A six weight is fine for the salt, you just have to take your time casting and fighting fish. I landed a 30" fish just the other day fishing with no probelms in windy surf with my six weight with a 9wt line on it. Try and find someone that will let you try some different line sizes on your rod and then go buy the one that feels best on it. It is a lot cheaper to buy a new line than to buy a whole new setup. That gearhead bandwagon gets expensive quick