hey everyone, i am lookin for a light tackle rod and reelto buy, what should i get?? what is the least rod height i should get? what pound test should the reel hold. was lookin at the penn's and shimano spirex but on the spirex the most it says it can hold is 12 i think, that is too light aint it?? any information that you could give me on what reel and rod i should get without emptying my wallet i would appreciate. thank you.

Anthony

tight lines with those blues on the cape

Go for a 7 foot ugly stick , medium light (or custom rod if $$ permits). A Penn 4500 or Diawa z 3500 with 10 lb test will bring 'em on home.

Anthony--where are you located, convenient to wareham? For just a few dollars more than an Ugly Stick, you could have Mike T at M&Ds Tackle build you a custom on the Batson 967 blank. Identical in all respects to a Sabre 967, except it has a matte rather than gloss finish. Match that up with a Daiwa Tournament 2600SS reel. Much better reel than the 4000 size Spirex or 4500 Penn. The Ugly Stick/Spirex combo will run about $160. The Batson/Daiwa 2600 between $200 and $250. The difference in performance you'll get for the extra $70 or so is worth it.

The Daiwa holds 210 yards of 12# mono. Or 240 yards of 10# test.

thanks mike but i am located in the milford area, thats way out of my way. any other suggestions

10 lb mono is good for schoolies. You can go anywhere from 7 to 9 feet for a schoolie rod. I have a 9 foot Lami steelhead spinner rod but am building myself a St Croix 70M which is a 7 footer. I believe its available off the shelf. The 8 foot 967 Batson Mike P mentioned is nice but you may have to get in line to have one made. Its nice in that it will also throw up to 3 OZ reasonable well. You wouldn't be limited to using it as just a schoolie rod. Mike T also had some Cortland rods in his shop that were schoolie size and they looked very nice for the money. About $75. One was a spinner maybe 7'6" that looked like a nice schoolie rod.Did I say them Cortland rods were very nice for the money! :) I would avoid the Ugly Stick. Its OK and certainly worth the money but for just a little more , you can get something really nice in graphite. Take a good look at the St Croix 70M or 76M.They are about $100. Lots of people use it for schoolies.

There are a million small reels that will work. I'm partial to Shimano , Daiwa and Abu center drags for the light stuff. I believe the Shimanos are more money , next would be the Daiwas and the least expensive would be the Abu center drag reel. Some of the Daiwas are outstanding but some aren't. Look them over. The Penn 4400ss or 4500ss are pretty good too. I've had trouble with the bigger SS reels but the smaller ones seem good. My heart says get the sustain 4000 but the pocketbook won't like that.

If you get the Cortland rod , you would have extra money for the reel which is how I would spend the money. Even though its for schoolies , it will drive you crazy if the reel isn't smooth. You keep thinking something is touching the jig but its the reel not turning smooth.
Anyway , for off the shelve combos , a Cortland rod and Penn 4400SS would run you just under $150 and be pretty good. Next move up would be a shimano or daiwa reel and you are at about $200. Next move up would be a Shimano Sustain and the Cortland rod for about $275. Going for broke would be a Shimano Sustain and a St Croix Benn Doer at about $310. 10 lb Berkely Big Game would be good for any of the set ups.

Long winded huh? :) Problem is that I think you would be hard pressed to get a custom rod made up before you need more than a schoolie rod anyway.

Sorry , just missed the post that says you are in Milford. From Milford , Murat's is about a 35 minute ride. He's on Rt152 in No Attleboro. You could come down 495 to Rt 1 south then turn left onto 152. Murats is a few miles down on the right next to Fantastic Sams at the Airport Plaza.

M+D's is about 1 hour and 10 minutes down 495 from Milford. You could also just mail order the stuff from www.capecodtackle.com. If you ordered it tonight you'd probably have it by next weekend.

Penn 4400SS is a good real for mono. I love mine. I think it works best on a 7 foot rod. If you want to try a good 7 foot rod, look at the Shakespeare Alpha. I love that rod. Not too expensive either.