# new to pier, surf fishing



## arkiehunter (Jan 15, 2009)

hey guys, ive been reading in the forum for awhile and just had some questions seeing as how my time is drawing close to be moving down florida way. i live in arkansas and do mostly bass, carppie and catfishing. i would like to try all the aspects of fishing that are able to be done done there. anyways, question is i have a penn 209 that i use for river fishing for catfish. would that be acceptable for use on the peirs and in the surf? also from what ive read i would guess i need to get a few different poles to use for the diff places, but would the 209 work for both. thanks steven


----------



## Sailor50 (Nov 8, 2007)

Not that familiar with a 209 but most people use a spinning reel on the beach or pier. I normally take a light penn 550 reel/7' rod and a larger Penn 750 reel/ 8-10' rod to the pier. Or a comparable Shimano. And, about the same for the beach, but usually take another Penn 750/10'rod so I can put 2 rigs out and use the small one to cast. Normally want a longer rod for the beach, but 8-10'ok if just getting started. Do a search on here and you can get a lot more good info.


----------



## fred (Dec 28, 2008)

The 209 will work where you have some weight to throw, but for free-lining live bait or drifting naked cigar minnows from a pier you will be limited to letting them drift in the wind and current when they are together or one really dominates-sometimes the wind and current oppose each other. A live bait will head straight back to the pier if you don't cast him far enough away from it.

These are the two most productive methods for king mackeral. And you will probably want to fish for them on a pier. The 209 is a keeper, but I would put a larger spinning reel on my wish list ahead of more rods for the 209.


----------



## arkiehunter (Jan 15, 2009)

thanks for the replys guys. here in arkansas its kinda hard to find those bigger spincast reels but i will be on the lookout. i guess the penn, being a baitcast reel, would porbally be better suited for the surf where i could use more weight to get the bait out past the breaks and stuff. again thanks, steven


----------

