Rod/reel pairing advice

[OCFishie]

Hi guys,
I'm fairly new at this and am looking for advice on what to do with my setups for better performance. I fish mainly on private boat using live bait (sardines and squid).

I started out a few years ago with a Penn Squall 30 using 50lb spiderwire braid but recently reused my 65 lb Western Filament Tuf-Line XP from my Fathom when I respooled that. The squall is paired with 7' Ugly Stik MH 20-50 lb rod.

My Fathom 30LD2 is paired with a Phenix PSW 700H 20-60 lb. I respooled that with 100 lbs Tuf-Line when we went after bigger fish last year. Was this a mistake? I go straight to Seaguar fluoro (30-50lbs).

I also added a Makaira 30II-SEa last year (130 lbs store brand braid?) and it is paired with a Phenix Axis HAX 760X3H 60-130 lb rod. It has a couple yards of 100lb mono topshot. I use this for flatfalls.

Advice greatly appreciated!
Thanks.

 

[migelito]

100# spectra is heavy for the fathom 30 you lose a lot of capacity. I’d go with 65#. The mak30/axis 3x is a good combo for 100# leader. If you plan on using 130# leader a 4x would be a better option.

 

[OCFishie]

Thanks, I’ll put the 65 back one the Fathom.