Looking to put a rig together. In my area we have a lot of bay to fish from shore as well as ocean surf. I want to be able to fish both with one set up.
I already have a 7ft medium power ugly stick with a cheaper Shimano 3000 with 15 pound braid.I kinda use that on the boat in the back bay areas.
Any advice appreciated 
Paging @Sudsy
Buy a boat!
You can use the same setup for bay and beach - inlets and rivers with fast deep moving water require something very different
For the surf the average length used is 10’, although 9’ and 11’ (my favorite) are also common. From the surf you need the length to get distance on your cast, something not usually as important in the bay where you can wade much further out
I don’t know where you’re fishing which makes it impossible to make a good recommendation. Atlantic City south requires some big casts to reach fish as the bottom recedes more gradually then it does up north. Getting to that second bar can be tough. 11’ rods and longer are more common.
I’m not a fan of Ugly Sticks and other glass heavy rods as they have no feel to them and very gentle hits will be missed. They’re terrible for plugging as you can’t feel what the lure is doing.
There are lots of options with the rods. To be honest the difference between a medium priced rod and a higher end rod is not that much. The differences between a lower priced reel and a better reel is huge. Put your $$ into the reel and upgrade the rods over time.
Most important, stay away from Walmart and Dicks
Im looking.
He can’t they’ve all been acquired for the emergency marine salvage operations that are being conducted right now by NJ gun owners 
I’m lucky my bil built me a custom surfrod, it’s 11’ lamiglass rod. love it but haven’t used it in a long time as I rarely have time to get to the beach to fish since I’m teaching everyday. I had a Shimano reel on it, I believe it broke now I have a penn.
Im in the Little Egg Harbor/Tuckerton area. Ill fish more north than south. Atlantic city probably the furthest south ill go.
Your best move is to buy something here.
I know I personally have probably moved $10k worth of gear though here in the last 20 years
So you’ll probably be spending the majority of your time on LBI
You’re going to want a rod that can throw.
My team won a surf tournament there only because I was getting 10 yards further than everyone else and was the only one getting fish. There are places in the island where the bar is pretty far out there.
11’ Daiwa Ballistic Surf and a Daiwa Surf Saltiga spooled with 20 lb braid throwing a bank sinker teaser rig
You like the conventional reels over the spinners for surf fishing?
I do for both plugging and bait but I’m in the minority - and I’ve been casting with them since I was 10 years old.
I don’t recommend plugging conventional to start with, unless you’re already comfortable with the platform, like coming from a largemouth background
@Sudsy - Got a recommendation for an “entry level” pole/reel/lures to try “first time” surf fishing in the Manasquan/Bay Head/Point Pleasant beach areas?
Might give it a try, don’t want to sink tons of money into it initially.
I like the Tsunami Airwave series for an entry level rod
If you can find a used Lamiglas XS 101 MS (they don’t make them anymore) I think that is the best all around plugging rod for NJ/LI that I’ve ever used. If I were to have just one rod, that would be it.
I’d put a vintage Penn 706 Z on it spooled with 20# original Fireline (the fuzzy stuff)
That’s a super tough setup that can handle anything you throw at it. Packed with grease the reel can be used underwater (which is common in Montauk and was here as well when we had jetties you could fish the fronts of)
This setup caught a lot of fish, I never should have sold it.
And FWIW the XS 101 MS is the factory build on the GSB 120 1L blank. If you ever stumble on a custom on this blank it’s worth grabbing
I will 2nd the tsunami rods.
This time of year the surf is loaded with the small fish. Croakers, spot, kingfish. All the fluke you want but keeper to throwback ratio is 1:50.
For the small fish. Get a couple kingfish rigs. Some fish bites (bloodworm). Before going fishing cut them into 1" pieces. A couple bank sinkers of 1oz 2oz. Cast out and every minute or so reel in a few feet. Sometimes they are farr out or in close. Find where they are.
For the fluke a 1oz bucktail with a 3" gulp on the back will usually catch you the fluke, bass and blues. Cast out and drag along the bottom. Crank crank pause. Wait 5-10 seconds. Crank crank pause. Repeat.
Wondering what braid strength for surf/pier/ jetty fishing. 30 or 40?
And probably a dumb question but, does the reel spool need to be full for further casting?
Depends on the braid, most break far over their rated strength. I use 20 on spinning, 30 on conventional plugging, and 50 on conventional bait heavers
And the less line on the spool spinning, the less distance casting (more friction)
Thank you
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