I use a 9ft 7wt flyrod which I bought as a blank and built as spinning rod. I've tried various ultra light rods but never found an action I liked in rod that was long enough to suit my needs until the I decided to make a fly rod in to a spinning rod. My first one was 8ft 6wt. After the first morning out on the beach with I was sold on the fly rod concept. Keep in mind at the time there wasn't really much on the market in terms longer ultra light rods. Kencor had a few models out but nothing in graphite. Today there are several companies manufacturing long ultra lights. I would recommend a rod 8 to 9' in length and I use a shimano TX 1000 reel. The 500 doesn't seem to have enough line capacity for the surf plus the 1000 is a lot more durable. These reels are strong and great bargain at $20 or even less on line. I have used some more expensive reels in the surf and have found even with lots of care they break just as fast as the cheaper reels so why spend the extra money. I have also found in the surf the reels with less berrings are better. Good luck.

JerryG