General purpose heavy rod/reel

[mainbutter]

So I'm thinking of taking advantage of some discounted rods/reels at gander mountain, and I want to pick up an affordable baitcaster and heavy/med heavy rod for general purpose use.

What options should I be looking at? This might end up being a reel I take out fishing for carp and catfish frequently as well as being able to throw around lures for northerns and musky with a couple of opportunities coming up.. Is there anything out there that performs double duty pretty well while being affordable?

I've given serious thought to the abu garcia C3(yeah I know that the serious musky hunters look down on it, but I can't throw $250+ at a reel right now), but I can't find any information about functions of this reel. Something with a baitclicker would be nice, but not 100% essential. If someone wants to talk me out of the C3 for some particular reason, I'd love to hear it before I go out and buy one sometime before friday.

[TrophyEyes]

I think that you can get a sweet set up for under $250. I would look very hard at the Guide Series Tournament Pike Heavy rods. These are affordable and durable. If they brake, Gander will replace them. The other option is Shimano Convergence or Compre rods. I would strongly suggest getting something 7'6" or larger. In the shimano you may want to go MH in the muskie line if you are fishing for pike as well.

As far as reels go, I would consider what you are going to throw with it. If you have any desire to throw double 10's you may want to go with a Calcutta B, Diawa Luna or Abu Toro all in the mid $200's. If you want to throw big baits (with the exeption of double 10's) then the C3 will be just fine. If you want to know the best value at Gander right now I would look at the Shimano Curado E's that were advertised at $179. They did not clarify the size, so I would buy the 300. They also were clearencing some of the Curado 300DVS. The Curado will be best for burning bucktails, casting spoons, and handling jerkbaits. The Curado will be able to handle light use of the double 10's, but your wrists will be a bit sore. If you want to learn more about pike/muskie reels, look at the musky forum and we have a few threads analyzing all the reels available.

[DTro]

The C3 is a workhorse and will last you a long time. I would recommend the 6500 for a good all around reel.

[PierBridge]

Good Info on the Muskie side Trophyeyes!

I would be curious to know what Pole could be used for both Muskie and Catfish. You're talking two highly different types of fishing here. I'd suggest a dedicated Rod for each if possible.

The 6500 is a good compromise on the reel and you can find them around used for decent price also....

[mainbutter]

I think I'll double up on poles, catting poles aren't expensive.

[hanso612]

I have a C4 on a 7 foot Shimano Compre and a Record on a Convergence. These rods and reels work great for bottom bouncing, casting small bucktails, and throwing big suckers under bobbers. They also work fine for hurling a three ounce pyramid sinker with a decoy sucker on a quick stike rig for cats. These are mid level rigs that will push your budget.

If you troll for muskies I would go for a line counter reel, but they do not cast. I like boat winch sized gear ratios for pulling in big baits but if you pump them in with the rod any reel can take up line as you lower the rod.

I have the Gander 7 foot musky rods in the 29 dollar blue series paired with 40 dollar Guide series or Shakespear linecounters. (they are the same) These dirt cheap rigs spooled with 80 pound Power Pro and an 80 pound leader have trolled Jakes and Creek Chub Darters all over Burntside and Vermillion for the last three years without a problem. These rods are very heavy, but if used in rod holders while still fishing for cats or trolling for essox they have been perfect. They also double as a big bobber rigs for the kids when paired with a different reel that casts.

Very few cheap rigs have been worth it for me in the past, but these have. If you can step up by waiting to pull the trigger do it. If you need an all around rig for dirt cheap go with the C3 and 7 foot musky rod from Gander and you can do almost everything-not with sytle, but good enough. For forty more dollars you could get the line counter reel too. Then you would be good to go for trolling, still fishing, and casting.

Use your spinning gear for topwater bass and walleye jigging and rigging.

Get an 8'6" telescoping rod for planner boards paired with a line counter and your good to go for salmon and walleye trolling.

3 rods and three or four reels and you have the water column covered and might even get to stay married. Start flyfishing or go ultralight or get into icefishing or god forbid convince yourself you need a differnt rod for every presentation-then your treading on thin ice and I can't help you. Most likely you will end up like the rest of us-whiling away your days on-line or paging through catalogs for the perfect setup, getting closer and closer to having all your stuff thrown on the lawn with each new purchase.

Good luck. Hans

[mainbutter]

I'm a fan of making multiple uses out of my equipment Thanks for all the tips guys!!