Evening y’all,

Lookin for some ideas on a rod and reel setup for pitching live baits at Cobia, Mahi, etc. offshore around rigs, weed lines, etc. Not looking for a pre-paired Combo, but some solid recommendations on some setups for the purpose.

I’ve got a couple of jigging rods, one with an Avet MXL Raptor MC, another With a Daiwa Lexa 400, and a Penn Carnage spinning rod with a Daiwa BG 4500. All will work for the purpose, but the spinning setup is the only one suited for the job, and I’d prefer a casting setup. I’m plenty comfortable casting conventional reels, and use Daiwa Seagate 30’s in the surf so level wind is not necessary.

Buddy of mine has a Shimano Calcutta 400 on a custom rod he built that he uses for the job. I just don’t know if I want to go with a Calcutta or if there are better options out there. (This will double as a small surf rig etc.)

Love to hear y’all’s thoughts!

Thanks in advance!

I prefer baitcaster reels over spinning reels. My cobia and dolphin pitching rod is an Abu Garcia 7000i on a bass-pro GS Series Muskie rod. The line class on the rod is 10 to 40 pound. My rod is 6’3” but they don’t make the rod anymore. The new Muskie rod is 7’ and has a line class of 30-80 pounds which may actually be better. I have landed 150 pound sharks on the rod, but it is light for that. It is the 3rd rod and reel from the top.

If your good without a level wind, get you another Avet. They have great free spool, and you can get a two or three speed in some smaller sizes. For the rod, I snagged a St Croix when they had them on sale. I went with the Legend tournament inshore eight foot, heavy. It is light as feather, and you can toss it a long way.

I have a bunch of penn fathoms that I really like. I have a few sizes and they come in 2 speed

7 foot St Croix Avid MH Inshore with a 400 Shimano Tranx .. is what I use for saltwater and fresh .. 30lb braid and then whatever leader I need.. might take a little longer to get a big fish in but it sure beats using a heavy seat up in my old age. The Avid rod has full cork handle, the Tranx 400 will hold plenty of line for what you are after. Recently purchased a second one after using the first one in the salt the last two years.. great reels! I was a big Calcutta fan, still am, but the Tranx is better!

https://stcroixrods.com/pages/avid-inshore

https://www.meltontackle.com/shimano-tranx-trx400ahg-reel.html



I use a St Croix Avid Inshore Spinning Rod as well.. 7 foot, MH .. same as my casting rod.
Shimano Saragosa 6000 Spinning Reel, 22 lbs of drag... same as 400 Tranx