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Surf rod and reel recommendations.


FishStickSteve

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Raiders! 

I require your wise counsel. 

I'm wanting to break into the beach fishing scene, but being poor I require a good bang for the buck rod, but I have no clue where to begin.

For instance if I wanted to go off roading I wouldn't go buy a gold plated jeep cherokee when a cheaper toyota hilux would be far cheaper and just as good, if not better.

So I have 2 questions, What would I need to spend for a solid rod AND reel for beach fishing in NSW (Around Sydney area) and which combo would you buy if you had a strict budget set out by your better half.

Peace and Tight Lines

FSS. 

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Ugly stik for rod. Go the platinum if you can afford it, else go the gold. The Penn Spinfisher will be the Hilux of reels. It feels heavy and a bit clunky but it is HARD to kill and it works. Alvey is shutting down, but you may still be able to grab one and will be exceptionally durable. 

I would be looking at spending $200, minimum. Any less and the quality of gear will limit its life expectancy. If you use it regularly enough, the constant salt spray and sand is hard on your gear and will soon find you back at the shop looking for an upgrade because your reel has seized. 

What are you targeting? Whiting/bream? Tailor/salmon? Big sharks? No one combo will do it all. You'll need to purchase your gear according to the type of beach fishing you want to do. 

 

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10 hours ago, Howdoweplaythis said:

Ugly stik for rod. Go the platinum if you can afford it, else go the gold. The Penn Spinfisher will be the Hilux of reels. It feels heavy and a bit clunky but it is HARD to kill and it works. Alvey is shutting down, but you may still be able to grab one and will be exceptionally durable. 

I would be looking at spending $200, minimum. Any less and the quality of gear will limit its life expectancy. If you use it regularly enough, the constant salt spray and sand is hard on your gear and will soon find you back at the shop looking for an upgrade because your reel has seized. 

What are you targeting? Whiting/bream? Tailor/salmon? Big sharks? No one combo will do it all. You'll need to purchase your gear according to the type of beach fishing you want to do. 

 

Cheers mate, As far as my target fish, I don't know, haha, I was going to throw a pilchard onto the hook and see what I reeled in. If I can avoid it I wont be targeting sharks, Had a run in with one when I was still in South Africa. So I am very happy for them to stay in the ocean.  

 

I'll look up that rod and reel. 

Cheers Mate. 

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Hard to beat an Alvey for the surf. They are tough, can handle the sand and cast unweighted pilchards with ease. They can cause line twist, so just use a quality swivel above the other terminal tackle. I used to use eggbeaters in the surf but once I bought an Alvey I haven’t gone back. ?

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mate it comes down to your budget I have a Wilson live fibre 13'6" rod and a 6500 Baitrunner I have caught everything from big bream to tailor, salmon, shark off the beach I cant fault the gear I have put them through their paces and still awesome mate

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24 minutes ago, bluefin said:

Marks 1984, I have the same rod with an ultegra 5500 reel. I too can't fault it. Howard.

 

Howard, can i ask what line weight and capacity you fish on your ultegra 5500? Which model it is and your comments on it. I have the 14000 XTC as one of my beach jewie reels and am happy with how smooth the gears and drag are but the format of the drag i can find a little annoying. It's a bit fiddly to operate as a baitrunner as i find the preset drag can get effected when you adjust the larger dial for the quick drag. I fish with a truckload of 65lb braid on my 14000 XTC but am seriously considering getting the 5500 to run as a lighter outfit in many cases (probably 30lb braid). Are you able to give your opinion and or line recommendations on how you think the 5500 goes as a jewie reel (will it be up to scratch on the off chance i hook a big fella amongst the school fish). I will probably fish it on a 12-13' rod line a prevail or aerowave but more in the 10kg range rods. I have a 13' heavy (3 piece 8-15kg) graphite aerowave which is great but am thinking maybe next model down. 

 

Steve,

If you are able to give us a tiny bit of guidance as to your budget ($ range including line) we can probably give you a bit more help as to what rods/reels you might consider.

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16 hours ago, Captain Spanner said:

Howard, can i ask what line weight and capacity you fish on your ultegra 5500? Which model it is and your comments on it. I have the 14000 XTC as one of my beach jewie reels and am happy with how smooth the gears and drag are but the format of the drag i can find a little annoying. It's a bit fiddly to operate as a baitrunner as i find the preset drag can get effected when you adjust the larger dial for the quick drag. I fish with a truckload of 65lb braid on my 14000 XTC but am seriously considering getting the 5500 to run as a lighter outfit in many cases (probably 30lb braid). Are you able to give your opinion and or line recommendations on how you think the 5500 goes as a jewie reel (will it be up to scratch on the off chance i hook a big fella amongst the school fish). I will probably fish it on a 12-13' rod line a prevail or aerowave but more in the 10kg range rods. I have a 13' heavy (3 piece 8-15kg) graphite aerowave which is great but am thinking maybe next model down. 

 

Steve,

If you are able to give us a tiny bit of guidance as to your budget ($ range including line) we can probably give you a bit more help as to what rods/reels you might consider.

My budget is flexible in the sense that I can happily drop $800+ on a rod and reel if its worth spending the cash on. But I don't want to spend $800 if a $400 rod will be just as good. If that makes any sense. 

And as for target fish, I am pretty much after anything besides sharks. I'm happy for the sharks to stay just where they are. 

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That is a decent budget and will get you a high end rod and reel combination. I have a penn prevail rod and pfleuger salt 6000 reel for my beach combo. Total cost was about $300. In terms of the 'hilux' gear you've described, this combo will probably last me many years to come because I take care of it and get the reel serviced regularly. The Shimano Ultegra reel the guys have spoken about is a superb reel, don't get me wrong but it is a $400 reel. You've described that you want as good a reel, but pay less. You will definitely get a better reel for $400 than $150, hence the $250 difference but if you take care of the $150 reel it will also last you a long time to come. It won't be as 'good' par se, but if it is your first beach combo, will you notice the difference? It will still feel nice to use. 

In regards to your target species, if you're throwing pilchards you are probably going to be targeting tailor/salmon. A rod rated up to about 12kg will be suitable and will also be sensitive enough for bream/whiting. You will inevitably hook a shark one day on pilchards. I caught many sharks on my previous 12kg beach rod but you will probably lose the bigger ones. 

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What I was looking for when I bought these 2 set ups, for my wife and I.. MUST be light. Must cast a country mile. 6 to 10 Kg. As we have our 4 to 6, 10'6" light surf all ready.  (  6 kg live fibre , stradic Fk 4000. 10 lb Sunline super Pe. Super light and comfortable. ) The light outfits are good for most species, Salmon around  60 cm are great fun.But Distance was a problem some times. The answer after much debate and searching Was the WILSON LIVE FIBRE RLF45/2 CHAMPION TROPHY SURF ROD 13'6" 6 to 10 kg.  The Reel to match is a Shimano Ultegra 5500 ci4 xtc. line  Fins 40G  15 lb,( breaks at 25.)       Results?   These are now 2 1/2 years old, Could not be happier.   Bream and Whiting from those far out banks? no problem. Feels like you are winding in your live bait. Salmon, the longer rod is noticeable on the arms compared to the shorter rod, and there not much of a challenge. Jew  , Not Yet.  The Bait runner set up doesn't  bother me. it is weird though.     There is also an 8 to 15 kg version of this rod.      What Braid ?  Hard Question, as so many are good.  The Fins 40 G The outer braid can bunch up on the inner core, but not really a problem, The Sun line is a good line too, A bit course to the touch compared to the  8 carrier braids , but can't fault it either.  I have been using the new Sunline 8 braid for River SP's and vibes, it is excellent, very smooth.  Fins have a new 8 carrier braid too, but i haven't seen it.  Regards, Howard.

Edited by bluefin
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From the beach, I find 6kg mono to be adequate for anything you might catch... there’s not much for a fish to wrap you around and you can just walk along the beach.  If you are consistently targeting big jew, then a go a 10kg outfit if you think it necessary - it would suffice, IMO.

I use a 5 inch Alvey spoiled with 4kg pretest on a  MT4120 and handle bream, tailor, salmon and school jew OK. I have a 6kg spin rod MT8120 (currently stripped down for a rebuild) and a 6 1/2 inch Alvey on a MT8144, which I spoil with 6 or 10kg when targeting the big stuff but I’m more likely to use that off the rocks.

 I’m going to get another rod to use with an eggbeater and 6kg line but that’s more for my son to use when he fishes with me because he struggles with an Alvey.

And of course, you can go with an overhead line the ABU 10000 in another thread, if targeting big jew with big baits and wanting a good drag and line capacity.

So many options, eh?! ?

Edited by Berleyguts
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I have 2 MT7144 rods with alvey 650c5  and 700c5 reals. all 30 to 40 years old, but still in use!!!!!. Spooled with 15 and 30 lb mono. 650 gets ALL the use. My father had a 4120 which I have re built , it is our Friend and Family rod. if they want to fish. Have spun with a Seascape on anMT 8144 for years. MT8120 would be a brute !!! Regards Howard.

 

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2 hours ago, bluefin said:

I have 2 MT7144 rods with alvey 650c5  and 700c5 reals. all 30 to 40 years old, but still in use!!!!!. Spooled with 15 and 30 lb mono. 650 gets ALL the use. My father had a 4120 which I have re built , it is our Friend and Family rod. if they want to fish. Have spun with a Seascape on anMT 8144 for years. MT8120 would be a brute !!! Regards Howard.

 

The MT8120 was my first beach rod as a teenager (well after using my grandfather’s cane rods). It was built for an eggbeater but I extended the butt and rebuilt it for an overhead for high speed spinning off the rocks. It did the job. ?

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18 hours ago, bluefin said:

What I was looking for when I bought these 2 set ups, for my wife and I.. MUST be light. Must cast a country mile. 6 to 10 Kg. As we have our 4 to 6, 10'6" light surf all ready.  (  6 kg live fibre , stradic Fk 4000. 10 lb Sunline super Pe. Super light and comfortable. ) The light outfits are good for most species, Salmon around  60 cm are great fun.But Distance was a problem some times. The answer after much debate and searching Was the WILSON LIVE FIBRE RLF45/2 CHAMPION TROPHY SURF ROD 13'6" 6 to 10 kg.  The Reel to match is a Shimano Ultegra 5500 ci4 xtc. line  Fins 40G  15 lb,( breaks at 25.)       Results?   These are now 2 1/2 years old, Could not be happier.   Bream and Whiting from those far out banks? no problem. Feels like you are winding in your live bait. Salmon, the longer rod is noticeable on the arms compared to the shorter rod, and there not much of a challenge. Jew  , Not Yet.  The Bait runner set up doesn't  bother me. it is weird though.     There is also an 8 to 15 kg version of this rod.      What Braid ?  Hard Question, as so many are good.  The Fins 40 G The outer braid can bunch up on the inner core, but not really a problem, The Sun line is a good line too, A bit course to the touch compared to the  8 carrier braids , but can't fault it either.  I have been using the new Sunline 8 braid for River SP's and vibes, it is excellent, very smooth.  Fins have a new 8 carrier braid too, but i haven't seen it.  Regards, Howard.

Thank you for that Howard, that is what i wanted to know. I run berkley whiplash in 65lb on alot of my reels and Sunline Momentum (now out of production) on anything lighter (20lb down to 10lb), I have recently got the 8 carrier Daiwa J braid in 30lb on a 5000 reel which works for me. Do you think that the 5500 would still have good casting distance with a quality 8 carrier 30lb braid or do you think it might be getting a bit bulky?

 

Steve,

I think you should be able to come in under budget there and get what you need/want. I haven't seen the Wilson Live Fibre Rods but their description reads well. I have decided that i like K guides so pretty much all of the rods i look at now have K guides on them. I would look at the Shimano Aerowave Graphite in the 6-10kg (they come in 12'and 13' and are 3 piece which is very handy for the car) and I would look at the 8-12kg Penn Prevails in the 12' and 13'. Both of these are in the $150-$200 range and i think great value for money. I don't own a prevail but have fished with them. I would also look at the Daiwa Sensor Surf Range to see if you like them enough to pay the extra (they are $300-$400). I own the 15' double extra heavy, it feels great in the hand, is light and strong, it is a bit overkill (you could probably cast a house brick if you needed to but you need to stop winding to check your fish is still on, even for soapie jews off the beach). It doesn't get anywhere near as much of a run  as my Aerowave Graphite (K guide series 8-15kg) and Aerowave Composite (Old model 6-12kg).

The Prevails and Sensor Surfs also come in heavier models and longer models that i haven't mentioned that you may want to investigate (10-20kg and 14'6"  and 15' for the sensor surfs.

Reels wise I can only comment on Shimanos but would think you could get away with a 5000 fishing 20lb braid and anything in the 6000-8000 for 30lb braid. (in saying that i have a 5000 sustain with 30lb J braid for the boat which is great but would not cast as well as 20lb braid. I would have a look at the 5500 Ultegra XTC Ci4 ( i am going to too), I would look at the Thunnus 8000 if you are not going to do alot of lure throwing, I would look at any reel from a Nasci 5000 up the range of reels (new ultegra FB i haven't seen yet, stradic FK, twin power etc.) to find your balance of feel/price that you are happy with. I think 200-300m of 20-30lb braid will work and pick the reel accordingly. 

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Captain, The answer is Yes.   You have a 14000, so you know how big the spools are. And you get 2 spare spools with spool fillers so you don't need to put backing or 1000  'yards on to fill the spool.  As i said, weight was a big consideration , so the Ultegra and the live fibre are the lightest in weight we could find / afford .Compare the weight of the ultegra to the thunnus, The other reels you mentioned Straic Nasci etc, are not in the same class as far as Surf reels go.     ( Ok just saw the thunnus has a new ci4 which is much lighter.)

 

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