Suitable Shore Fishing Rod?

[jrodell27]

Hello.

I mostly attempt to target fish in rivers (very unsuccessfully) and recently I have a job site that is near some shore fishing spots for coho and pink salmon. I was hoping to make a couple fishing trips before and after work on the beach in the next week or two to try for some pinks and coho. I think I'm already too late on pinks for the area I'll be fishing at (MA-10). I don't have a dedicated shore casting fishing rod and was hoping for some advice.

I recently acquired a rod and reel from a coworker a few months back and haven't found a use for them yet. He gave me a 8'6" Okuma Celilo (heavy, 3/4 oz to 3 oz) rod paired with a Okuma CV20DLX reel. I believe he used this rod on his boat trolling or what not. Would this rod be do-able to use for plunking or casting on the shore? I have waders and was planning on wading as far as I could to help get some distance out into the salt. I would be using a minimum of 3/4 oz - 1 oz jigs and rigs to load the rod properly but I wasn't sure if the extra heavy action would propose some issues on feeling any bites etc. I know you guys probably wouldn't initially recommend using this setup from the get go but would it work on the beach?

[spokey9]

You wouldn't get much distance with that reel. It wasn't designed to be casted. The rod itself would work if you got a baitcaster reel such as an Abu Garcia ambassador S 5500 or an Abu Garcia orra inshore (both are budget reels). The orra inshore can be found on eBay at a good price and is designed for the salt.

[jrodell27]

Thanks for the advice on that spokey and good call on that as well. I didn't even think about that. I might give the rod a go and pair it up with my other drifting baitcaster to give it a try. I was worried that the heavy rod may be a bit too stiff but I'll give it a go and see what happens.

[BentRod]

Agreed on above points, and with the reel being a limitation. The rod should cast a 3" Buzz Bomb a good enough distance though. I've got an 8'6" MH bait caster (1/2oz-1oz) that will wing the 2.5" and 3" quite a good distance, but it's paired with a Abu Garcia 6601c4 (30# braid). I still prefer a longer and lighter rod for beach casting, but this combo has done well enough and caught some fish. You don't need a hefty rod/reel combo for beach fishing. I've seen a lot of 6 to 7 foot bass fishing combos out there and they catch fish. It'd be a challenge on big or hot Coho, but still doable. Good luck out there!

[jrodell27]

Good to know BentRod - thanks for the reply. I haven't gone beach fishing really and from coworkers that do they said I'd be better off with a longer rod, like you were saying. I'm going to give it a go and swap out the reels to make sure I can actually get some decent casts in. Thanks for the advice!