H20 express spinning rod, smoking some sea cats... bass tackle in the ocean

Always a fun trip to the coast taking cheaper rods and reals with expectation of ruining the equipment. Current was real strong last night but took my drop shot set up/ crappie rig from academy some moons back and loving the fight on ocean creatures. Going to try and find some reds today. Anyone else head out to the ocean with bass tackle or am i the lone dummy throwing money away on reels that corrode?

Also, if anyone has some tips for finding reds right now in galveston I would love the advice.