Any casting rod & reel suggestions for throwing Pencil Poppers & Swimbaits from the beach? I was thinking of the Loomis SUR1266C surf rod wich is a 10'6" casting rod. Waht do you guys think & what reel would you match it up with to get the most distance?

Thanks,
Tony

use a calcuta 400s.

In my opinion using a rod that long to fish lures might be a little cumbersome and really not necessary. For bait fishing I can see it but not for lures. It also seems like a little overkill (depending on where you're fishing). What size swimbaits are you talking about?

Here is what I'd use:

Casting: 1/2 - 3/4 oz. swimbaits, large spoons, large jerkbaits:
Loomis HS981, Calcutta 250, 12 - 15 lb. test

Casting: 1/4 - 1/2 oz. swimbaits, medium spoons, medium jerkbaits:
Loomis HS930 or P904, Calcutta 150, 8 - 12 lb. test

Casting: 1/8 - 1/4 oz. swimbaits, small spoons, small jerkbaits:
Loomis P902, Calcutta 50, 6 - 8 lb. test

Spinning: 1/8 - 1/2 oz. swimbaits, small - medium spoons, small - medium jerkbaits:
Loomis HS930 or P904, Shimano size 4000 reel, 6 - 10 lb. test

Sometimes the way I work swimbaits from shore requires spinning tackle - from what I've heard it's a lot like fishing the flats for redfish and seatrout - there's a reason they use spinning tackle.

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You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today - please practice catch and release.

Hey Pete, I like your setups, but I think what he is talking about is surf fishing for stripers. A lot of guys use 10+ foot long spinning rods for this deal because you are standing on the beach and a longer rod allows you to cast further. I guess it's kind of the same reason guys use 10 foot jig sticks on the party boats. Probably not the most sporting when you hook a fish but damn if you can't throw a surface iron a long ways.

I figured as much but I thought I'd chime in anyway. The post said "Surf Fishing Rods & Reels" so maybe others will read the post who are targeting halibut and white seabass where the waves aren't so big.

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You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today - please practice catch and release.

Pete are you coming on the Seahawk trip still?

Yeah, I got a reservation.

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You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today - please practice catch and release.

That's a good rod. A friend of mine throws the SUR1266C with a Calcutta 400 and does very well in the surf. Most the times I'm throwing 4oz lead spoons so I like a little longer and stiffer rod for surf fishing, but poppers and especially swimbaits should cast better on the SUR1266C. The swimbait bite is usually really close to shore anyway.

Where are you guys going for surf Stripers. I've gone to Zmudowski 3 times and each time it's either been "You should of been here yesterday" or the Stripers are at "North Hole" when I went to the South Point. I've seen 4 good Striper, all from where I wasn't.

Tight lines,
Wade

I fish between Ocean Beach in SF and Rockaway Beach near Pacifica most of the time. Season on average is July 1st to July 31st, tho it's hard to predict. And as you see, hitting a run-even in the middle of the season-can't be planned ahead. I've heard some reports of fish being caught at rockaway and mussel rock already, I'll start going in a few weeks.