# can I put a 10500 reel with 65lb braid on a Penn Carnage III 12ft heavy 30-50lb for sharks off the surf



## NCP (5 mo ago)

Stxguide said:


> trying to get into shark fishing off the surf down here in Texas and found a good price on a Penn slammer 3 10500 (60lb drag) brand new and from what I have researched 65lb braid is what you want but I have a Penn Carnage 3 12ft heavy surf rod that is 30-50lb so the question is does that 15lb make a difference or should I find a stronger rod? fishing off Mustang island for black tips mainly and I will prob end up kayaking baits out anyway instead of casting with a top shot of 80/100lb mono


That setup should be fine. I run a Penn Battle III 10,000 with 65lb braid. It’s on an 11’ Penn Prevail rod. Before that, I had a Fin Nor Lethal 100 with 65lb braid on a 12’ Ugly stick with a 20-40lb line rating, until the bail spring rusted on the reel & it quit working & having that good locked in feeling flip to it. It’s my backup now since I can still manually flip the bail, which i was doing anyway. Then I replaced it with the penn. I use an 80-100lb mono shock/rub/tail whip leader with a foot or so of #12 wire bite leader. Never had an issue landing them. All of these were caught on one or the other of those setups, casted from the beach in FL.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

That rod will be just fine since you want a bit softer rod when using braid... since braid has no stretch at all you need a bit of cushion at the rod end. A few things to remember, particularly when you're onshore and can't chase after a big screaming fish... The first is that how strong your line is isn't nearly as important as.. how MUCH line you have... Braid pretty much solves that problem (smaller diameter than mono so your reel will hold much more line...). Secondly, and just as important - don't set the reel with a really heavy drag to start with when using it since if a big fish takes half your line - that drag setting is automatically twice as heavy as what you set it at (straight physics here - a smaller diameter spool requires a lot more force to turn it - and as that line goes out the spool diameter is getting smaller and smaller...).

Hope this helps... "Be a hero... take a kid fishing"

ps... make sure the reel you want or have.. will actually fit the reelseat on the rod your'e considering since sometimes the seat won't be large enough (too large can be dealt with - too small and you're not going to be able to pair them. Ask the shop first if it's okay to put them together first...


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## NCP (5 mo ago)

lemaymiami said:


> That rod will be just fine since you want a bit softer rod when using braid... since braid has no stretch at all you need a bit of cushion at the rod end. A few things to remember, particularly when you're onshore and can't chase after a big screaming fish... The first is that how strong your line is isn't nearly as important as.. how MUCH line you have... Braid pretty much solves that problem (smaller diameter than mono so your reel will hold much more line...). Secondly, and just as important - don't set the reel with a really heavy drag to start with when using it since if a big fish takes half your line - that drag setting is automatically twice as heavy as what you set it at (straight physics here - a smaller diameter spool requires a lot more force to turn it - and as that line goes out the spool diameter is getting smaller and smaller...).
> 
> Hope this helps... "Be a hero... take a kid fishing"


☝this is very good advice. I’ve unintentionally caught plenty of 2’-4’ish sharks & good sized rays throwing cut bait on my 7’-9’ surf rods with 5000-6000 size reels with 30lb-50lb braid, 30lb shock leader, sometimes with a wire bite leader, sometimes without.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

I build all of the rods used on my skiff (built my first rod long before "graphite" or "carbon fiber" came along - 1971...) and I always build rods meant for monofilament line a bit stronger and stiffer than needed since mono stretches... For rods meant for braid I go in the other direction with a bit softer blank (maybe even a bit under capacity purposely to provide a that necessary "give" with a big fish on the other end since braid doesn't have any stretch at all..). 

Funny how differently we all rig and fish... Any rod with cutbait or good sized live bait that I set up will have a rod's length of 80lb mono for a leader... If a wire leader is needed it's a short trace of #6 wire, about 18" added to that mono leader, with a 100lb swivel - but only a 5/0 or 6/0 hook at the bitter end... Of course along the coast of the 'glades the fish might be in the over 300lb size range every now and then and with dark waters you'll never realize that something that size is right next to your skiff until you hook up and start chasing after the fish... After one hour on the rod, though, most anglers get the message...


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## NCP (5 mo ago)

lemaymiami said:


> I build all of the rods used on my skiff (built my first rod long before "graphite" or "carbon fiber" came along - 1971...) and I always build rods meant for monofilament line a bit stronger and stiffer than needed since mono stretches... For rods meant for braid I go in the other direction with a bit softer blank (maybe even a bit under capacity purposely to provide a that necessary "give" with a big fish on the other end since braid doesn't have any stretch at all..).
> 
> Funny how differently we all rig and fish... Any rod with cutbait or good sized live bait that I set up will have a rod's length of 80lb mono for a leader... If a wire leader is needed it's a short trace of #6 wire, about 18" added to that mono leader, with a 100lb swivel - but only a 5/0 or 6/0 hook at the bitter end... Of course along the coast of the 'glades the fish might be in the over 300lb size range every now and then and with dark waters you'll never realize that something that size is right next to your skiff until you hook up and start chasing after the fish... After one hour on the rod, though, most anglers get the message...


What I don’t understand is people that are tying, buying, or using rigs that have 200-500 lb mono for a shock/rub leader from land on spinning gear. And, are casting a 6’+ long leader because they can’t do a line to line connection & reel through the guides because of the swivel. You don’t need all that to catch a blacktip or any reasonable size shark that you’ll be able to land from the shore on spinning gear in my opinion. I use the shorter wire & lighter 80-100lb mono in hopes that if I hook anything to big to handle alone, it’ll break me off before spooling my reel.


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## jasonh879 (Aug 5, 2014)

What’s more important than the line rating is the lure rating of the rod. If the rod is rated say 1 to 4 ounce and you’re throwing 10 ounce baits you’re going to have a problem. If you are kayaking the baits out or swimming them out you won’t have a problem with the rod. I don’t recommend swimming out shark baits although I know guys that do. A lot of time the line rating has more to do with guide size and how well the line casts through the guides and lure rating is how well the rod will cast that weight.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

I'd advise anyone wanting to go sharking from shore - to skip those great fun beach areas in favor of ocean inlets or any place with current like bridges over moving water.... You won't have to get you bait very far from shore if there's a good current (falling tide preferred for me) to carry the scent of that fresh killed bait out into deeper water... The sharks, big or small, will make a beeline for your bait if there's a good scent trail to follow (in essence your bait has it's own chumline...). Just make sure to have that rod secured in some manner since uncle toothy will scoot once the line comes tight...


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