Do you have a favorite reel or combo?

[excuzzzeme]

Do you have a favorite rod or reel or combination rod/reel that you favor above all others you own?

My favorite rod is a 7' one I had custom made about 20 years ago. The reel is taped on and the handle has a small thin cork sleeve. I usually use an Abu Garcia Ambassaduer C3 reel on it but switched over to a Diawa Regal. I use this combination in fresh or salt and have landed some mighty big fish with it.

My second favorite is an 8'6" rod - Vortex by Silstar coupled with a Penn 940 Levelmatic. This is another one I use in salt and fresh.

I opt for the baitcasters with braided line most of the time except when I go in heavy brush where short flips are the main type of casting I do. I also have found that trout spook less with the mono over the braided. I also use braid on my boat rods as I can put more of it on than the equivalent mono.

[Jerzboi]

I'm always rocking my 7' Shakespear Rod with my fav penn 360 reel

Always been my fav combo for saltwater

Lets not forget the Hydro poppers, nothing gets a bluefish or stripped bass like a yo-zuri hydro popper

[daphilster08]

Gotta love shimano stuff! I have an open reel, and bait caster!

[nugpuffer]

My favorite combo for the past couple of years has been a 7' St. Croix Medium Power, Fast Action Rod paired with a Daiwa Capricorn 3500 XTC (spooled with 14lb Power Pro).

It's been a great setup for inshore, pier, and light surf saltwater fishing.


Lets not forget the Hydro poppers, nothing gets a bluefish or stripped bass like a yo-zuri hydro popper

I've used those before, but I tend to favor Gotcha Plugs. For some reason I can catch 10x as many fish on the Gotchas rather than the Yo-Zuris. Give' em a shot if you can find them where you live.

[Star_Rider]

9 4wt lamiglas esprit graphite with SA2 disc drag reel
loaded with wf 4

[DoctaQ]

my abu garcia 5 bearing, i cant find the name of it but its on a really crappy rod, any suggestions? its a bait caster and kinda small.

[gotglock]

Okuma Red Iris and 7' 6" St. Croix Med Heavy Rod - Best musky combo for me :)

As for bass... Cabelas Prodigy PD2000B on my 7' Med Light rod by Shimano (OLD shimano rod, ill take a pic at home.)

[FastFly67]

Yup. Its pink!

[excuzzzeme]

My favorite combo for the past couple of years has been a 7' St. Croix Medium Power, Fast Action Rod paired with a Daiwa Capricorn 3500 XTC (spooled with 14lb Power Pro).



I like the Yo-Zuri line of lures and have caught many blues on them over anything else.

I have been thinking about going to some Power-Pro braided line. I would like some input on it.

I have a couple of St Croix rods I use for trout or bass and I love them!

[gotglock]

I like the Yo-Zuri line of lures and have caught many blues on them over anything else.

I have been thinking about going to some Power-Pro braided line. I would like some input on it.

I have a couple of St Croix rods I use for trout or bass and I love them!

Go Daiwa braided line, I use that in 80lb test for my musky rod and love it. Line never deforms and doesnt bleed like other lines do.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat600395&id=0064226124408a&navCount=1&podId=0064226&parentId=cat600395&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IK&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true

[excuzzzeme]

Go Daiwa braided line, I use that in 80lb test for my musky rod and love it. Line never deforms and doesnt bleed like other lines do.

Didn't know they sold braided line. Yes, I knew about the bleeding of the Power Pro line. Mainly been using Spider Wire brand but it gets expensive, so have been looking for an alternative that is the same quality or better and more reasonable in pricing. Looking for round braid and not the flat braid.

[gotglock]

Didn't know they sold braided line. Yes, I knew about the bleeding of the Power Pro line. Mainly been using Spider Wire brand but it gets expensive, so have been looking for an alternative that is the same quality or better and more reasonable in pricing. Looking for round braid and not the flat braid.

Just letting you know, you get what you pay for. I've been through already 3 spools of differnt braided line this year alone and Daiwa so far has lasted the longest and still going strong. First spool was Spider line, utter crap, lost a good fish on it because it stretched on me. Second spool was Stren power line that created more birds nests and bleeding than what I wanted so I just bought a spool of Daiwa line and have had that on now for 3 months.

[DoctaQ]

ive never had spider wire strech on me, the green stuff?
i didnt even know it streches

[gotglock]

ive never had spider wire strech on me, the green stuff?
i didnt even know it streches

It does under some extreme stresses. I litterally had the stuff stretch and eventually pull out from its braid. Lost my darn good bucktail too.

[excuzzzeme]

I don't know of my Spider Wire stretching and have no true way to tell if it did. I know I have been happy with it and have been using it since it came out. I use both the mono and the braid. I also use much heavier line than some people might. Surprisingly, I go through more steel leaders than I do line. I do know the mono is stretching and I renew it each spring.

Yes, you are right about getting what you pay for but you also can over-pay just because of the name on the box. I used Stren for years as well as Berkley. I was never happy with the Stren in spite of the large numbers of fish I caught with it. Too often it would not last a full season. The Berkley Big Game is tough but you lose limpness and it has a definite memory.

Ande, I always equated with cheap. I bought large fillers of it to use on the kids rods and it did well enough for them.

[gotglock]

Well back to the fun topic and off line again, my other favorite setup is my heavy spinning rod I use for cats and carp: Daiwa oversized reel with 300 yards of line and my Med Heavy 7' 6" Ugly Stick (Best $30 rod imo!)

[stratusfearrr]

My rod and reel set up for Surf-Casting is a nine foot BeachRunner by Seastriker, with a Quantum Boca pts 60. The reel is amazing, and its a great combo.

[excuzzzeme]

Those Ugly Sticks saved Shakespeare. The entire line of Ugly sticks is awesome regardless of size.

[Native American]

Those Ugly Sticks saved Shakespeare. The entire line of Ugly sticks is awesome regardless of size.Isn't that the truth (both pieces of that statement).

We've been so busy tubing and swimming all summer on Moby D1ck (my bass boat), that the fishing poles have collected a lot of dust. Now that I'm in the middle of the U.S., my Penn 114H and 6/0 Senators are just paperweights. My Daiwa Sealine 50H as well. :(

The only time I get in between fall and spring soccer, AWANA, summer baseball, church, basketball, and work is to hit the occasional pond at a friend's ranch. We've discovered the beauty of those ultralight Shakespeare Synergy underspin combos for my kids. I purchased my first Shakespeare Microspin setup. What a great day it is when you can quietly go out fishing with your kids on a ranch, under the trees.

I did take 4 kids out once on the boat into a cove on one of the local lakes. One of them ended up accidentally going swimming. :huh: Oopsy.

NA

[gotglock]

I love my Ugly sticks, I own 3 of them. One is an ultra light I use for slab gills, one ugly stick ML light action I use for walleye trolling and my heaving action for big cats and spinning.

[Schneider]

I have a 9 foot St. Croix avid series spinning rod with a Shimano Stradic 4000FH spinning reel. Have landed 20lb king salmon in good shape using 8lb test with this combo. Rod has a lifetime warranty and picked reel up on clearance for $80 two years ago. These reels have top notch drags for a decent price.

[jpappy789]

One that casts.

[excuzzzeme]

One that casts.

LOL It's not the rod and reel that fail, its the numbskull holding it!:laugh:

[Schneider]

One that casts.
:laugh:Check out the barbie pole thread!:laugh:

[Sploke]

I was using a Quantum snapshot until this year...it was about 15 years old and finally was just falling apart. I picked up a nice shakespeare spinning combo at Cabelas early this season which seems to be working well. My fly rod is some no-name brand, but as often as I go I don't think it really matters too much. I also have a little 4' shakespeare microspin ultralight combo that I carry with me when I'm not catching anything...I can throw a small rubber worm on that thing and have fun for hours catching bluegill and dace.

[jpappy789]

LOL It's not the rod and reel that fail, its the numbskull holding it!:laugh:
I would be that numskull :grinyes:

[excuzzzeme]

I have a dual purpose rod I carry in my larger tackle box. You can set it up as a sinning rode or flip the handle and make it a fly rod. Since I usually use a baitcaster or spinner, I can set it up for flyfishing in a snap. I also have a microlight that I love to use in certain places.

[Sploke]

LOL It's not the rod and reel that fail, its the numbskull holding it!:laugh:

And by the same token, its not the rod and reel that make the success, its the fisherman. I'm sure that even if I was using a top of the line G. Loomis rod setup or something, there are people out there that could still outfish me with a cane pole and a piece of kite string.

[excuzzzeme]

And by the same token, its not the rod and reel that make the success, its the fisherman. I'm sure that even if I was using a top of the line G. Loomis rod setup or something, there are people out there that could still outfish me with a cane pole and a piece of kite string.

LOL outfish all of us no doubt! I fish with an old codger that has gear going back eons and he can still outcast and outfish alot of people. His hooks are rusty and dull and his line beat up, yet he still lands the big ones!

[Tay690]

I just picked up a 7' Rapala Magnum light action rod this year
Was gathering my fishing stuff for a trip and noticed all my rods were broken -_- (must've broke in the move I guess...i was super angry)

I love this rod so much and I highly recommend it for freshwater

my combo is now this rod and about a 10 year old Quantum xl (not sure which model...at work right now) baitcasting reel that I won't replace until I find something identical lol

It's missing like 3 oiling point covers on it lol BUT I WILL NEVER RETIRE IT!

[Jstdv8]

loomis 9'6" HSR 1025C with a Penn 965 and about 300 ft of 80lb tuff line plus.
All the feel in the world with enough backbone to take care of a 50 lb king a few times a year.

[Siphon1]

Shimano Calcutta 700 baitcaster loaded with 80# power pro. Powerful reel! As for the rod depending on whether I'm surf or boat fishing I switch the reel between a St. Croix premier 10'6" or a 7' Loomis Pro Blue. Awesome rods! They are both so sensitive with loads of backbone! For plugging and eeling I use a St. Croix 10' with a Garcia 6600tc casting reel. It casts like a dream, but I don't like how loose the drag feels when practically locked down and the line capacity will have you sweating bullets. Especially with a large striper or gorilla blue on the other end!!

[wesleydnunder]

My favorite for FW bass and catfishing, and inshore saltwater is an Abu Garcia 6500 c4 on a 7' med action Ugly Stick. Great for lures or baitcasting. My SW set-up has 15lb Ande monfilament and my FW has Ande 10lb. I've landed up to 60lb blue cats and 45lb Jack Cravelles on the same rod/reel combo, but mostly go after speckled trout, redfish and flounder.

My offshore combo is a Penn 12/0 on a 8' roller-tip penn boat rod with Ande 80lb monofilament. Biggest catch on it was a 60lb Wahoo.

Mark

[excuzzzeme]

Personally, I like the Abu Garcia C4 line of reels. I find that though smaller, they have great ability and toughness. I broke the levelwind part of mine fighting a large fish and a simple fix brought it back to life without needing any new parts!

I was thinking of adding a 6500 to my arsenal and after reading your write-up I think I will.

[eddiebait]

An old post but a very interesting topic. I have quite a few rod and reel combinations that I use throughout the year depending on what I'm fishing for. I build custom fishing rods so naturally most of my personal rods are custom, I am partial to St Croix but have several Loomis and Lamiglas blanks in the collection. I think all of my spinning reels are some kind of Shimano, my baitcast reels are either Shimano or Garcia, and my fly reels are whatever. The one rod that usually always gets to go fishing is built with a Graphite-USA blank, it's a 6 foot blank they label as ultra light but I would class as medium light, I use a Shimano 1000 size reel and spool it with 6 lb yellow line. I can use it to fish Rapalas, Beetle Spins, and jigs. I also bring an extra spool filled with 2 lb test line and I can use this outfit with smaller jigs for panfish.

[wesleydnunder]

Personally, I like the Abu Garcia C4 line of reels. I find that though smaller, they have great ability and toughness. I broke the levelwind part of mine fighting a large fish and a simple fix brought it back to life without needing any new parts!

I was thinking of adding a 6500 to my arsenal and after reading your write-up I think I will.

Jeff, I own 6 of the 6500/ ugly stick combos. I also have a couple 5500s on shimano rods that I seldom use any more. I like the 6500. It's smooth, easy to cast, holds a lot of line and is very simple to breakdown for cleaning, lube and repair. The C3s are easier to find but the extra bearing in the C4s make them soooo much smoother, IMO.

We have a superb tackle shop about 20 minutes north that carries a full line of spare parts for the Abu Garcias, so I keep a few extra level wind pawls and gears onhand for quick repairs.

Mark

[eddiebait]

Hey Excuzzzeme, I've repaired about a gazillion Abu-Garcia Ambassador baitcast reels, the 6500c4 would be a great addition to your collection of reels. They are ruggedly built, easy to service, and parts are readily available. The fiber drag washers (there are 4, cost less than $1 each) do easily wear out, and the drag will not tighten as when the reel was new. Also if any oil or grease gets into the drag mechanism the same thing happens.

[excuzzzeme]

Eddie - this isn't an old thread. It just doesn't get used too much. There are probably equal number of serious and occasional sportsmen. It is not likely that an occasional sportsman would invest the money in equipment that the serious ones do, hence a slow moving Thread.

I am glad to see it revive every now and then as it gives us a central post to discuss our favorite equipment. I guess it's a close to a review wit hout really being one lol.

Mark - I have been watching Ebay sales on the used reels and find that most sales are reasonable in price. Like you, I don't mind repairing a reel after an abusing season. As far as the drag loosening, I would expect that and not worried about it. I have burned out many drag system when fish for striper or blues.

The biggest point for me other than durability is a line out clicker, especially when out in the boat and I want to find fish shoals and not be watching for a hit. So far, my Penn levelwinds give me confidence of being able to hear a line running out.

[excuzzzeme]

Awesome find!I think Fuji guides are about the best out there. Quite durable.

[PaulJ69]

Shakespeare Prius Ultra Light combo. 2 or 4lb test. Just for panfish! Love it!

[connordude27]

Rainer 30 reel sillstar 6' rod

The rainer reel is dicks sporting goods brand name so it is really a pflueger presidental

I use it mainly for trout and bass in local lakes but have used it in SW and rivers

[excuzzzeme]

I remember when SilStar rods hit the market and no one would touch them. Although inexpensive (comparatively speaking) in the beginning, they sure proved to be well-made and now are considered good rods.

[connordude27]

Its a rod my dad had (he worked at an outdoor store in alaska and was crazy about fishing) and i found it one day and he doesn't even remember having it but so far i really like it compared to the shorter older rod i had. Either way I have caught pink salmon and trout on that combo (some baitfish too while salmon fishing in the ocean)

[deeleywoman]

i rock a black 6 1/2' MH shakespeare ugly stick (i'm short) with a shakespeare platinum reel. works well enough for me- reel is nice and smooth and this stick has been bent in half without breaking :D

i haven't been out since august. **** schoolwork, and then the coldest, snowiest winter i can remember us ever having kept the lakes frozen over for weeks on end... i can't wait to finish this **** semester and get out there!!!!!!