i want to get into fishing for bigger fish like sharks and what not and im kinda tight on money but i can make sacrifices..what are some lower costing reel and rod setups for me to upgrade that i can use for sharks and other big fish?

Garcia 6400 c is what I use and I have caught sharks and stingrays over 100 lb . The reel cost $100. and I use a 9 ft fiberglass shakespear rod . ( $ 25) . I see a lot of people using penn 309 that cost around $60 . Good Luck

alright thanks alot anything is helpful

I use Garcia's and Penn 309's. I prefer the penn for the torque you get when reeling the fish in, but you can't cast very well with them. Hope that helps.

for the money, ugly stick's are the way to go. Caught many a bull red, sharks, king fish etc on these rods. never a problem with one.

tight yea it definitley helps thanx

I would suggest the good old standby of Penn 500 or Penn Senator 113HL (4/0) with an ugly stik rod matched to the line & reel. That should keep your cost minimal while giving good quality.

how heavy of line can u get up to on this senator?

on a 4/0 you can use up to 80 pound mono. Lots of people do this when they add their top shots.

50 is really what you should stick with tho.


-Z-

I normally use 40-60# mono on my 4/0 Senator - if I have it loaded with braid, I'll do up to 80#

cool well what size rod should match this reel yall think?

Look at a Shakespear Tidewater, that will help keep you cost's low.

But I would just get this combo http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores...1003000_151-3-3


-Z-

Yeah, I second that combo - inexpensive and good quality

man thats clean .. man this convo is getting me stoked for some shark fishing,,is shark fishing pretty much good year round in g town?

Shark fishing is best April - Oct.

Not saying you can't catch them in Dec or Feb.. but the majority roll in Late Spring.

June - Aug they are thick, so thick in times you will have a hard time getting a fish on board with out a bull or black biting it in half.


-Z-

I will just use my 20 lb test and smile

what u mean by this mr bob?

anyways good deal whats good bait to use out there?

Live stingray from a boat, dead from shore. Jack's, cats, whiting, and eels for cobia.

Stick with fresh ray tho!



-Z-

Jack's, cats, whiting, and eels for cobia. explain that part

DFish you don't mention where you will be fishing from, beach, jetties, boat. Rods differ radically between the three....

I fish 90% boat, 10% pier.

I use Penn 114s w/ 60# mono on Shakespear Tidewater 5'6" rods from the boat. Total package under $200

From the Piers I step down to Okuma's larger reels 40# mono on Shakespear Tidewater 6'6" rods. Total package $125 or less....

If you watch Basspro you can get the tidewater rods for $40-60, I like them for the roller tip eyes. Not sure if they do any real good, but I think they at least keep kinks out of the line...

My Okuma Reels are cheap $60 @ Academy, but they have never let me down, 4 years running and not a single problem, but I do size the tackle to the fishing location, the largest fish I've caught has been a 37" Bull Red on the Okuma, and a 39" spinner shark...

The Penns are the only thing in the water when fishing from the boat, never know when I'm going to hook that trophy Tarpon while fishing for shark.

We should all get together and plan a Shark Trip this summer. My son is bringing one of his friends down for the summer and he's stoked for shark as well.

I'm trying to work out my trips for spring/summer to get in my own share of fishing too

well that is more helpful i wish there was a good universal setup good for boat and jetty fishin and beachin it.. know any??

Unfortunately, the needs of fishing from a boat vs a pier/jetty vs from the beach are different enough that you'll need different rod/reel combos for each.

For what it's worth, I went through my high school years and into my mid-20's with a Penn 500 and a pair of Penn Senators - one 4/0 (113HL) and one 6/0 (114HL) along with five rods that I'd mix & match to suit what I was doing ...

yea can't i jsut use get a penn 4/0 113hl and switch rods on it to match wat im doin? and which rods for which job?

DFish;

The Penn 113/114 type reels limit your casting distances considerably and generally don't do well from beaches and jetties, from piers you could probably be OK with them. From shore or jetties you'd need a kayak or something to run the line out far enough to fish.

If you looking for a universal setup you'll be hard pressed to find one, but you can limit the gear to probably two setups.

For everything from land look at a good surf rod, something in the 8' or longer range with a good spinning reel. This will give you the casting distances you need, but the spinning reel will limit the amount of line, so your looking at lighter lines or braided line.

Then for boat fishing the Penn 114 w/ a 5'6-6'6 medium or medium/heavy rod should work fine for most conditions.

The problem with one setup between shore and boat is that the requirements on reel and rod are different. From a boat you need a short stout rod with a big reel to hold heavy line. From shore you need a long rod with a good casting reel.

Honestly I have 3 combination of rods and reels, and need to add 2 more combos to complete my setup for all situations.

For Beach/pier fishing I have use a Shakespear Catfish reel on a 7'6" walmart rod. W/ 30# mono line. This rod is too weak for anything more than about 10#, and the reel doesn't hold enough line to really fish from the beach. My first 4' shark on this is going to spool all the line, melt the drag and probably break the rod when it hits the knot.

My second rod is a Shakespear Tidewater 6'6" 30-60# rod with Okuma Reel, and 40# line. I use this I use this from piers and Jetties, and more often than not I wish the rod was longer. I also use this for a lot of boat fishing inside the jetties, and for trolling.

My third setup is the Skakespear 5'6" 60-130# Rod with the Penn 114 reel 60# mono. I use this only from the boat, and usually offshore outside the jetties. I don't usually start off fishing with this combo, but I almost always end up using it.

The two combos I wish I could add to my setup are:

A Surf Rod in the 10-12' range with a large spinning reel for casting. I'd use this combo for all surf and jetties fishing, and whenever I can get the end of a pier I'd be using this setup as well.

I'd like to add another 5'6" 60-130 or heavier rod with a Penn 114hlw or one of the two speed larger reels. This would be for the boat as well, but would only come out to play when with the 8' or bigger sharks, tarpon and tuna.

The biggest problem you deal with when compromising is that you end up with something that is barely suitable for everything and perfect at nothing...

Your profile doesn't say where your from, but if your from anywhere near Allen let me know, your welcome to come over for a beer and som BSing, and I'll show you my gear and show you on the boat or in the backyard why I chose the gear I chose and why the benefits are there,

whats some good spinnin reals for some good heavy fishin

Shimano Stella, Accurate Twin Spin, Diawa Satiga,
For a lot less money you can get a Quatam Cabo 80 or a shimano Spheros with upgraded drag and be able to catch some serious fish...

sounds good ill check it out

i think im gunna settle down with a good senator now whats some good rods for it

THe shakesspear tidewater is cost effective...

cool

but is it fish effective

YES and that should be the end of this topic..



-Z-

Yea, I have one and it works very well for the price. I have other rods that I like much more, but you get what you pay for...

what rods do u like more

Check these guys out. They make a good rod.
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZarmbreakerrods
http://stores.ebay.com/bar-bar-custom-crafted-fishing-rods

DFish;

I personally like the Sakespear Tidewater series of rods, they are pretty cheap, and so far have not let me down once.

My son and I hit a school of reds where we were pulling bull reds in as quick as we could reel them in, and I watched my tidewater rods get bent nearly double time and time again (probably 100 times in one day) without a single break.

When we got back to Dallas I rinsed them down, and felt the glass looking for signs of stress and they are in as good of shape now as they were the day I bought them.

There's better rods out there I'm sure, but I paid $40 for my 30-60# rod and $60 for my 60-130# rods and haven't regretted it in the 2 years on the 60# and 4 years on the 30# rods that I have had them.

I'm building two more rod/reel combos for this summer, and both will have Shakespear Tidewater rods for sure...

thanks mr thompson sounds like a good way to go