San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

I work really close to Torrey pines and have been itching to give surf fishing a try. I mostly fish the bays and I don't think my 7' rods are gonna cut it out there.
I'm not trying to throw anything huge so I've been looking for stuff in the 9-10 ft range. I came across the okuma rockaway sp and saw they had a 9' M 1/4-1oz for ~$120 and thought this may fit the bill.

Does anyone have experience with these rods? They seem to be geared towards lighter fishing so I was thinking about throwing on a 2000-3000 size reel. What do you guys think?

7 ft rod is fine for spring/summer surf fishing. You don't need to cast more than 50 ft most of the time. In the winter, sometimes the structure is farther out and that's where 9 ft is better, or so I'm told.

The rockaway should work fine but I would pair it with at least a 3000 reel. I'm using an Okuma 8.5' SST medium with a 3500 Penn Spinfisher as one of my setups and really like it.

SP is a great rod, super lightweight, suggest to get either 10' or 11' version with more versatile 1/2 - 3 oz lure rating.

I think Okuma's Celilo 9'6" ML is a great value rod. I have 3 and pair them with 2000-3000 size reels for visitors. If you look through the internet, you may find them on sale. The "A" version is a brown color (walmart). The "B" version is a darker, gray color which I think looks cooler, but is a little more expensive (amazon).

Define budget, I guess, but I mostly use an Okuma SST and Celilo. Both are 8'6". I have a few rods at this point and one of my budget reels is a Penn Pursuit IV which I would think is perfectly fine for even a bit heavier use as a 'starter' reel to see how much you like it. I also like the Fierce, but my go to lately has been the Penn Battle IV 4000.

I have some larger rods than the two 8'6" but I dont find myself reaching for them much. The smaller (by surf fishing standards) rods are just so much more manageable for me, and I see to catch the same fish no matter what I use, ha.

Lots of great info here so I'll try to summarize what I'm getting out of your suggestions so far.

1. 8'6" - 10' seems to be the recommended rod length so I think aiming around 9' was a decent call.

2. One comment suggested I go up in lure weight rating, but then I looked at the celilos and those are all ML. I was planning on using some C-rigs, spoons, and soft plastics. What are you guys generally throwing out there?

3. Budget is obviously subjective. I'm at the point where $100 doesn't hurt too much, but I always appreciate a deal. My favourite rod is an old SST that I carved a split grip into the cork, and I picked that up for about $60.

4. I have found I prefer split grip rods and the majority of "surf" rods I found had full cork or foam handles. Do you guys find the full handle is better in splashy/slippery situations? Part of why I looked at the rockaway was that it comes with a split grip, but Idk if that's necessary.

5. Seems like going with at least a 3000 size reel is generally suggested. Thankfully I have a spare in that size. I can use that while I figure out if I like surf fishing at all haha

Thank you guys for all the suggestions

To answer some of your additional questions from my own perspective, keeping in mind that I've only been at this for about a year now (coming from freshwater fishing)...

2 - I use almost exclusively 'live' bait. Mussels, dried lugworms, sand crabs when available. If none of those, Gulp sandworms. Not much concern with heavier weight ratings from that standpoint.

3 - The other rods that I see recommendations for are UglyStiks. I had one when I first started, not sure what happened to it. I think I returned it once I switched to spinning rods. It was fine. I caught fish with it. Just another option but probably going to be in that same $70-$100 range.

4 - I rarely find myself in a splashy/slippery situation. I really don't wade, so at most I'm up to my shins in the water depending on surge/tides/etc. I've never had issue with it being slippery though perhaps I just don't know the difference.

5 - Indeed. Anything bigger is overkill, you're not casting that far. I do have 4000 reels but its more because thats what the store had when I was buying then. I've never run out of line, lol. It's still crazy to me how shallow the fish are!! I'll sometimes get asked how I'm navigating the surfers and I always explain how I'm nowhere remotely close to them!

Don't forget to check some old-school thrift stores in your area. Some of my favorite rods, including my 7 footer for surf perch cost me 8 bucks. I do the same thing with reels, love fishing some old-school Mitchell 300s, which get the job done too.

I fish differently than most and like a using a steelhead rod, baitcasting reel and the setup below with soft shell crabs. I like longer rods to keep my line high and generally out of the shore break.

JvTriton wrote: Thu May 07, 2026 11:28 am 2. One comment suggested I go up in lure weight rating, but then I looked at the celilos and those are all ML. I was planning on using some C-rigs, spoons, and soft plastics. What are you guys generally throwing out there?

Lightest you'd probably throw is LC110 5/8 Oz and maybe Kastmaster or Krocodile 1/2 oz, and you can still manage casting lighter than rated weight with decent braided line.
Everything else, C-Rig, dropshot, swimbaits would be same or heavier weight 1/2-1 oz depending on surf condition, except may be corbina sight fishing super lightweight setup with split shot.
Extra rated weight would allow you to manage some bait-and-wait that require heavier sinkers and more confidence in the rod if you "accidentally" hook something big.

Finding reel suitable for surf fishing is more challenging, typically it requires SW (salt water) grade with sealed body, you can still get away with conventional if you baby it and avoid getting in sand and water, but it won't last long as saltwater and especially sand destroy everything.

Mike M wrote: Thu May 07, 2026 5:40 pm I like longer rods to keep my line high and generally out of the shore break.

That's a very good point.

All good suggestions above... And you could certainly use your existing gear.. I use a 9'6" light /moderate steelhead rod with a lighter C-rig, 99% of the time... A Shimano Vanford 3000... 6# mono, 3/8oz bullet weight, 22"- #4 fluoro leader, #8 Qwner Mosquito Hook... I have been fishing this rod, for many, many years with assorted Shimano ci4 reels... My favorite all-time rod for daily surf fishing.... Maybe not the farthest casting, but it one of the funnest and most forgiving rods I have seen...
Butch

Butch, all you have to do is look at that monster bean in your avatar. That setup has served you well !

Perch killer wrote: Fri May 08, 2026 12:27 pm Butch, all you have to do is look at that monster bean in your avatar. That setup has served you well !

Thank you, it has… It is so soft, and smooth, that it has saved me from many break offs.. And that fish was just luck, and you guys growing big ol’ fat corbs down there…. I’d sure like to see him again in a couple of weeks…
Butch