Hey guys I am planning on taking my boat offshore here in a few weeks about 15 miles out at the most and was looking for rod & reel suggestions. Waverider suggested the penn senators. Which models do I look for a nd what rods? Also what line would you suggest?

Thanks,
Boom

For a solid rod that doesn't cost a bunch try a 5.5ft Jarvis Walker Tuff Tip from any Academy near the coast (Houston or Corpus Christi). Get one rated in the 50 to 60 lb line range. They're about $50.

For a reel, I like the Penn Special Senator (red) 113HLW (4/0, high speed, wide spool). Loaded with a hi-viz 50 lb. mono. Buy some 3 hook kingfish rig leaders and some teazer skirts in various colors. Put the skirt ahead of a 1/2oz or 1 oz egg sinker then tie on the leader. Rig it with ribbon fish and troll at idle.

You can also drift with this rig or go with less/no weight and drift it at the surface.

You can also troll Rapala Magnums that dive to 25ft. Just use a steel leader. Troll snapper slapper tipped with ribbon fish, sardines, mullet, or whatever. You can drop the slappers tipped with squid for snapper on structure (rigs/wrecks) or over rocks.

I have 7 Penn Senators, 9/0 - 14/0 for shark fishing from the surf. They can take a beating like no other..

However I wouldn't use a Penn Senator (any size) as a boat rod unless I was a head boat.. A Daiwa Sealine is a nicer reel and costs about the same. Also the Daiwa Saltist't are very nice reels and very smooth.

If you want a nice setup then look at Avets, I love mine. Smooth reels.

I read all the info and looked at all the pictures that the guys who went on the recent tuna trip on the ScatCat Posted. Some of the guys were using Spinning rods and reels. What sizes would they have been, and what type of line would they be using?? I have been looking at some of the Okuma big reels such as their Avenger 80 and 90. Would these work for general offshore and tuna, and would they work for surf casting also??

Great info guys! Thanks alot!

Is braid a bad idea?

Okuma sucks.. The End.

Stick to a Penn 750-950, or some of Shimano's larger offerings.

Yes they work for surf casting as well. Specially the Penn SS series they are true work horses.. Tho' not the smoothest.

For Spinners look at the Shimano Spheros 18000 F and the Quantum CABO 80.

Bar Bar Custom Rods on Ebay has some nice 50 and 60# 7ft Offshore Spinning rods at a great price. I own 2 of them myself.

Bazz

Forgive my ignorance and I truly am ignorant on the requirements of major offshore, but when I read the specs for the Okuma, the Penn, Shimano, and quantum they all read almost identical. What is the difference that makes the Okuma junk?? Cost of all the reels is within a $50 bill of each other so that wouldn't be the deciding factor between any of them to me.

one of the major differences in penn and okuma is that penn have bushings insted of bearings and you can get parts for the penn reels almost anywhere. I have owned only one okuma and it lasted 3 months. For $50 more I will like to have a reel that will last years and years of hard fishing insted of 3 months of hard fishing. Just my .02 cents.

Boomhauer,
I see you live in katy. You can go to bass pro shops in katy and they will have what you need. If you are going inside 15 miles a penn 330 will do you just fine. Bass pro has some penn combos there also. Braid is ok to use just leave some room for a leader. I use a double uni-knot but no glue.
Hope this helps.

I second that on okuma i bought a couple on ebay they are both a piece of ****. penn or shimano i also use a 6000 & 7000 garcia on my rods that i pitch live bait. bill

penn or shimano is the only way to go and we use braid on our high speed jigging rods but if you arnt jigging there is no need for it unless you just want it. the braid would take away the stretch the mono would have allowing you to set the hook and it actually set vs reeling then setting. just my .02

Thanx guys - it sure helps save $$$$ when you get first hand accounts.

Boomhauer,

I live not far from you, and have two outfits I decided to sell this weekend. They are Captains Choice rods with Newell 550-4.6 reels. Reels have been upgraded with Smooth.com aftermarket drags. Great outfits for running 50lb mono. Only reason I am selling is I have moved over to 2 speed reels. Send me a PM if you are interested in looking at them. I take VERY good care of my gear and am happy for you to inspect, inside and out.

Hey jig, what you asking for those rod/reel combos? I might be interested. Perhaps a trade of some sort? Shoot me a PM if they're still available.

Mike, I don't know. I just decided to sell them. :-) Let me think a bit, or make an offer. Don't think I am interested in a trade; part of the reason I decided to sell them is I realized I have way more gear than I ever use as it is!

Kind of a sweeping statement considering reels like the Okuma Cavalla and some of the high end spinners they make. That said, I believe every one is suggesting awfull heavy gear for 15 mi offshore. An Ambassadeur 6000 or 7000 would be plenty. If you like Penn, some of the old stand by's such as a Jigmaster, or a 209/309 would be plenty. A 4/0 wide is way overkill. A Shimano TLD Star 15/30 or 20/40 would be nice or perhaps a TLD 15 (great all round reel). For spinners, while a Shimano Speros 18000, or a Saragosa 18000/20000 are nice reels, they are not needed for 15 mi offshore. Even an 8000 series is more than needed. I fished up to 70 mi offshore for years with nothing more than an Abu 7000 and a decent rod. Never had a problem

D

I second the opinion on the daiwa sealine and saltist. Iv'e got 4 of them now and love em. Never had any problems with any of them. The Abu 7000 is another good one but i still prefer the saltist, just incase you run into some good cobia action.

Okuma is junk, 2nd that.
A couple of years ago, I bought one from academy, something on it broke, don't remember what.
Returned it, got an identical replacement, it did not work.
Not tried another since.

Okuma is going through changes, think it is Tiberon that is starting to help them improve quality this year. Charkbait even started selling them particularly the Cavalla mentioned above. I don't own or want/need any but based on what I have read the newer equipment they offer is much better. Tiberon does not do junk. I have not heard anything good about the older equipment though.

I would suggest you look at equipment you can use for some fresh water or bay applications, a jigmaster for example is a great catfish reel. The Senators are great reels but to me pretty specialized for bottom fishing or trolling for big fish, I would not want to try to cast one all day.

Okuma is still junk! I had 2 of the Cavalla's and niether one lasted through a single trip for YFT! If you are fishing inside 15 miles, and want a good spinner then go to shimano-thunnus, spheros, or saragossa in a 10K to 18K size. These offer outstanding line capacity and reliable drags for a fairly reasonable price. You probably don't need the performance of a Stella (simply the best spinner ever buildt) but you do want to get gear that is gonna hold up with reasonable maintenance. Spool up with a good quality braid in 65# and use a mono leader. Kings, cobia, jacks, sharks etc are no problem and plenty of fun. For conventional gear I would look at either diawa saltist or saltiga and shimano torium in a 30 size. Once again, good gear at a moderate price with plenty of capability just in case. For rods in that performance class and price range it is really hard to beat an ugly stick for either conventional or spinning. And for all of you abu-garcia guy's out there, here is a lesson learned by someone on a tuna trip with me this past weekend. Offshore fish don't play! Some guy was trying to use a 7000 for blackfin tuna and looked shocked when a 15# black SMOKED his reel. No need to go over the top on gear, but don't bring a BB GUN TO AN ELEPHANT HUNT!!!!!!

I'm still selling the two newell outfits mentioned above if interested.

A lot of great suggestions here. I fish Penns, Shimanos, Daiwas, Quantums and Avets. I had one Okuma that basically self destructed when a big king/wahoo started ripping line off at a very rapid rate. No more Okuma for me.

I want to second the Shimano TLD Star reels. Very few people reallize just how capable these are. Very heavy stainless gears, great anti-reverse, very affordable and light. Put in a set of Penn HT100 greased drags and you can even put out 20+ pounds of drag. They are very affordable giant killers that I would rate above the more expensive Toriums (I fish both).

I love my Penns and Daiwa makes a super reel as well.

My suggestions for 15 mile trips would be Daiwa Sealine 300H, Shimano TLD Star or Penn 112H Senator for conventionals. All are very durable and affordable. If you plan on fishing for shark, grouper and AJ, you may want to step up to a 4/0 or 6/0 size Senator or Sealine. I personally don't want a level wind reel offshore, so no Penn GTIs for me. For affordable and effective spinners, try a Shimano Spheros 8000, Quantum Boca 50/60 or Penn 7500SS with some braid.

I custom make most of my rods but there are lots of good off the shelf rods out there. A good, affordable all purpose rod for conventional reels is the Ugly Stick Tiger. You really don't need a solid glass broomstick for the fish you will encounter.

You should be able to take on 99.9% of the fish that you will find within 15 miles. Good Luck!

I've seen a TLD Star slay a bunch of blackfin. I have 7 including Speedmasters. Also, don't forget the Charter Specials. 22lbs of drag at strike and 33 max in a small package



Great suggestions. On my Abu's I always removed the level winds to prevent problems. The size suggestions on the spinners also make more sense. Who wants to deal with the size and weight of a18K sizes reel when a 6K-8K size will do the job

Either shimano or daiwa products are the best...chuck the abu garcias and okumas in the trash..and sell off your penns to an unsuspecting buyer cause they suck as well...the new daiwa saltist spinning reel is a must have...best reel you are gonna find for the money and it won the ICAST new product of the year...TLD is ok but I would go with a TYRNOS...if you are going to put the time and effort into fishing offshore you might as well spend a little extra money to get the right tackle that isn't going to make you look bad when you get schooled by a big fish.

+1 on that!

Just bought the saltist 6500 for a new popping setup with an oti tuna sniper.

Can't wait to test it out!