Help me peel the onion of picking a first rod/reel

[addicted2sp33d]

Originally Posted by Biggameaddict

Greg Andrew uses his calcutta 400's for everything! Check out his youtube videos he catches makos and threshers with the same setup for halibut!

Similar to Greg, I use basically a single setup for everything. I call it el-cheapo fishing. Unlike some people on this site, I'm not in a position to spend several hundred dollars on multiple rod/reel setups.

Shimano AX4000 Reel. ($20.00)
FX-70MBH2 Rod. ($20.00)

It's light enough to cast all day, but has enough "size" to provide resistance to larger fishy foes.

I carry multiple spools with different lines for easy changes from one weight to another: 2lb mono, 8lb mono, 25lb mono, 40lb braid, 65lb braid.

This single rig has landed everything from 0.5lb Bluegill to 10lb Bonito to 30lb barracuda. I haven't landed sharks on this setup, but not because of the equipment... it's because I haven't mustered up the huevos to venture outside the bays. I haven't encountered any situation where I felt the equipment was not up to the task - just have to fight some fish longer than others.