St Croix now sells a rod in that range called the Reign, a few weeks back they offered a deal with a lower end Daiwa reel for $69.oo. Rods are 6.6 feet and 7 feet in medium action in various colors. Not sure if they still have that deal but worth checking out.
Permethrin, spray on your clothes(not on your skin). One application good for several weeks and several washings, have watch ticks crawl on treated clothing after exposure to Permethrin fall off dead in 15 seconds after exposure. This a vegetable based chemical and not a classical organochlorine or organophosphate pesticide.
Have a friend who uses the Berkley Cherrywood baitcasting rod -7 foot medium heavy for musky and swears by it. He averages 100 muskie per year and most on the Cherrywood. When you are throwing 8 inch custom spinner baits with 60 lb power pro and 70 lb fluro leaders rod power is the ticket. This rod has what it takes to bring these 40-50 inch big boys to the net.
All info provided is good for OBX fishing. Depending on when you go will determine which fish would be available. The 7 foot medium light rod with a 2500/3000 size reel is the standard setup for the majority of fish that are typically available on the beach. Depending on when and where you go on the banks will determine the species to target and the techniques to use to catch them. The majority of fish I catch are on soft plastics. If you let me know when and where you are going on the Banks I can make further suggestions on areas to fish and what to use. I have fished the Outer Banks from Corolla to Frisco for 30 + years and am still learning it.
I have my best bass catching rates when fishing on rainy days which are associated with low pressure gradients. Moon phase is also important.
I am right handed and use left handed bait casters, what feels foreign to me is holding the rod with my left hand.
I have been fishing the Outer Banks for 35 + years from Corolla to Frisco. 90% of the time I am fishing with 7 foot medium light rods. Most of the fish you will catch there are less than 20 yards from the beach. The key is to find the deeper holes (sloughs) along the beach front. Best time to do this is at low tide where you can see the deeper water. This is the best place to set your bait if bait fishing using smaller hooks with shrimp or fish bites. All of my fishing is done with artificals primarily gulp mullet 3 -4 inch white color. Best times to fish from the beach are two hours before and 2 hours after high tide when the sloughs are filled in. Large surf rods have their place when the water is moving due to high winds and heavier weight is needed to hold bottom. Don't neglect the piers as some of the best fishing can be had when the surf roughs up. Some of the best fisherman on the OBX fish the piers on a regular basis.
I use them all the time, they work great on freshly stocked trout in lakes. I add a wax worm to the hook and drop off a bobber 1- 3 feet , also one of my go to lures for panfish( crappie,gills,perch and sunfish) in the spring. They also work great on the ice jigging for panfish and trout . My number one go to bait for above listed fishing.
As stated in the previous post get a chart of the moon phases specifically moon overhead and moon underfoot as well as moon rise and moon set. Best approach to fish these phases is two hours before and two hours after the moon overhead and moon underfoot as well rise and set. I have reviewed substantial catch data based on the various phases listed above with bass tuned in to moon overhead and underfoot and muskies tuned in to the moon rise and to a lesser extent moon set. Lunar activity does impact fish feeding activities and measurable increase in catch rate.
Deadly DIcks are deadly in the NJ surf when the sand eels are in, also AVA jigs with a tube extension work well for stripers. Best used during the fall migration.
Smaller fish can be reeled up or pulled up using your line. I do it all of the time with a medium light rod and 6-8lb mono or braid. This approach is for fish that are two pounds or less i.e speckled trout,smaller bluefish,spanish mackeral, kingfish(sea mullet), flounder and small redfish. Larger fish use a pier net. I have seen large red fish to 60 lbs pier netted and brought up onto the pier.
probably not. They are good for ocean fish where they exist. Great bait in North Carolina for Pompano and puppy drum.
With a 2500 reel I would go with 10 or 12 lb nanofil.Start by filling your spool with equivalent diameter mono than tie on the nanofil using approx. 75 yards from the 150 yd spool saving the other 75 yards for respooling in a later year. 8-10lb fluro leader .
Go with braid and a fluoro leader. This defeats the seeing the braid argument. Braid has no stretch and is more sensitive to light hits. It also casts much further than mono.