New Surf fishing Rod

[BayAreaGunner]

Spring is around the corner and I am in the market for a new surf fishing rod. I have a penn battle II 7000 as a reel. Also, I surf fish along the San Mateo County Coast.

What are your suggestions?

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[BayAreaGunner]

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[1911man]

Surf rod

I am planning to do some surf fishing this year to. I have been looking at some 9-10' crappie rods I seen at basspro. I saw one guy using one at beach, it looked good. He said he just had the handle made longer and said he caught a 20 lb. striped on the rod.

[BayAreaGunner]

Thanks for the suggestion. I wouldn't want to modify anything.

I'm thinking of 12' Shakespeare Ugly Stik Big Water. Seems like a good rod and deal.

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[dozer wright]

I'm a big fan of Okuma and Phoenix rods . Got a little bit of both for various fishing environments .

[Irishfisher]

Depends on what type of surf fishing you are planning to do. If you are planning on throwing bait and sticking your rod in a surf spike and waiting for a bite, that requires one type of equipment. Longer rods (12'and up) and larger capacity reels are needed to get beyond the breakers.

If you are casting and retrieving lures, you might want different lighter equipment.

I spin fish plastic grubs for perch and poppers for stripers. I use a Penn Battle 3000 reel with 30# braid on a 9' or 10' Steelhead spinning rod. It is a light enough outfit to cast for hours when fishing perch and still has plenty of backbone for stripers.

[BayAreaGunner]

I just looked at it and it have a 6000 reel not a 7000.

When I go out it is for stripper and surf perch. I currently have a Penn Ugly Stik Gx2 9' w/ medium action. Maybe I should get a smaller reel?

When you use a surf spike and wait what kind of fish are you going for?

[fishnbeer]

I fish the same coastline you do (I live in San Jose).
I have 2 surf rods, one is a lighter setup i use for perch and my 10'5 mojo surf is for throwing plugs at stripers.

Lighter rod is a 9' Penn Prevail rated 1/2-2oz. For the money its a great rod, heat shrink handle, light weight and good action. They make the rod in another model just a tough lighter which would work great for perch also. I run a Penn SSV in 3500 size. I have 2 spools, one with 20lb braid the other with 10lb mono.

My striper stick was bought from a couple years of bass pro gift cards combined 10'6 St Croix mojo surf, 3/4-4oz paired with Shimano Ultegra XSC 5500. Thing casts a mile and is very sensitive. First outing with it a stuck a 14lb striper @ Linda Mar. Handled it like a champ.

For a perch rod lighter is better. Really you are only throwing a 1oz weight. The only reason I went for a little more stout perch rod is because stripers will hit the same bait for perch

[Snuffleupagus]

A 9 to 9.5 foot steelhead/salmon rod in the 1/2 - 2 1/2 oz range makes a nice, light surf fishing rod for casting plugs. The rod is not as stout as a "true" light surf rod.

For casting heavy bait or weights, a cheap Ugly Stick is fine.

[Carcassonne]

I have also been looking for some type of surf rod for the past year. I watched several Youtube videos hoping I could get some idea of what I need. I still have no idea what I need.

I think I will start out with a cheapo $20 Diawa rod.

https://www.cabelas.com/product/DAIWA-FT-SURF-ROD/2377413.uts?slotId=4

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[Doheny]

Check out the selection at Dick's.


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[mif_slim]

The crappie rod idea sounds fun! I might try it!

[castgold]

What's the budget?
What are you throwing (weight of jig, # test line)?

[Bainter1212]

I have a Daiwa Ardito travel surf rod. I like it, caught a smoothound and some leopards last year with it.
I like how compact it is to travel with.

I paired it with a Penn reel (can't remember which right now) and some decent braid.

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[Irishfisher]

I just looked at it and it have a 6000 reel not a 7000.

When I go out it is for stripper and surf perch. I currently have a Penn Ugly Stik Gx2 9' w/ medium action. Maybe I should get a smaller reel?

When you use a surf spike and wait what kind of fish are you going for?

Reel size depends on you. The Penn Battle 6000 is a fine reel and the ugly stik is a good rod for the task. If you are casting a lot and it does not fatigue you to use a that rod/reel combo, then no need to change. I am an old guy and prefer lighter tackle. I also like walking the beach casting for hours until I locate a school of perch or stripers.

The guys who use surf spikes are generally going for surf perch. Sometimes they are targeting sharks or rays.