Allright, I posted before rods that I wanted to get. I know what I want, I just find myself questioning myself more and more I look at my lists. I know I am asking a lot from you guys but if I didn't trust all of you, I wouldn't ask. I really don't know what to get and don't want to wind up with a lemon. Just when I think I know what rod I want, I get confused.

I know what I want, I'm just having trouble finding it. First what I'll do is put what I think is right, then you guys can tear it apart and tell me why it's not right.

For my first set up, the setup I was looking at is the BreakAway 100H Conventional with a Abu-Garcia BG 7000CL. Spooled with 65lb Whiplash. I need this rod to do my heavy duty work.
I would prefer to stay away from custom rods because I'm trying to spend some money while not blowing every dime I make but if you guys feel it's best, then I'm game. The reel and line is open to change.
The main job I want this rod to do is cast 3-5 oz bucktails with a trailer. The second job I want this rod to do is cast heavy tins, 3 and 4 oz hopkins. The third job I want this rod to do is cast heavier wooden and plastic plugs. 3 oz bottle plugs, large 3.5 oz needlefish, 3 oz Robert's Ranger plugs, and 3 oz pencil poppers.

Second rod is going to be for light stuff. The rod I was looking at was the St. Croix SC86M/2 with an Abu-Garcia 6500 C3. The line will be 50lb test Powerpro. As with the previous setup, I want to stay away from custom rods but if that's what you feel is best, I'll consider it.
The main job of this rod will be casting light plastics. Bombers, megabaits, yo-zuris. The second job I want to use this for is to cast light wooden lures up to about 1.5 oz. The third job is for tins just under and ounce to just over an ounce.

The final rod is the one to go inbetween the two previous rods. I don't really have a rod for this. I was looking at the 10' St. Croix, but the upper handle is made out of cork rings. I don't care for cork handles. I always wind up taking a chip out of them.
I do know what reel I want. The Penn International 965. I like that reel and Penn doesn't let me down often. The line will probably be 65lb Whiplash again. These two items are changeable too.
The main job of this reel will be to cast the stuff in between the other two setups. Like 1.5 to 3 oz. Wooden plugs will probably be number one. Pencilpoppers, needlefish, polaris, metal lips and bottle plugs. The other two jobs I want this to do is throw live eels and rigged rubber eels. This will be my goto rod when large fish enter my area but I don't need heavy tackle to land them.

So guys, tell me. I am really so confused right now it's not funny. Oh another important piece of information, any rod you suggest or any changes to my reel and line choices, make sure I can get them from CapeCodTackle.com okay?

Thanks.

Patrick

You would be much better off asking what would be suitable for the locations and conditions you are most likely to fish. You are going to have near zero use for 3-5 ounce jigs in your neck of the woods. That would be a pure waste of money...

As far as custom rods go. You'll find that the difference in a custom is not much from off the rack and it can be less money at times...

Patrick In terms of value the 6500 C4 is tough to beat it's a few bucks more than the C3 but well worth it for what you get. Why have two different reels when one will do for now? You can almost buy two 6500C4's for th eprice of one 965.

John is right about the rods. With a custom you get exactly what you need and it is cheaper in the long run.

Well, you two have been a great deal of help, thanks. Just to get on the same level here. I want the heavy rod for big water applications. The Ditch, Southshore LI, open water Rhody, Montauk, the Block Island, the Race, and Assateague Island are all places I look forward to fishing some day.

I'll look at Mike building me customs since I don't have the room to do it.

Well I'm looking at blanks on the site. This is what I've come up with.

For the heavy jigging rod, A seeker-SU 1153M. It's 11.5 feet but I'd have it sawed down to 10' since that's the mailing length and I'm more comfortable with that length as it is. Mike rates it for 3-6 oz and I'm sure his ratings are truer to life than the company's.

For the light rod, Lamiglas MB1083M Black. Rated 1/2-1 1/2. Conventional too. Left at 9 feet.

For that rod to fit everything in between, I'm still unsure. Maybe the Batson 1208. It's a one piece rod rated 1-4 oz. I figure each of the blanks I have chosen overlap their capacities a tad bit. I figure that's the best bet.

Any further comments?

The All Star 1209 is WAY too much rod for throwing any artificials along the So Shore of LI or Montauk--in fact, it's too much for every place you listed except the canal. While it would be OK for slinging bait at Assateague (give my old buddy Doug a hello while you're there ;) ) you'd be better off with an 11-1/2' heaver. Like the Lami GSB 136 1MH, or one of those tweaked Breakaway rods Tres Irby sells.

Rather than chopping up that heavy, weepy Seeker, why don't you just start out with the 10' Lami SB 121 3M? That's a good jigging rod, it'll also throw big plugs and 6 oz of lead and a chunk. It's a good all-around rod, you can throw eels on it, plugs down to about 2 oz, jigs to 5-6 oz, bait, you name it. You can even get it in black, the model code there is BSB 121 3M.

The other two rods are OK for what you want. The Batson is the same as the Sabre 1208, lighter in action than the 1208 All Star, and a bit cheaper.

Instead of the E-glass MB 108, see if Mike can order you the S-glass version, the SMB 108 3M. If you get that one, you might not need the 10' 'tweener rod. Figure 1/2 to 2-1/2 oz on the S-glass rather than 1/2 to 1-1/2. There's maybe a $20 price difference, but IMO it's worth it.

I have no need for a heaver. I thought it would be good but I just don't fish bait enough to make it worth while. Doug, Doug, Doug. The name rings a bell. Is that Mr. "SOL is just a rip off on SS.com"? My favorite one out of all those southern guys is DPowell. That guy has a great sense of humor. All those Rockfish crack me up. He is the only guy I would be interested in fishing with down there. In fact, last year, when I was down in Ocean City, I asked all the guys at the inlet if they knew Dave but they all turned out to be tourists like me. Unfortunately, I won't make it down there this year.

Anyways, back to the subject at hand. I looked up the SB 121 3M on the Lami website. It doesn't mention the rating but if you say it will be a good rod, that's good enough for me. Black or Honey. Makes no difference to me. As long as it works, I really don't care.

Lamiglas rates the MB 1083M at 1-3 oz and SMB 108 3M at 1/2-1 oz.

I'm pretty much straightened out about the Lami SB 121 3M and the Batson 1208.

Now I'm even more confused on the MB and the SMB 1083M.

The Lamiglas catalog is legendary for wrong ratings and rod specs. Take it with a grain of salt---the SMB is the stronger rod. Just compare the two tip sizes---7 for the e-glass MB, 9 for the SMB.

Yeah Mike, that's what I was thinking. Just wanted to make sure. Have any of you tried contacting lami to fix up these problems?

Now all I need is the job, the money and the prices.

Why are you looking at conventional gear for light tackle? Spinning is much more practical, although not as trendy to speak about in the online fishing world these days. An 8ft spinning rod rated for 2oz with a Penn 4500ss or 5500ss or similar shimano will probably be a more useful for light tackle and eliminate the hassles of throwing light stuff on with a conventional, especially into the wind. The 8ft St Croix Ben Doerr is a great rod with a lot of guts. You can also have a custom rod built on that same blank.

Damon,

I just like the conventional gear so much more now that I've been practicing with my cheap reel.

I tied a 1 or 1.5 oz sinker on, spooled the reel with 20 lb test and I'm casting 50 yards on a lob. I like it a lot more than spinning.

Whatever floats your boat, but Damon is giving you pretty good advice. Casting a one ounce bank sinker is a lot easier than casting a 7" Bomber which weighs more than an ounce. I can cast a half ounce on a conventional "if I have to" but I've been doing it about 20 years. And I still need the right rod/reel set-up to do it. It's a heck of a lot easier to do it on a spinning reel, but it still has to be matched to the right rod to avoiud so-called wind knots.

It's fairly common for up-and-coming fishermen to "fish for show", we all do or did it. The older you get, the more you start fishing with the easiest tool in the shed. And if you ever "fish for dough", you use the tool that's least likely to put you out of action. It's a lot easier to blow up a conventional's spool beyond repair than a spinning reel.

Just when I think I'm gonna get exactly what I want. Here come Damon and Mike and the other guys with a lot of good sense.

It wasn't for show really. It was because I'm trying to expand my horizons and conventionals seem to have a better track record with the braids. Plus, I don't want to cut my finger on the braids. Fireline is bad enough. I can only imagine what PP or Whiplash can do to a finger.

Let me go over my selections again and see which ones outweigh the others.

You might also want to hone your conventional skills with 20lb Big Game mono before going to braided line. I made a mess of a spool of whiplash and have been fishing big game ever since and it works great.

I think to unconfuse yourself. You should first fish more and read less. Then you can cast all the bank sinker you want with any of the rod-reel combo you get. Visualization helps you to a point but nothing beats execution. Try it sometime :)

Allright guys, points well taken. If I'm going to go with the custom rods, I'm going to put some better reels on there. Better off with the higher quality in the long run.

Patrick,

Customer rods, multi-hundred dollar reels, superlines, etc etc don't make someone an instant good fisherman. Experience does and that takes time. Good equipment certainly can help improve the situation but without experience how can you say for sure exactly what you really need? Lots of things sound great on paper but in application don't hold up.

Rather than start measuring for a custom rod or worrying over the choice of whipelash/powerpro, get some time in the real surf. You'll learn more and spend less.