you always yak out 80w and 12/0 reels on unlimited class rods, man, you can't even tell you have a 5' shark on the end of your line until it's in the wash. If you catch that 5' on a 4/0 class reel, that's gonna be fun. But again, if you hook into that rare monster, say good bye and you will wish you had your 12/0....


well put.
My most memorable fish have almost all been landed on a 4/0, penn 555 or avet lx. and even those are big reels for most reds. Ive handled several 46"+ reds on a little blue abu c4 6600.

shark wise, a 6/0hlw is going to land 95% of what youll run into. The big reels come into play when guys start making looooong drops and need the capacity. But i cant count the number of times I hualed in 6'+ bulls on an 80w just to have them hit the wash before I relaized there was even a fish there.


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