New rod & reel combo for an amateur!

[vicMoo]

Hi,

Next week I'm starting a 3 to 4 weeks road trip from Melbourne to Byron Bay along the coast, so for the last couple of weeks I have been reading quite a lot about fishing as I think during this trip I will be out fishing a good amount of hours. I have been out fishing quite a few times but without really knowing what I was doing, just for the fun of throwing a lure and getting a fish (catch & release) with my $50 rod & reel combo ☺️

As I love the outdoors and I spend a good amount of time camping and close to the ocean, I have decided to try a bit harder and why not, hopefully get something tasty for dinner. I will be manly fishing from the rocks with lures and to start with, I don't really have much of a preference for my catch; maybe snapper, bonito, king, salmon, yellowfin tuna?

I understand the target will help me decide what rod and reel I should go for but at this stage I would try to make it as 'generic' as possible. 

So after looking around, there are some rods that I believe would be good for a beginner:

• PENN PREVAIL SURF 9FT 8-12KG 2PC
• PENN PREVAIL SURF 10FT 10-15KG 2PC
• Abu Garcia Veritas 3.0 Spinning Rod VRT3-SF 1002H 10-15KG
• Abu Garcia Veritas 3.0 Spinning Rod VRT3-S 922H 6-10KG

And for the reel I was looking at the Penn Spinfisher V:

• SSV4500
• SSV5500

If you guys reckon there are any better combos (at the same price or cheaper ) I would love to hear about it.

On the other hand, I was thinking of a 20lb braid line and a 30lb mono leader. Does that make sense?

I just figured out reading and reading that same as any sport, fishing has got sooooo many options depending on the fishing style, what you target, techniques, fresh or salt water, location... so interesting! Oh, and  you can spend as much money as you want hehehe

Thank you all!

Edited July 31, 2018 by vicMoo

[fragmeister]

Hey Vic,

First of all, it sounds like you will be having a ball!

Good luck to you! ( and take it easy at Byron) LOL!

There are plenty of guys on this site a lot more up to date on rods than me so I will defer to them but I would say that if this is a road trip when you make camp wherever you can along the way then that is not the environment for a graphite rod.  They are great to use but they can be fragile little buggers and if you sleep in the back of the car one night and roll over on to your new graphite rod or smack it against the rocks while fishing one day that will be the end of it. You will most likely be chucking stuff in and out of the car every day for almost a month and there will surely be a mishap.

Personally, I would go for a glass rod or, if you are set on a graphite job then buy a hard case and use it. You probably won't be in a position to do regular reel maintenance so a sealed drag reel would also be a good idea.

I am sure the up to speed Raiders will give you some suggestions.

 

Cheers

 

Jim

 

 

 

[vicMoo]

Ey Jim!

That's actually a really good point I didn't think of ehhehe Let's see what the others guys think. If graphite is that fragile, maybe composite is a better option than fiberglass? If so, what would you recommend?

I'm a tiny guy so a heavy rod will kill me in a couple of hours easily

Thanks!

[fragmeister]

LOL!

That's one of the only advantages of being an old b@$tard!  You get to have made every mistake in the book and then warn other people not to do the same!

Let's see what other Raiders have to offer in terms of rod and reel suggestions.

Cheers

Jim

 

 

 

 

[Aardvarking]

I'd spend a tad more and see it you can get a Shimano Catana and Sienna combo. Will be a lot better imo, and Shimano customer service is outstanding.

[fragmeister]

10 hours ago, Aardvarking said:

I'd spend a tad more and see it you can get a Shimano Catana and Sienna combo. Will be a lot better imo, and Shimano customer service is outstanding.

Hmm... light and sensitive graphite ...  I have one and they are great rods but are they a "Road Trip Rod"?

Are the Sienna's a sealed drag?

Just sayin' ...

 

[vicMoo]

10 hours ago, Aardvarking said:

I'd spend a tad more and see it you can get a Shimano Catana and Sienna combo. Will be a lot better imo, and Shimano customer service is outstanding.

Hi Aardvarking!

I just had a look at that combo and it's actually much cheaper than the PENN PREVAIL SURF 9FT 8-12KG + Penn Spinfisher SSV5500. 

Just having a quick look at composite rods, otherwise I will take my chance with the Prevail and a hard case to transport it  

[PaddyT]

Ok- lets be realistic, most of those fish species that you mentioned wont be available at this time of the year and as for y'fin tuna I think the last one got caught off the rocks in about 1989! Up at Byron and the far nth coast  your most likely target with lures at this time of the year will be tailor and the odd (small) GT .So my suggestion would be go light, an 8-9 ft spin rod and a 4-5000 reel loaded with 20lb braid will catch these without hassle. A spare spool of 15lb mono and then you can baitfish without hassle as well. Longer rods are a complete pain on the nth coast as most spots have limited backswing space, a hand full of 40gm Raiders and you should get some fish.

[Aardvarking]

39 minutes ago, fragmeister said:

Hmm... light and sensitive graphite ...  I have one and they are great rods but are they a "Road Trip Rod"?

Are the Sienna's a sealed drag?

Just sayin' ...

 

Yeah, I guess that's a good point. I've just had success using that combo in that application

[fragmeister]

1 hour ago, Aardvarking said:

Yeah, I guess that's a good point. I've just had success using that combo in that application

It sounds like you are up to speed on rods and reels.  Can you think of perhaps a composite spinning rod and entry-level reel with a sealed drag?

 

[Aardvarking]

1 hour ago, fragmeister said:

It sounds like you are up to speed on rods and reels.  Can you think of perhaps a composite spinning rod and entry-level reel with a sealed drag?

 

My expertise is more around lightweight spin combos and the like, think I misunderstood what he was looking for a bit ?

[vicMoo]

Oh well, I have just bought my first 'better than a $50 rod & reel combo' fishing gear!

I have been able to go a bit cheaper than I expected shopping around, so that really helps. I finally got this:

- Penn Allegiance Surf Rod 9ft - 8-12Kg
- Pen Spinfisher V SSV 5500
- Daiwan 20lb line
- A few lures:
       - Halco Twisty Fishing Lure 40 grams
       - Spanyid Raider Lures Metal Spinning Lure 40 grams
       - Lazer Metal lure 50 grams

I will be getting some mono line (20lb or 30lb?) for the leader and something to carry the rod safely in the car  

I feel I will need to read a bit more about the different lures to get a few more and have more options. Any recommendations?

Thanks everyone!  

[PaddyT]

They will do you to start, I would get a spool of 20lb leader and a spool of 40lb leader, will cover most bases

[big Neil]

You can always pop into the local tackle store where you pull up to fish, ask what's happening and I'm sure you will get some constructive help and chance to replace any "lost" lures. Have a safe trip and let us all know how you went. Cheers, bn