7 Best Surf Fishing Rods Review – Top Surf Rods of 2021

Surf fishing is a challenge that a lot of anglers love to keep on taking. Strength, Knowledge, and sound gear everything play a significant role in surf fishing. But don’t worry, I will review the five best surf fishing rods in this article.

Knowledge and strength are something that the angler has to develop on its own gradually over time. But I can surely help with the gear.

Talking about gear, in surf fishing, the item that requires maximum attention is the rod. And in this very guide, I will walk you through the 5 best surf fishing rods on the market so that you don’t end up investing in the wrong one.

7 Best Surf Rods Comparison

Image Product Details   Price
Okuma Fishing Tackle CSX-S-1102MH Cedros Surf CSX Graphite Saltwater Spinning Rods Okuma Fishing Tackle CSX-S-1102MH Cedros Surf CSX Graphite Spinning Rods Line weight: 30 – 50 lb.
Lure weight:
2 – 5 oz.
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Fiblink Surf Spinning & Casting Fishing Rod Fiblink Surf Spinning & Casting Fishing Rod Line weight: 20 – 40 lb.
Lure weight:
3 – 8 oz.
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Tica UGSA Series Surf Spinning Fishing Rod Tica UGSA Series Surf Spinning Fishing Rod Line weight: 15 – 40 lb.
Lure weight:
4 – 10 oz.
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Fiblink Surf Spinning Fishing Rod 2-Piece Graphite Travel Fishing Rod Fiblink Surf Spinning Fishing Rod 2-Piece Graphite Travel Fishing Rod Line weight: 20 – 40 lb. Lure weight: 4 – 8 oz. Check Price
PENN Fishing Squadron III Surf Conventional Fishing Rod PENN Fishing Squadron III Surf Conventional Fishing Rod Line weight: 12 – 20 lb.
Lure weight:
1 – 4 oz.
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St. Croix Rods Avid Series Surf Casting Rod St. Croix Rods Avid Series Surf Casting Rod Line weight: 15 – 40 lb.
Lure weight:
3 – 8 oz.
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Ugly Stik Bigwater Spinning Rod Ugly Stik Bigwater Spinning Rod Line weight: 20 – 40 lb.
Lure weight:
3 – 8 oz.
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1.Okuma Fishing Tackle CSX-S-1102MH Surf Rod – Best Surf Casting Rod for Long Distance

Key Specifications

  • Line weight: 30 – 50 lb.
  • Lure weight: 2 – 5 oz.
  • Rod weight: 12.7 oz.
  • Line guides: 7 + Tip.
  • Product section: 2 pc.
  • Rod length: 11-inch. 

Presenting one of the best surf rods on the market right now, the Okuma Fishing Tackle CSX-S-1102 MH. Durability, good weight, top-notch line guides, good grip, and a lot in this rod impress the user. So let’s get into everything one by one.

The way this surf rod is constructed enhances the skill of the angler. It is built with 30-ton carbon fiber blanks, and the line guides are made of 316-grade stainless steel material, which is incredibly durable.

This rod is highly responsive, which is extremely important and is very durable. The action is pretty fast, and power is better than rods made of IM-6 graphite material.

The stainless steel line guides also have super hard Zirconium inserts, which are needed if the angler uses a braided line. Rod tapers are fast, and an angler can achieve a reasonable casting distance. With this rod, the casting stroke will be pretty smooth and convenient as well.
Though this is known as a spinning rod, it works equally well on baitcasting reel as well.

It features a Non-slip rubber shrink tube handle which makes holding the rod extremely convenient. On top of that, though this is a big rod, it isn’t that heavy. So that handle and weight will help you to hold this rod for more extended periods.

If you are looking for good surf fishing rods, look no further than this one, it is one of the best Okuma surf fishing rods. Not only that, you will see this very rod in every top 10 surf fishing rods list.

Key Specifications

  • Line weight: 20 – 40 lb.
  • Lure weight: 3 – 8 oz.
  • Rod Weight: 14.5 oz.
  • Line guides: 8 + Rod tip.
  • Rod sections: 3 pc. 
  • Rod length: 11-inch. 

If you are looking for the best budget surf rods, the Fiblink Surf Spinning and casting rod is one of them. For optimum durability, this rod is constructed with carbon fiber material.

This material improves the action performance and makes the rod sensitive as well. At the same time, this rod is extremely tough and makes it suitable for boat fishing.

It also features composite blanks along with stainless steel line guides. The impressive thing about these line guides is that they feature ceramic as well, making it butter smooth for the line to pass through. There is no line sticking and very minimal friction.

The smooth line guide makes this one of the good long-cast surf rods.
It comes with a high-quality reel seat as well. And for convenience and good grip, it features a rugged and tacky rubber shrink tube handlebar.

As I mentioned before, this is a sensitive rod so that the angler will notice even the slightest bite. Overall I would say this would be a great catch for those who are on a tight budget. The low price makes it one of the best surf rods for the money.

On top of that, the manufacturer offers a 1-year warranty for this rod.

3.Tica UGSA Series Surf Spinning Rod – Best Tica Surf Fishing rod

Key Specifications

  • Line weight: 15 – 40 lb.
  • Lure Weight: 4 – 10 oz.
  • Rod Weight: 20 oz.
  • Line Guides: 6 + Rod tip.
  • Rod Section: 2 pc.
  • Rod Length: 12-inch.

Here comes one of the best 12 ft surf fishing rods, the Tica UGSA Surf Rod. It is one of the top-notch long surf fishing rods on the market right now. With good strength, sensitivity, and castability, this rod has everything that an angler needs in surf fishing.

It is constructed from high modulus TC3 graphite material. It is a good material for rods, though not as good as Carbon fiber. But this Tica UGSA series rod is pretty tough and is excellent in long-casting hard baits like spoons and topwater.

The rod features Fuji Hardloy ring guides and an Alconite tip guide. All these together make sure the line flows through butter smoothly and creates very minimum heat.

This rod is pretty lightweight for the size, so carrying it to the beach and fishing for prolonged periods wouldn’t be a big problem. On top of that, it comes with a non-slip cork handle which gives a decent grip. However, the rubber handle wouldn’t have worked way better, but that being said, cork handles aren’t that bad.

It comes with a Fuji DPS reel seat and matches perfectly with Tica’s Abyss, Scepter, Tailsman, and Samira reels. It is a great surf fishing rod; with the right skill, this rod is unbeatable.

Key Specifications

  • Line weight: 20 – 40 lb.
  • Lure Weight: 4 – 8 oz.
  • Rod Weight: 17.85 oz.
  • Line Guides: 5 + Rod tip. 
  • Rod Section: 2 pc.
  • Rod Length: 12-inch. 

And here comes another carbon fiber-constructed surf rod that has already impressed a lot of anglers. A highly sensitive surf rod ready to dominate the saltwater. Thanks to its carbon fiber construction, it makes the rod pretty durable and tough, making it suitable for boat fishing.

The line guides of this rod are made of stainless steel and have ceramic to make sure the line flows through smooth like water. These impressive line guides cause very low friction and enable the angler to make long, smooth casts.

Don’t worry about the line alignment at all; everything is aligned in an ideal way, including the reel seat.

The features of This rod are a non-slip rubber shrink tube handle and tapered rear grip as well. In addition, It is a heavy power surf rod with fast action. Durability, castability, and sensitivity, this very rod got everything right.

5.Penn Squadron III Surf Conventional Rod – Affordable Penn Surf Fishing Rod

Key Specifications

  • Line weight: 12 – 20 lb.
  • Lure Weight: 1 – 4 oz.
  • Rod Weight: 13.9 oz.
  • Line Guides: 7 + Rod Tip.
  • Rod Section: 2 pc.
  • Rod Length: 10 – inch.

For those who are on a tight budget and looking for a decent surf fishing rod within that, I have the Penn Squadron III Surf rod. It comes at a very low price, and according to the price, this is a great performer.

It got rubber composite blank construction which provides decent durability. It has one-piece stainless steel dura guides; the guides are smooth enough to let the line through smoothly.

Plus, with this rod, you get a super comfortable shrink tube and an Eva grip handle which makes holding the rod very convenient.

You cannot compare this surf rod with high-end expensive ones for an apparent reason, but this Penn Squadron does well for the price.

6.St. Croix Rods Avid Series Surf Casting Rod

Key Specifications

  • Line weight: 15 – 40 lb.
  • Lure Weight: 3 – 8 Oz.
  • Rod Weight: 13.0 Oz.
  • Line Guides: 7
  • Rod Section: 2 pc.
  • Rod Length: 11’0”

St Croix avid surf is startling-looking rod charcoal, and it’s a gorgeous color rod.

The response so far has been tremendous with the consumers and the color and certainly looks promising. Yeah, it picks up the color of your eyes. Precisely what St. Croix did on this rod is that they included some high-end material on it, including premium SCIII carbon. So it’s an extremely high modulus rod.

It incorporates integrated poly curve technology, which smooths out the transition points in the rod, gives you a more uniform wall thickness through the rod, So a more durable rod in the long run.

If you notice, the St Croix avid surf rods are tangle-free guides. Yeah, and they are forward, aren’t they? Yep. And the idea behind that is if you do get a line wrap, it will untangle itself while you’re casting. In addition, with fewer tangles and less snap terminal, terminal tactics aren’t losing as many plugs.

So you’re now noticing this trim pieces machine out of Delrin plastic. Yes, indeed, St Croix is manufacturing all these trim pieces themself. And one of the unique things is the bud section which has a rubber walking cushion. More interestingly, that’s replaceable; it’s in there with a stainless steel screw.

So it has got two ranges of rods, it starts at an 11-foot medium-light goes in a spin, and goes all the way up to a 12 foot heavy moderate fast. This rod got great court tape on it so that you can feel the blank right through it. And indeed, you don’t have to worry about dealing with any rubber.

7. Ugly Stik Bigwater Spinning Rod

Key Specifications

  • Line weight: 20 – 40 lb.
  • Lure Weight: 3 – 8 Oz.
  • Rod Weight: 13.62 Oz.
  • Line Guides: 7
  • Rod Section: 1/2 pc.
  • Rod Length: 7’2”/11’0″

The next one will be on the ugly stick big water rod, the 7-foot medium. And then the 12 foot heavy, two pieces to make it more convenient.

So yeah, let’s get right into it. Okay, to start with, I’m just going to tell you some of the features of these rods; they both have a glow-tip, So if you are a night fisherman, that might help you out.

Both got stainless steel guides; powerful, maybe not the most like sensitive guides if that’s what you’re looking for, but they’re very durable and heavy. You can use these rods more for bait fishing or casting heavier lures. Using lighter lures will not be very effective for this fishing rod.

Moving further, both have a lovely little rat pattern. The 12 foot is primarily for surf fishing and has a super long grip. 7 foot doesn’t have as much grip, but it still has a decent one. These ugly sticks are pretty much indestructible.

So for a big game, offshore fishing, or just any big game, I would recommend the 7-foot medium. You can use it even for vertical jigging. The 12 foot, 20- 40 lb. 3 to 8 oz. rattle cast pretty far, but it’s not quite. It feels a little bit flimsier than I feel like it should be. But generally, these rods are both pretty heavy-duty, and they’re going to catch some big fish.

Alright, guys, that’s pretty much it for Ugly Stick Bigwater. I would recommend them to anybody trying to catch some big fish. It’s pretty much any big fish, whether it be catfish or dawn the freshwater side.

Final words

These 5 are some of the best Surf fishing rods on the market. Of course, I am not saying that these are the only best. But according to the users, these rods are doing pretty well. Still, I would urge you to do minor research on your own on these recommended 5 models and then decide whether you should pick one or not. I hope you get your hands on the best surf rod soon.

Also Read: Top Trout Fishing Lines

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