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Got out yesterday with Tim Hales, a solid 8+" of ice where we were. It started off slow, didn't have a single bite in the first hour. Then I landed a nice one and as the day progressed so did the bite. It never got crazy busy but the ones we were getting were all good size most were in the 11 to 13" range with several over 13. Now here's the interesting part. My fishing partner was using our triditional drop shot rig, he caught 10 fish all day. Of all the other huts we talked to, most reported 6 to maybe 15 fish, I used my new secret weapon.

Yep...Nice mess of fishes !...Reminds me of fall fishing with Crappieperchunter !

I surf fish in Florida several times a year. Freshwater reels WILL get destroyed by the salt water, I learned the hard way. The best bang for your buck for salt water gear is Penn. They make solid rods and reels at a very good price. They can be purchased from either Amazon or Walmart. I have various sizes of rods and reels depending on what species I'm fishing. For smaller fish, I use a 7-8' rod with a 2500-3000 reel. For larger species I'll use a 10-11' rod with a 3000-5000 reel. I hope this helps

Daiwa BG is hard to beat for a good quality saltwater reel that won't break the bank. The 5000 series is a good size with loads of line capacity, yet still not too big or heavy. They're simple, solid reels with very good drags and no issues. You can find them for around $200 - $235 Canadian ... with reasonable care they will last for many, many years.