can you surfcast with a penn 209 reel? I have read stuff online about downrigging with it but that is all.

In my experience the "9" family is more suited to boat fishing. They are heavy and have very slow retrieves. Have cast with it's smaller brother the 9M, but didn't accomplish much but work. There are definitely better, lighter reels out there for surfcasting.

If that's what you have and are willing to struggle, you may have some limited success, if you can upgrade go for it.

What type of surf fishing do you intend on doing? Plugs, eels, bait?

eels and plugs

For plugs and eels I would definitely advise aginst the Penn 209. There are a couple of active posts on the main forum about conventional reels right now. Good choices, ABU Garcia 6500, and 7000 sized reels, if you have a bigger budget the Shimano Calcuttas are good reels.

just testin av