I might be heading down to the coast soon and wanted to know if the Maddragon Carp rod good for surf fishing? Obviously I'm not going after giant sharks are anything like that, but definitely some smaller red fish, flounder or trout.

I was thinking if a rod that could handle a 20lb+ carp that is probably one of the stronger freshwater fish, it could probably handle some surfing as well.

What do you guys think? Does anyone own a Maddragon rod? Any comment is appreciated!

They don't have much power at all, so casting wouldn't be ideal. They can handle it, but I wouldn't expect very much backbone to it. I've also seen a couple break during the cast and while fighting fish, for what they are they are really cheaply made. It would probably work for lure fishing or maybe light bait work but I wouldn't go much above that.

Thanks for the info. I didn't want to spend money for a good surf rod that I'll probably never use again. And didn't want to buy a cheap combo that would be use much either.

I will probably stick with the 7ft medium heavy rods I have.

I have a Maddragon carp rod, virtually identical to the black widow. Really not designed for saltwater species or surf casting, I don't use more than 3 ounces of weight with it. As Austin said, not much backbone on that rod, OK when fighting big carp as long as you don't have to horse them.

I'd suggest a 10 foot bigwater Ugly stick, it's designed for saltwater use. Similar price range, and able to handle saltwater species and heavier weight. You never know what you'll hook into in saltwater, last thing you need is sub par gear that fails on you, been there, done that, cost me the biggest fish of my life.

Do you put your ugly stick into any freshwater applications? Carp fighting?

I'm on a budget right now and acquiring both a carp rod and surf is not gonna happen soon.

I'm only able to buy one of the two right now.

I wouldn't recommend it. Its true the rod doesn't have much backbone, and I've broken like 4 of them so far throwing method balls and playing fish. But it will get your line higher out of the water. However, you can easily exceed the weight the rod is able to comfortably throw with a spider weight and a bait.

I'd go with your 7 footers and get a long pvc sand spike to keep the rod up as high as possible. They should better handle the weight of the bait and be more durable. You'll probably be limited to fishing the second gut unless you have a kayak.

Good luck!

Thanks for the tips. I'll swim the bait out if weather permit, but most likely will have to stay in the second gut.

I did some more research on the 10ft Ugly stick and it looks really convincing. What reel would you pair with that for surf fishing? I have a spare shimano sienna 4000 FD with some braid on it, but I don't think it would do the job.

The medium action 8 foot bigwater Ugly stick's are good for carp as they have some give, but you'll lose on the casting distance. The 10 footers are medium heavy, so casting will be a lot better, though I couldn't tell you how stiff they are, I haven't tried them yet.

In most instances, you want to have some give in your rod when fighting carp, to avoid pulling the hook from their mouths. The Ugly stiks are also less sensitive than carp rods, so you may lose some of the fighting sensation.

That being said, I still love Ugly stiks. I have a bunch of them ranging from the ice fishing rod, mid size 6-7 footers. Still use the 8 footer bigwater rods for channel cats and occasionally for carp, when I don't need distance casting, and when hauling 12 footers around becomes too cumbersome (when I'm hitting spots by bike).

Fish USA has a decent deal on the 10 footers, and they offer free shipping in the USA. Was going to have one shipped to Dallas for me for my mid February trip there, but still undecided.

PS. As for the reel, I'd go at least 5000 series, and something a lot stronger than a Sienna. Preferable a baitrunner if you're looking for an entry level carp reel, which can work real well for most live bait applications as well. Okuma Avenger's are about $40 to $50 on Amazon, I'd go with the ABF 50 or ABF 65. Solid reel, smooth drags, great value for the price.

You choice of line would really depend on the venue, I'd say 50 lbs power pro or Suffix 832 are good choices.

As for the reel size, you have to figure how much line you'll have out when you're fishing and how much line you think the fish will take. This will depend on how far out you're fishing and what size fish you're catching. You will probably get some better responses on this in the Saltwater Forum, but I do know sand is very abrasive and so are many of the fish's bodies you might catch - not a good combination with braid. If you do plan to use braid, use it as a backer and make sure to use a top shot of mono for the abrasion protection.

While I do have 12 foot carp rods, Cabelas Whuppin Sticks are the rods that I use for most of my carp fishing. They should be fine for the salt. They are running between 25 and 30 bucks each. I have 5000 series Okuma Epixor bait runner reels on them. I have both 9 and 10 footers.

I have seen several folks in the saltwater section say that braid is not the best choice for surf fishing.

Get a decent surf rod, Wal-mart had some good Penn rods for around $30-40. I got one and it worked well. Get a decent spinning reel, watch for the sales, sometimes Academy but Gander had some on sale and i got a double matching set of rod and reel, 10 ft. get some decent powerpro. It pays when you hook into a huge Gaf-top or gar. some small bonnet-head or black tip will give you plenty of runs and powerful fight. You can also use this to card fish, just adjust drag and lightly play the fish due to the soft mouth and lips.

the 10 ft pro-angler rods would be an option I would think....jmo

Penn Prevail 12' surf rods are great!!! For $100 you get an awesome rod you can chunk a big spider weight and a palm sized mullet way out into the surf. Best rod for the $$ in my opinion. The mad dragon are [censored] and I've broken 4 of them 2 of which never survived a cast the other 2 broke in the first day.