I have a Penn Spinfisher 850SS and was thinking of using it for bottom fishing at Southern Islands, SCS, Rompin (is it possible?).
Questions:
1.) Can the reel face up to the challenge at the above mentioned terrain?
2.) what would be a matching rod? My budget is max. $200.
3.) can the reel/rod be used at Rompin?
I've no experience with this reel but looking at the reel specs, it should be of no problem using it locally. It has good line capacity although I can't find it's drag power. I believe the main concern will the torque of the reel, meaning how heavy of a sinker you can easily crank up with it. This shouldn't be a problem in Singapore waters but it may be of concern for regional waters where water is deeper with stronger current. You can test this yourself by adding increasing load(sinker size) to the line(reel) and try cranking it to see how heavy of a sinker you can go.
As for the rod, I would recommend a PE 2-4 or 3-5 rating but take note of the lure weight it can handle. You will want something high side, typically more than 200g. If you want something good and affordable, do look at Eupro jigging rods. Shakespeare Tidewater or even Daiwa Monster Mesh is good too if you can push a little more.
