Me and a buddy hired a guide and are headed to the coast mid-August. I have two medium weight rods and I hope they will be semi-suitable to saltwater fishing.

The first one is a Falcon Original Spinning rod FS-4-17, 7 foot medium action with a Shimano Sahara reel loaded with 12 lb mono.

The second one is a Falcon Original Casting rod FC-4-17, 7 medium action with an Abu Garcia 5600C4 loaded with 14 lb mono.

Will these rigs do the trick? Since they are not designed for saltwater should I soak them in freshwater when I return? Should I leave them home and finance saltwater specific gear?

Also, what artificials would y'all recommend?

Thank you Hilltopper

lots of folks use the 6500c's all over the coast. Probably one fo the more common reels i see. keep them clean and try not to dip them in SW. Might also consider lining up with power pro...

Your gear is fine. My fishing buddy uses a 4600C4 12# it works great and I use a 2000 shimano sedona w/ 10# for freelining croaker and shrimp and a Curado 100b for my main reel on a 8-15lb 7ft rod w/ 12#. Rinse your gear thouroughly after every use.Soak & relube when you get home.

Bass Assassins or trout killers, sand eel jr., flats minnows, she pups for topwater and silver a& gold johnson sprite 1/2 or 3/4 oz spoons

your gear is just fine for specks, flounder and smaller reds. Storm Wildeyes lures are excellent baits...i've had good luck on 'em. i hear that the berkley gulp! stuff works really well too. tight lines!

Gulp stuff works good, I like the 3" new penny shrimp if you can find em'

Buy them in Austin. The closer you are to the coast, the harder they are to find.

Thank you all for your help. I'll post up some pics when I get back. Of course that assumes we catch.

Believe and you shall recieve!

Well put SP

Most reputable guides supply the bait and the gear and know what they are doing so don't worry too much about it. The above advice is excellent if you fish without a guide you will need it. Rinse everything you use with fresh water soon after you use it. Rust can set in after a couple of hours.

The setup's you have are almost perfect. Don't change a thing. Throw lures with your spinning setup and bait with the other. The one very importent thing is do not soak either of your reels in fresh or saltwater. What will happen is you will rinse off all of the grease, expose the components and then rust will destroy your equipment. As long as you don't really dip your reel for more than a few seconds while fishing you'll be fine with a quick mist from a water hose, wipe them dry and lube the level wind gear on the baitcaster.
I tried the troutlkillers this year with alot of success. I was actually yvery suprised. It was a purple flaked color with a chartreuse tail. We went to the Lake Jackson Academy to get more and they were out. I would recommend using a 1/8 jighead with a wide gap hook.
As BH said though, most guides charge so much now that they provide the gear.