Last week I told you we would be discussing 5 of my favorite rod and reel set ups for the following areas to fish. Inshore, nearshore, offshore, tarpon/trolling and best value rod/reel combo. We talked about inshore and nearshore set ups last week and here is a quick recap of last weeks discussion. For inshore fishing I selected the Shimano Stradic 3000 reel paired with the Bull Bay Infantry 7′ 6″ 8-17lb rod. A truly great set up for $374.99 total. The nearshore set up I chose was the Quantum Benchmark 4000 reel with the Bull Bay Karbine 7′ 6″ 10-20lb rod. Plenty of power to fish waters up to about 80ft. Another great set up and you can get this set up for $419.99 total. Ok, now on to the new information!! For offshore fishing, I consider this between 80 feet to about 200 feet of water. When you get near or over 200 feet you will be looking to change to different set ups that I don’t have time to go into today but for MOST of us a 50 to 80 mile run offshore is about all we will do. I know, there are some troopers out there that will go deeper but for the vast majority of us, 80ft to 200ft is about our cap. For my offshore trips, my go to set up is the Penn Slammer 5500 reel paired with the Quantum Myth 7′ 9″ H 15-30lb rating. The Penn Slammer 5500 has 40lbs of drag and the Quantum Myth with a 15-30lb rating is plenty of power to get those trophy fish to the boat. Of all 5 set ups I have discussed over the last 2 weeks, this one is the only one that is over $500 but it just barely went over! At $519.99 for the set up, you can’t go wrong taking this to the offshore waters. It will handle larger fish like those big gag grouper, red grouper, American red snapper and amberjack.
Next, we move to the Tarpon/trolling/offshore free line set up. Let me explain what I mean by that. Basically, this set up is perfect to use as a tarpon set up, it’s great for trolling the bay and nearshore waters for king fish and it is excellent for when you’re fishing offshore and want a free liner out for that tuna or mahi that might be passing by. Mainly we sell this set up for Tarpon but I wanted to let you know it has many other uses as well. For this set up I chose the Shimano Saragossa 8000 paired with the Tsunami Carbon Shield 7′ 10″ XH rod with 30-65lb rating. The Shimano Saragossa 8000 has 35lbs of drag and the Tsunami Carbon Shield rod with that heavy line rating will easily handle tarpon jumping, king fish running and tuna fighting!! This set up comes in at $479.99 total!!
For my best pick of overall value for a premade combo (by premade I mean it comes as a rod/ reel combo from the manufacturer). The other 4 rod and reels I discussed are sold separately and we just pair them up at the shop. But for best overall product and value of a premade combo, I chose the Quantum Merit 4000 combo. The Quantum Merit 4000 reel is a sealed system and has 25lbs of drag and the Quantum Merit rod is a 7′ M 10-17lb rating. A truly perfect set up for all levels of fishing from novice to very experienced. All of this for $149.99 is an excellent price point. We look forward to seeing you soon to start talking about spring fishing and we are here to help you get set up for success on the water. Stop by and say hi, Palmetto Bait and Tackle is open 7 days per week and open every day at 6am!!
