I found out last week that I'm going to be in the Fort Pierce/ Port St Lucie area of Florida the entire month of December this year ( I live in Ohio). I have no saltwater or surf fishing experience, but I'm looking forward to changing that! Looking to build a pair of surf rods, but was hoping for some help getting started. All of my research so far has me leaning toward a setup using 20lb mono, or in that neighborhood, as it seems that most of the available fish at that time of year can be landed with that (any insight to the contrary would be welcomed, but I'm not looking for fishing tips on this forum...feel free to email any of those you might have!).
My initial questions are recommended length and power, and any advantages of one over the other. If anyone has a favorite blank for this type of fishing, I'd love to hear it.
Thanks in advance for your help!

What type of surf fishing? Bait, plugs, tins, etc. What reels are you looking to use? What is the average weight you plan on casting? What is the target species? More information will make it easier to respond to your question. You should use the search function above. It's loaded with information.

Take a Look at this Blank here ! butt Section and Two Tip sections Rated For Different Casting Weights. Best of Both up to 6OZ for Bait and a Lighter rated Blank for Plugs and metal

[rodgeeks.com]

Although its personal preference, and your height plays a factor, for anyone over 5'10", I would say the longer the better. 10' minimum, and all the way to 14'. Power and Action depend highly on what type of fishing.

Here is a good primmer: [www.outdoorproshop.com]

As a rule to choose your design:
1. Size dictates casting distance (more than other factors). Since in surf fishing you want to get out past the breaks, this is VERY important.
2. Fast action, with a "hard" tip for live bait, which is what I like to fish.
3. Power, in my opinion, should always be medium heavy to heavy. You need to use (here in My part of Florida, Daytona) when fishing live bait, a lot of weight. I use 4 ounce "sputnik" weights, and even they are sometimes not enough to stay put. Sometime, they can also be too heavy. So a rod blank capable of 3 to 5 ounce would be a good choice, giving you the option to god down in weight, and up in weight depending on surf conditions.

Just my 2 cents.

I havent yet built my own surf rod (just store bought) but I kinda like the British versions, which do not actually use reel seats. The wrap the blank tword the handle, and then use reel straps. Makes sense, because no matter how good the reel seat, eventually corrosion becomes a factor.

I'm not necessarily targeting a specific species...in a perfect world I'd catch one of each. But from what I've read, snapper, black drum, bluefish, redfish, sheepshead, croaker, pompano, and blacktip sharks are what I can expect in the area. I'm definitely planning on using live bait, and I'm anticipating using around a 4 ounce weight. I have a pair of Okuma Avenger Baitfeeder reels-ABF-65, that I use in Ohio for large cats...I'm planning on using those reels.
Thanks for the input!

Those will be perfect! Should use anything over a 50 (5000) for Surf. I am looking at a few 70`s.

I personally want to build a surf rod soon, and I think I will go about 12 feet, Heavy power, medium or medium-light action. I thought about going with a casting reel, and doing an acid wrap, which would be ideal for surf fishing, BUT I am not very good with bait casters. So i think I will stick with spinning. I really want to drop some money on my Surf pole, once I get there. I am thinking as salt resistant as I can, like Ti guides, handle wrap and graphite seat. Hopefully this will be a good combination, but expensive...

I would check out the rodgeek blank mentioned above and MIX blanks. Longer rods are great for big surf but I use no more than 10' rods and cast just as far as guys with 12' rods. Having the right blank for the casting weight makes a big difference. Good luck on your trip.

At whatever point you can no longer move/push the longer rod as fast as you can a shorter rod during the cast, there will be no additional benefits in terms of casting distance. What Michael stated above is worth considering. Don't select a rod so long that you struggle to cast it.

..........

Michael/Tom-I understand what you're saying about struggling with a long rod. I'm 6'1", and weigh 210, so I think I have the height and strength to throw a longer rod. What I'm not sure of, as I've never done it before, is a shorter rod easier to cast than a longer rod? Or more specifically, is the learning curve faster with a shorter rod than a longer rod? I checked out the blank that Earl mentioned above, and while that would be a great blank if I was going to change between live and artificial baits, I'm planning on only using live bait this time. I found a blank from Rodgeeks that seemed to cover a wide range of line weight and lure weight-SRF130MHMF2. It's a 13' blank. I also found a few 11' blanks offered by Mudhole that I'm considering. Both have the same power and action, both fit the line weight and lure weight I'm anticipating using. Both are within the same price point, as is the blank from Rodgeeks, but one is e-glass, and the other graphite. If I opt for the shorter blanks, is there an advantage of graphite over glass, or vice versa?
Earl-What do you mean by a "hard" tip for live bait fishing?
Again, thanks to all for your input!!!

Paul, I speak from experience. I surfcast at least 100 times a year and i build lots of surf rods. I am also 6'1" and weight 220 and an 11' rod is overkill for me. You said you plan on doing a lot of bait and wait fishing which is good with a longer rod, because less casting means less fatigue. Another idea to consider is build a long bait casting rod and a shorter 9'-9'6" rod for plugs, tins, etc. You can use your 5500 reels on both. Its always good to have options. Best, MH

Rod Geeks and the St Croix Surf rod blanks are great. The only possible issue with them is they are a 70/30 split design instead of 50/50 if you have limited travel space.I have a St Croix Avid 3-8 that I really like and another rod that is a 3/4 to 4oz which covers most of my surf needs in NC. I think a 10 to 11ft blank with a 2 to 6oz rating would be very versatile for FL . You might also be able to use it for long range catfish fishing in some of the big rivers in Ohio.

For a surf spinning rod I would use a
smaller diameter main line than 20lbs to increase casting distance. I use 14lb mono and 14lb fireline fused braid for my spinning reels attached to a casting shock leader that is determined by weight of lead in oz times 10. Another option if your only casting 4 oz max is to use 40lb braid for main line which is still much thinner and suppler than 20lb mono.

Also don't overlook all of the inter coastal waterway,flats and pier fishing that area has to offer.Bass and catfish tackle would work in many these situations. One of these days I want to get down there to catch a Snook , especially on a fly rod.

As always, the input from the members here is priceless. I'm going to limit my rod length to between 10' and 11', leaning towards 10'...as was mentioned, might get a chance to use it back home. I'm leaning towards a heavy power blank...is that overkill?

I fish this area a lot. Used to live there.

I use two basic rods:

Bait - something about 9-10 ft that will handle 3 oz. This for pompano, whiting and random others.

Lures - 10' trigger rod rated to about 2 oz. I use hot rodded Abu 6500c's and 12 lb line and can cast the 1- 1 1/2 irons for hours with this rig. This primarily for snook, blues and spanish. Mostly its an early morning bite though.

I would also bring some bass gear with you: not only for the salt: plugging snook and trout, but also some of the best fresh water bass fishing in the world is right there in Stick Marsh and Blue Cypress lakes. Spittn' distance from where you'll be.

Whit

In a carbon blank, you can go longer and not expend any more effort than you would in casting a shorter glass blank. For instance, an 11 foot carbon blank might not require any more effort than a 9 or 10 foot glass blank. So consider the material involved when deciding on the length you choose.

............

Good deals I have seen lately is Anglers Workshop has the St Croix Avid 10ft 1-4 on there closeout deals for $114 and there private label brand made in the USA by Talon is worth a look too.

Then Schneiders Rod shop has a Rainshadow 3/4-4oz for $70 I believe their lure weights tend to be underweighted. Maybe someone who has used this model will chime in.