A good combo setup?

[ccacher1]

I have a MH teramar paired with a Shimano Cardiff 300 and love it for throwing anything around 1oz but I would like to get another rod/reel for dropping down live bait for halibut or w.e is down there, also maybe for chucking small irons. So here are my questions...

1.) Reel recommendations (preferably levelwind & star drag) - $100-$200
- I've been leaning towards a saltist 20 or 30 because they have them at my local BasssPro.

2.) What size rod would you pair with it? (length?, M, MH, H?, Fast, xFast?)

3.) Rod recommendations (cheaper the better)

4.) Is there a line setup that you would recommend to fish both on the bottom and on the surface with small irons?

I've looked around on the forum for some time and have found some answers but any help with these questions would be awesome. Thanks.

[silentsmell]

The Seagate is a line very similar to the saltist but it isn't made out of aluminum. You can save yourself a couple bucks going with that. The sealine-x is a pretty sweet reel too for irons. I have all 3 reels, I recommend them all.

*Edit* Oh you prefer a levelwind, I have a Shimano Tekota 500 because I wanted a levelwind when I first started fishing, but now I realized I should have just got a Torium.

[ccacher1]

*Edit* Oh you prefer a levelwind, I have a Shimano Tekota 500 because I wanted a levelwind when I first started fishing, but now I realized I should have just got a Torium.[/QUOTE]

What is the disadvantage of a levelwind just out of curiosity?

[silentsmell]

I guess in short, if you start to fish more you'll realize the convenience isn't necessary. For me personally, I automatically guide the line on my reel with my fingers even when I use a levelwind. And I've damaged the levelwind and had to replace the worm gear. One less part to worry about maintaining if I had bought a Torium. But you're supposed to be able to cast further with a non-levelwind.

[YakAttak]

I'm not any expert on this but just sharing what I've read .
The advantage of level-wind is you don't have to use your thumb to guide the line on the retrieve so your line is more evenly distribute on the spool.
The disadvantage is when hooking up to a big fish, with the fish pulling on the other end, the level-wide would create resistance of the line going to the spool. I've also read that a big strong fish (for example: big yellowtail, WSB or tuna) will bust up that levelwind mechanism.
I've used a daiwa lexa 300 for throwing heavier jigs and surface irons for the Cudas and loved it because I haven't gotten used to retrievng and thumbing the line at the same time. It has 22lbs of drag so getting them in isn't any problem. Of course I've never caught a fish big enough to worry about busting the levelwind . Unfortunately, I just donate my lexa set up to Poisedon last weekend. Also, I use left hand reels so my choice were very limited. Good luck in choosing your reel.

[makoslayer]

Originally Posted by ccacher1

I have a MH teramar paired with a Shimano Cardiff 300 and love it for throwing anything around 1oz but I would like to get another rod/reel for dropping down live bait for halibut or w.e is down there, also maybe for chucking small irons. So here are my questions...

1.) Reel recommendations (preferably levelwind & star drag) - $100-$200
- I've been leaning towards a saltist 20 or 30 because they have them at my local BasssPro.

2.) What size rod would you pair with it? (length?, M, MH, H?, Fast, xFast?)

3.) Rod recommendations (cheaper the better)

4.) Is there a line setup that you would recommend to fish both on the bottom and on the surface with small irons?

I've looked around on the forum for some time and have found some answers but any help with these questions would be awesome. Thanks.

I have a 8 ft teramar with a battle 5000. Best combo ever.

[taggermike]

Seagate, sealine, saltist, and torrium would all be great choises. If you want to tho the irons you definately want a real w/O a level wind. A combo jig stik/bait stik is a compromise. 8-9 feet is usual for a jigstick but a biat stik doesn't need to be that long. 6 to 7 feet is fine. Plenty of good rods out there. I like our local calstar and seeker. For some thing cheaper there a some shimano rods, penn, saber, even ugly stik tigers will kill fish. If you're going to be throwing iron you mite want to go with strait 30-40 lb mono. Mike

[jorluivil]

These three videos should put the level wind theory to rest.

Shimano Cardiff 400 level wind

[jorluivil]

Shimano Castaic 200 level wind

[jorluivil]

Shimano Castaic 200 level wind

[YakAttak]

Thank you for the cool videos. Good to know the levelwide can handle the big fishes too cuz those are what I mostly used

[ccacher1]

Originally Posted by taggermike

Seagate, sealine, saltist, and torrium would all be great choises. If you want to tho the irons you definately want a real w/O a level wind. A combo jig stik/bait stik is a compromise. 8-9 feet is usual for a jigstick but a biat stik doesn't need to be that long. 6 to 7 feet is fine. Plenty of good rods out there. I like our local calstar and seeker. For some thing cheaper there a some shimano rods, penn, saber, even ugly stik tigers will kill fish. If you're going to be throwing iron you mite want to go with strait 30-40 lb mono. Mike

Thanks Mike, this was very helpful.