Gear

[RumRunner]

So if you guys were starting from zero and had to buy 6 rods and six reels, what would they be? Assuming you were fishing for cobia, redfish, Sheepshead, flounder, tarpon, sea bass, blues, .....what would you buy? Any reason for outriggers? And what do you think, bait casters or spinning reels? Line max and min?

 

[B-Faithful]

Avet SX or MXJ with braid on a 6'6" pole rated about the 20# class (12-25lb line with up to 3oz) for what purposes you mention.

 

[RumRunner]

Thanks, appreciate it.

 

[Chief C]

R&R,

My personal recommendation would be to do it right the first time,,, Accurate, Shimano (TLD's) or Penn Sennator's in that order. Trust me, it took many fish and lessons learned on this end. Stay away from the new Mfg reels which have tried to jump on the bandwagon quoting new technologies they don’t compare. See for yourself, pick them all up and compare and ask yourself which one is tight & right. Only one has Twin drags, the other boated a 216 BFT on 40lb mono (earned my respect) and the last will always be a favorite, even if just in faith (same order). Until a reel has been truly vetted over the years by fishermen without personnal sale leaflets, sales advertisements or discounts youll just have to replace them. I’ve learned the hard way.

Hope this helps and for all those with different views these are solely my recommendations and/or recommendations.

r,

 

[captainhix]

I agree your personal experience holds alot of value. I was always a Penn man until I had three of the newer overseas models (113H and 114Hwide) break within a year. Now I spread out between Shimano, Penn, and Avet with Avet being my favorite for what they can do for such a small reel. They are built great and affordable, not to mention easy to work on yourself. If I was starting out maybe two Avets and two TLD's.

 

[Goldiefish]

I have always been a Penn fan, but all my current purchases have been AVET. Great reel. Rock solid. MADE IN THE USA! Most if not all Penn reels are now made in China. Bummer.

 

[Megabyte]

My personal preference for LTJ gear are spinning reels spooled with braid. My go-to is the Shimano 3000FI series spinning reels.
For LTJ rods, I use all St Croix in lengths of 6', 6' 6", and 7', medium-heavy power, light action.

For trolling, I have an assortment of Shimano and old Penn rods with TLD 15's, (TLD 20's early spring and late fall for the bigger fish) and some smaller Penn level-winds all spooled with braid.

I believe Chief C gives good advice to buy quality, and do it right the first time.

 

[GullCoveParker]

Greeting all. I am bumping the conversation to see if these recommendations are the same after the intervening years. I am in the market for four rod/read combos (two for rail fishing on two for trolling). These will be for novices, but want to invest into something that will last.

Thanks!

Mark

 

[Brent]

I have vintage Penn reels senator, long beach, squidder, jig master, etc on new penn and ugly stick rods using mono

 

[pelagic2530]

I really like the new Penn Spinfisher V for spinning reels. Feel very solid, drag is silky smooth, all metal frame, braid ready spool, and has the Liveliner option for live bait fishing or bottom bumping. Yes, they're Chinese built, but find a spinning reel under $500 that's not. :roll:

For baitcasters, I like the Shimano Calcuttas for star drag, and the smaller Avets for lever drags.

Offshore I have Shimano Tiagras in 30WLRSA and 50WLRSA, phenomenal reels with great drags. However, I'm now buying the Avet 30TREX offshore reels instead of the Tiagras; same drag capacity in a smaller lighter reel, and more than enough capacity with modern braids.

I'm big on metal frames and components, regardless of type or manufacturer. In my experience they hold up far better, especially in the smaller spinners or baitcasters.

 

[mrGeeze]

Its really hard to beat the durability of a shimano tld.
The 20#'s would probably do you well in your trolling applications
don't even bother with the 2 speed if you can find the single speed ones.
the tld25 is pretty good single speed.

they are real cheap
they just keep going and going. they are super easy to work on.

there is a reason they are on every charter boat from maine to peru.

 

[Brent]

What's a good price for one? Any rod recommendation?