Surf Rod Question

[Average Fisherman]

So I've been in the market for a big surf set up. I wanted to go with the Shimano Ultegra/Tiralejo combo, then quickly realized I would be using my money, so we would need to pare down that price. I have a Penn 7000 series spinning reel that has been awesome, but I wanted something that I could heave way out, and not have to walk into chest deep water. I settled on the Penn Spinfisher V SSV10500, with an 11 foot Penn Prevail surf rod. The reel is as expected, and holds enough line for me to fish the jetties.... from here in Alexandria. It's big. My question is about the rod. To my modestly trained eye, it seems a little stiff for optimum casting distance. Did I get the wrong rod, or are rods like this meant to be pretty stiff? I got this on Amazon, and plan on playing around next weekend at the beach to try and hook my dad into some redfish fun. I can return this and get a new rod in quickly, if my selection was incorrect. I'm basically looking for a rod, preferably under $100, that is good for distance casting. And I do have smaller surf set ups. I understand this is totally overkill. I just wanted one big set up with a half mile of 50 pound braid for the day I can finally take a little time and try to hook into some sea monsters way off the beach.

[MathGeek]

The stiffness of the rod relates more the good range of casting weights. We use the 12 ft Ugly Stick surf rods, which work well with 2-4 oz sinkers and a half crab or slice of mullet. A 6 oz sinker or a 4 oz sinker with a whole crab is heavier than ideal for these rods, but not too bad.

Line weight and spool diameter will impact casting distance. We use 40 lb power pro as the sweet spot between strength and casting distance. There are very few obstructions at the beaches we fish (Elmer's, Holly, Rutherford), so we let the fish run with moderate drag. It is a much different approach than fishing the jetties from a boat when we prefer 80 lb line to keep fish out of the rocks. When I eventually respool, I might go with 30 lb to increase casting distance, but I would not go heavier than 40 lb unless we liked locations where we needed to turn fish.

We have found that the 5000 and 6000 series Spheros reels hold plenty of line, and we can tell we get more casting distance from the 5000 reels. Not sure I would want bigger than the 6000 series for bull reds. You might want more for sharks.

When the wind is in my face, I will wade out into knee deep water to cast. My daughter has a more agressive pendulum casting motion and slings it out just as far without getting her feet wet. With a tail wind, I can throw it out plenty far for bull reds at the above beaches without wading at all.

If we ever get serious about sharks, we plan to either launch baits with a pneumatic cannon or (more likely) fly them out with a drone. We really want 80 lb line and 8 ft steel leaders for sharks, and both of those limit casting distances to the closer areas where the bigger sharks rarely swim. Though we did get into them close once where Elmer's Island meets Caminiada pass.

[speckleUknow]

Slap this baby on an ugly stick and you'll catch all the SpecksNdaSurfImageUploadedByTapatalk1434226097.848671.jpg



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[Average Fisherman]

Thanks for the reply. I mainly fish Holly Beach and around Little Florida. I also have, and love a Shimano Spheros, but had a big bull take me down to where the backing line was visible, and I had to walk out a bit to tire him out. But what I take from your post is that the reel, unless I'm really serious about getting the bait way out for big sharks is overkill. The good news I take is that the rod could still pair with my Spheros, or my Penn Fierce 7000. I'll give this rod a shot, and adjust down the road if I feel I want something different. Thanks for the insight.

[jl8200]

Mathgeek is always a wealth of knowledge!