# Starter surf fishing gear



## justinn (Apr 8, 2011)

Hi Guys,

Fishing the bay all my life has made me want to have a change of scenery for a bit. I recently bought a penn 9/0 to start shark fishing but I need some rigs in order to catch bait out in the surf. I'd like to be able to target jacks if possible. Would a 4/0 work as a starter rig? Should I go with some shimano tld's? How many should I start out with? What rods do you recommend matching them up with? I appreciate all the help.

Justin


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## johnsgonewild (Jul 15, 2010)

*Penn 4/0 Vs. TLD 15/20*

I have two 10+ year old penn 4/0's that are still running like champs. You can target decent size sharks, Jacks, or pretty much anything else that the surf can throw at you with them. These are great reels for the money. A good place to start.

I also have a TLD 15 and two TLD 20's, they are some of the best reels I have ever owned. one huge advantage they hold over the penn IMO is the lever drag, it sure earns its keep when fighting something large, And they are some free spoolin machines so you can "potentially" increase your casting distance by a little maybe, However that can also create the mother of all backlashes if you are not careful and let it happen. I always know what is about to happen when someone unfamiliar with them casts one of mine... 90% chance that i'm gonna be unscrewing a backlash for the next few minutes:headknock...

All in, either will work fine, but IMO if you have the coin, go for the TLD, you won't be disappointed!


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## SurfRunner (May 22, 2004)

Its my opinion that your gear is too big for jacks. A perfect set up for jacks would be a reel with 14 lb. test on a brekaway 10.6. I have an Abu 6500 on one of these rods and its a perfect set up for casting large spoons and fighting jacks. 

It sounds a little on the light side for some people but that will whip one down fairly quick on the beach.


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

My favorite rig for Jack and similar sized game is my 12' Tica rod with Penn 525 Mag on it. It can sling bait with the best of them or launch Spoon'R lures a mile. I've brought them in on my Abu 6500 as well on an 8' American Rodsmiths surf rod and it handled them well.


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## Mustad7731 (May 23, 2004)

*Medium Surf Rig*

justinn;
I tend to agree with the last 2 replys. Most newcomers tend to go too heavy for
surf fishing. The Penn 525 mag or 535 will do nicely, if you have that much $$$ to
spend or pickup any number of reels with 225yd to 300yd of 30 mono. Try to stay
with a brand name... As for rods I'd go with a 9' to 10.5' with conventional [small]
eyes and a +2' handle that handles 20lb-40lb line.
That rig will handle 99% of the stuff that will pick up your bait within 100yds of the
beach...And You will Have a B L A S T catching them...The 4/0 you mentioned would
just winch stuff in...Not a lot of fun...
My $0.02
Mustad7731
Jack


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## justinn (Apr 8, 2011)

Ok so I'm looking at the abu 6500c3 as a casting rig for spoons. I assume you guys are talking about the 535gs for bottom surf rigs? I noticed the 535 Specs mentions 25lb mono as the high end mono at 240 yards. Would spooling it with 30 be over kill. (i have 2300 yard spool) or should I go to the 545?


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

justinn said:


> Ok so I'm looking at the abu 6500c3 as a casting rig for spoons. I assume you guys are talking about the 535gs for bottom surf rigs? I noticed the 535 Specs mentions 25lb mono as the high end mono at 240 yards. Would spooling it with 30 be over kill. (i have 2300 yard spool) or should I go to the 545?


You'll want line capacity so I would go with less lb. If bottom fishing you wade out and cast and walk back to the beach, that could be as much as 150 yards of line out depending on conditions. My 525 I use for bottom and for heavy spoons (Spoon'R lures) and I've got it spooled with 17lb and a top shot of 30. More than enough to Jacks and Bull Reds as long as you play them out properly and the line is in good condition.


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

I would recommend the Daiwa Sealine Sha 50. Decent price ($120 new), smooth casting, great line capacity and loud clicker!


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## troutless (Feb 17, 2006)

I have a couple of the Daiwa's a sha 30 &50 . The 50 will hold plenty of braid line and if you purchase it at charkbait.com you can get 300 yards of braid for $19:00.


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## 535 (May 23, 2004)

love my Daiwa 30 spooled with 20lb mono with 100yds 50lb braid on a 11'09" Breakaway... killer all around combo... there are definitely nicer, more expensive reels but I got mine for next to nothing 7 years ago from a friend and havent even thought of "upgrading" since it does everything i need... I actually think it casts better than Justletmein's pos 525 mag


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

jc said:


> love my Daiwa 30 spooled with 20lb mono with 100yds 50lb braid on a 11'09" Breakaway... killer all around combo... there are definitely nicer, more expensive reels but I got mine for next to nothing 7 years ago from a friend and havent even thought of "upgrading" since it does everything i need... I actually think it casts better than Justletmein's pos 525 mag


lmao. not my fault the previous owner abused it and sent it to a Chinese sweat shop for cleaning!

I have a pair of Daiwa 40sha's and they're great but way too big for Jacks. I brought in a 6' blacktip with my old 50 before the sharks got mad and ran off with it.


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## justinn (Apr 8, 2011)

jc said:


> I actually think it casts better than Justletmein's pos 525 mag


LMAO! that is awesome. I'll look into finding a breakaway 11 9 if I can find a older one. So the Diawa 30 wouldn't be a over kill for bottom fishing?


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## 535 (May 23, 2004)

I wouldnt suggest breaking the bank on your first surfrod... I'd go to Academy and look for an okuma/american rodsmith etc between 10'-12' that feels comfortable... I'd watch classifieds on this site, corpusfishing.com and extremecoast.com for a deal on a good used reel


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## jettycowboy47 (Jun 17, 2012)

Mustad7731 said:


> justinn;
> I tend to agree with the last 2 replys. Most newcomers tend to go too heavy for
> surf fishing. The Penn 525 mag or 535 will do nicely, if you have that much $$$ to
> spend or pickup any number of reels with 225yd to 300yd of 30 mono. Try to stay
> ...


Those Penn 525 mags are rocket launchers! I throw 6 oz to the horizion & I am not even that experienced of a caster. Also, look at the Ocean Master surf rods. I can't say what they are in comparison to other makes but I have been very happy with my 10' hvy hitter 4-8 oz. I wish I had gotten the 10' leadoff lighter rod rated 2-4ozs however for the calmer surf. Check them out.


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