Livelining Rod & Reel Setup

[maddog2020]

I use St Croix Premier 7' conventional rod w/ 6500 size Abu and 50 lb PP when on a boat. The Daiwa Sealine-X boat rods are super for the $. I'll Uglysticks as well. I leave reel disengauged with thumb on spool let fish run a little bit and then cross it's eyes.

Thunnus is aluminum body with no flex - rotor isn't aluminum though costs 2 X more than std BR. All of the Thunnus are the same body just different rotor/spool on top. Baitrunners are graphite bodies that do bend under a lot of strain - still plenty tough and excellant for the $ (great for plugging as well). BR are tough enough that charter guys use them for schoolie tuna.

[Mike P]

How much do you want to spend?

Mike at M&Ds has some Daiwa Beefsticks that are strong as hell and ridiculously cheap. You can use the savings to splurge on a reel. If you don't need a levelwind, the Daiwa Saltist is a good choice. Mike sold a lot of them to the commercial guys for yo-yoing. Or you can talk to Mike about a custom. The same blanks he uses for yo-yo rods should work for what you want.