Rod Size for the ocean.

Guys and gals. need some advice. what should i be looking for as in Line size, Lure Wt. and Pole length for fishing at Depoe Bay and those areas.

Marilyn

I've been getting by with a 8'6" Shimano Clarus spincasting rod, a Shimano Symmetre reel, spooled with 15 lb braid - rockfish, cabbies and underlings are no problem.  My last trip out I got my Shimano Cardiff reel working, and used it on an 8'6" Lamiglas NW special salmon/steelhead rod, loaded with 20lb braid.  Again, no problems with any of the rockfish or cabbies, biggest being 22+ inch cabbie that came in at 5lbs.

I've been using 3 oz. bullet jigs, brown/blue 5" swimbaits, with 2 shrimp flies rigged above on dropper loops, using a 30 lb. mono leader.

I am hoping to get a heavier rod/reel combo loaded up before then - most likely a sub 7' ugly stick tiger with a heavier reel for 6+ oz. jigs for big lings and halibut.

Guys and gals. need some advice. what should i be looking for as in Line size, Lure Wt. and Pole length for fishing at Depoe Bay and those areas.

Marilyn

For the ocean, I prefer cheap(price) gear.  The salt has a way destroying reels after a few trips.  Rinsing never seems to remove all the salt.  Gears will grab, drags will stick etc etc.  I use a Med 8' Uglystick spinning combo.  I have to strip and clean the reel almost every time out but it has held up well.  For deeper water or targeting bigger ocean fish I have the 7' Tiger with a Penn 320.  The Penn holds up really well to the salt but I think I'm overdue for a cleaning and lube.
   

I agree on the rods/reels here.  Especially on how bad the salt is on equipment!  It will never be the same once it hits the ocean salt.  I like my Tiger 7 ft with a Penn 209.  It's the workhorse and set up with 65lb braided.  You can catch anything from greenling to lings with it.  It isn't going to be the most sensitive  for a 2oz-3oz setup, but it will work.  It will do very well if you have to drop 8oz-10oz of weight to keep on the bottom though.  I would make sure to have two decent setups, one for a 3oz lighter fair and then one for 10oz. going deep and keeping the big bait on the bottom.  Either way you have a backup if a rod is lost overboard....into the big blue....  

I lost two rods at Prineville Reservoir this year...on the same day!!!  Can anyone say "rod leash"?
-Scott
 

My ocean rods are all 7', 20 to 40 lb. test; depending on what kind of fish you're after. Penn and Sealine reels. I like good stuff, not the uber-expensive gear because I've lost a few rigs and they get pretty beat.
All the gear stows below deck for going in and out of the surf.

thanks guys. you have helped alot. trying to get things together while WR is out playing in Hawaii.

There are a few mentions of salt and reels and longevity.

First, for what it's worth, get salt water "rated" gear.  This means the manufacturer lists it as a salt water reel.  I assume this means the manufacturer at least gave passing consideration to the issue of corrosion.  I have 4 reels I use often (Abu bait casting, Shimano Spheros, Penn Spinfisher) and they are the first things I thoroughly rinse when I get back from fishing.  Some people say not to hit your reels with a hard spray, but I do.  I figure I got salt water in the works, so I better get fresh water in there too. 

First thing I do when I get a new reel is to completely tear it down using the manufacturer supplied exploded diagram, and coated everything with a light grease including the inside of the case.  In some areas it is a light coating and in others a heavy coating.  My thought is to keep the salt water off the parts, and to collect and sequester sand and grit (mostly a shorefishing issue).  Every winter I tear them down, clean everything and reapply the grease.  What I find is heartening, little to no corrosion, sand, grit, and salt crystals stuck in the corners of the case far from moving parts.  So far it seems to be working.

One thing I have been considering is trying periodic overnight complete soaks.

 What they said, but a ringing endorsement for the Ugly Stik! A tad heavy, but tough as nails and cheap. I like the inshore series and the tiger stiks best. 7' to 8.5' models 1186 MH, 1170 MH, and the 112070 come to mind. The MH is medium heavy action. All of them are <$100 and most are <$50.
 
 Right now I am head over heels in love with this little Avet SX reel.
 I added four magnets and it casts like a dream and has up to 12lbs of solid, smooth drag. It will stop a train. Its also one of the few reels that I have torn down completely and reassembled to full functionality (It got dragged through the sand and required a complete tear down and cleaning) It's not so cheap though at about $200.  

What they said, but a ringing endorsement for the Ugly Stik! A tad heavy, but tough as nails and cheap. I like the inshore series and the tiger stiks best. 7' to 8.5' models 1186 MH, 1170 MH, and the 112070 come to mind. The MH is medium heavy action. All of them are <$100 and most are <$50.
 
 Right now I am head over heels in love with this little Avet SX reel.
 I added four magnets and it casts like a dream and has up to 12lbs of solid, smooth drag. It will stop a train. Its also the one of the few reels that I have torn down completely and reassembled to full functionality (It got dragged through the sand and required a complete tear down and cleaning) It's not so cheap though at about $200. 

No extra parts this time? 

guys,
thanx for helping her with advice. with her limited experience, i'm trying to steer her away from conventional and casting gear and more towards the sea going spinning stuff since that;s what she's more familiar with.. any tips in that direction, we'll both appreciate it.
[WR]

guys,
thanx for helping her with advice. with her limited experience, i'm trying to steer her away from conventional and casting gear and more towards the sea going spinning stuff since that;s what she's more familiar with.. any tips in that direction, we'll both appreciate it.
[WR]

I thought about that for a minute WR, but it may be worth making the plunge into conventional gear for fishing the salt. Spinning gear seems to take the worst beating and lasts the least amount of time in the salt. I've been fishing brackish water down here and I have given up on better spinning gear in favor of disposable. (That and I'm cheap )

 The biggest headache with conventional gear is casting and you really don't need to cast in the salt all that much (Yeah there are exceptions, but how many of y'all are throwing Irons up there?) Most situations are just let out the line. I've also noticed that the reel stays out of the water a bit better as it's normally right side up and smaller than spinning salt reels.

The Abu's were my fav's before I met the Avet and they can be scored for less than a C-note.

No extra parts this time? 

Nope, no spare parts and I found out that the sisters of Belleville are not supposed to spoon.

wali.. thanks for the advice i do want to go to a conventional rod and casting reel one of these days but with WR being gone till the 2nd and not really having time to learn it before the ORC i think i rather stay with something i am comfortable with for the first time in the Ocean. ...

Yea i am a really newbie never have launched or fished in the Ocean Yet.

You should be fine with a spinning outfit - the ling that I "landed" on my first solo trip was on my shimano symmetre.

I will agree with Wali, the spinning rig has been taking a heck of a beating - and I probably need to tear it down and give it a good cleaning - of course, I also tend to beat up my gear.

Bait casting rigs/conventional level wind rigs are easy to figure out, and a lot easier to handle in the kayak when jigging, nothing harder than hitting freespool, thumbing the spool until you hit bottom, and then cranking the handle into retrieve.

The toughest part of the learning curve for me, IRT levelwind/conventional over spinning is handedness.  I grew up using spinning tacke, with the rod in the right hand at all times and left hand working the crank.  Most baitcasting and levelwind reels that I have come across are set up for right hand retrieve (and all of the salt water specific gear).  Just a little different.  I went with a Shimano cardiff 301a as my entry into levelwinds/conventionals, as it comes as a left hand retrieve, is just about $100, and is super simple to maintain.

Can't go too wrong with a Penn for the salt, maybe one of the Spinfishers, SSg or SSm. 

No extra parts this time? 

Nope, no spare parts and I found out that the sisters of Belleville are not supposed to spoon.

In some cases, you can adjust the amount of drag available by reconfiguring these washers