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Jane,
I am 6´¨1¨ 230, and I have switched from he heavy Penns to the Shimanos mahe from Graphite, and really notice a difference in a long fight. My 150 lb sons also really love them.
For conventional 30 lb combos I boufght the lever drag single speed Shimano TLD25 and load them with 300 yards of 80 lb spiderline, toped off with about 175 yards of 40 lb Stren mono.This was paired to the also all black Basspro Offshore angler OSMU-3A 30-50lb rod, 6´long with one roller tip, one roller guide, and 4 fuji ring guides with a standdup foam grip. I have 5 of these.
For 50 lb, I use a Shimano 2 speed 50W LRS combined with a 5'6" Shakesphere all roller 80-135 lb Ugly stick from Basspro. This combo runs about $600 a set up as the reel with line runs about $450. It has 500 yards of 135 lb braid and is toped of with 250 yds of 80 dark blue izorline. I carry 2 of these.
When you jump to 135 lb class set ups, things get big and heavy unless you go to the lightweight Aluminum Avet Pro EX 50W that weigh 68 oz and cost $450 with 135 lb braid and mono. This chiould be paired with a Calstar XS 5'6" 100-135 lb all roller rod that runs about $250 from www.charkbait.com.
I carry 2 of these also.
Avet makes a left handed reel in most of the sizes i think also get a top quaility spinning combo shimmano is my first choice but penn diawa quantum all make good to very good in there best line of gear Rods don't go over 6'6 in a 30# outfit and 5'6" or 5' is a great tool in the 50# gear Spinners I like 9' on the boat with 17-20 mono but tough to store on board 7' and 8' are more common but are not as soft in the tip for the light mono I use for braid though the 7' med-heavy spinner is the cat's meow for casting to bft to 100 #
Numark makes a simple belt and rod holder that sits just above your knees. It is light and cool for hot weather and has the straps to clip to the reel lugs on the rigs I recommended. The reel straps allow you to drop your arms and hands to your sides while fighting so that your legs and hips withstand all the force by just leaning back. This belt will make you almost as strong as any large man and allow you to use lighter gear for longer fights without tiring.
So I would buy the $70 belt first and the smaller 30 lb class LEVER DRAG combos that run $250, as you will use these the most, and with a mile of braid, you can stop and tire out 95% of the fish you run into, including 100 lb tuna and 200 lb Marlin. Set em with up to 13 lbs of drag.
Left handed?One thing that is going for you!One thing to remember,if you are left handed,you will have more strengh on holding and controling the rod.You don't need the strengh to reel.
My wife is 5'2",weights around 120lbs.The set ups that I use are penn30wII with 50lb test mono line,they are set on 5'6" custom rods,30/50lb class.Of coarse the right fighing belt is a must.Her best fish to date is a 182lb yellowfin.Drags on these reels were beefed up to 50lb class,setting at strike at 14lbs of drag.
Location: Quebec, Canada and Pirates Cove, OBX, NC
Posts: 17,813
Re: HELP~ female gulfcoast/offshore tackle/gear
Rod and reel combinations are "heavy" from the time you take them out of the rod holder, to the time you have them in your fishting belt. Once strapped in, the rods "weigh less" because the harness takes the weight off of your arms and shoulders.
At 5ft 5in . . . or 4 ft 17 in . . . you are not a short persons
Rods and reels are shared on a boat when fishing off shore . . . you typically do not have "your" rod like when casting baits to bass and other fish . . . the PROBLEM is you buy left handed reeels for yourself, the righties will have a devil of a time using your reels.
I have yet to be on a charter boat (offshore trolling) that has reels for left handed users . . . SORRY, but in this case you should consider using right handed reels as the reels are a shared commodity and only 10% of the population is left handed . . . just my right-handed opinion
As to reel size, and if you are fishing with others versus fishing alone . . . assuming that 50 lb fish are your target with the periodic large tuna and marlin thrown into the works . . . I would go with 50 weight gear so that you can get a lot of line on the reel . . . I prefer the aluminum reels (ie Shimano 50 LRS) over ther graphite reels butr the graphite reels are quite a bit lighter
Re upper body strength . . . endurance is better than brute strength . . . and finesse will beat out brute strength 95% of the time, as well as catch more fish . . . I am only 5 ft 7in and finesse is why I believe that I land a higher pewrcentage of the fish I hook.
As a final suggestion . . . see if you can get a charter or use someone elses gear for a couple of trips and that will help you narrow down your choices.
IF you limit yourself to fify pound outfitts you'll find the lighter Gameface belts ideal for your frame. My small daughter-in-law love it. We put the small P.D.D. on that for her...she can whip anything with it, and has. That smaller pad, allows you use both gimballed rods, or live baiter rods. For the rods and reels, I'd look at the avets, left hand models and put it on good quality grafite rod, Seeker and CalStars,
__________________ Capt. Mike Fisher
Stock Reduction Sale Ongoing
I don't know your area very well Jane so these recommendations may well be off base but ... What you get depends a lot on not just what you're going to fish for but the type of boat you will be fishing from. If you're fishing six pack style charter boats then a lot of gear will be provided, including trolling gear, and you may only need to acquire one or two personal outfits. If you're fishing private boats with friends, your friends may have a lot of high quality gear kept in good condition, or they may not. If they don't, you may need to acquire more gear. If you're fishing a party boat, the odds are you will need to provide most of your own gear.
I think it's probably best to hold off on buying a lot of gear until you have a better idea what you are going to be doing the most. In the meantime though a good quality spinning outfit gives you a lot of options. It's the best tool for casting lures to cobia, blackfin tuna, maybe yellowfin near the floaters/oil rigs. You could use the same outfit for working lighter/slimmer jigs deep for blackfin and amberjack. If cost is not an option, get a Shimano Stella spinning reel, load it up with 80 to 100 lb spectra line and match it to a custom heavy spinning rod in the 30 to 50 lb class. The rod is just as important as the reel - the right rod lets you cast as far, with as little effort, as possible. Ideally you should test-cast a few made-up blanks to get a feel for what length and action suits you best. If you prefer lighter tackle (ie. don't expect to do a lot of casting poppers to big yellowfin), 25 to 30 lb thin diameter monofilament and a spinning rod classed for maybe 25 to 40 lb line should do you just fine. Lower cost option - Penn 8500SS Spinfisher or Shimano TSS 4 Speedmaster.
The other outfit worth considering is some kind of heavier outfit for chunking and live bait fishing - ie. live flying fish at night near the Gulf oil rigs. If you fish six packs the skipper will probably supply appropriate gear, but you may need something like this if you're fishing party boats or if you decide you really prefer your own gear for this job. If you expect to fish large yellowfin at a place like the Midnight Lump you're going to need pretty heavy duty gear but if you expect to fish mainly blackfin or more medium sized yellowfin, you could use a lighter outfit. A 5'6" stand up rod in the light to medium 50 lb class (Seeker TS 55H or maybe XH should be fine) with a TLD2/30, Penn or Tiagra 30, 30W or 50, should do just fine.
Main thing though is to go fishing as much as you can and try as many different outfits as you can before plonking down the hard cash.
Thank you all for the advise thus far. So, let me offer a little more info ~
This will be my PERSONAL gear to use and I will be fishing from a 23' Pacific boat off the coast of Texas. We enjoy going anywhere from 20-50 miles out.
Here are my own personal thoughts so far ~ I'm looking to start off "small" and somewhat inexpensive but not cheap. I prefer to use Ugly Sticks for my rods as I have always had good luck with them in the past. I guess reels are my biggest issue. And while I am left-handed, I have more strength in my right arm and prefer to hold the rod with my right hand and reel with my left. Does that make any sense...? Maybe that's what I'm SUPPOSED to be doing. HA!
Anyway, we fish for red snapper, cobia, shark, king mackeral, and anything else that's biting EXCEPT for Jack Creval~ I HATE THOSE FISH!!! Also, I'm not looking to hook up with Orca or Moby Dick and prefer to stay with light tackle/gear. Would like to keep it in the #30 and under range. NOW any suggestions?
THANK YOU SO MUCH for the help so far! Appreciate all of you and your fishing wisdom.
Jane, go to the next big time local boat show with a trusted friend and accomplished angler. Go to everybodies booth and buy nothing. sleep on it and go the next day, haggel and buy. The Ft, Lauderdale show is comming up in a few weeks here and Half Hitch Tackle from Panama city alway shows up with a great spread. I buy 6-6 medium heavy semi custom rods for around 50$ we are talking the best guides and rods comparable to Star or G loomis for 35%. Its boat show season so find a good buddy who knows how you fish, buy him / her/ them/ a beer (they can buy their own ticket) and go to the shows. Remember, go the first day and look, then check retail pricing and sleep or jsut go to bed whatever.. and buy the next or better the last day of the show. Last day, last hour=great deals on great gear.
cheers,
Baitkiller
__________________ Baitkiller= Accredited Marine Surveyor
Bait fear me, fish just laugh.....
The little Dutch boy was just buying time...
Baitkiller has a good point. Every year there is a "Sportsman's Show" in the Superdome in New Orleans, at least there used to be. I always go because there is always very good deals on rods and reels. I generally know what I want, but I make sure I see everything before I buy. Last year I got a Tiagra 30WLRS for $399 with spectra spooling included. With the boat shows getting cranked up it might be a good place for you to get some of the stuff you want.
On the lefty issue. I am left handed also. I find the regular reels to be designed more for a left hander than a right. As in baseball, I catch with my right hand, which I have very little coordination with, and I throw with my left hand. I cast with my left hand because I have much more control with it. I could turn the handle with my toes if needed, but I need control when casting. It looks like most of the folks hear in the know are lefty's though, thank goodness.
I have a daughter that is left handed and loves to fish. She uses a penn 8500 open face for light/med and 6/0 for heavy. I found penn offered a left handed option for the penn 6/0 in the past. I have seen 3 and was told they had purchased them from a penn dealer. She wants one so guess I will be looking also.
Again Jane, I recommend the Shimano TLD25 at $135 spooled, with the rod of your choice in conventional lever drag, and the Diawa BG90 at $100 for a durable spinning reel. Both come left and right handed.
HELP~ female gulfcoast/offshore tackle/gear 
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