Reel recomendation needed for Jetties and Surf

[PasadenaMan]

I went fishing to the north jetty for the first time Saturday morning. Biy was I in for a big surprise. I rigged a 14 inch live Lady fish on one of those Pre Made Red with a big hook and in line weight. Well I ran the hook and leader though the mouth and out the gills and hooked it on through the tail and threw her in. About 20 minutes later the line started peeling like crazy, and it was not a boat that took the like. I set the hook and that was about it. I was spooled and then the 80# power pro like broke.

Can anyone suggest a nice reel to purchase? If I could I would buy that AVET TRX reel but thats about $900 an wee bit out of my range unless my stocks pop . I am willing to spend about half of that for the reel or less if there is a reel out there that is best for the Jetties and can be moved to surf rod as needed.
Needs to hold alot of line and high drag rating. You never know what your going to hook out there.




Thanks for yalls help.

[Robalo]

Try an Okuma T30-nice reel for the money (about $140). Pair it with a All Star rod dang-can't remember model # of rod but they're $40 at Academy and perfect for kings, ling and that reel. Otherwise a TLD 25. Same rod.

[PasadenaMan]

Thanks Robalo, I looked up the TLD30 buy dayang the SHIMANO TLD 2-Spd TLD50IILRSA and a TLD25 is awsome. I am liking what i read and see about it.
Its going for about $400 but its going to last a long long time.

I might have to get the TLD 25 first them get the get the TLD50IILRSA so I have 2 good rods and my Penn 320 GT2. The Quantum spin cast that got spooled is not going back out there to the jetties.

[Robalo]

I think Quantum makes mostly freshwater stuff and never had any good saltwater stuff by them. Look at the Okuma T30 Lever Drag-I like that as much as my TLDs. Okuma also mmakes a two speed T30. T50 is too big unless you're going after really deepwater fishes.

[Seaweed]

Man I'm not sure what a "good" surf reel and rod is, but a 50 Wide is a huge Reel. And generally fairly heavy, I coudln't imagine it being a good reel for that. I mean your talking the size reels that you can Marlin fish with. Same with that Avet TRX. That dude is HUGE. I don't know the answer but I would surely think those are not it. I could be wrong. It sounds like you need something with more drag vs. size.

[bountyhunter]

I used the TLD-25s for years surf fishing like that and never hooked anything I didn't land, great reels that last!

[corndog]

I went fishing to the north jetty for the first time Saturday morning. Biy was I in for a big surprise. I rigged a 14 inch live Lady fish on one of those Pre Made Red with a big hook and in line weight. Well I ran the hook and leader though the mouth and out the gills and hooked it on through the tail and threw her in. About 20 minutes later the line started peeling like crazy, and it was not a boat that took the like. I set the hook and that was about it. I was spooled and then the 80# power pro like broke.

Can anyone suggest a nice reel to purchase? If I could I would buy that AVET TRX reel but thats about $900 an wee bit out of my range unless my stocks pop . I am willing to spend about half of that for the reel or less if there is a reel out there that is best for the Jetties and can be moved to surf rod as needed.
Needs to hold alot of line and high drag rating. You never know what your going to hook out there.




Thanks for yalls help.

Try a penn 303 with 100# test before you do all that pending. I have caught many huge fish offshore with that rig and if they were able to spool me I just cut the line and called it even. Nothing that big is anything I want any way. Just enjoy the fight and respool line. Save the cash and book a trip with someone that has the gear and experience to put you on big fish. Better yet that take a trip to Costa Rica and go big time fishing. Nothing like getting spooled. Enjoy!!!!

[corndog]

Try a penn 303 with 100# test before you do all that spending. I have caught many huge fish offshore with that rig and if they were able to spool me I just cut the line and called it even. Nothing that big is anything I want any way. Just enjoy the fight and respool line. Save the cash and book a trip with someone that has the gear and experience to put you on big fish. Better yet that take a trip to Costa Rica and go big time fishing. Nothing like getting spooled. Enjoy!!!!

Also always check you line from the hook up for fraying which is the most common mistake. The line gets fray above the hook and that will be where it breaks.

[TTU Wader]

If your looking at tld's check with FTU. When I worked there they had some pretty good deals on combos.

[Fisher_Of_Men]

Try a penn 303 with 100# test before you do all that pending. I have caught many huge fish offshore with that rig and if they were able to spool me I just cut the line and called it even. Nothing that big is anything I want any way. Just enjoy the fight and respool line. Save the cash and book a trip with someone that has the gear and experience to put you on big fish. Better yet that take a trip to Costa Rica and go big time fishing. Nothing like getting spooled. Enjoy!!!!

I have to agree. We use the Penn series 320 & 330 Gti with 80lb braid and I have a few Penn Captiva 8000's spinfishers (My personal favorites during the Drum Run). All rods are either a 15/30lb or 20/40lb class. All rods are the Penn Slammer series. So far, I have had good luck turning just about everything I've hooked at the Jetties, that either didn't break the hook or break the 200lb. leader. All these are combos sold at Bass Pro or Gander Mountain for under $200.

Keep putting those large live baits on and you will have fun fighting the jetty monsters.... Have fun...

[PasadenaMan]

So i walk into academy just to take a peep at their tlds and they had the tld 25. The size is great and like the sliding drag. it was $179. looked up online while i was there and foung it for 139 in clear lake. i bought it and am looking for a rod now.

Whats the benefit of having any rollers on the rod, especially the tip?

[Robalo]

Rollers are for trolling-you don't need them for your fishing. get the Allstar Gulf Coast (?)Rod about $40 at Academy-5'6". Perfect rod for offshore medium tackle-which is what ya got.

Lever Drag-and be careful how you set it-you may want to use a scale and pull to get drag pounds set. Don't overtighten the main drag-use the lever drag to tighten and loosen after setting main drag.

[dbarham]

whatever you get i suggest shimano.

[PasadenaMan]

i am currently waiting for my 500yd spool of power pro line and titan 80 big game rod to come in the mail. cant wait to get them in so i can install my new shimano tld25 on it. I have not even fished with the reel yet but plan to upgrade the handle with tthe tyranos 30 handle.

cant wait to get some line wet!

[PasadenaMan]

Well, the Power Pro, TLD25 and Titan Big Game rod are in and sitting at my parents house in Pasadena. Can't wait to get it set up. I do have a quick question. I have the 500 Yards of Power pro that I am planning to install but I still have about 100 yards of spool left. Should I leave it like that or Topshot it and if so whith what?

Thanks guys for your tips! With our yalls help I would have just bought the 114H combo at Gander.

Where can I aquire a scale to measure the drag?