does size matter...

[JimmyCricket]

I live in the central part of the state, and mostly freshwater fish. I am planning on doing more saltwater fishing in the future, especially from the pier, and maybe a little from the surf.

Where I come from when we think of saltwater fishing we tend to think of big reel and rod combos...at least a size 5 reel, and a 7ft rod, and that's just for pier fishing...our imaginations run wild when we dream up what it takes to fish in the surf.

I have been reading old post here and it seems a lot of you are using smaller set ups, such as a size 4 reel. Is this because of the new braided lines that allow even a smaller reel to hold a couple hundred yards of line...or was it simply overkill all along to use those larger combos?

I would also be interested in everyone's therory on rods for pier fishing. Unless the rod is really cheap (and will weigh nothing), when I put a size 4 reel on say a 7ft ugly stik BW the rod feel so tip heavy with that light reel trying to balance it all.

Also is braided line the way to go for saltwater fishing these days...I tend to still use mono for my freshwater fishing.

Thanks for any responses, I have just discoverd this message board and am enjoying all the old post. Jimmy