Thread: Go to surf rig- only one rod and reel setup

Sand spike with a 10-ft heavy rod, 704 reel with 17-lb mono, hand-tied 20 lb pompano rig with peeled shrimp, and a 3.5 oz Sputnik sinker. I'm targeting pompano and whiting by the bushel in the cuts and edges of sandbars. Heavy surf setup keeps me in the game during the rough seas in winter/early spring when the whiting are thick.

7' Ugly Stik and a 4000 size spinning reel with 10# braid topped with 10# fluorocarbon and a double drop rig with size #2 Kahle hooks and a 2oz pyramid weight. Bait would be ghost shrimp, if I could only choose one. You would be able to handle most redfish, pompano, sheepshead, whiting, ground mullet, spadefish, black drum or flounder that ate it along with a sack full of other stuff( hardtails, ladyfish, catfish, rays, stargazers, puffers, striped burrfish, etc.) that you may catch, but not want to eat. This would be assuming I'm fishing the surf from December through the end of June.

Ive had my eyes set on the same rod reel combo.

If you want to go ultra cheap, cabelas has the7' and 7'2" whuppin stick on sale for 14.99. Guides aren't as nice as an ugly stik, but they're a very durable inexpensive rod with similar ratings to the ugly bigwater models

Originally Posted by Bassmaster179

Ive had my eyes set on the same rod reel combo.

J&M has a Diawa 4000 spinning reel for about $20 on a table over by the live bait room. I bought one about 5 or 6 years ago and have submerged it numerous times while surf fishing and used it countless times for throwing a pompano jig, gotcha plug and bubble rig. Rinsed it off with cold freshwater, let it dry and reapplied Reel Magic and it's still ticking.