Best all around rod

[ryanmitchell]

SO my brother just bought a new Pflueger supreme reel, the 8035 model. He wants to pair it with a good all around rod. I suggested the Fenwick Elite Tech 7'2" rigging, in the medium action. He wants a medium heavy. I have a 7' berkley MH. I like the rod. He got the idea with the walleye fishing in mind, but today he said he wants to hop in the boat, drink his coffee, take in all the conditions and then choose the lure. I like to have all rods rigged and ready to go before we hit the lake.

Anyway, requirements are MH, 7' (give or take a couple inches), and under $150. The new fenwick with the new grip is sweet, with $20 coupon from Cabelas and a free windbreaker from Fenwick, sounds like a great deal. If he doesn't get it, I might have too! He thinks he wants to go with 8-10 lb mono to address all situations, fyi. I am a flouro guy unless throwing topwater. We do a lot of musky fishing, that is my topwater fix or some bassin.

Any sugestions would be great. Fire away.

[ryanmitchell]

We do a lot of wacky senko bassin, lindy riggin crawler or minnows with 1/2 or 3/8 ounce sinker for walleyes.

[Jim Almquist]

Ryan from the description of your weights I have to believe your fishing for walleyes mostly in rivers because when I fish the lakes in Minnesota I rarely go over 1/4oz when Lindy rigging unless there is some serious chop. When I am jigging my favorite size's are 1/8 to 1/4oz unless I am in deep water then it could be 3/8 to 1/2oz so the rods I use have a lot faster tips for bite detection and feel. I will also use the same rods for pulling plugs with no problems but will change out the spool for heavier line. My 2 favorite rods are both 6'6" medium lite. One is a St. Croix Legend and the other is a GLoomis IMX.

[solbes]

I have a St Croix Med/Fast 6'6" Avid. I'd go longer to 7' if your boat is setup for it. Lifetime warranty, very good sensitivity, and close to the $150 mark.. Very versatile rod for almost all situations. Not sure I'd want a MH rod for walleye fishing, even with 1/2 - 3/8 sinker.

[OnAFly]

I've got a 6'6" Med. Fenwick HMG I love. It can handle 6-12 lb line and is a great multipurpose rod. At $120, it's not bad priced either.

[Mike Walerak]

For me it would be a 6'9" Smoothie from Limit Creek This rod will perform all you mentioned for $90.00 I own several and they are great all purpose rods.

mw

[ryanmitchell]

Jim we don't fish any rivers. We were up at vermilion over labor day last year. My brother and I hired a musky guide, other guys in my group hired a walleye guide. I had honestly not fished much for walters. Once we got together and shared info, we went out the next day to test the knowledge. 3/8 was the suggested size. 3/8 sinker with a 4 foot leader, just one bead and a goldish/orange hook, half a crawler. Trolling not too fastin 25-30 FOW, i caught a 20,23, and 24" in 20 minutes. Totally awesome. I broke my biggest walleye mark in three consecutive fish. Had another lunker on a couple hours later in a different spot, but he broke off behind the boat. Caught a few more that weekend using the same technique. It made the trip. V is a great walleye lake.

I was using my berkley 7' MH, 8 pound flouro, 8 pound flouro leader, single hook one bead setup. I could feel the bites really well. I think I would feel the walleye bite a little better with the medium action, but I did fine with MH. i think the Medium feeds the bait to the fish a little better. Reason I got the medium heavy was for a good hookset on plastic fishing for bass.

When we got back home I tried 10lb flouro with 8 lb leaders and had no luck. Of course sw wisconsin lakes don't compare to V, but still.

I just love the new cork on the Fenwicks. I will look at these other rods mentioned. Thanks. We are going back to the Chippewa Flowage over memorial day and plan on dropping a few rigs down. I am hoping the same technique will work, maybe a little spinner blade, and a half crawler late in may.

[james_walleye]

If your riggin walleyes i would certainly go no heavier than medium. Most of the time I use a medium light to be honest. But i did just buy a 6'9" medium avid with the ultra fast tip to have some extra backbone for some situations.

[thedeadsea]

Where are you guys fishing on V? We may have seen each other around.

I would go with a medium over MH in a one rod arsenal to give yourself a little more sensitivity in light bite conditions. I am partial to the Gander Guide Series or Cabelas brand rods as I feel you get more for less because you don't need to pay for a brand name. (Although I didn't like the feel of the higher end XMLti from Cabelas).

Double digit pike and lakers are no problem on a medium action rod, and if you are chasing trophy predators, you would be equipped with a heavier rod anyhow.

For what it's worth, Cabelas has a 2 for 1 deal on their Tourney Trail rods, which are really nice rods for $60.

[Jim Almquist]

Ryan there has been some great advice given here about going a little cheaper on the rod and maybe picking up 2 rods. I have caught more walleyes on cheaper rods but they all have been at least a IM6 to IM8 graphite and decent guides. To become a good walleye fisherman the first thing you have to do is stop fishing memory's because every year is different. Water temp,bait fish,weed growth and the spawn that happen on previous years all have such a huge affect on how good the fishing will be from year to year. This year the fish might be shallow and only want chubs on a jig with 6lb line and that's when a little softer rod can make a lot of difference.

[Fish Head]

Personally I like a medium light, but I would definitely not go any heavier than a medium if your walleye fishing.

Before you buy anything, you may want to look at the Shimano Crucial. Just an excellent rod for the money. I have 2 of them. A 7 ft Crucial will run you about $140 and has a lifetime over the counter warranty.

[ryanmitchell]

good stuff guys. We stayed at timbuktu marina, did some fishing in niles bay, fectos(zoo) and a couple odd spots. The bigger fish were caught on the wet side during our stay in september. My brother is warming up the medium action rod. If he does not get, I may get a medium just for walleyes. Those cabelas rods do look like a good value, especially if they are 2 for 1.

[Jim Almquist]

Bass Pro had a deal a long time ago were you would buy 2 and get 1 free and they were IM8 with Fuji guides. At the time I got a 6',6'6" and a 7' with the 2 shorts in ML and the 7' in medium. Still use the 6'6" and it will still catch fish but like I said before the brand is not as important as the graphite composition of the rod with the higher number of modules the better. Good Luck and you should try to make it up sooner for walleyes or later for good walleye action and better muskie action unless they are all booked in October.

[thedeadsea]

Forgot to mention before. If at all possible, check out as many rods in person for feel. You can bring your reel with into a smaller shop to try it for balance, or use a similar demo reel at a big box.

Last spring I checked every single light action rod in stock at Cabelas in Rogers before I bought and also checked every medium light action in case I needed another rod. Ironically my hand tied ML rod broke on a fish last summer so I knew exactly which rod to order. (Yeah I am a bit compulsive about having the right equipment.)

[Sportland_Bait]

Hi Ryan, I too suggest going with the medium action for walleyes. The Fenwicks blanks tend to feel a little heavy for their rating. But a medium heavy would be a good choice if it was also to be used for bass and pike fishing. Send me an email if you guys would like a better price on a rod. We can beat the pants off Cabelas pricing and we'll ship it right to your door.

Jason Erlandson

[email protected]

[NCLaker]

I have a few of the Fenwick Walleye elite tech's ... Great rod for the price. the 6'9" is a good general purpose choice for walleye fishing - length works well for jigging & rigging.

Where did you find a $20 coupon for Cabela's?

[Esox_Magnum]

I like my old Series Ones ( think I own 10) for rigging, not sure I own a walleye rod over a MH. My daughters Techna AV is a sweet rod to, these were replaced by the Elite Techs. Any of the higher end Berkley or Fenwics are good rods. Tought to beat a Croix or Loomis though.

[Bassinbob84]

Carrot stix. They look retarded but feel like a dream for $150. One of the lightest rods on the market with pretty good feeling.

[bigtymer323]

Hi guys, I was just wondering if anyone has any suggestions about which rod i should get. I am thinking about getting my dad and I a new rod. I am thinking of either getting the 7'2" ML-F Fenwick Elite Tech rigging rod or the 7' ML-F Techna Av spinning rod. I was just seeing if someone had experience with these rod and had a suggestion on which one was better. We usually rig with live bait either with spinners or plain lindy's. Thanks alot. Or do people prefer to have a M-f action rods when they lindy rig. Open for suggestions.

[thedeadsea]

Should do fine with either.

Just make sure your boat has a rod locker long enough to hold them. Some boats only have a 7', which leaves no room on a 7' rod.

[rodmaker]

Check out St. Croix Avid series

[Turk]

Hi guys, I was just wondering if anyone has any suggestions about which rod i should get. Or do people prefer to have a M-f action rods when they lindy rig. Open for suggestions.

You want a ML for rigging. Limit Creek LCS69MLF is what I use on all my guide trips for rigging or split shot fishing, and even for smallmouth with tubes and jerkplastics.

Have won walleye tournaments with these rods and 2010 Full Throttle Big water Series Team of year with these sticks. Limit Creek also supports FM.

Have fun shopping!

[Fuzzbient]

My Limit Creek "Smoothie" is my favorite all around rod for walleyes too.