Tackle questions

[Nomad1999]

Hoping for some insight. My striper fishing has pretty much been from the beaches around plum Island & the coast. I have friends that put their motor home at the campground under the Bourne bridge every summer & I'm going to start taking advantage of that. I'm looking to buy a decent rod & reel.......it's going to be a do it all rig...jigs, popers, spoons etc. I know 1 rod setup is a compromise but it is what it is. I'm looking at 2 TFO rods...both 10'6". One is med power, mod-fast action 3/3-4oz lure...the other ismed-heavy fast action 2-6oz.

Which would be better for the canal & maybe surf? Also looking for a reel....looking at the Penn battle & Spinfish also the Daiwa BG & Shimano Saragosa. And lastly, should I be spooling 30 or 40# braid? Thanks for any help. Trying to maximize my value here without buying junk..money is tight.

Edited February 3 by Nomad1999

[FishinFreak]

If you plan on mainly fishing lures, I would go with the lighter rod. If you’re going to be chunking with bait and weight, I’d go with the heavier option. Every person I know that has a BG loves it. Might be the best bang for your buck option out there. 

[Nomad1999]

1 min ago, FishinFreak said:

If you plan on mainly fishing lures, I would go with the lighter rod. If you’re going to be chunking with bait and weight, I’d go with the heavier option. Every person I know that has a BG loves it. Might be the best bang for your buck option out there. 

I'm mostly going to be casting popers, spoons & lures... maybe jigging (i do have a 10' tica heavy that i can use for jigging over 4oz) what weight range popers & lures should I be using in the canal?

[cheech]

3 hours ago, Nomad1999 said:

....it's going to be a do it all rig...jigs, popers, spoons etc. 

The choice depends on the weight of the baits you mentioned. If your average payload is over 3 ounces, the 2-6 would be my choice.

 All good reel choices, the BG will do everything the Gosa does, but for way less $. Most use 20, 30 or 40 lb, but chose according to your fishing. 

[FishinFreak]

18 mins ago, Nomad1999 said:

I'm mostly going to be casting popers, spoons & lures... maybe jigging (i do have a 10' tica heavy that i can use for jigging over 4oz) what weight range popers & lures should I be using in the canal?

If you already have a rod for jigging over 4 oz, I would get the rod rated 3/4-4 to cover everything else. 

[Nomad1999]

2 mins ago, FishinFreak said:

If you already have a rod for jigging over 4 oz, I would get the rod rated 3/4-4 to cover everything else. 

Would you pair it with the bg4500 or 5000?

[FishinFreak]

23 mins ago, Nomad1999 said:

Would you pair it with the bg4500 or 5000?

The 4500 is about a half ounce lighter and should still have plenty of line capacity. The 5000 might pair better with a 10’ 6” rod though so I guess it’s really just preference. You won’t go wrong with either

[GrahamN]

4 hours ago, Nomad1999 said:

Hoping for some insight. My striper fishing has pretty much been from the beaches around plum Island & the coast. I have friends that put their motor home at the campground under the Bourne bridge every summer & I'm going to start taking advantage of that. I'm looking to buy a decent rod & reel.......it's going to be a do it all rig...jigs, popers, spoons etc. I know 1 rod setup is a compromise but it is what it is. I'm looking at 2 TFO rods...both 10'6". One is med power, mod-fast action 3/3-4oz lure...the other ismed-heavy fast action 2-6oz.

Which would be better for the canal & maybe surf? Also looking for a reel....looking at the Penn battle & Spinfish also the Daiwa BG & Shimano Saragosa. And lastly, should I be spooling 30 or 40# braid? Thanks for any help. Trying to maximize my value here without buying junk..money is tight.

I've handled and fished both of the tfo rods, the 2-6 is great for all around plugs, and as with most rods it's rating is a bit high, will throw 4.5 ozwell and down to 1.5 or so 

I the 3/4-4 might be a bit on the light side ( at least for the type of fishing I do 

They're both good rods 

As for reels,my personal preference would be Saragossa, then bg, then spinfish , and battle

If you go with the heavier rod run 40 if you see go with the lighter rod go 30 

My first real surf setup was the 10'6 2-6  and a 4500 saltist  and I could have been very happy fishing it for a long time 

[surfrat59]

A proper rod for the canal should be a bit stronger than a standard beach plugging rod, no real one rod that covers the range without compromise somewhere. Pass on the Gosa and with the $$$ buy a BG and 2 rods.

[poopdeck]

I’m not a dedicated saltwater only specialist and I partake in many different angling pursuits so take this for what it’s worth. 
 

I’m a fan of the 4500 slammer. No reason other than I own a 1/2 dozen or so and it’s all I’ve ever used on my 10’ surf rods and 7’ boat rods. I swap them out from boat to surf rods to keep my costs down (I’m thrifty and I can’t help it). It just doesn’t make sense to me to buy a reel for a particular rod and leave them both in the basement on a rod I’m not using on a particular day. I also like the 3500 for fluke and  shorter surf rods. 

[PSeggs]

5 hours ago, Nomad1999 said:

Would you pair it with the bg4500 or 5000?

IIRC the 4500 & the 5000 are the same frame with different sized spools.  

I have a BG5000 and like it alot.   

[R.R. Bridge Fisher]

The mass forum is usually good for these answers, or the ditch trolls forum. 

So many options but a lot of different ways to go....

[Surf bomber]

Don’t worry it’s only money … get what you want at a good quality… buy it once , investment grade tackle … because it’s old it will still function provided you maintain it … some day you can give it to your grand kids … sometimes you can find some second hand tackle that’s more than reasonably priced ..

Edited February 4 by Surf bomber

[Skunkoff]

You already have the Tica for heavier stuff.  I'd go with the 3/4-4oz.  I love the BG and for that size rod, maybe a 4K or 5K size.  Definitely feel them out.  Also, if you're interested in the Saragosa, check out a Spheros.  Very similar reel at almost half the price.  Best thing to do is figure out what you want, then visit a shop and try the rod and reel together to get a feel for it.

 

I've never fished CCC, but from what I hear, that would be a good spot to use the Tica.

Edited February 4 by Skunkoff

[EliasA]

What’s the rating on the tica?

 

most guys you see plugging the canal are using 2-6oz rated rods.
 

Most lures you’ll throw in the canal range from 2-5 oz, with an emphasis on 3,4 and 5oz lures, the heavier rating will help throw those big stick shadds, magic swimmers, pikies, and jumbo pencils. I primarily throw 3oz, 4os, and 5oz pencils for the distance and profile.

 

lost of guys do throw smaller lures like sp minnows and tins when the present bait dictates, so having a forgiving rod that can throw a sp minnow or 1oz tin

 

for the reel, daiwa bgs run large, so the 5k size would suffice, or you could bump it up to the 6k if you don’t mind the weight.
 

The shimano Saragossa is a better reel that will hold up longer and has a better drag, but it’s 3x the price of the BG, so it’s a trade off of price Vs how much you’ll actually use the reel. With the Sara hose you can use the 5k, but that’s a bit small, you’d be better suited to the 6k or 7k

 

fishing the canal requires crazy drag because of people fishing around you, big current, big rocks, and big fish. Most guys use 50 or 65lb braid, and some go as heavy as 80lb.

 

a lot of people underestimate the canal. The jigging rod I use is rated up to 12oz, and that’s paired with a 14k Stella with 80lb power pro maxcuattro. The lures are big, the fish are big, and the current is big. Yes 30-40lb braid will work most of the time, but I’ve seen enough heart brake moments where big fish get in the current and snap 50lb braid to where I don’t even risk it, because any cast may be the fish of a lifetime

 

I watched a buddy lose an absolute cow at 2 am when the fish nosed into the moon tide current and his 65lb braid snapped clean. I’ve seen some fish in the mid 50lb range, and that fish was noticeably bigger than any that I’ve ever seen before.