Does size really matter?!?

[applyheat]

I am new to surf fishing and this morning I saw a school of stripers chasing bait. I tried to cast out there but fell very short.

My set up is a 9' South bend rod with a hurricane spinning reel ($25 well spent) and was maxing about 50'. I was very short of casting past the breakers (which are 150') with a 1.5 oz. lure.

My question is, would a 15' pole get me past the breakers of 150' or should I man up and get a kayak out there?

P.S.- The stripers were so excited, they were jumping clear out of the water. I wish I could have landed one of those monsters.

[Ken Preston]

To some extent yes, size does matter but more important is matching the rod to the lure (or lure to the rod). I've built quite a few surf sticks based on salmon/steelhead rods (Batson / Rainshadow ISA1446F model blanks. 12' long rated 12-25lbs line and 3/4 - 1 1/2 lure weights. One of those (unless it was strong on-shore wind) would almost certainly have reached the fish.

[applyheat]

Does anyone know of some cheap rod that can get my lure out to 150 yards or more? The lures I will be running will be from 1.5 - 3 oz.

[Ken Preston]

What do you call "cheap"? 150 yards is quite a distance with 3 oz

[JakeF]

No change in tackle is going to get you from 50 feet to 150 yards overnight. 150 yards with 3oz requires precise technique and lots of practice as well as top notch equipment. On the other hand, 150 feet is certainly doable for the average beginner with basic casting techniques and properly matched gear.

If you're only getting 50 feet with a 9' rod, casting lures within its rating, I would suggest that you work on technique first before you start dropping $ on gear.

Most surfcasters use rods in the 10 to 12 foot range. Make sure that if you do upgrade you get a rod that is rated for 1-3 oz if that's the weight range you anticipate using most of the time.

Most 15 foot rods are telephone poles for heaving heavy weight and bait and not something that I think you would be able to handle, and you'd be lucky to get 50 feet with one of them casting 1-3 oz lures.

[applyheat]

I'm casting at about 50 yards right now and need to get it to 150 yards. The local surf shop recommended I get a better 9 footer and switch to a 4000 sized shimano reel with a braided line. After he recommended that set up, he offered to sell me a Lamiglas (sp?) 11' surf king for $90.

Thank you so much for your educated responses. Reading these forums is a great way to intellectualy approach a cat and mouse game. This local shop seems to have the best info on my area and I will take him up on his offer for the Lamiglas.

The deal is more than fair and it crosses what the locals are running and what I had in mind.

[Ken Preston]

The combinations you've been recommended will certainly increase your distance but like Jake posted the last tens of yards are going to be technique based (lots of practice with different casting styles) rather than completely technology (equipment).

[207MIKE]

braided line alone will increase your distance quite a bit IMHO. i run 20LB braid on my 8 footer and it is the only setup i use. i mostly shore fish and it covers all of my needs never had a problem with it yet. with braid though i like to run a mono/fluro carbon leader about 2 to 3 feet worth just for piece of mind i feel like the fish can see the braid and it seems i catch more doing so. ( could just be me thinking that i am not sure )

good luck i bet you'll never go back to mono/fluro again