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Howdy! I am interested now in Pier and Jetty fishing. I heard stories that many poles have been snapped and that the best thing to do is get a very heavy rod good for 70-150lb or so.
Any Ideas on what I should use?
I plan on using my current spinning reels (4000+ size) and just spooling em up with braided 30-60lb+ line.
Love to hear any input!
Koshaw
Where the heck did you hear those stories? You can catch big rays off of piers/jetties, but you don't need rods rated for 70-150lb test at all. Most guys from shore or jetties use heavy east coast style surf rods (10-12ft rated for 8oz weights), or they just use a 9' or 10' saltwater jig stick. 30lb or 40lb mono is what's usually used, but you could do super braid with or without a top shot for line capacity. The pier guys generally use the shorter jig sticks. Most guys use 6oz to 10oz weights depending on current and desired casting distance. You'll need a rod holder or sand spike too to hold the rod while you wait for a bite. Heavy wire (60lb or even 80lb) or mono (40lb or 60lb), 4/0 to 8/0 hooks, and large chunks of mackerel or whole squid for bait.
A spinning reel will work pretty well, but a large baitcaster would be best. Baitcasters tend to have more power, and with a little practice can match or outcast spinning reels. They also handle heavier lines well, and they have a clicker which is really helpful for the bait and wait game. The downside with spinning reels is that the line can cut your fingers when you use heavy weights and heavy line. Braid will make that problem a lot worse. Also, keep in mind that braid does not stretch.
Your rod will not snap if you let the ray/shark run for a while with decent drag pressure. If you have enough heavy line, you'll be fine.
All of this advice is assuming that you want to exclusively target sharks and rays.
Thank you so much for the fast response!
Any idea on the rod then IE brand/cost :D
Hope I can grab one at the Fred Hall Show
=^^=
I would be targeting Hali's, and whatever I can get :D
No problem, although if you want to target halibut that gear is not what you would use at all. The gear I described is pretty much what you break out for the "big boys." If you step down the leader material to like 25lb or 20lb you could use it for halibut during grunion runs, but those don't happen too often. Surf/pier/jetty gear basically falls into two categories: Heavy stuff for sharks and rays like I named, and light stuff for halibut, surf perch, corbina, and other croakers.
Light gear would basically be a freshwater bass medium power fast action dropshot rod 7'6" if you wanted to most versatile. You can dropshot for halibut with it (8lb flouro), chuck 3in swimbaits with it, and fish light carolina rigs with it (6lb or 4lb flouro leader) for perch, corbina, and croakers. Next, you would pick up a 7' moderate action medium heavy freshwater crankbait rod (fiberglass or graphite with fiberglass tip). This would let you use jerkbaits like the Flashminnow 110 (most effective), 5/8oz Krockadile spoons, 1/2oz to 1oz Kastmasters, heavy c-rigs, and 4in swimbaits for halibut and perch. My favorite method is using jerkbaits, but dropshotting and swimbaits are close seconds for catching halibut.
Specific gear: I use a Shimano Cardiff 200 and a Phenix X-10 crankbait rod ($190) for my jerkbaits. My dad uses a Phenix 7'6" dropshot rod ($230) and he just got a Shimano Stradic 2500. These will be the last rods I buy for this, and they are really durable. The dropshot rod doesn't lack power, as my dad has landed several legals on it without problems. It's a given that the X-10 is strong, but it's still fun to muscle the shorts in!
The Shimano Voltaeus line ($50 each or so) would be what I would get if Phenixs are out of your price range. They have a lot of technique specific models and are debuting at the Fred Hall show, so you should be able to find what you want. I am not a believer in medium range gear since you don't get the benefits of expensive gear or the savings from lower end gear. The performance is also generally not that much better than low end, so for me the price isn't justified.
Hope this helps!
I dont know about a rig that big . I would recommend a 8'5" med. Heavy spinning rod ,to go with your 4000 reel. Load it up with 20lb rated ,8lb dia.crystal fireline ,or a braid of your choice. That 4000 will hold probubly 250 to 300 yrds of line in the 8lb dia. All you have to do is use a mono or floro leader, from 12lb to 20lb. ,and your in buissness.you should handle any thing that comes your way,from shore, being the jetty ,pier, bay or surf ,and still have a comfortable setup you can use for throwing plastics,hard baits,drop shotting ,or bait, and wait.i use a med. Heavy spinning 8'5' rod with a sedona 2500 loaded with 6lb. Dia. Braid. I get over 220 yrds. My other rig is a fenwick med. Heavy 8.5ft conventional ,with a cardiff 300. Loaded with 20lb rated 8lb dia.. Let the big girls hit, i know i wont get beat down with that conventional set up. My bat ray, or big shore rig is a 9ft. Heavy action salmon rod ,with the same dia. Line, but with a 400cardiff conventiol. I caught a 90lb bat ray off the jetty ,with that rig . You want a longer rod to absorb the power of the fish. With the braid,a proper drag sitting is a must ,or it doesnt matter how big your rig is..hope this helps and good luck....mike the pmb....