Surf Fishing Help Needed

[akoop]

My salt game is pretty week but I really want to learn how to be a better surf fisherman. I was given a 10' surface rod that appears to be in great shape and a Diawa reel that has definitely seen better days. I live in northwest Jersey and would be fishing Sandy Hook down to Island Beach State Park for the most part and also Raritan bay. I would like to target stripers, blues, fluke from the beach. I'm looking for some recommendations for a new reel and line.

Anyone have any recommendations?

[Jigman13]

Budget will dictate recommendations.

Penn spinfisher VI, conflict 2, saragosa, spheros... all good reels. 5000 size is adequate for blues and bass. I run #30 braid for stripers on the beaches when throwing plugs. A little lite for some, but I'm comfortable with #30 and a 3' mono leader.

For fluke, you're better off with something lighter and smaller. 7' to 8'6 rod, medium action and a 3000 or 4000 sized reel. Fluke are typically tight to the beach esp if theres a trough or drop off. I fish lighter line when targeting--#15 -#20 braid with a mono leader. I also only throw jigheads and gulp of various weights depending on depth current and wind. I rarely drag bait...

[akoop]

Originally Posted by Jigman13

Budget will dictate recommendations.

Penn spinfisher VI, conflict 2, saragosa, spheros... all good reels. 5000 size is adequate for blues and bass. I run #30 braid for stripers on the beaches when throwing plugs. A little lite for some, but I'm comfortable with #30 and a 3' mono leader.

For fluke, you're better off with something lighter and smaller. 7' to 8'6 rod, medium action and a 3000 or 4000 sized reel. Fluke are typically tight to the beach esp if theres a trough or drop off. I fish lighter line when targeting--#15 -#20 braid with a mono leader. I also only throw jigheads and gulp of various weights depending on depth current and wind. I rarely drag bait...

Are you using swivels between your braid and leader or do you tie them directly together?

Also what about basic maintenance of the reel, is a rinse off in freshwater when I get home enough? Do you do anything special for the braid?

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate you sharing your knowledge.

[Jigman13]

You could use a swivel. I dont. I use a braid to leader knot connection.

As far as reel cleaning, I keep a bottle of fresh water in the car to rinse my reel thoroughly after a trip. I also wash more thoroughly when I return home. I'm extremely careful with my reels when fishing the beaches. I'd opt to find a reel that has a sealed drag, or somewhat sealed anyway. You get what you pay for with reels and something not sealed will get exposed and breakdown if not handled with care.

I'm a fan of the higher end daiwas, the saragosas and spheros by shimano too. The spheros is heavy as hell though.

I picked up the spinfisher vi and conflict within the last year, too. Not awful reels. The spinfisher is somewhat sealed. They're doable and affordable.

Not sure what you mean by doing anything special with the braid...

Again, it all comes down to budget. You can get a VS or VR, or Stella, and put it on a $400 custom stick, or you can find something that fits your budget. I mean, shit, even the cost of braid can vary from $15 to $40+ a spool. All things to consider...

[AndyS]

The old Penn 6500ss with 14 or 17 Trilene XL.

Bay Head, East Ave to Chadwick or Mount Ave, fish at night in November for striped bass throwing SP minnow.

[Hookmanski]

I started fishing the surf more around 2 years ago and it's definitely the most rewarding, but also the most humbling. I have a Tsunami Shield i got for around 100 bucks that has served me well, no issues with it after a year and change with it. That being said, I got back into it using my dad's ancient fiberglass garcia surf rod with a big freshwater reel on it, so it's less about the equipment and more about putting the time in to finding spots and learning the beaches.

While I know braid is superior for feeling bites and hooksets, I have had issues with it tangling and on the beach at nighttime that can be very frustrating, so I usually throw on 20lb mono with a leader so I'm not wasting time fooling with my line.

Echoing what Andy said, nighttime or first light in the fall is the move for bass. I just moved further from the shore so my trips just got longer but I'm hoping to head down that way for some nighttime fishing soon.

[Capt. Debbie]

For washing off my gear without a hose connection I bought one of those hand pump up sprayers from the hardware store.

Use it afterwards. Give just enough pressure to help remove salt water even inside the spool. A dozen pumps or so to pressurize it and it will spray for 30 seconds or more continuously.

Does a great job.

Originally Posted by Jigman13

You could use a swivel. I dont. I use a braid to leader knot connection.

As far as reel cleaning, I keep a bottle of fresh water in the car to rinse my reel thoroughly after a trip. I also wash more thoroughly when I return home. I'm extremely careful with my reels when fishing the beaches. I'd opt to find a reel that has a sealed drag, or somewhat sealed anyway. You get what you pay for with reels and something not sealed will get exposed and breakdown if not handled with care.

I'm a fan of the higher end daiwas, the saragosas and spheros by shimano too. The spheros is heavy as hell though.

I picked up the spinfisher vi and conflict within the last year, too. Not awful reels. The spinfisher is somewhat sealed. They're doable and affordable.

Not sure what you mean by doing anything special with the braid...

Again, it all comes down to budget. You can get a VS or VR, or Stella, and put it on a $400 custom stick, or you can find something that fits your budget. I mean, shit, even the cost of braid can vary from $15 to $40+ a spool. All things to consider...

[akoop]

Originally Posted by Jigman13

You could use a swivel. I dont. I use a braid to leader knot connection.

As far as reel cleaning, I keep a bottle of fresh water in the car to rinse my reel thoroughly after a trip. I also wash more thoroughly when I return home. I'm extremely careful with my reels when fishing the beaches. I'd opt to find a reel that has a sealed drag, or somewhat sealed anyway. You get what you pay for with reels and something not sealed will get exposed and breakdown if not handled with care.

I'm a fan of the higher end daiwas, the saragosas and spheros by shimano too. The spheros is heavy as hell though.

I picked up the spinfisher vi and conflict within the last year, too. Not awful reels. The spinfisher is somewhat sealed. They're doable and affordable.

Not sure what you mean by doing anything special with the braid...

Again, it all comes down to budget. You can get a VS or VR, or Stella, and put it on a $400 custom stick, or you can find something that fits your budget. I mean, shit, even the cost of braid can vary from $15 to $40+ a spool. All things to consider...

Thanks for the great info.
I was looking at the Penn SpinFisher reel so I was happy to read that you feel it is "Not Awful".

What I meant for doing anything special with the braid had to do with washing. Is just spraying it off on the reel with freshwater enough or do you strip any line off maybe into a bucket or something to give it a good cleaning?

[akoop]

Originally Posted by Hookmanski

I started fishing the surf more around 2 years ago and it's definitely the most rewarding, but also the most humbling. I have a Tsunami Shield i got for around 100 bucks that has served me well, no issues with it after a year and change with it. That being said, I got back into it using my dad's ancient fiberglass garcia surf rod with a big freshwater reel on it, so it's less about the equipment and more about putting the time in to finding spots and learning the beaches.

While I know braid is superior for feeling bites and hooksets, I have had issues with it tangling and on the beach at nighttime that can be very frustrating, so I usually throw on 20lb mono with a leader so I'm not wasting time fooling with my line.

Echoing what Andy said, nighttime or first light in the fall is the move for bass. I just moved further from the shore so my trips just got longer but I'm hoping to head down that way for some nighttime fishing soon.

Hey Hook,
I definitely agree that it's less about the equipment and more about putting the time in to finding spots and learning the beaches but my reel needs to be replaced. It looks like it sat for a long time without having been properly cleaned prior to being put away. Bail has chrome peeling off that constantly catches the line, drag doesn't work well, etc.

Also after doing some research it seems that reels designed for surf casting seem to have shallow tall spools to help the line come off with less drag for longer casts. The spool on my reel is short and very deep, probably doesn't make that much difference but makes sense to me.

[Brewlugger]

I like Penn reels but for surf fishing I have found that many do not lay the line evenly on the spool and that causes problems with braid knotting while casting. Always close the bail by hand and hold some tension on the line for a few cranks until you have contact with your lure. The Daiwa has good line lay and a superior main gear compared to the Penn but salt will find its way into the clutch on the BG 4000 that I use. I use an old Shimano Calcutta baitcaster with fifty pound braid for rough surf and heavy lures never had any issues with that one. I have a Daiwa g2600 that I bought at a garage sale for 25 bucks thats got alot of miles on it and its still going. When rinsing my gear I lightly spray the water too much pressure will push the salt and sand into the reel, then take the spool off and wipe off everything finally spray WD on a rag and wipe again. If you fish alot sooner or later your going to have to take them apart. When using a swivel at night it can be problematic reeling it into the tip top and cracking the ceramic ring. Everybody does things their own way. Good luck looking forward to seeing you post a successful report.