Any fisherman out there

my buddy and i are just getting into surf fishing, we usually go off piers

I have a $30 pole from walmart from years ago , and im looking to upgrade.

Nothing crazy , mayb looking to spend $100-150 for the rod and reel

and brand recommendations and advice on equipment to get ?

 

.... google "Surftalk" or "Stripersurf"

start reading

anything and everything you'll need to know

 

If you don't mind a used reel and can find a Pflueger Accurite reel, I'd compare it to any of the current $500.00 saltwater series reels on the market. It will have jeweled bearings and is slick as a swiss watch. An extremely fine piece of work but they are getting rare. I have 4 of these and there is no money that I would trade these for. I'm also using 120lb nylon braided line. I've had it broken several times. But the reels have an anti-backlash brake on them and adjustable drag from light for 10lb line to heavy for idiots that fish for the big stuff like me. One of these reels can be had for fairly cheap... if you can find one. I've seen them available for around $50.00.

 

abbu garcia.

i've always had a thing for their reels.

 

I will second the Abu Garcia reels, I own several, though not the saltwater variety. They are hard to beat, and many used to have a lifetime warranty, although they now, like most others, just have a one year warranty.

 

Down here in the South, we like big spinning reels for surf/peir/jetty fishing. Although there are a lot of quality reels out there, I prefer old school. Fewer moving parts, replacement parts are readily available, and I can break them down and rebuild them in a half an hour. I currently have two reels that I use for these areas. I have a Garcia Mitchell 402 Salt Water (Circa 1965) with a PUM (manual pick up) and a Penn 706. Extremely reliable, well designed, and simple. I use these two reels interchangably on an 8' spinning rod that my buddy built for me in the late 80's. Best combo I have ever had. Caught everything from Bull Redfish (40+ pounds) to tuna, king mackerel, bonito, dorado, and even an 80 pound barracuda. It all depends on preference. Both of these two reels I described are usually available on ebay, as neither are in production anymore.
Penn 706

Mitchell 402

 

i bought my latest reel from academy. if you buy last years models there almost half off. but NJ has ****s and sports authority and no academy i think. paid about $60 for my reel, this years model was like $110 or so and had very minor upgrades, it extremely smooth and is all around 50x's better than my $50 walmart rod/reel combo.