I was thinkin about gettin my father a rod and reel. Something nice that isnt too costly. I was lookin at a Tsunami 12 footer for a rod and I was lookin around and I saw the Penn Captive Live Liner.. What do you guys think? Any experiences? Good or Bad? He doesn't fish all that often but the majority of the times he comes with me. His gear now is crap and I wanna get em something nice (or better than what he has) without spending a load. What would you guys suggest??

12 footer is long for new england fishing....10 footer should be enough. Captiva is plastic, but if Clammer can't kill one in 3 years it gets my vote as an acceptable especially for someone who doesn't fish a lot.

The Quantum Boca's are a good reel at a fair price if you want to move up more...

ripistick - I think captiva translates to "cheap shiny chit" - I may be wrong, but my buddy got a combo setup with a penn captiva and it was chincy didn't even last the trip.

a 12foot rod is going to get heavy, for NE waters, I'd suggest a 9ft rod and a Shimano 4500 live line reel.

good rod/reel combo threads have come up many times in the past, use the search function and you should find lots of info.

Good Luck

great thanks guys... Ill check around to see what they have. The 10 footer also makes sense since my dad has a hard enough time casting a 10 footer haha.

what do guys say about okuma reels? What are your opinions on those? Im not really concerned about the rod as much more so about a decent reel. The shimano baitrunner has caught my eye. If okuma's a good bang for your buck then Ill look into those as well

Do yourself a favor--get the Shimano. They have a 15-20 year track record of being fairly reliable.

If you're a Penn loyalist, check out one of the Liveliners, if you can find one. I've never used a Captiva, but I see a lot of bad struff about them online--seems like most prior owners refer to them as the CRAP-tiva.

I have one of those L/L by Penn. I don't use it much, just because I don't. When I first got it a few years back I used it for chunking and did the job. I didn't have any issues with the guts. Only the fold down handle. If your dad doesn't fish that much then the reel will do. The Okuma's are decent for the price of 'em. Not all of 'em. The Epixors are very good as well as Alumina's and Eclipse's. I didn't like the Avengers. I had an Axeon that was good for the surf. It was a huge reel, almost too big.:laugha:. There are plenty of decent reels out there, where you don't have to spend a ton of money.
BTW, I agree about the 12'er. A ten footer is more than enough rod. :)

what do guys say about okuma reels? What are your opinions on those? Im not really concerned about the rod as much more so about a decent reel. The shimano baitrunner has caught my eye. If okuma's a good bang for your buck then Ill look into those as well

okuma is definately a good bang for the buck. I had an okuma Inspira for a while that held up well. Also have an epixor that is a decent reel.

I would spend a little extra & get a Boca PT though

What kind of fishing is he going to do?

Nothing wrong wih Okuma; especially for occasional fishing. Reels above 100.00 are for, well, the obsessed (us!). Okuma, Daiwa, Shimano all have reels in the 50-100 range that are quite capable. I have an Okuma that I like and hasnt failed me and an old school Penn that I love (704z). Like the others mentioned, a 12' stick is probably too much- go with a 9 - 10 - they are easier to cast and control. An 8 isnt out of the question either. I think comfort FAR outwieghes length, IMHO. Good Luck.