im looking for a decent surf set up that i can use out at SLP and Galveston.

Are you looking for conventional or spinning?

Whats your price range?

all depends on what youre looking to do and your personal preference. alot of the stuff i have ive bought on ebay and i usually have pretty good luck. i prefer conventional reels because i can cast them further than i can a spinning reel. i have a few penn 209, penn 309, penn 320gti, penn 340gti, penn 113hlw, newell 454, and a daiwa 50hv, most of which ive used for years and havent had any problems and all of which ive gotten from ebay. the penns you can get for pretty cheap and theyre very reliable as long as you take care of them. rod wise, i use anything from 7ft-8ft boat rods to 10ft-12ft surf rods, all of which are american rodsmith or ugly stiks. it also depends on if youre planning on slingin baits or running them out by kayak or jetski. hope i was able to help you alittle.

Whatever i can cast further, i can use both. My price range for the whole set up will be about 200 - 250. I want a lot of line because i will have a yak some of the time and i want to be able to handle most any thing that ill catch on the beaches of the gulf of mexico {Florida, and Galveston}

if youre planning on yakking bait out and going after big stuff, i wouldnt go with anything smaller than a 6/0 like a penn 114hlw. theyre not great for casting with, but i use different reels for running bait and casting. if youre yakking youre gonna need plenty of line depending on how far out you plan on running your bait. i use a 6/0 and a 9/0 both with spectra braided and a top shot of 80lb big game and a 15ft leader with a 20/0 circle hook. as far as casting, id recommend the reels i talked about in my other reply. hope this was helps you out alittle.

Penn 4/0wide senator sounds like a good bet. Might take some practice to cast, but an awesome beach reel. They can handle most sharks and all drum off the beach. Newells are awesome, but don't hold up well in sand, and sharks have been known to literally break them in half. I've heard good things about diawa, but have just stuck with penns and newells.

I also use 10 ft AR surf rods, like $40. They are great for the price.

on a conventional reel how does the line level its self onto the reel when you are reeling in a fish ? Iwould think that it would pile up, do you level it manually? Sorry for the dumb question just thought id ask

thanks
coastal kid

You have to level the line manually. After a while, you don't realize you're leveling the line, so its no big deal.

do you just do it while reeling the fish in?