New to surf fishing. Have a 10ft rod/Penn reel for sticking in the rod holder but need advice on what kind of rod and reel would be versatile enough to walk the guts and throw a mix of baits, including popping corks, jigs, sppons, etc. Fishing mostly around Galveston and Surfside so fish will be mostly trout, small reds, whiting, etc. Budget is $100-$150 if possible. Will be fishing a couple of times a month for a few hours at a time so nothing real serious. Thanks much for your recommendations.

I'm pretty new too, but I have a 7 foot castaway and a shimano sahara 3000 that I'm very happy with if you like spinning gear. Academy has castaways on clearance right now too. Should have plenty of money in budget left over for gear.

I use what people consider a bass rod and reel. I use a 7ft meadium action rod and a baitcast reel.

Why medium action over say "heavy" or even "medium heavy"? Do you want a little flex in the rod when popping corks?? Is it easy to pull the hooks out of their mouths with too stiff a rod?

7'6 Med. Fast action somthing for say 1/4-3/4 oz. Trout have soft mouths like crappie not as soft but still.. U want aomething that can trhow a freeliined shrimp or mullet and a slower action hvyer rod help to thorw them off so a liter fast action rod will alow you to lob it alittle futher but that just MHO... I like a 7'6 flacon costal witha good spinning reel even though I use bait casting gear just as much you can thorw liter bait alittle easier woth the spinning gear...

I would go with a light rod if I knew I would only catch specks, but you never know what will take your bait.

Hey my PB Red was caught on a 7' Med action rod wiat an Abu 6500 spooled with 15# mon and I have a 10',2 12' and 13'surf that I hardly ever use any more I've caught 3ft shark on the same rig and it was a blast but I like fishing with lite tackle...

I prefer something 7'6 medium with a short rear grip. The lighter rod helps with trout due to their soft mouths, also the softer action is good for corks and throwing live bait, kind of like a fiberglass rod is good for throwing cranks...The short rear grip is a must for wading, long handles catch in your shirt, ribs and anything else around the surface of the water when you are wading...

Thanks for the advice guys. Seems 7ft+ is the most recommended for rods in M or MH action.(with M being the most recommended) This helps. I have a 6'6 MH All Star I won in a bass tournament and will start with that since it's free. (Abu 6500 reel) If too short for heaving out 3-4ft of cork and leader then I will definitely spend the money on a longer rod. By the way, if you fish with just braid, are you tying directly to the lure? Does it make a difference if you use a mono leader? If so, what happens with the toothy fish?

I always use a mono/floro leader rarely tie to braid unless I'm in a big hurry if there are a lot of Smacks in then I'll use a short wire leader..