Cabelas XML spinning rod and Cabelas Prestige reel advice needed

[waxworm09]

I am looking into buying a 6 and a half foot XML rod and a Prestige reel.Does anyone on here own either of these? If so are they good quality? They are on sale right now, the rod was 139 on sale for 49, and the reel was 49 now on sale for 25, so it seems like a great deal. Ive never owned a combo worth over 30 bucks, so I have no clue what to look for, or dont even know the difference between a high quality combo and a cheap one. Any help would be great. Also, I will be using it for walleye fishing, I mainly cast jigs, Lindy rig, and troll bottom bouncers with spinners, would you recommend the medium or the medium light action? Thanks

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

A couple months ago there was a boat load of Prestige reels in the bargain cave. They were marked way down so I checked them out. Out of the 10-15 of them, they were all squeeky, rough, and some were borderline falling apart. I'd stay away from them.

[snowman678]

I can't speak for the reel, but at $49, the XML is a great rod. I have a couple that I paid around $60 for and have been happy w/ them. I would say that at the full price, they are over priced compared to St. Croix, Fenwick etc., but you can't get much for $50 anymore. Another option for reels would be Cabela's tournament ZX (made by Daiwa), they are on sale in the bargain cave for $50 or $45 for Cabelas club members. I have been very happy w/ this reel (I have 3 of them now and plan on picking up 1 or 2 more). They are very smooth and I haven't had a problem w/ any of them w/ over 3 years of use.

[waxworm09]

Thanks for the advice, what rod action would you recommend? I am deciding between the 6 and a half foot medium action, or the medium light action. I mainly cast jigs and lindy rig, but I also troll spinners.

[snowman678]

I would go with the medium for what you are using it for.

[MuskieJunkie]

I have a prestige reel, I believe they are made by Flueger, the first one I got was not put together correctly and I had to exchange it (after I found out the problem on a 3 day fishing trip). They're made in China and IMO very low quality with very poor quality control, just like what Lip Ripper was saying. I won't buy another one, but the one I have now I keep as a spare and it works well.

The cabelas brand rods are good for the price (they're on sale all the time) I think and the best part is the warrenty, I walked in with one that was a couple years old and broken (by my friend, not a manufacturer issue) no reciept and they exchanged it for me. I'm going to keep buying the cabelas rods for spares, kid and trolling use.