my advice for the fin nors is go the spin reel not over head i owned one about 2 years ago and it was tough as a shithouse from memory i got around 400m of 50lb braid on it it also has i think around 25 kilo of drag power perfect for targeting big stuff off the beach and for the price u cant go wrong although if u want a good reel for the price think about buying the saragosa little bit more pricey but alot smoother then the fin nor also lighter and then line lay is much better if you want a good website in australia for it let me know i just had a look at they have them for $279 for the 10000 hope this helps

 is it really the fin nor 100 is lighter then the saragosa 10k??

 hey guys,

as i said, an overhead surf rod came onto the market and i bought, i had been looking for a while. I have already got surf spin outfits and have tried to cast out bigger sinkers and baits with not too much success. this is why i bought the heavier overhead rod. i have a fairly good idea on which reel i am going to be buying, have looking into it for a while.

i was just hoping if anyone on here had any first hand experience of the reel in surf casting conditions.

Thanks 

Nathan 

 I've got the 30 size on my Beachmaster Heavy. Got around 450m of 60lb braid plus 150m of 0.6mm mono topshot. 

It is super solid with a great drag and has landed many big rays and small sharks and I actually prefer it to my torium 30 which feels a little flimsy in comparison. 

So far has stood up to salt water and the beach very well, doesn't seem to let water in and is as smooth as the day I bought it.

Had a few issues early on with the clicker as it was a display reel (didnt have any others in stock) but I opened it up and it was a little loose, no problems since.

As for castability - I find it's almost on par with my torium, no major difference in cast distance if you tune it properly and spool is well controlled, not many overruns when my less experienced mates try to cast it.

Line wise my advice would go 30 - 40lb braid with similar topshot if going with the 20, youd be surprised at the amount of hurt you can put on a fish with 30lb on a long rod from the beach and the jump to 50lb isn't really worth it imo.

Hope this helps, feel free to pm me if you want any more info.

Hutch

Hi barcelona125. I haven't had any experience with the reels you've described, so I can't comment on them, but I do have an Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 7000 which I frequently use for casting heavy baits off the beach.  I have the 7000 loaded with 40lb power pro braid, and typically use 50lb mono leader, and it goes fantastic  -never missed a beat, and cast's a dream. I'm not sure of the costs of the Fin Nor or Avet, but the Abu's are quite reasonably priced, so it might be worth considering.

Tailortickla, the Fin Nor Lethal LT 100 spin is a fair bit heavier than the Saragosa 10000, but I wouldn't say that it was a comparable reel. The LT100 has considerably more drag and a bit more line capacity than the 10000. I'd say the better comparison is between the Saragosa 20000, where the Saragosa is a little bit lighter than the LT100, but the LT100 holds a little bit more line.

 i didnt think it was heavier 

and how much line do you want i got 400m of 60lb shimano ocea braid on my saragosa 10k and thats with around 80m of 30lb mono backing to land any big fish landbased (balooning excluded) u do not need any more then 350 meters of line max imo 

 thanks for the info guys, much appreciated 

very helpfull 

 Another one to consider is the Penn Fathom, I use a 30 loaded with 300 meters of 30lb braid topped up with 40lb mono on a Prevail O/H, reel hasn't missed a beat slide baiting and casting big baits metro to ballooning for mackerel.

 Bit surprised none of the sponsors have offered up an opinion for ya. Might be worth a call to one of them

That is going to take some powerful shoulders and arms to cast a resonable distance.

But any of the following reels will do:

Saltist Bg 40 or 50

Torium 30 (or 50 if you can find them)

Penn fathom 30

Avet LX

Saltiga 50

trinidad 50

there are also magnetic breaking reels available that assist with your casting (avet and penn sell them), you can also install a static mag.

Remember:

The smaller the reel : the easer it is to cast,

bigger reels have greater line capacity, bigger gears and more stopping power, but require more skill to cast.

Casting an 8oz + herring or tailor will take some practice, maybe start with a slide. you can cast your 8 oz sinker and slide your bait out. Thsi will allow you to get further out and utilise live bait.

I dont know if the Bantam will handle that combine casting weight. I think the maximum tip weigth is  6-7 oz. The plus size is that the 2 other tips will allow you to chase tailor and mullaway as well.

Assassin and Poseidon both produce heavy rods in the 8-10 oz range.