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Old 03-14-2017, 05:40 PM
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pinelakeperch pinelakeperch is offline
 
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Default Rod/reel suggestions

Hi everyone,

Thinking about looking into a new rod/reel come spring. Looking for something as multi-purpose as possible, but it would most often be used for bait fishing rivers. Something that can fight pike up to 20lbs, walleye up to 10lbs, but also light enough to fight goldeye, mooneye, etc. Thinking medium or medium heavy, 6ft6-7ft.

Any suggestions/experience is appreciated
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Old 03-14-2017, 05:56 PM
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Not super knowledgeable on such things, and I would venture that your budget will have an influence on the recommendations you get, but I really like my Ugly Stik GX-2 , several sizes available in spin and casting. CT has a few combos as well based on the GX-2 if you don't have a specific reel in mind.
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Old 03-14-2017, 06:09 PM
Bushleague Bushleague is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jhutter View Post
Hi everyone,

Thinking about looking into a new rod/reel come spring. Looking for something as multi-purpose as possible, but it would most often be used for bait fishing rivers. Something that can fight pike up to 20lbs, walleye up to 10lbs, but also light enough to fight goldeye, mooneye, etc. Thinking medium or medium heavy, 6ft6-7ft.

Any suggestions/experience is appreciated
Are you a mono guy or do you like braid? For bank fishing, river fishing, and pike my most used rod is a 6'6" Ugly Stick gx2 with a 4000 size Pflueger President spooled with 10 lb mono. With a smaller reel and lighter line the rod will work OK for trout too, but I have lighter rods for that.

I've tried a lot of different gear over the year but IMO both the Ugly Stick and the President represent excellent performance-vs-investment in medium priced gear.
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Last edited by Bushleague; 03-14-2017 at 06:14 PM.
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Old 03-14-2017, 07:50 PM
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Willowtrail Willowtrail is offline
 
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Not sure your budget but I would got with a

Shimano Compre 6'6" or 7'0"
Shimano 2500 Nasci
PowerPro 15lb
10lb Fluorocarbon Leader

I'll be running 2 of these setups this year as well as the same rods with the Symetre which was replaced by the Nasci

Great set up for sure
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Old 03-14-2017, 08:27 PM
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You don't mention a budget?

CT has had the Shimano Saros on sale for $99 at a few locations in a 3000 size. IMO that would be a good reel for what you are thinking of using it for. I got a Stradic Ci4+ 2500 for $129 at the Windermere store last week, which would also be good.

As far as rods, I had a Crucial that I really liked. Very sensitive, but enough to handle decent pike and walleye. Mine was a 6' 9" and Medium I believe. I would still have it except for a tip that got snapped off by an individual who shall remain un-named. When I replaced it they had moved from the cork grip to the EVA grip, which I didn't care for. I ended up replacing it with a G Loomis SJR722 which I love, but it was definitely more money.

SS
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Old 03-14-2017, 09:31 PM
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pinelakeperch pinelakeperch is offline
 
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Budget would be approximately $200 for the combo. Could stretch it a little higher if it were worth it. Thanks for the recommendations so far, taking a look at them.
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Old 03-15-2017, 10:52 AM
ETOWNCANUCK ETOWNCANUCK is offline
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Hit up the Bargain Caves at Cabelas.

But a Shimano Clarus or Compre paired with a Shimano Symetre spooled up with
Braid.
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Old 03-15-2017, 12:40 PM
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So many factors to consider. You mention bait fishing, what sort of weights do you need in your regular spots? If you can get away with 2 oz then you have a lot more options but if you need to chuck 3-4 oz then you need a heavier rod in order to cast the weight properly.

Is the rod only going to be used for bait fishing or do you want to cast with it too. If casting lures will you be using it to cast bigger spoons/crankbaits for pike or do you want to be able to cast light spoons, spinners and jigs for goldeye and walleye? No rod can do all of this stuff well, you either need to get multiple rods so you always have the right one or you need to make a compromise and pick what you plan to do primarily then live with having a mediocre rod when you decide to do something else with it.

My first recommendation no matter what type of rod you go for is to buy something at least 7' long if not 7'6 or even 8'. You will get much further casting distance. I also prefer slower action rods myself and try to find a mod fast if I can.

I have 3 rods that I use now when fishing the river. A 9' gloomis heavy power salmon rod that I use for sturgeon/bait fishing. A 7' fenwick methods spinning rod usually set up in MH mod fast(sometimes M mod fast) that I use for walleye, casting lures etc. Also a 7' fenwick eagle ML mod fast I use for casting small lures to goldeye, walleye etc.

You could get by with using something like my fenwick methods or any other similar rod(example 7' ugly stick MH) but it won't allow you to cast the 1/8-1/4 oz lures very well and isn't ideal for chucking 3 oz weights although can be done carefully with a loss to casting distance.

Which brings me to another point. You need to pick your line based on your technique too. For bait fishing I would probably use a 30 lb braid(50+ if going for sturgeon) and for light lures you want 10 lb braid. For my regular casting usually use 20 lb. Those weight of lines work good for what I use them for but not good if you change it up(20 lb line way too heavy for light lures and vice versa).
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Old 03-15-2017, 10:00 PM
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pinelakeperch pinelakeperch is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RavYak View Post
So many factors to consider. You mention bait fishing, what sort of weights do you need in your regular spots? If you can get away with 2 oz then you have a lot more options but if you need to chuck 3-4 oz then you need a heavier rod in order to cast the weight properly.

Is the rod only going to be used for bait fishing or do you want to cast with it too. If casting lures will you be using it to cast bigger spoons/crankbaits for pike or do you want to be able to cast light spoons, spinners and jigs for goldeye and walleye? No rod can do all of this stuff well, you either need to get multiple rods so you always have the right one or you need to make a compromise and pick what you plan to do primarily then live with having a mediocre rod when you decide to do something else with it.

My first recommendation no matter what type of rod you go for is to buy something at least 7' long if not 7'6 or even 8'. You will get much further casting distance. I also prefer slower action rods myself and try to find a mod fast if I can.

I have 3 rods that I use now when fishing the river. A 9' gloomis heavy power salmon rod that I use for sturgeon/bait fishing. A 7' fenwick methods spinning rod usually set up in MH mod fast(sometimes M mod fast) that I use for walleye, casting lures etc. Also a 7' fenwick eagle ML mod fast I use for casting small lures to goldeye, walleye etc.

You could get by with using something like my fenwick methods or any other similar rod(example 7' ugly stick MH) but it won't allow you to cast the 1/8-1/4 oz lures very well and isn't ideal for chucking 3 oz weights although can be done carefully with a loss to casting distance.

Which brings me to another point. You need to pick your line based on your technique too. For bait fishing I would probably use a 30 lb braid(50+ if going for sturgeon) and for light lures you want 10 lb braid. For my regular casting usually use 20 lb. Those weight of lines work good for what I use them for but not good if you change it up(20 lb line way too heavy for light lures and vice versa).
I'm not as serious a fisherman as you, so I'm not necessarily concerned about all of these aspects. I'll answer your questions chronologically.

2oz weight, max. Usually 1oz.

Almost solely for casting bait set ups (slip sinker rig). Want the ability to be able to cast spoons and spinners if necessary, but the rod will be a dedicated bait fishing rod.

Want to keep it under 8ft, preferably a max of 7ft. Just a personal preference.

Good point with 30lb braid, might as well play it safe!
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Old 03-15-2017, 10:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SamSteele View Post

CT has had the Shimano Saros on sale for $99 at a few locations in a 3000 size. IMO that would be a good reel for what you are thinking of using it for. I got a Stradic Ci4+ 2500 for $129 at the Windermere store last week, which would also be good.
Do you happen to know if they have anymore stradics available for that price? That's a great deal I would like to pick one up.

Thanks
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Old 03-15-2017, 10:42 PM
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RavYak RavYak is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jhutter View Post
I'm not as serious a fisherman as you, so I'm not necessarily concerned about all of these aspects. I'll answer your questions chronologically.

2oz weight, max. Usually 1oz.

Almost solely for casting bait set ups (slip sinker rig). Want the ability to be able to cast spoons and spinners if necessary, but the rod will be a dedicated bait fishing rod.

Want to keep it under 8ft, preferably a max of 7ft. Just a personal preference.

Good point with 30lb braid, might as well play it safe!
I would look for a 7' M or a lighter MH, a mod fast will help you cast the lighter lures a bit better and fight the fish better. As hinted at in the other post it won't be ideal for light lures and won't work for heavier weights but you should be able to cast 1 oz easy enough and 2 oz occasionally and it will handle any fish as long as you play them enough.

Ugly sticks are tough and cheap and worth considering especially for a bait rod. Rods like a Compre, Clarus etc as others mentioned will be a bit more sensitive but that doesn't really matter that much when bait fishing a river. All comes down to personal preference and if you can find a good deal what will work best.

Match it with a 2500 or 3000 size shimano(or equivalent pfleuger) and use 20 lb power pro super slick(I wouldn't go to 30 cause won't be able to cast small lures then, super slick is worth the extra cost cause you will get longer casting out of it) and should be good to go. 20 lb fluoro leader probably the way to go, 8 lb fluoro line for a leader if tossing smaller lures for goldeye/walleye.
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Old 03-16-2017, 06:49 AM
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SamSteele SamSteele is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ab_hunter View Post
Do you happen to know if they have anymore stradics available for that price? That's a great deal I would like to pick one up.



Thanks

I ordered a Pflueger Patriarch through their website at that price. They weren't able to fill the order so I convinced them to replace it with the Stradic as it was discontinued from their line going forward and it was the last one in the 2500 that the store had. It wasn't an advertised price.

SS


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Old 03-16-2017, 09:00 AM
Walleyedude Walleyedude is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SamSteele View Post
I ordered a Pflueger Patriarch through their website at that price. They weren't able to fill the order so I convinced them to replace it with the Stradic as it was discontinued from their line going forward and it was the last one in the 2500 that the store had. It wasn't an advertised price.

SS
That's some smooth talking lol.

They probably lost big $$$ on that reel at $129.
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Old 03-16-2017, 10:00 AM
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LOL. Yeah. I really didn't need another reel, but I couldn't pass up that deal.




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Old 03-16-2017, 06:43 PM
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I ended up picking up a Saros 2500 for $100 at CT. Pretty good deal as well.
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