# Shark rods/reels



## mgoodman2014 (Jun 25, 2014)

Hoping to try my hand this year with some shark off the sand, maybe even throw in for Sharkathon... but, naturally... I know very little on the rods/reels needed and gear... anyone want to share some pointers please.

Looking to buy at minimum 2 full setups here in the next month or so and I am just not sure where to start. My son is also interested as well as my neighbor, so you'd be helping all of us get started.

Thanks in advance
Mike


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## jimj100 (Dec 1, 2012)

txsharkfishing.com is a good site for getting started in Texas. Read that tutorial. It covers everything. Basically, you need a Kayak (used off of craigslist, $200 ??), (life jacket, seat, paddle), a Penn 9/0 or 6/0 wide,I like them Spooled with 80lb braid and 80lb or 100lb mono topshot. A belt and harness. Stuff I make myself: You need some sinkers. like 12oz w/ 6gauge claws. Leaders. DeHookers. 
Also Bolt cutters. Hooks cost very little, but can be a huge pain and take forever to remove. Cut the shank. 
General surf fishing stuff: shovel, tow strap, first aid, sunscreen, license, camera, fresh water, chairs, umbrella, there are lots of these lists around!

I am sure I am forgetting a lot! 

THese are a few suggestions! Others will recommend an Everol 20/0, or, "just use your bass rods". Good luck!


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## jimj100 (Dec 1, 2012)

Oh, and the Penn 9/0 is sort of a very nice entry point. $150 brand new, and cheaper on ebay. very easy to get parts for, lots of tutorials for how to work on them. for a rod, 40-80lb trolling or standup type, 50-100 maybe, Metal reel seat for sure, no rollers. Penn Mariner maybe? Davis rods are cheap, and i have heard good things. around $100. It does not have to have any graphite in it. a good glass blank. cheap and sturdy, unbreakable. Turbo guides. 

now, if you want to get up there in price, then you get into the lever drags. Like an Avet 50w. $600 about new. And then a decent custom rod for $3-400 bucks. And on up!


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## saltbranch (Apr 6, 2012)

jimj100 said:


> txsharkfishing.com is a good site for getting started in Texas. Read that tutorial. It covers everything. Basically, you need a Kayak (used off of craigslist, $200 ??), (life jacket, seat, paddle), a Penn 9/0 or 6/0 wide,I like them Spooled with 80lb braid and 80lb or 100lb mono topshot. A belt and harness. Stuff I make myself: You need some sinkers. like 12oz w/ 6gauge claws. Leaders. DeHookers.
> Also Bolt cutters. Hooks cost very little, but can be a huge pain and take forever to remove. Cut the shank.
> General surf fishing stuff: shovel, tow strap, first aid, sunscreen, license, camera, fresh water, chairs, umbrella, there are lots of these lists around!
> 
> ...


 Ditto....good advice and pretty much what I started with. The Penn 6/0, 6/0 wide and 9/0 then you have the Diawa 600 and 900, all good reels. Don't forget the smaller rods/reels to catch bait with.
It can be addictive and as expensive as you want it. I am now working on my Avet collection and a building a new fishing tower for my truck.
Have fun and good luck


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## matagordamudskipper (Feb 18, 2006)

Don't use hollow core braid in the surf. From my experience it breaks much more readily. Been using 100# and 150# solid on my super 6's and bigger. Hollow was a one time buy and it didn't work, especially for long soaks.


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## jimj100 (Dec 1, 2012)

matagordamudskipper said:


> Don't use hollow core braid in the surf. From my experience it breaks much more readily. Been using 100# and 150# solid on my super 6's and bigger. Hollow was a one time buy and it didn't work, especially for long soaks.


What brand? i use JB and i also have some toro tamer i have not loaded on yet. But the braid rarely sees the water. SO i can't really say how well it works. I can't say it's been tested....


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## matagordamudskipper (Feb 18, 2006)

130# JB 
Had a lot of break offs in the surf, fished off a tower. Numerous offshore as well. I took it all off and respooled with 100# momoi then 600 yards of 150# tufline. Zero break offs. I've gone away from mono top shots for the most part and gone to straight heavy braid momoi and tufline, and have had excellent results.


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## matagordamudskipper (Feb 18, 2006)

Also I cut my braid with a lighter or very sharp knife


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## jimj100 (Dec 1, 2012)

thanks mudskipper. 

Whenever i get a run, and i'm increasing drag, and it's running, and then i see the braid... and my splice.... and right then, I will go ahead and tighten down and stop it (if i can, right?). I don't see any reason to let that splice and braid hit the water if can stop it! Get a little nervous when that splice goes thru the guides and into the water! maybe unwarranted, but it's human nature!


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## ToothyAngler (Mar 18, 2015)

I would go with a okuma SLR-50w they are around the same price as a penn 9/0 hold the same line but u get the drag as a advantage. Spool it with about 300yrd of 100lb power pro with a top shot of 60-100lb mono. For the yak I'd find a used one on Craigslist or where ever, from my experience the best of the best is the ocean kayak scramble, got mine for $300 perfect shape. Hope I helped just a little info


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## saltbranch (Apr 6, 2012)

matagordamudskipper said:


> 130# JB
> Had a lot of break offs in the surf, fished off a tower. Numerous offshore as well. I took it all off and respooled with 100# momoi then 600 yards of 150# tufline. Zero break offs. I've gone away from mono top shots for the most part and gone to straight heavy braid momoi and tufline, and have had excellent results.


How many yards of the 100 # braid would you estimate? Then you put 600 yds of 150 lbs braid on top? (why Tufline?) What length are you shark leaders? Do you use floats too?
I am thinking of going full braid as you describe, 50' leaders and floats. I am curious as to your brand choice and why?
Looking to learn, not flame.
On the flip side its kind of hard to do away with the cheap mono topshot....if something happens,nicks it, abrasion etc...its cheap to replace.
So many choices!!


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## matagordamudskipper (Feb 18, 2006)

Tuf line because I used some many many years ago it held up well and I got a good price on it. I did roughly half 100# half 150#. Leader length varies, usually 40ft or so with big baits. Yeah I use top floats, big orange long line ones when it's calm and small ones when it's rough because they don't pull on the weight as much. Tackle is expensive, but with top floats if I happen to break off I can cut a few feet off each side of the break and tie a knot. Granted knots weaken the line, but you can put it on the bottom of a reel when it comes time to respool.


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

Too much reel. I have a 9/0 and a nice Shimano and they sit on the rack in the truck while my 4/0 wides get all the use. Unless you're fishing for big fish, which you probably are not if you're just starting out, smaller reels will serve you better. 6-7 foot sharks all day long on 4/0 wides no problem. I hate the 9 because it's unnecessarily top heavy and it's horribly boring bringing in 6' sharks on reels like that anyway. I owned a 12/0 for about 4 years and never used it once. LOL


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## Shark_Reeler (Aug 16, 2014)

Don't buy squat till you go along with an experienced shark fisherman and see how it all works. Then and only then can you decide how "deep" you want to get into it. You can go cheap or high end. I was lucky enough to have a couple guys show me the ropes and it still took hours and hours on the sand before I got the hang of it. Its all about confidence. Good luck!


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## mgoodman2014 (Jun 25, 2014)

Thanks for all the advice guys... sharing it all with my son and neighbor. We will find someone we can tag along with if possible, but if anything, this can put us in the right direction!


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## sharkinaggie (Jan 21, 2008)

Shark_Reeler said:


> Don't buy squat till you go along with an experienced shark fisherman and see how it all works. Then and only then can you decide how "deep" you want to get into it. You can go cheap or high end. I was lucky enough to have a couple guys show me the ropes and it still took hours and hours on the sand before I got the hang of it. Its all about confidence. Good luck!


^^^^^this times a million^^^^^^^^

Go with someone who knows what they are doing and get a good idea of what exactly you are getting your self into. One day on the sand with a knowledgeable person is worth hours and hours of research on the internet. I would not buy a single piece of tackle until you do this....LBSF is not for everyone and is often times a ton of work for very little reward. The internet is full of examples of guys who went out and bought a ton of high priced tackle only to figure out that buying tackle and actually using it were very different things.

In all honestly, if you are going to be fishing Texas beaches, a 4/0 sized reel on a surf rod with a casted bait will catch you just as many sharks as a 50W on a boat rod with a yakked bait....plus it is going to be a lot more fun (and cheaper) on the surf rod. Don't believe all the hype about big reels and long drops. Winching in a 6 foot fish with a 50W from 400 yards out is really not very fun or sporting. Now playing that same fish on a surf rod with a bait 100 yards off the beach is a whole different ball game and is way more enjoyable.

Just my 0.02!

-SA


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## matagordamudskipper (Feb 18, 2006)

sharkinaggie said:


> ^^^^^this times a million^^^^^^^^
> 
> Go with someone who knows what they are doing and get a good idea of what exactly you are getting your self into. One day on the sand with a knowledgeable person is worth hours and hours of research on the internet. I would not buy a single piece of tackle until you do this....LBSF is not for everyone and is often times a ton of work for very little reward. The internet is full of examples of guys who went out and bought a ton of high priced tackle only to figure out that buying tackle and actually using it were very different things.
> 
> ...


Definitely what these two guys said.
I've gotten to where I only kayak out massive baits 90% of the time. If it ain't over 7ft not worth it on a 50W(6/0 size) imo. Casted baits different story. Try to link up with someone to get the jest of what real beach sharking is, it's not everyone's up of tea.


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