# Best Offshore Rod and Reel Setups?



## iJabo (Jul 6, 2013)

I recently was able to save up some money and have thought to purchase/upgrade my offshore setup. 

I think I need a good trolling rod and bottom rod for my kayak. I currently have a pair of Senator 4/0s on two 6.5ft. rods functioning as my main offshore combos. 

Do I even need an upgrade? If so what do you guys recommend. I got the chance to use a friend's Spinfisher 7500 and loved it, just a little concerned about budget. What do you guys think?


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## ChileRelleno (Jul 7, 2012)

I have a Penn 8500ss for sale, it will do both admirably.
http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/f52/fs-penn-8500ss-spinfisher-366002/


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## lastcast (Oct 12, 2007)

Penn Battle 8000 -and Shakespeare Tiger lite ugly stick xtra heavy 6' jigging rod. Best set up under 200 bucks.


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## Yaksquatch (Mar 23, 2009)

Well, there are a couple things to consider:

1) Keep what you have since Penn 4/0's and boat rods are good solid combo's with a lot of history putting fish on the deck. 4/0's and 6/0's are what you see on 75% of offshore charter boats for the past 30years or more! Also, they wouldn't be a huge heart-break if you rolled and lost them say if you forgot to leash them down.

2) Upgrade to a couple big spinning combo's because you can do pretty much anything with them: bottom fish, vertical jig, troll, pitch lures or live/dead bait, etc... The technology going into spinning reels there days makes them more than a match for older conventional tackle in almost every aspect: drag, line capacity, anti-reverse, etc...

You do have to be careful though with big spinners in kayaks since you're typically going to be sitting down and even holding the rod up under your shoulder, you've got to be careful about the real, guides, or line hitting the gunnels of the kayak. If you're careless while fighting a fish, this could result in damage to the reel, rod, and/or guides as well as snagging some rigging on the kayak with your line and getting broke off. Although, this can all be prevented if you're paying attention to what you're doing, plenty of people (myself included) have caught some great fish from kayaks with spin tackle offshore.

3) My personal preference is to have a big spinner on hand for pitching but to upgrade to conventional jigging tackle for dedicated bottom fishing and trolling. I like the light weight and compactness afforded by jigging tackle in kayaks since you're stuck holding the rod/reel much higher than you can when standing on a boat. Also, for kayak applications jigging rods and reels give just as much power as heavier weight boat rods. My personal combo of choice is the old gold shimano trinidad 40N on a trevala heavy action jigging rod. Lot's of other makes/models out there that will also do the job quite nicely just gotta find what fits your hands best.

Good luck!
Alex


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## GAjohn (May 23, 2012)

How much are you looking to spend on each?


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## iJabo (Jul 6, 2013)

GAjohn said:


> How much are you looking to spend on each?


It's hard to say, I don't really know what I need to spend to get a good setup, but I'd say nothing over about $225. 



Yaksquatch said:


> Good luck!
> Alex


Thanks for the advice, I think I'll go pick up a solid spinning rod in the upcoming week and keep doing what I've been doing with the 4/0s.


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