I make about 1 trip a year to port aranasas and go out on one or two short(8-12) hour trips on a cheap party boat with cheap equipment. we mostly catch snapper but some times hook into large sharks and amberjack that we can never land because of crapy tackle. for christmas I am going to pick out a rod/reel combo from bass pro shops and my mom will pay for it. they have a Penn Senator 114H 6/0 reel with a Penn 6'6" rod rated for 30-60 lbs. is this too much rod and reel for what I use it for? right now I will just be using this combo for shorter trips on crowded party boats. I would like to put on some good line and leaders and land a few big fish when they bite.they also have a Penn 113H 4/0 with a 6'6" Penn rod rated for 20-50 lbs. which one would be better? what pound line shound I use? I was thinking of spooling up with heavy mono line and tying on a leaders or hook sets for whatever I am targeting. bass pro has already made up leaders hooks and swivels for different things like shark, snapper, and cobia. I was thinking of buying several of each. for someone without any tackle are these combos any good?

assassinator,
Both combos are doable. I like the 113H better for what you describe. The 114 would be better suited to a shorter rod IMHO.
40 lb line is generally accepted for the 4/0 rig as standard. Read online and learn how to tie your own terminal tackle. This will save you dollars that can be spent for more boat rides.
The single most important thing that I will advise you... I ain't never caught a fish on a dry hook.
Go wet a hook!
Post a report here whenever ya gets to fish.

The rig above would be a 50# rig and not suitable for constant fishing on a party boat.
Reason: It's just too heavy for snapper and too light for serious amberjack.
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right now I will just be using this combo for shorter trips on crowded party boats. I would like to put on some good line and leaders and land a few big fish when they bite.they also have a Penn 113H 4/0 with a 6'6" Penn rod rated for 20-50 lbs. which one would be better?[/QB][/QUOTE]
This would be a 40# rig.
This reel is a better choice if you combine it with a better rod.The rod is too light for someone without a lot of fishing time to control the fish.
If you can get the first rod with the 113H reel you'll be well set. Load the reel with 300 yards 65# PP and top shot with 50 mono.


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what pound line shound I use? I was thinking of spooling up with heavy mono line and tying on a leaders or hook sets for whatever I am targeting. bass pro has already made up leaders hooks and swivels for different things like shark, snapper, and cobia. I was thinking of buying several of each. for someone without any tackle are these combos any good? [/QB][/QUOTE]
Use the combo listed above and don't worry about leaders on party boats, the crew will set up your terminal tackle.
Study the different leaders and rigs on the fishing boards and tie your own. Repeat, TIE your own.
Reason: If you take time and pride in your work and it fails it is your fault or a material failure. The first time you loose a good fish because your knot failed, you'll learn to be more critical of your own work.
From that time on the boat just takes you to the fish and it's between your skills and the fish.

assassinator,
Welcome to the forum. The folks here have a wealth of info that I wished I stumbled across a long time ago. Also, nice to know there are people that are more fish-crazed than myself.

well using the tackle the crew hands out, the line will not hold up if I hook a large shark. I have tied into several large sharks but they almost never seem to make it all the way to the boat. last year I had a very large shark that would have won the big fish pot, shake its head right as they went to gaff it, and it came off. I would like to land these large sharks. we hook into large fish that break line every time we go out. I would just like to have a better chance with these large fish. I dont really care about catching snapper I would rather catch three really large powerful fish than 100 small snapper.you never really know what you could catch on these trips so I would like to be prepaired for anything.

my dilema is I have to pick out a rod and reel combo instead of getting the ideal setup. bass pro in grapevine only has these combos I listed. both rods on the 113H and 114H are 6'6" . the 113H is $119. the 114H is $139. both combos have fiberglass rods and line guides with no rollers made by Penn. I will have to double check the exact weight on the rods I am just tying to remember what I saw the last time I was there. the prices of the reels by themselves was exatctly the same as these combos, so it is like basically buying a reel and getting a rod for free. I am really looking at what size reel will be practical for me to use. so is the 114H to big of a reel for most party boat applications?

Go with the 6/0 combo. You'll be over equiped for 90% of the fish.
Load with 130 spectra and an 80# topshot.
Understand that unless your using a long enough wire leader a sharks hide will rub through it. Your only allowed one large shark in federal waters per boat.

I know we are only allowed one large shark per boat. but it would be fun to fight one or two instead of just breaking off every time.

I was thinking I might be be over equiped for 90% of the fish, but I would stand a better chance of bringing those 10% monsters in. also all of this tuna talk makes me want to try a longer trip for tuna. eventually I might make a few long trips (48-60 hour) what combo would be a better all purpose rig for going out farther?

if I went with the 113H does this reel give me enough line to go after bigger fish? would I have to spool up with a braided line to get enough heavy line? I can eventually get better rod. but is this reel enough for bigger fish. I dont really know anything about braids or topshots.

also which reel has a faster retrieve? I see the 113H has a higher ratio, but the 114H has a bigger diameter spool.

* Ratio is as listed, the amount recovered with each turn of the handle is a variable depending on the current diameter of the spool.
With either when your pulling up a decent fish and 1 1/2 pounds of lead from 300 feet down, it's a long slow grind.

the bigger fish that I am talking about would be a medium amberjack or a large grouper or a 6 foot shark or whatever else is down there that takes the bait but keeps getting off. any of the harder pulling fish you would likely encounter on a party boat trip. and eventually some tuna.

a lot of the problems we have are probably from weak line, its usually old, nicked up all over, and spliced a bunch. and it could be that we also went out on one of the cats, scat or wharf, for the past three years. they just suck. I have had lines that were spliced together four times before the bait hit the bottom. I have had drags that just didnt work. I have had line guides that just werent held on very well and twisted when a big fish was on. rusted hooks that werent very sharp. deck hands that didnt know as much as I did about saltwater fishing, and I dont know that much. and probably some other things that went wrong but I cant think of right now.

we usually go in october so the boats arent to crowded and we usually get into fish but dont seem to boat many of the harder pulling fish. the last time there was a guy who brought his own rod&reel and tackle. he baited up big and caught some big fish that day. he landed one 6 foot shark, caught another 5 something footer that was realesed, caught a 40 pound amberjack and then caught like a 25 pound snapper. he had a great day of fishing.I also hooked into two or three large fish that day but never brought any of them to the top. I always ended up with a broken knot or broken line or line chewed up or drag that didnt work and line just got peeled off and went into everyone elses line.

I have read that having braided line causes more problems for other people on a party boat. what do you do about that?

so when the diameter of the spool is equal, the 113H has a faster retrieve?

I calculated that my 6/0 will retreive about 31" per handle crank with a full spool. Don't have a 4/0 to compare it to though.

All that you stated above indicates the 4/0 will fill your needs.
I've never fished the cat boats so cannot comment on them. I've fished both DD and DSH, the crews know me and I have no problem about braid backing.
If you fish less than 50# line most boats will ask that you bring your own terminal tackle, which is what I do. Heck, I often fish 20# on day trips and out fish the tourist.
I've upgraded gears in my 4/0 so my numbers would be different from stock.

If your used to dealing with the things you mention the 4/0 is probably going to be a cadillac comparatively so I'd have to say that as long as your line is new/storng enough the 4/0 should do everything you want to do assuming the pole can handle it.
no offense but, I think I'd just about rather catch anything than a shark on a partyboat. because inevitably it thrashes around and cuts/tangles sevral lines and is just a general pain in the A$$

also for 12hr trips the 4/0 will probably handle any aj's/groupers you encounter as they are generally smaller in the 12hr range <40-50 lbs

as for the braided line Id have to agree with snagged that the boats generally dont care as long as you demonstrate you know what your doing. I have seen them ask people to put away the braid if its causing problems from improper use. but this has never happened to me personally
just my .02$

The problems with braid you asked about is in the tangling...when the action is fast and your braid tangles with several others with mono...well, I usually tell them to just cut my braid if it's so bad that it will take forever. The braid will get so tight in with the looser mono that it is really just about impossible to get it undone...hope that makes sense. I've never had them tell me to not use it, but you can tell that it's a pain for the d.hands.....I try to remain flexible and tell them to do what has to be done.

One way to find out how good your new X-mas present will work - join the Tres Tuna crew. Think there is still a slot or two open. Some of these ole' hands posting here are gonna school us newbies a thing or two about real saltwater fishing.

so with the 4/0 what are a few kinds of good line ?