what it sounds like would be best for you is a what we call a hatteras heaver or 8 n' bait setup. for thesurf there are a number orreels the most popular being abu's and reels like the aformentioned boss magnum and some model penns. the most distinctaspect are the rods, long and strong they range from 10-13 feetmornaly and are often called telephone poles. these are often fiberglass butrecentlynew graphite version are becoming availible. as the name suggest these rods are designed to cast as much as 8-10 oz of lead along with large pieces of bait, often chunks of a fish weighing a 1/4lb all far enough to reach an outer bar, well more then 50 yards.
the biggest concern remaining is that of rod length as while coastal anglers often have plenty of room behind them river and lake anglers like yourself may not. a sorter rod may be necesary
in addition most every quality 8 n' bait is custom made due to the difficulties of casting such setups.
last, you may want to look at either the bailess penn 704Z or thevanstall series of bailless spining reels, both of which will hold ample line eitherbraid or mono and yet negate thepromlem of bails flippingon the cast  |