I'm thinking one of my larger Abu Garcia 6500's loaded with some braid and a new rod will be a great introductory option for me in the bay.

My Jetty experience in Galveston is not something I particularly enjoyed for reasons of the Jetty itself, people around me, and the atrocious parking situation. Pier fishing somewhere else though, is something I would like to try.

I will definitely be back to the Bay! Even if I don't catch anything big enough to take home, the action when you find those little guys is huge fun!

Great post. THANK YOU!

Great tip there. Thanks!

Thanks! Lots of good info there.

Cut Rate Tackle changed to Fishing Tackle Unlimited many years ago.

You're way over estimating your equipment needs.
Nothing except a shark or a foul hooked porpoise will required that much line or rod. In the bay, now slinging out a dead chicken off the pier in the surf is a different setup, but after a half mile wade with a big reel and rod will have you cussing your choices.

Even a big ugly drum can be handled with 20# braid, 2500 reel and L action rod.

Thanks! For the Bay, one of my Abu Garcia reels with some braid on it and a Ugly Stick rod should work well.

The Surf fishing was from the beach with a little wading. I need a real saltwater rod for that to get my cast out to different troughs/guts depending on conditions. I'd rather be waist-deep in some shorts with an appropriate saltwater rod than spending good money on waders to use one of my existing rods or a cheap Ugly Stick.

~$200 at Academy looked like it would get me a great conventional saltwater Penn rod and reel that would throw heavier weights and baits than my freshwater gear. Chuck from TPWD was really awesome at showing me why a saltwater dedicated rod would be money well spent in the surf from the beach. It also demonstrated why I want a conventional (closed) reel over a spin-cast (open) reel.

If I was Pier fishing, my freshwater gear could be tweaked to work well with an appropriate rod.

I'm not going to trash a PREMIUM $200 freshwater rod which is spec'ed for light fish (Bluegill mainly) that lacks the strength for heavy surf and reasonable sized saltwater fish.

In terms of costs, one round trip's worth of gasoline will pay for a brand new Saltwater rod and reel so, in relative terms, I consider that to be a reasonable cost trade-off. The $100 combos I tried were simply rough and not something I would enjoy using long term so, instead of paying $100 plus $230 to get the better combo, I'm just going to get the better combo upfront for $230!

Thanks! I'll shop them next time I go down to the coast.

If you are wading, you will want to consolidate to the bare essentials. I use a fanny pack as opposed to a wading belt. In the pouch goes a couple bags of soft plastics, a popping cork, and a waterproof plano box with terminal tackle and a topwater lure (typically a super spook). I will typically have a couple 2' and 3' leaders made up with swivels on the end for quick depth changes.

On the belt of the fanny pack is a pair of pliers and a plastic lip grip, both attached with lanyards. I don't carry a net, but can see the value in it. I've definitely lost a few fish by not having one.

If I am planning to keep anything, then a saltwater stringer - the kind with the smooth plastic cord as opposed to the braided rope. Stringer is 20' long and attaches to the belt with velcro that I can quickly remove. It only takes one 6' blacktip tugging at fish on your 10' stringer to make you learn that lesson.

Nothing like a bull shark dragging you out to sea to make you reconsider life choices.