Fishing offshore of Va Bch in 27 foot boat, Which rod would be best. Reels are Penn 50 VSW's and Penn 6/0. Thanks.
Stand up rods:
5'6" 40-100 lb.

5'6" 50-130 lb.

6' 30-60lb.

No one wants to help me out with this one. Does that mean it doesn't matter? I was thinking the shorter 5'6" rod in the lighter weight 40-100#, BUT, I don't have a clue!!! These are cheap Salt Striker rods with roller stripper guide and tip.Then, if I want to upgrade down the road, I haven't lost much! I could then use these inshore. The $20 off coupon expires today 2/28.
Thanks

I like a rod rated a class below the reel and maybe 2 heavier. So 30-60 and 400-100 satisfy that. For length, my only recommendation would be to consider if you have outboards or not and the extra 6 inches will help you just that much to clear your motors.

Captian Jack,

I just went through the same delima. I ened up purchasing the penn mariner 5-6 series 50-80 with all ceramic ring guides. They had alluminum reel seats with slick butt design and alluminum gimbals. OE 2 had the best price I found at about 80 bucks each.

Thanks all. I ordered two of the 5'6" 40-100# rods. I was thinking of getting a heavier rod in case I ever tried the giant bluefins down in NC. Would a 5'6" 50-130 rod be bestor a 50-100# rod? Thanks.

On the bottomline we use 6'2'' 20-40 class custom standup rods on our penn 45gls w/20lb test, On the Avet 4-0w two speeds we use custom 6'2'' standup rods,while using 40lb test. With the penn 50w2speeds I'ts agen 6'2'' sticks rated for 50-80lb while using 60lb test Penn130 6' bentbut standup 80-100lb,we use 100lb test. The point of these long rods is ,For trolling you recover line faster then a 5'6'' rod. And as far as chunkingthere is enoupgh flex in the rod to give you the same power as a stand up rod. WEhave pulled tuna to 277lb

I am using penn mariners (20-50 and 30-80 i believe) on most all of my reels- I do have one star standup that is also nice. I love stand-ups and dont think I will ever go back to standard boat/chair rods!! I do like a little longer rod for long rigger so that when it pops the line will clear the lines on the stern-

btw- also check out this rod-holder mounted "fighting gimbal"" looks sweet- i will be purchasing one before long-

http://www.viperbob.com/

Thats cool,I might get one of those for my standup 80# class rods.

I like it! It,s a simple, functional design.

There is a fighting post on the market that is like a fighting chair but you stand up.You have to install it in your deck the same way you would a seat or a fighting chair.It costs about $ 1000 bucks .I like the gimble in the rod holder better and you dont have to drill a bunch of holes in your deck to install a backing plate.

I have all Penn 6/0 that I like, but I am not a creature comfort guy. I don't mind the old school technology as long as it works and it has been a work horse for years. I have friends that swear by the TLD lever drag series of reels from shimano. As for rods, you might want to check the specials coming out. I like OE, but unfortunately for them Bass Pro just put out their spring fishing sale as well as some pretty good deals on boaters world on line. Boaters world has been offering a couple specials each day on gear which have looked pretty good. They were offering a Penn 50W Gold on a heavy stick for $499.

I would reccomend on rods that you stick with gear you can handle. If you want to chase the big boys, you might want to invest in 1 or 2 of heavy rods with 2 speed reels. You will probably chunk for them and won't have many lines in the water. Also you will work hard and find that a 6/0 and vsw 50 will challenge even the best of anglers. It is not unusual for bluefins to be in excess of 500lbs