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Spinning Reels for surf rods

26K views 72 replies 12 participants last post by  Screaming Drag Scot 
#1 ·
Spinning reels for the surf.

The two most popular are the Penn Z series and Shimano baitrunners. Most models are under 100 dollars.

I prefer the 704 Z series Penns. They can take mucho abuse, sand in the gears, salt not washed off of them, you can even get away with stepping on them, They can handle 300 yards of mono, and its easy to repair the bail when and if you bust it. (the 706Z is bailess, also harder to find) and they can bring in a horse without burning your reel up.
My preference, about 85 bucks.
The smaller spinning reels 4600 and up start at 50 bucks all the way up to the 9500 at 115. my other favorite (too heavy for plugging with. )

The shimano baitrunner is about 120 bucks. Another very good reel, You have to keep it clean and oiled.
There are some cheaper reels out there but you do get what you pay for. My 2 cents.
 
#2 ·
Welcome to the board :)

Penn Z's are kick butt surf reels. Definitely worth the investment, they hold up. Some of the Penns always bothered me, the cranking gears get on my nerves. Sounds like a rollercoaster being cranked up the track incline lol.

Okuma makes a few reels that have GREAT drags and bearings. I have an okuma AV50 that I wouldnt trade for the world. Fought fish up to 30 pounds with that model, and never lost a step. Some drags really do feel different than others :)

Check out the Tica's too. Incredible drags on some of those things.

One thing you definitely want to take into account is the actual weight of the reel. Dont get one too heavy for the surf, especially if your pluggin' with it.

BTW, that is plenty of line. Any reel that is going to hold 300 yards of 20 pound test line is going to be pretty beefy/heavy reel in most cases. I know Okuma makes an Avenger AV80, which is the biggest model. I have an AV65 that I use for chunking and some boat duty, but its a pretty big reel, and if your not doing any deep sea fishing, you might not need anything that bulky.



 
#5 ·
Depends on where and how your fishing. Or maybe somewhere in the middle thats versatile. Any thoughts here guys? I like the 20 pound test and enough on it so as not to get spoooooled. Braid allows for smaller reel. Those Ticas apparently can't handle the load.
 
#6 ·
ticas are nice and smooth with a very smooth drag. However, they are not very good winches, and prolly won't hold up well in the surf.. good jetty plugging reel or boat.. for the money they are good.. if it were me I'd spend a few more bucks and get the best penn or shimano I could afford.. if it were me again, I'd get the one that handles braid the best.. nice even and full line wraps, top to bottom ... if it'll handle braid well it'll take any line... but it sucks when you want to switch to braid and your reel doesn't handle it well... and if it doesn't, you DO NOT want it on there...

I have two nautil 7500s that I got new on ebay for 55 bucks each... they are a nice surf reel a little big but nice smooth and rugged.. water and sand proof... dunk them if you like... only problem is they are a discontinued line... and don't get the 6500 ... weak main gear assembly... used my 7500s at the ditch and they performed vey well.. you could prolly get 2-4 seasons out of one for 50 bucks... the yellow 4.2:1 will prolly last longer then the black 4.9:1 model... they both worked well for me.. the ditch is a good place to test a reel.. :shock:
 
#7 ·
just for a little info on my of surf fishing scenerio i do not do alot of surf fishing in fact i just started this will be my first real and i will probly only go surf fishing 5 times a yearsince i live in pa. so i am not looking for a crazy real. i looked at all ur advice and i was looking at the penns and i saw a penn powergraph that was 200/15 which was nearly 10 oz's less then that okuma i wanted so do any of u no if thats a good real or not. is 200/15 enough line still i was thinking that was a good amount but i dont really no. i ussuallly fish at south ambroy beach i f any of u no where that is its at the top of new jersey thanks for all ur help :D
 
#9 ·
stripers three sevens.

Where are you at south amboy?
Anyway the powergraphs are Ok for normal fishing. They have a graphite housing and aluminum skirted spools. (that will keep out the sand). It is balanced and wont wobble. They wont stand up to real heavy pounding though but they certainly will work for a few outings. You can always upgrade to aluminum later or titanium later. :eek:
The PennG 4000 is 16 ounces and wholesales for 38 bucks. It has 3 ballbearings. It weighs an ounce more than the 3000G 12/210.
The more ball bearings a reel has the better.
In contrast The Penn 704 Z is 23 ounces holds 20/275 and wholesales for 79.95. Ive seen them retail for 95 bucks. The spinfisher Z series are built tougher.

The slammer is also built tough but is over 100 bucks.

All on all the graphites are a good value for the buck. But I have 704Zs that have taken about as good a beatin as you could give one.
 
#10 ·
Hey Striper777....I strictly surfcast and the best reel for MY buck anyway is the Penn 8500ss....i also have the 9500ss that i bring out on occasion and now the recently aquired Penn Slammer 560 seies. all of those reels right there will make it through anything. i've stepped on them, failed to wash off sometimes, dropped them in the sand, and caught big ass stripers on all of them without a faulter. with the 10' rod that your using, you might want to consider the 8500ss. even the slammer will do what you need. but the 8500ss isnt very heavy and you can fit the perfect amount of line on it, whether your using mono or braid. the picture on the home page, the striper was caught from the beach using my 8500ss. it never gave me a problem and i never once thought i might lose the fish trying to play it. I stand by all these reels for the mere factthat they have always come through for me....no noise, no skipping. Parts for all these reels are very plentiful and not costly at all.

Go to the store, tell the guy you want to hold it, or maybe tell him you want to put it on a display rod, see how it feels to you. check the weight, check the balance. Its definetly personal preference my friend. all these reels that the guys are telling you about are great,you'll have to see what feels right for you.

Tell me what you end up buying, i'm interested.

hope this helps

:twisted: craig aka briggs :twisted:

aka surfcastermaster

8) MASTER OF HIS OWN DOMAIN 8)
 
#12 ·
Your always welcome my friend to begin with. like i tell everyone, there is no stupid questions.

The 10' rod is perfect...i usually use my 9' Diawa Eliminator, right off the shelf. its the reel that you want to put the money in. my 48lber was caught on that rod and my penn 8500ss. I also have a couple of 10 footers, a couple of 12's and my baby, my 15 foot...which is also a Diawa Eliminator. I won't fish with anything under 9'.

I don't really know how much "mono" you can fit on it ,but because of the diameter of braided line, which i use (PowerPro)....i can fit at least 50 feet of mono backer with 300 yds of braid on it. The price of the 8500ss has come down a bit i think, its right around $100. I spent $119 on it 3 years ago and i payed $134 for the 9500ss. believe it or not, i'm gonna spend $500 on a Vanstal next season <sigh>.

I hope this helps a little anyway. please feel free to ask anything my friend.

:twisted: craig aka briggs :twisted:

aka surfcastermaster

8) MASTER OF HIS OWN DOMAIN 8)
 
#16 ·
The Van Staal reels are incredible. The craftmanship that go's into them are like a fine automobile. The company is known for standing behind their reels fully and they can really take a beating. I guess its just the way their made, excellent parts inside. The one i want is a good size but the weight is very light and balanced very well.

Heres the website for you to take a gander at.

http://www.vanstaal.com/

:twisted: craig aka briggs :twisted:

aka surfcastermaster

8) MASTER OF HIS DOMAIN 8)
 
#18 ·
Van Staal's are nice, but pretty impractical for most people. I never thought it was necessary to spend over 500 dollars for a reel in order to effectively catch fish and have fun.

You can call them Van Zebco's now though, because they got bought out by Zebco. But from what I hear, the customer service hasnt changed.



 
#24 ·
You can probably get away with a 6500ss, still a good reel but a little smaller than the 8500ss.

The way i figure it Jonny, its kind of like cigars(reels)......I always buy the same cigars but everyonce in awhile, i like to waste the money on a really good one. consider it a present to me, from me, hahaha.

Casting distance.....well striper777, Your distance will get further with the simple fact of getting out there and doing it. It also has alot to do with the action on your rod, the line you wrap around your reel, and the conditions that your fishing in. everyone casts different. I bought an Okuma 9' surfcasting rod, strictly for throwing plugs and various plastics....now everytime i cast that thing, whether it be into the wind, or no wind, i can hear people whispering on how far it went....so like i said, everyones cast is different, hard to nail down an exact distance for you. That rod right there, with maybe my 3-4oz Kastmaster on it, will go about the length of a football field. Its all in how you adjust yourself, i had to adjust my whole cast because of the way i was flipping my wrist, i'd always close the bail prematurely and, SNAP!!! you could almost hear the sound of money everytime i did it. That 10 footer is perfect for what you want to do, when it comes time that you want to throw plugs.....go with a 9 foot, med action rod.

no matter what you do stripers.......your gonna have a great time.

hope this helped a bit.

just 2 cents from an old dude.

:twisted: craig aka briggs :twisted:

aka surfcastermaster

8) MASTER OF HIS OWN DOMAIN 8)
 
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