Combo for Bait & Combo for Lures?

[Kero5hin]

I am an addicted fisherman for NEPA. I fish for everything from Trout and Bluegill to Catfish and Muskie.
On my last vacation to DE beaches, I brought my gear and fished the Indian River Inlet. Caught two stripers! I want to get more into the action and needed some surf fishing gear besides my musky rod. During the Spring to Fall months, I head to the jersey shore a few times and would like to bring my fishing gear with me. I rather fish with lures instead of bait on most occassions. I feel more involved and dont get bored as easy if things are biting.
I dont have much money and I will probably only get to surf fish a handful of times throughout the year so I didnt want to spend a ton of money. I got a very inexpensive Penn SV8000 silverado reel and pursuit rod combo. It is 10' and rated for 15-30lb line. ....its big and heavy. I cant imagine chucking lures with this all day. The setup seems to be more used for bait?
 
So my question.....

Are these big reel/rod surf combos commonly used when fishing with lures too or is a smaller setup better?

...Thanks so much for your help and opinions.

[ChrisL]

Welcome aboard 

For the surf 9ft-10ft is perfect, even for plugs.  That Pursuit rod is rated for 2-6oz I believe.  That rating includes the sinker and bait, so it will really only handle 4oz sinker plus clams or a small chunk.  The rod may be on the heavier side to handle, but it would handle 2-3oz lures fine.  So that rod is probably a decent basic rod for doing a combo of lures and light bait.  If the water is rough or you're looking to toss a bunker head, it's too light.

The Silverado is a lower quality reel.  It will work fine for you for as often as you intend to use it, just make sure you don't dunk it or drop it in the sand.

Good luck out there and enjoy.

[Kero5hin]

Thanks for your input. Now I just need to get back down the shore and test it out.

I will have to post my results when I get there.

Thanks again!

[Hotrod]