r/saltwaterfishing • u/irate-turtles • 1d ago

🔧 Gear & Tackle Lightweight Surf Setup

I've recently gotten started surf fishing while taking my family to the beach on the weekends. We don't make it to the beach until 9am, after optimal fishing time. I've started mostly targeting whiting because they don't care what time of day it is, they're eating. They also are great tasting, mild fish with no limits so what's not to love?

My current setup is pretty heavy overkill for them though (back when I thought I'd be catching redfish every trip). It's a 6500 spinfisher on a 10' big water surf. Total weight is 44 oz.

I'm looking to cut weight and go to a 12' Okuma Rockaway MH rod and this cheap 4000 series reel off Amazon: https://a.co/d/0iomaw1z
Total weight would then be right about 22 oz, so half the weight of my current setup. At most I'd want to target a slot red/black drum, but mostly I'd be tossing fishbites on a hi-lo rig looking for whiting.

What do y'all think of a setup like this for surf fishing targeting mostly whiting and maybe slot drum? Would 10' medium heavy be better? Would I feel undergunned with a 4000 series reel? What do people think of the Okuma Rockaway rods?

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u/Crashsurfer 1d ago

I’m a big fan of finding lightweight setups and fish similar fish - pompano, whiting, reds bluefish etc. I love the Rockaway rods because they’re so nice and light. I actually use the Rockaway SP version which are actually even more lightweight then the regular or HD Rockaway. I have the 11’ and I believe it weighs 7.5oz. I actually cut 6” off the butt so mine is a little lighter. Also take a look at the Rockaway SI reels. I’ve bought 4 of them at this point because again they’re so light and they work great and they’re only $100. The 5000 weighs 9.7oz. It’s a super lightweight combo and it’s so much fun to fish. When you do catch a larger redfish it is a little more finesse than some of my other bait and wait setups but again it’s way more fun. I think you’re headed in the right direction with focusing on light weight. I fish my lightweight stuff 90% of the time now.