Looking to upgrade old worn out gear. I'm looking for a rod and reel will be fishing mainly halibut and striped bass. Lingcod occasionally and rock fish. Would a 5000 size shimano vanford work for that type of fishing as I was looking at that specific reel and for a spinning reel? Also if so what fishing rod would you recommend.? Thank you in advance

We do not support shimano products, have some issues regarding their marketing, anti-competitive practices. First a few questions for you:
1. What pound test line are you planning?
2. Where are you fishing?
3. Private boat or party boat?

alright i use straight 20lb mono line fishing in the san francisco bay mostly. The setup would be used for a private boat.

Well, I'll not tell you what to buy - that is your choice. For what you're doing no doubt 20# is a good fit. I'm not a shimano guy, prefer Daiwa's spinning reels, and we very happily represent Okuma and Penn in this category...and Van Staal and other manufacturers. So, there's some subjective play for sure. All are good pieces, but in my mind Daiwa's attention to saltwater corrosion issues makes their spinning reels particularly atractive. I like what they've done to improve upon solid reels like their BG and Saltist series - with the MQ versions of each really moving the bar higher. Look at these closely, nice reels. For the rods, two ways to go, USA made and offshore made - with china being the country of origin for most imports. Difference, plenty of differences, and perhaps a $100 difference between USA and offshore rods. I prefer the USA built gear, subjective. There are also differences in actions of rods, if fishing more artificals or more bait. Makes a difference...