Which Rod and Reel ??

[river_runner]

Alright so this is my first post on this forums and I wish I would of known about it sooner!

I am looking to buy my first "expensive" rod and reel for Minnesota Walleye fishin. I have been fishing walleyes sence I was 8 and I really feel bad for asking these stupid questions about selecting the right rod / reel combo. Anyways, in the past I have used shimano and berkley stuff and now I am ready to step up. My price range is around $300 maybe a little more.

First, I will be mainly lindy rigging for walleyes in the St.Louis river which can be tough in my secret spot with all the logs and cover there. I will also be fishing with a jigs and such and I might want to go for some smallmouths with some crankbaits, mepps, and stuff like that. So a good fishing reel is required for what I want, not just the rod. So with all this, I will probaly be using 8 lb. line, which I think is ok for walleyes and smallmouth.

So, now that we covered what I want to do with my next purchase, lets discuss rod and reel manufacturers! What rod and reel manufacturers do you all like? What top of the line rod and reel manufacturers do you all stay away from? I have been looking at the Fenwick Techna rods at Gandermountain and man, those are some fine rods! I think I could really get my $150 out of that thing in no time and it also comes with a limited lifetime warrenty. Only one problem with this rod manufacturer that I see... the rods are made in China and I tend to stay away from things that are made in China. I also looked at St.Croix a whole lot more than I did with Fenwick but I really didn't like them because 99% of the ones that were medium power fast action had guides bent up the ying yang and the rods were not straight, if I am going to drop over $100 on a rod it better be close to perfect. Although they probaly got in this condition by sitting on the rod rack too long and little kids banging on them. Now for reels, I would really like to stick with Shimano. The Shimano Stradic looks appealing with all of the so called ball bearing corrosion resistant advertising but does this reel perform as advertised? How about the Shimano Symetre? Should I spend the extra $40 and get the Stradic?

Ok and now for the rod power, action types, and length. I know this mainly is preference but what would probaly be best for what I am wanting? I am thinking more around the medium power (Maybe a medium light would serve me better?) fast action 6'6" or 7' but that is just me. Sometimes that long length can be a pain in the but for mobility, and I dont want a 2 piece rod because I personally believe you loose the feel of your rod and sensitivity. How about you all? What would you all use for lindy rigging in depths of 12-22 feet? How about jigging for walleye and smallmouth and throwing crank baits and spinners (mepps) for smallmouth?

Thank you for reading, hopefully some can reply and give me some really good advice because I am in need of it. Thanks

[croixeyes]

Sounds like you have a good grasp of the products out there.However based on your desire to fish a couple of different ways and locations I dont think just one rod and reel set up is gonna do it.There is alot of very good equipment out there to choose from and I would think you can get a couple of great setups for a buckfifty each.Shimanos have been a rock solid reel for my $ and they also have a good line of rods that wont put a big dent in your wallet.Your gonna get good and bad reports from everyone on every brand of rod and reel.Some good rods to look at are Gloomis,Stcroix,Falcon,Fenwick .Reels Shimano,Diawa,Pflueger.

There is so much good stuff out there these days that you actually dont need to drop a ton of cash to get some really good equpment,but thats your choice.Good luck with your purchase,but remember in the end its a twenty cent crawler or leech or minnow that bites your hook.

[Northlander]

Well 1 rod may be a stretch but this is what I would get for the St.Louis if I could only get 1 rod. Not brand specific because there are many very good rods at under $150.

I would go 7' medium with a fast action and put a 2000 size reel on it.

If you would like to try out some combos I use on the river give me a holler. Im on the river at least a few times a week. I think you can get into a very nice set up for $300 and even less if you shop smart.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

You could definatley get two quality setups for around $300 dollars. For reels get two of the Symetres ($160). For rods you could go with something like Fenwick HMX rods which run $70-80 I believe. Or you could go with Gander Mountains guide series that give a pretty nice bang for the buck. The ultimate and tournament rods right now are going on sale and running $80. Plus with the guide series you get the two year over the counter warranty that puts you back on the water with a new rod within the day, no hassle mailing anything.

If wanted just one I would Look into the St. Croix avid series. Probably a 7' M fast. matched with a symetre.

[Team Otter]

7' St. Croix, medium action, and Shimano.

[MuskyBug85]

dittos T.O. i love my stratic 1000 with 8lb crystal fireline and 7' croix.

[river_runner]

isnt shamino 1000 size reels pretty small for 8 lb test? Should I get a 1000 or 2500?

[MuskyBug85]

8lb fire line has 3.8 lb dia so in reality i have about 180 yards of line and i can tell ya for certain even long lining cranks i have never had to worry about being spooled.

[river_runner]

Quote:

---

Well 1 rod may be a stretch but this is what I would get for the St.Louis if I could only get 1 rod. Not brand specific because there are many very good rods at under $150.

I would go 7' medium with a fast action and put a 2000 size reel on it.

If you would like to try out some combos I use on the river give me a holler. Im on the river at least a few times a week. I think you can get into a very nice set up for $300 and even less if you shop smart.

---

What if you could get 2 rods?

[iffwalleyes]

Cabela's IM7 tourney tail rods are good for the money. Although the one I had was broken by a catfish . They are around $60 a piece and they have several models to choose from. For Jigging I like a 6' medium with a fast action and for rigging I like a 7' medium with a fast tip. Shimano reels are awesome for sure. I like the stradics myself but my buddies both use saharas which are around 70 bucks I believe. So you could get 2 nice setups for $260 and still have money left for some bait. That for me would be the best set up for two rods. I do like Fenwicks rods they are very nice. I have some st croix but don't like them as well as my fenwicks and then I have a couple loomis and nothing else I have compares to them. So it is true you get what you pay for but sometimes that isn't always possible and a compromise has to be made.

[river_runner]

Well I just bought a Fenwick Techna AV 7' medium fast action and a Shimano Symetre 2500. A total of $230 . I weighed the rod and its only 4.5 ounces which is really nice compared to my cheap rods.

[iffwalleyes]

Enjoy it you got a good set up there.

[Northlander]

What did the techna set ya back. Great rods but usually on the spendy side. You can at times find some good deals on them though. You will like your new set up. Enjoy.

[n8ivefl]

I know you already bought your gear and I wish you tight lines with it, but I'm gonna go ahead and throw in my 2-cents anyhow.

For rods, there are two manufacturers that are often overlooked. Airrus has won ICAST honors for the past few years and makes an excellent rod. Another rod that is at least as good as an old G Loomis is ESOX.

As far as reels, I prefer Quantum for one reason (among many) - they have a magnetic bail. Nothing to wear out. Ever.

You might also want to check out the "tackletour" HSOforum. They give excellent impartial reviews.

Regards,

Steve

[river_runner]

I appreciate your suggestions, I might have to go look at that G Loomis rod but the reel I dont think will be good for me, I have always been a Shimano person and I used a Quantum reel once or twice and I personally wasn't impressed.

[HAppnhook]

I just purchased a Loomis GL2($130) Shimano Symetre reel ($60), The rod is the low end of the Loomis family but I have to say I am quite impressed, it lets you feel the tiniest bit of weed ride down the line until it hangs on your rig. I'll add another loomis of a higher grade soon. I fished with PWT Pro Dan Plautz (Sponsored by Loomis) in Houghton and noticed the feel of Walleye and IMX series immediately!

[Walleyeguy31]

I just purchased the St Croix tournament legend 6 foot light action and paired it with a Stradic reel and man is it a setup! Spendy, but very nice!

[Tyler Holm]

St. Croix Avid or bump up to the legend tourney walleye rod would be my recommendation.

6'0" - 6'6" length is fine for lindy rigging. A 7 footer is sometimes nice for vertical jigging and casting, but more of a hassle to store and transport and I personally don’t enjoy that extra length for lindy fishing. It can also give you more challenges netting a fish when you have a longer rod with a long lindy leader.

For lindy rigging, I would stay away from the X-Fast tip. Fast or medium would be suffice.

For reels, I have several Symetre's and 1 Stratic. I got the stratic for $99 on clearance, or I probably would have never bought it. I wouldn't pay $40 more for it over the Symetre. They are both such high end reels, that the only difference physical appearance and a few internal "cleverly worded" selling points.

Certainly both are excellent choices for reels, but the Symetre gets my vote. In my experiences they perform identical. My stratic looks nicer with the pearl/glitter finish and the wooden reel handle (although they no longer have the wooden grip handle).

[Tyler Holm]

Awe, one more thing. I would go with the symetre 1500 FI. You'll appreciate the lighter weight of that reel over the 2500 and it holds plenty of line.

[upnorth]

I would look at the St. Croix Med lt. 4 to 8# test and like 1/8 to 1/2 oz lure wt. I would also talk to a Custom builder, for little if anything more you can get it built exactly how you would like it. I have built 6 or so on that blank and have never had anyone complain about it. A custom builder is also going to try to keep everything as light as possible especially in the tip area were your sensitivity is.

[DinkADunk]

My wife uses a Shimano 6'6" Medium Compre rod and my son and I use rod's made on the St. Croix Avid 7' Med blank. For jigging these rods work great and they're also fine for Lindy rigging. For cranks I like the St. Croix Avid Crankbait rod (a more moderate tip which works great with non-stretch lines like Fireline). I've been experimenting with rods for Lindy rigging and using bottom bouncers and I like a fairly light power steelhead rod with a very fast action and use fireline or powerpro. The problem is that a lot of Steelhead rods are fairly long (which may be an issue). So, I'm building a couple of 7' casting rods (easier to store in the rod locker for me) on Steelhead hot shot rod blanks to use for Lindy rigging/bottom bouncers. If that works out I'll probably build some 9', 2 piece rods so that the four of us can bottom bounce / lindy rig at the same time without crossing up each others lines.