Rod and reel

[taggermike]

Good advise here. If youre looking for a reel.
to fish live bait, fly line or dropper loop, you might want to consider a lever drag. I started using a lever drag several years ago and will never go back to a star drag for fishing big baits like mackerel. Free spool and max drag aren't issues because I never cast my big bait out fit. Just drop the bait back or drop it down. As for max drag, I've increased The drag to the point my kayaks gotten unstable. Maybe in a note stable yak more drag would work.

If you want a reel for casting the Penn fathom 25 or daiwa saltist would be excellent. I've had several sealines over the years and always found them to be great casters. Maybe practice with your new outfit in a bay off the shore.

Lots of quality rods out there. The Phoenix rods are great. I prefer calstar and seeker. Graphite composite are better IMO than glass for bait. 6-7' is about right for bait. Maybe 8' if its going to dedicated for casting irons. Mike