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Surf Outfit/Rock Outfit


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Hey all looking at getting into fishing off the beach in hunt for some mullies and some lil gummy, bronze sharks.And also off the rocks.I have a Penn Spinfisher 9500ssm so lookin at teaming that up with a rod. Price range 150-200 if possible but what i have read is the Daiwa Sensor Surf rods seem to be the best. Was wondering what makes them so good or gives them the advantage over the other rods out there.I know there is prob heaps of these questions on here but I havent spent longer enough on here to find anything so sorry for posting this again. Also what sort of line should i go for. Braid or mono...30lb? 50lb? thanks Johnnyany tips, suggestions, spots for beginners would be muchly appreciated Cheers

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GDAY mate, I was going to get a Sensor Surf but saw a Gary Howard Viper come up second hand on the site and after seeing it I snapped it up! And I have been totally stoked with it since..Light and powerfull. I use a Daiwa 4500J Phantom on mine with 30lb braid.These are great Rods built on American Lamiglass blanks that are wrapt in texalium at the base. Rated at 8-15kilo these things pull hard. These are ONLY a 9 or 10foot stick, so although ideally suited to surf fishing local, it wouldn't be as good as a 12 or 13foot sensor surf if you wanted to fish big surf say over at 42mile beach or murray mouth, but for metro beaches it is awesome and not overly huge!I believe that Ray N Annes might have one left, and these make a great Metro Rock and Surf rod. Not only will they cast a 4oz lead and big bait out but you can also cast 60&80gm lures for salmon with them no problem at all.These are definately worth checking out at around the $150 as they apparently sell for approx $300 interstate.

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For their price, the Sensor Surfs are one of the thinner diameter and lighter graphite surf rods available off the shelf. They are much lighter and thinner than the equivalent glass or cheaper graphite blank and this makes them nicer and less tiring to use. They are great for simple overhead thump casting with high end light surf threadlines (eg. saltiga surf)However a Penn spinfisher 9500 might be a bit heavy for the sensor surf. A graphite composite 4120 or 5120 or 8144 might be better suited balance wise.

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Thanks both for the quick reply and the advice I think I might have to just head in to ray and annes and find something that will do what im looking at doing while still getting the balance I wanting. Thanks for the advice about the balance as well kelvin, never would of thought of that til after i was holding the rod in my hands for a few hours.Yeah I am thinking of murray mouth as what ive read there is a lot of action down there and same with salt creek seem to be favourites when fishing for some big fish.

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Thanks both for the quick reply and the advice I think I might have to just head in to ray and annes and find something that will do what im looking at doing while still getting the balance I wanting. Thanks for the advice about the balance as well kelvin' date=' never would of thought of that til after i was holding the rod in my hands for a few hours.Yeah I am thinking of murray mouth as what ive read there is a lot of action down there and same with salt creek seem to be favourites when fishing for some big fish.[/quote']Then if thats the case, the Sensor surf is the way to go.There is another rod called a Daiwa Sea Jigger that might be worth a look at as well. Do some research on the Daiwa site and you should be right.
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The sensor surfs are great rods, but as mentioned might not ballance well with a 950. If you're planning on matching a rod to a specific reel then bring that reel with you to the shop and try it out on different rods. When you go to R&A's check out the Shimano Dynamix surf rod,http://www.rayannes.com.au/daiwa-shimano-reels-australia/rods-reels/shimano/shimano-rods/shimano-dynamix-beach-basher-12ft-surf-rod-139/I've got the lighter estuary model in this series and they're nice rods for the money.As far as line goes, for that reel from the rocks and beach chasing bigger fish I would go with 30 pound mono, a 300m spool should fill it perfectly. ;)

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Probably going against the trend here and have a sensor surf and find it horrible.Wilson live fibres have many different models and imo are way nicer to use.The ss cast great but to me very stiff , and not a nice rod to fish with, a guy on here had one up for sale and couldnt move it for ages.The alternatives Kelvin mentioned are very nice blanks. B)

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The sensor surfs are great rods' date=' but as mentioned might not ballance well with a 950. If you're planning on matching a rod to a specific reel then bring that reel with you to the shop and try it out on different rods. When you go to R&A's check out the Shimano Dynamix surf rod,http://www.rayannes.com.au/daiwa-shimano-reels-australia/rods-reels/shimano/shimano-rods/shimano-dynamix-beach-basher-12ft-surf-rod-139/I've got the lighter estuary model in this series and they're nice rods for the money.As far as line goes, for that reel from the rocks and beach chasing bigger fish I would go with 30 pound mono, a 300m spool should fill it perfectly. ;)[/quote']I got this rod and an okuma flame reel for $190 at Ray and Annes friday and it feels great, Can cast out a mile with out.. Well worth the $139 for the rod
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even though i dont have one at the moment "YET" i will be going to get a wilson live fibre texi surf rod... well out of ya price range but id save up.... if not any of the wilson 4120, 5120 range would be great as well.. i have two 4120's spin and overhead.. the spin i use for my salmon fishing and jetty rock mully fishing... the over head is just used for salmon lure casting big heavy lures... my spin one is matched with either the spinfisher or an diawa emcast ;)as for line i have both 25lb mono on both the spinfisher and the emcast and on the 2nd spool of the emcast i have 50lb braid...O and i have a 13ft diawa sensor surf aswell :) havent used it yet but once i sort my 4x4 out it will be getting a workout...

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Thank you everyone for your input the suggestions are great giving me a variety which i like. Keep them coming....oh lil off topic a mate has always joined my wagon and wanting to hit the surf but he has got nothing so if you guys could suggest some combos that would b around the $200 mark that would be awesome tht combo luke_southoz mention seems good value. but again all suggestions are amazing help

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sounds like you got the rod and reel covered.. as for the line, for rocks forget braid.. i spooled the alvey with braid, then took it off and binned it the next day after one trip.. braid and rocks dont go together one bit.. prob ok for the beaches, but falls apart on sharp rocks.. cant even remember the name of the stuff i used, but was a name brand... sticking to mono for rocks from now on.

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Yeah thought the same' date=' didnt trust myself with braid and rocks mixture dont think i have the right technique looking at purchasing either another reel around the 100 mark and use it off the rocks chasing some fun fish.[/quote']Ive got to say that in some cases braid can be okay and even great off the rocks. BUT this is only where you are fishing off rocks into some semi broken bottom, and even better if the rocks you are fishing off are elevated. ie Myponga rock ledge etc. I run about 10foot of Fluro carbon leader and I dont have any problems with braid scuff and I can feel every single bite.In windy conditions the braid doesnt get as big a bow in it as mono as well.So there are places that Braid can really come into its own. But its definately not for beginners as tying new leaders on in the dark in wind is a tuff ask.
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A few rules of Surf and Rock fishing as this is pretty much all I do and what I can offer in my experiences.Snyder Glas 8144 ($219 from Ray Annes) is the best rod, can do anything, as well as Wilson 5120, "Mulloway", Gary Howard's and other second hand rods like Butterworths and old Snyders.I just snapped a almost brand new Daiwa Sensor Surf last week on a 2 foot doggie on a calm surf beach with no pressure through the rod, i kid you not. I only bought one to test out how "amazing" they are supposed to be. They do cast very well though, although I wouldn't be plonking fillets of salmon out on them, which is what you wanna do in the surf, so 8144 can lob at least a kilo of bait into a gutter no worries. Graphite rods need a lot of TLC and the tiniest knock can create a weak point that can lead to a snap on something decent imo.Do not use braid, as weed (usually encountered at some point) will create expensive disasters and fierce takes in the surf can be devastating if you have had a few and you haven't set your drag perfectly. Also, if you get something big that decides to take you through other peoples lines, well braid is impossible to untangle, usually chuck some weed in as well to make it more fun.Penn 950, 850, 760L are brilliant reels, again handle anything, and the prices are too good to be true thesedays for varying reasons which are a win for the consumer as they should be a lot more. The only negative with these reels can be the drag (upgrade, but not necessary), as I have fought and landed many stingers and kingfish on these reels standard, and these would be the toughest things on a drag in SA landbased apart from "weed monsters".

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They do cast very well though' date=' although I wouldn't be plonking fillets of salmon out on them, which is what you wanna do in the surf, so 8144 can lob at least a kilo of bait into a gutter no worries.[/quote']I had an 11' overhead model rated 3-6 ounces which I bought for mullies and sharks, I was a bit skeptical of the rating but was assured that it would handle a 6 oz sinker and decent bait, but found out it wouldn't even handle six ounces and nothing else without feeling as though the rod was being seriously overloaded. I also have another overhead sensor rated 2-4oz that is spot on, great for salmon, schoolies, gummies. I replaced the heavier rod with a Saltiga Surf from the US, but that's a bit more than your looking to spend.
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yeah thinking about getting onto either wilson 5120 or trying that shimano dyna rod both look goods and seem ok just going to get some time off work or over the wkend head into ray and annes with my reel and see what fits better.But again big thank you to everyone, exp is always a good thing and having forums like this make it amazing and soo helpful for shopping around for the best gear in your price range with awesome reviews from soo many exp anglers soo again thank you everyone for your input i have learnt soo much from this post about the surf and rods and lines and so on.

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Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions it has been awesome. I ended up going for the Wilson 8144, looks the goods and balanced well with my reel. Again big thank you for all your suggestions, hints and tips made a beginner feel lot more comfortable hearing stories from exp fisherman.Now hopefully get a few nice size fish ;) Happy fishing all

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Nice i have the same combo! I run 30lb line on my 950ssm as well. i just upgraded to a wilson 'supergraph' composite rod 12ft which can flick the 6oz sinker out plus big bait with ease! i found the wilson 8144 a little harder to cast the big sinkers and get any distance on it i went max 4oz with my 8144. You should enjoy fishing with your combo though! there is nothing like having your surf rod loaded up and the buzz of a screaming drag while getting sprayed by surf and sand in 40knt winds :laugh:

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If budget is what you are after without the "you get what you pay for" slogan thrown at you, the Shimano Beastmaster 153 (15 footer) is a good rod with a wood pike. Great taper and doesn't oscillate like jelly. Guides are spaced correctly for casting on a threadline reel. Costs around 90 to 110 bucks. I have just brought two of them, with a view to modifying them at a later date as I like the fibreglass work. I think the guides are zircon mix (SeaGuides brand) and the reel seat is plastic which may prove sloppy after use on a heavy reel and need re-tightening on occasion...hence my future upgrade to SiC guides and aluminium seat.Reels to suit for long cast ability and rod ballance are MITCHELL Compact Copper Surf 800 at around 80 bucksPENN SURFBLASTER 8000 for around 130 bucks...and as others say, the Penn Spinfisher 950 SSM and don't spend more than $140 on that reel. I don't like the narrow inner diameter and short length of that reel for long casting use - but people cast long distances using braid on this reel. The reel is super strong (blooody strong) with an extra long shaft seated at the rear with a bad-ass bearing support...they actually had to extend the rear of the reel to support the 60lb drag load. Reel has a locking bail arm I believe and a non reverse spool as the reel drag is rated at like 60lb and there is nothing strong enough and small enough that would work without busting up. From what I know, their drag washers won't need upgrading, unless you plan on chasing the Titanic....just my input from a newbie :fishing:

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