Im looking for something light enough for chunking lures. But also good enough for fishing the piers. Prefer a spinning reel. Any opinions on what to get? Reel and length of rod. Thanks for any pointers.

Get a 7' med heavy rod and a large enough spinning reel to hold 150-200yds of 20lb braid. And your good.

Your favorite baitcaster plus a 7'6" medium rod. Falcon is an excellent rod. I have a Daiwa 153 HL that has been a warrior and a big fish catcher. I have mine spooled with 65 lb PP. I use a 25 lb PLine flourcarbon leader. This should handle most any speck or red. This rig is adept at flying fish onto tall piers too. Specks have soft, tender mouths. A light or medium action rod is most appropriate for them.

It would help to know what your budgeting for the rod and reel.

Not really worried about budget. But i only get to saltwater about 5 or so times a year. So dont want to break the bank. Figured no more than $250

Shimano Curado~$160
Falcon 7'6" M Gulf Caster~$90

Go fish!

Well, for a budget of $250, it would be hard to go wrong with a Shimano reel, either a Symmetre or Saros, in the 3000 or 4000 series. I have a Penn Battle that has held up very nicely, and I can recommend it as well. seanpwilliams98 above had a good recommendation. 7' in MH is good if you are going to pier fish, but if you are lure chucking as well, you could probably go with a med for a bit better castability. There are a good number of nice graphite rods for around 100 to 125 bucks from companies like Falcon, St Croix, TFO, 13 Tackle, among others, that would pair nicely. Buy the reel first, and take it with you and mount it on the rods you look at and go with what feels the best.

Thanks for the tips. Been using my bass rods and it just doesnt feel right.

G loomis rod and Shimano Sustain spinning or Chronarch baitcasting reel



that's what I use and never had any problems!

I think the reel itself will put him way over budget.. Possible just the rod as well!! That would make a nice set up for about $500

Yup. Couldnt justify that much for a couple trips a year

I was looking at the blackout #8 rods today and really like the way they felt for 80 bucks.. They seem to have great reviews.. 3000 shimano symetre and you should be walking out right around$200