[J_Lannon]

Hello everyone,
I live in Virginia Beach and I spend alot of time at Dam Neck beach with my Labrador Retriever. I occassionaly run into a surf fisherman there. I figured that my Lab would love getting up in the morning, or going out at night to hang out while I fish.

I need to find out what a good Rod & Reel is to buy, and what to avoid. I figured I would spend the money for a decent combo and then get a cheaper one for a back up.

I grew up fly fishing in Maine and never have surf fished before.

Any advice thet you "old salts" could spare would be greatly welcomed and appreciated.

Thanx.

 

[Dyhard]

You are close to 17th tackle shop, go in and ask for Anthony, he will help guide you, he's been a surf fisherman for 30 years or more.

 

[ccc6588]

Buy the best you could afford. Otherwise you will want to upgrade later especially when you are really into it. A good quality rods at reasonable price is the Ugly Stick. Reels Okuma, Silstar, others. For very good quality, Shimano, St. Croix and many more.

Sometimes you could buy rods at very low prices and be very pleased with them, so it is not always the price. For reels, I think you have to spend at least $50 for good quality.

 

[poleant]

Skip the ugly stick unless you want something in the 7' zone. For about 20.00 more you can do alot better on digital dagger . com. Okuma solaris, which I own the 12' and the 8', nice for the money. A friend of mine bought the 12' ugly when I got my Okuma and we went out for some practice and the ugly went back to the store the next day.

 

[cant throw]

go into princess anne dist. (17th street) great place. take a look at there ticas. i own 2. the 11 foot is great for bottom fishing and i use the 9 foot for lures. i have a sealine slosh 30 on the 11 and a abu garcia 5500c3ct on the 9. they have very good prices on there stuff

 

[Kozlow]

The How Toooo's

Try these links J_Lannon good luck with your new passion and welcome to the board.

http://www.finefishing.com/1saltfish/stripedbass/introdtosurffish.htm

http://www.stripersurf.com/scast101_2.html

http://www.dto.com/swfishing/method...peid=114&Articleid=297&search.x=44&search.y=5

http://www.dto.com/swfishing/methods/method.jsp?Articleid=359&Articletypeid=114

http://www.worldseafishing.com/

 

[J_Lannon]

Thx Guys

Thanx for the input guys,

Im looking at a Penn 6500 SS and a Tica, or Ugly Stick for my main combo.

Looking forward to the years of enjoyment, and swapping fish tales with ya'll

Thanks again for the input.

Be safe and have fun !

 

[ccc6588]

For that sized reel, 8-9 feet rod would be perfect. Penn 6500 is a nice choice. I don't know about the newer model, but the bail on the older version needs to be replaced after several years of use. Otherwise it is very rugged. Do they have anti-reverse. That little play can be annoying if you are use to anti-reverse. For the same price or 10-20$ less, you may also want to review the Shimano Spheros 5000. The same gear ratio 4.7:1 and about the same size and weight. Unless you plan to fish exclusively for big fish such as red drum on a barrier island, it would not be wise to get a rod too long such as 12'. A 8-9 feet rod would be more versatile for most of the fish on the surf and pier. Since you are just getting started, it would be wise to get an all purpose rod.