I’ve been mentioning and suggesting low profile Bass fishing reels.

Although the Shimano Curado, Abu Garcia RevoWinch /Toro, Shimano Citica, Etc are GREAT reels for INSHORE Salt and Freshwater casting from a boat they are not designed for shore-casting Salmon in the Ocean…..

They just can’t hold enough line for distance casting and they are not generally considered "distance casting" saltwater reels.

You need a reel that can easily hold quite a bit of 12-14LB line and still cast some distance. AND you need a reel that has a strong enough drag system to haul in large, aggressive, Saltwater, fish.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Abu Garcia C-3- I mentioned this reel once already. It is a "tank" of a reel that will easily be able to transfer from Bass, Salmon, larger Pike, Etc. The 4600 model has a regular thumb-bar and is more suited to Bass, Pike, Etc. However, now that you mention where your going, I suggest you move up to the 5500. It has more line capacity. Here’s the link- MAKE sure to read the reviews on this reel. If you don’t trust my opinion, 91 people give this reel a 4.9 out of 5. C-3′s have a long history of catching fish- http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_74090____SearchResults

2. Shimano Calcutta- Calcutta’s are fantastic reels with a "fantastic" price tag. If you want "the best" this is close- http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_44488____SearchResults

3. Team Daiwa Pluton- Daiwa’s answer to Shimano’s Calcutta- http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_103417_151001001_151000000_151001000_151-1-1

4. Abu Garcia Revo Inshore-Probably the ONLY low-profile reel that could take the continual punishment of 20LB Salmon, huge Saltwater fish & the general abusive Saltwater environment without having any issues. It’s also priced WELL!- http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0052968122895a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntk=Products&QueryText=revo&sort=all&Go.y=9&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form23&Go.x=31&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

The first three of these reels would be a bit "overkill" for typical freshwater fishing, (Bass, Crappie, Pike, Etc). However, they would be right inline with any Saltwater fishing and Salmon fishing from shore……..

As for Rods?

In my opinion, you should stick with a 7-8FT rod. You will need the extra length for distance casting from shore.

Here are some suggestions:

1. St. Croix Inshore- http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_89430_151002000_151000000_151002000_151-2-0?ordProd=Y&CMID=BOTTOM_selectitems#itemDetail

2. Ugly Stik Tiger series- These are inexpensive and durable as HECK. They have a great reputation for longevity- http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0037185120975a&navCount=8&podId=0037185&parentId=cat601984&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat20166-cat601984&catalogCode=IK&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601984&hasJS=true

3.St. Croix Avid Inshore- GREAT rods! This will be MINE soon! (lol)- http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat601984&id=0064582124409a&navCount=10&podId=0064582&parentId=cat601984&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IK&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true

If you REALLY want to save money think about purchasing your reel from Ebay "used". I buy quite a bit of product from EBay and have NEVER been scammed- (it’s important to buy from reputable dealers obviously).

Hope this helps ya in your search? Good luck!

and spinning shimano symetre

There are a LOT of rods in the range that would be more than able to provide you a good performing and reliable blank. One option, very common in the northwest, is Lamiglas. They have decent build quality on everything above the Norwest Special. I wouldn’t buy below that since there are WAY too many other rods out there that, for LESS money, out perform the Lamiglas rods. NEVER buy a G200 series – It’s not even sort of worth the money. G1000 is decent, but CertifiedPro is MUCH better – but at ~ $209, it’s just above your price range.

You have so many options, it’s not even funny.

Do yourself a favor, MESSAGE me via YA. I’d like to share a little insight into where you can find a GREAT rod, for usually an AMAZING price. Since you’ll be up in that area, you’ll have the opportunity to take advantage of what others can’t….just message me, you’ll be glad you did.