New rod and reel

[Fishtraker]

Well gents, after going to a tackle shop and getting my hands on some reels I decided to go with the avet mxl 5.8. I spooled it with 275 yards of 65lb spectra. Hopefully that will handle anything that I hook up with.

[Fishtraker]

As for a rod I went with the shimono teramar 8' jig/bait rod

[vincentek9]

nice setup. rod is a bit long for kayak use IMHO. i'm currently moving over to rods under 7' because of tangle issues with rods behinds me when big fish start doing circles.

[JarrodMc]

Nice setup dude! Those rods are sweet. I take an 8' rod out with me and a couple just under

[StinkyMatt]

Wow, great reel/ rod set up.

Many, many guys use 8 foot rods.

[alanw]

I was told to get a 9 footer for casting surface irons for YT.. not sure if that's such a good idea


I have the mxl 5.8 only with spectra and mono topshot on a 7' calstar, wanted to go with a 100% USA setup, great reel.

[FlyFishinYakr]

Originally Posted by alanw

I was told to get a 9 footer for casting surface irons for YT.. not sure if that's such a good idea


I have the mxl 5.8 only with spectra and mono topshot on a 7' calstar, wanted to go with a 100% USA setup, great reel.

9's can be tiring to cast for any length of time. I (had 'Calstar'') cut down a 540 to 9' for me 'now called a 530'=30# (very fast taper) for me but have had "my butt kicked by a , an old Seeker SJ 85=8'6"=25#(more moderate taper and much slimmer without sacrificing backbone on the lower end) "My Fav" surface iron stick ! I don't really know of any other 30# surface iron rods 8'+.
See if you can find a trueline BOR36C I've always wanted one. It's a 20-40# med-fast rod.
Just my $.02
FFY
I've heard a 270-8H can be used for a '25# surface jig rod' although I don't know too many people who've done it.