Okuma Rockaway Light Weight Carbon Saltwater Surf Rods

I read a lot of reviews and watched several Youtube reviews before purchasing this rod on Amazon. Nobody in the greater Orlando area had one that I could go touch and hold. I received 2 rods on Friday and fished them Saturday. I paired them with Daiwa BG 4500 reels with 15# Mono. If you were going to cast lures with this rod all day then I would think a BG 4000 would balance well depending on what you were targeting. I have a few of these new generation Daiwa BGs already and can't say enough good about them. As for size and balance the Daiwa BG 4500 runs big so it is about the size and has the line capacity of the Penn Spinfisher 6000. With this reel combo the outfit is balanced very well.I will use these rods to surf fish Central Florida East Coast mostly from Flagler to Sebastian.I was skeptical of the rods capabilities on the first impression out of the box because of how incredibly light and thin that it was (see pic of tip on a US Quarter). The rest of the rod is beautiful. The appearance and finish is just really nice. I read some reviews about the reel seats loosening up or inability to get tight, I did not experience any of that maybe it was their reel choice. Yesterday we started with throwing 2 oz pyramid sinkers with a double dropper mono pompano rig. The rod loaded well and flung nicely. I later used a 2 oz sputnik just to hold better. I did not need to throw a 3 oz weight yesterday but did just to test the rod and it didn't feel much different loading than the 2 oz. In the winter we may need to go 4 oz occasionally but mostly a 3 oz sputnik will do everything we need to hold. I don't do too much lure casting in the surf with long rods but with as light as this is I would think I could cast it as much as a 7' rod, coming from Ugly Stiks that is something I wouldn't have considered. I think the days of surf fishing with 15' rods and 8000 series reels are gone for me anyway, in hindsight I would have checked baits a whole lot more often with a setup like this vs those.The tip is super sensitive yet the rod surprisingly has plenty of backbone for as thin as it is, again my expectations were exceeded. We only caught small Whiting and Croakers yesterday but pretty confident it will handle bigger fish with ease, I have been fishing for 46 years or so and have a pretty good idea. I will likely purchase two more of these rods before the fall surf fishing here really gets going. For summer surf fishing or flat days in my area I would also think the Rockaway 8' MH with a Daiwa BG 3500 or 4000 would be just fine when there is not heavy surf. No reason to throw huge rods on flat days.Bottom line is obviously from my review I would recommend and I would purchase again.UPDATE 6/18/20Well after fishing these for a while I decided to change the reels on these to the Daiwa BG4000, it is the same reel size as the 3500 but with a bigger spool and line capacity. I did this for the sole purpose of shaving weight. The rod was pretty balanced with the 4500 but the 4000 is 1/2 pound lighter and it just makes these rods that much more comfortable to throw and hold and the wife can handle them better. I could definitely use these for big plug casting with the smaller real with ease. Hope this helps folks make a decision.Update 5/26/22I’m still using these rods with the smaller Daiwa BG4000. They have held up well, we have caught some larger Pompano along with the usual Whiting. The little butt balls on the bottom tip have gotten slightly scuffed from my rod holders. I put some black rubber weather stripping in the bottom of the rod holders to prevent that from worsening. I would still but these again but the fact is that I will probably not tear these up beyond use in the rest of my surf days. I did not purchase two more like I was planning. I actually bought two 9’ rods made for steelhead fishing. They are super light and can handle 2oz pretty well and I fish right off the beach with them in the trough. I use the 10’ Rockaway ti cast ti that same trough when the tide is higher and I need to throw further. Bottom line is that I still love these rods and the finish seems to be weathering more fairly than the heavy Ugly Sticks that I was married to for so long. Get you one or two of these.

In love with the sensitivity. Worth every penny and is built sturdy. The blue and carbon accents make it look sweet too.

The media could not be loaded. I was optimistic about the rod and read great reviews for it but it let me down. After waiting for the for over a week I went to the beach and walked over a mile to my favorite surf fishing spot.Tied on a lucky craft lure that was well within the rods rating and casted it for the first time and the rod just snapped right above where the two pieces connect.It may have been damaged during delivery as the rod was only wrapped in a thin plastic bag and not even in a box. No visual damage on the rod when received but I did not inspect it thoroughly as I was more excited about fishing.I do own a regular Okuma Rockaway 10' that I purchased at local sporting goods store that is rated medium heavy and I love it... I was hoping to feel the same way about this meduim light Rockaway SP 10'

I got the RA-S-1002MH, which is the two-piece, ten-foot spinning rod rated at 12-25lb line and 1-4oz casting weight. (I also got a 902m, see below) This thing tapers down to a fairly thin tip but still has a lot of power--I don't doubt that it could lob 3oz without a problem. It has a one-year warranty, so we'll have to see how it holds up. Made in China but the quality seems very good so far--will update if I can, once I it use it more. BTW a Daiwa BG4000 is about balanced on this rod, although it could take one size larger--possibly a 6000 in a Shimano Spheros SW.A word of caution and consternation--it's shipped loose in a plastic bag flopping around within an oversized cardboard box, and not supported or cushioned in any way. This is the second rod I've got from Amazon and both were packaged this way. With even the cheapest most everyday items so wastefully overpackaged these days, this left me unpleasantly surprised, but so far it looks like the rod is ok.Update: I was impressed enough with these rods to order the 902m version, which bridges a gap between an old Shimano Clarus spin rod I have and the 1002mh. With the 902m I should be able to throw most of the hard baits I prefer with one rod, as its rated at a 1/2 to 1 1/2 ounce lure weight. I wanted to visit the packaging of these rods again. My 902m arrived in an 8-foot x 6 inch box with virtually no supporting packing materials. They put two 4 1/2 foot rod sections in the box with nothing but a thin plastic bag which isn't even taped closed! When I opened the box the two halves of the rod were not even in the bag anymore but 100 percent loose! These rods have a fairly rugged matt finish and that helps prevent cosmetic scratches a little, but well, this just is not a smart way to send a fishing rod across the country folks.I could bash the packagers further, both at Okuma and Amazon, but I won't. I'm sure enough has been said. Just know you are taking a chance ordering a rod from them and don't be too surprised when you get yours and its flopping around in a monstrously long hollow box, the two halves banging against eachother over and over. OTOH, you can order most any $10 styrafoam-cocooned product from Amazon and receive it packaged and cushioned well enough to survive being stepped on and thrown around the room. Like most other things these days, this doesn't make a lot of sense.

Love this rod!Very sensitive but has enough backbone to haul in the tanks.I use mine mostly for surf perch and for the cost, it’s a great rod!I would recommend using it for any surf or jetty application for perch, bottom fish, crab, lings, salmon.If you haven’t, you should.

Arrived in good condition