New to Fishing

[tdahew]

Good morning all, I am new to fishing, and I've been a few time in Hampton VA, and loved it. I am looking to purchase my own equipment rather use others I fish with. I was wondering if it's better to buy a rod & reel combo or buy them separately. Also what brand? When I go it's saltwater but no deep sea, i believe the max depth so far we've was 62'. Please help.

Thank you

[N2theBlue]

need a little more info. what fish are you targeting? are you trolling or bottom fishing? do you prefer spinning or conventional gear?

[tdahew]

I am bottom fishing, I've only used spinning not sure what conventional gear reels is like. Haven't really thought about what type of fish I am targeting. I just enjoy Fishing.

[N2theBlue]

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...ems#itemDetail

here you go, get the BG 60 one, its almost bulletproof and should handle bout anything you want to catch from top to bottom in that depth range. Load her with 20lb Berkeley Big Game or Ande Premium and have fun

[Van Wildonher]

Penn Sargus is a good reel that's not too expensive.

What size fish are you catching?

[armbreakerrods]

Hello TDAHEW,
Sound's like your HOOKED!
Think high quality right off the bat,,save money long term,or short term sometimes,lol,and if you hook up big time,you'll also have the greatest success % and hopefully a trophy mount on your wall.
I think your looking for a rod to do both inshore and offshore fishing applications.I would go with a spinning set up at first.
Alot of nice reels out there today,with Shimano the most popular perhaps,and with the rod set up I mentioned below,you'll want a reel that handles line up to 30-40-50#,no heavier than 50# on your reel,as you would want the line to snap before the rod,in a lock down drag situation.
The rod blank I would suggest is a Seeker Black Steel, Composite Graphite/ E Glass 7' 20/50#class.
This rod will be light enough to tackle inshore yet powerful enough for most of your offshore stuff you've mentioned,and Seeker has a blank lifetime guarantee against breakage also.
Your guides you'll want are Fuji MNSG Heavy Duty Cast & Spin Silicon Carbide w/ gunsmoke frame(corrosion resistant)
Reel Seat & Gimbal-Fuji Heavy Duty Graphite
Grips-Comfortable Hypalon and comes in several color options.
Your all set and ready to roll!
Hope that helps you out a bit.
Drop me a line if you'd like one put together.
Best of luck and have a great time out there.
Dave
http://armbreakercustomrods.com/

[N2theBlue]

i'm thinking he's mostly doing croaker/black sea bass type stuff, and that rod you are mentioning is WAAAYYYY too heavy for that type of fishing.