Hope everyone is having a great holiday season. This is probably a loaded question, but I've been considering getting another rod and reel, and with some Christmas gift cards in my hands, I'd like to hear some recommendations. I'm quite inspired by all the species hunters on this board, and that's what I'd like to aim for as well, but I won't travel as much as some of you. I currently use a medium Pflueger Trion combo and love it, so one I was considering was the same combo, but ultra-light. On the other hand, this coming season I'd like to catch a pike, drum and channel cat, so I'm wondering about going to a heavier setup, maybe also trying baitcasting. Bass pro has a pretty heavy duty catfish spinning rod I was eying. Any and all opinions are valued. Thanks in advance
I find A good UL rod got me a long way as it could comfortably handle most of the fish I caught. I found the determining factor in what rod I would use other than fish size was the aquatic environment. If weedy I found that the rod did not deal well with snags or with light weight it did not do well with bottom snags when fishing. If weedy or rocky it would move up to a medium for convience. In general there were were very few situations I could not use a UL effectively. I even brought in some nice carp and catfish with them. Also an important factor to consider is length of the rod. If fishing confined areas you may consider getting something in the 5'6" range...if fishing in wide open areas you may wanted to consider something in the 7' length.
I also like my MH rods for casting big lures for pike and musky and big weights for catfish. I have not found them strictly required for actually brining in the fish. Gear up for the expected size of fish you plan to catch in the areas you fish. A medium may be just fine.
I also spend a lot of time trolling kijiji in my neck of the woods. I found a number of great deals there but you may have to wait sometime.
I am a discount shopper. I find in expensive combos to start with until I fine tune what I really want.
I am not sure this helps
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Being winter - you have plenty of time to mull over your options……… so take your time.
As ZippyFx said – Realistically considering where and what you will actually fish for is primary to making a wise decision.
If you truly do only have one outfit at present getting a highly specialized combo may see it gather dust.
Ultra light is fun – but you do loose distance with the corresponding light lures/baits. Catfish and other extra long power outfits have their place but you sure don’t wanna cast with them all day. But - they do have their place in my arsenal.
I would say that I use a medium/light spinning outfit for 90% of my freshwater shore fishing even though I do have just about every conceivable mix of gear available.
You may see value in a second mid-range outfit set up with lighter or heavier line, or perhaps a bit shorter or longer.
If you do fish from a boat – having a second mid-range outfit is a big time saver on the water. I do this regularly with one rod set up for casting top water lures, and one set up for trolling or casting sub surface offerings. Plus it gives me the security of having a day saving back-up with me off shore.
Plus – the bigger sales will be closer to the months away “opening days”.
Cheers,
OldTimer
Unfortunately, you have been inspired and caught the species hunting fever. That is quite a dilemma indeed. The dilemma is that each species may behave slightly different and your presentation and methods are thus a little specific for each fish. Thus, there is often no one combo that can address all your species hunting needs.
However...I had caught, and continue to catch, many species using 2-3 basic combos. My workhorse rods and reels are:
1) 6'6" UL rod with 1000 size spinning reel
2) 7' M rod with 2500 size spinning reel
3) 9' MH rod with 4000 size spinning reel
Aside for some specific situations, especially for deeper or larger saltwater fishes, those three rods covered most of my species hunting requirements.
As Zippy and OT said, carefully consider what species and opportunities you may encounter, then select the appropriate gear. I think both of them went through the selection criteria quite well.
Remind us again, what rod length, rod action and reel size is your Trion combo?
If I were to suggest which rods to add, I would suggest a 6'6" UL and a 8'6" MH rod with the appropriate size reel (ie, follow what I've used). The UL rod allows you to target many smaller species with lighter lures, jigs and rigs. The longer MH rod would allow you to fish heavier lures and cast heavier weights.
Specifically look for rods with these specification:
UL - 6' or 6'6" length, 1/8oz - 1/4oz casting range, fast action (Daiwa Spinmatic-C is a great one to check out...and fairly cheap)
MH - 8' or 8'6" length, 3/4oz - 1 1/2oz casting range, fast action (any Steelhead/Salmon rod...Shimano Convergence or Clarus is great)
That being said, I've caught a lot of small and big fish with my 7' M action Trion rod before...from little 3" Emerald Shiner to 30lb Grass Carp. You may need to be a bit creative for the smallest fish, and have some experience casting larger rigs or fighting larger fish on a lighter rod...but it is certainly possible. With the bigger fish, you do have to make sure that 1) you set the drag light enough to protect your rod and line, 2) you palm the spool to slow a fish down gingerly and use a pump and wind method to gain line, and most importantly 3) you play the fish patiently.
Thanks for the input so far guys. My Trion is a 7' medium action with a 4000 size reel. Besides shore fishing, I do fish from an inflatable boat, which I just got a motor for. Still, I won't be taking it out in any deep water or too far from shore. A channel cat is probably #1 on my list for next year -I saved turkey giblets from recent feasts- and was thinking about needing the ability to cast heavier weights. It's a hike, but I'll gladly head to Dunnville if that's what it takes to check it off the list. Any suggestions for any place closer to Lake Simcoe where they can be caught with any regularity???
Hey Fossil Fish, you can also fish OT's backyard...smaller river, don't have to use as much weight or cast as far...but usually smaller Channel Catfish.
I fish there with the Trion and catches Channels on 8lb mono. No problem at all.
Maybe next year we can finally plan a trip there together and have a go at it. You'll be able to catch all kinds of other fish too. Maybe end or June or early July...
Still considering my options on this, but am leaning more towards an ultralight setup than a heavy -for this year at least. What are your opinions on longer UL rods, say in the 10-12 foot range as opposed to 5-7 feet? I can also split the difference, LeBaron has an 8' Daiwa Presso I was looking at the other day.
For most applications, a long UL rod is not convenient. 10-12 foot range is way too long...and even with 8 foot long ultralight, it would be a handful sometimes.
Most of the time when you do need an ultralight, you are fishing for smaller species that hangs out near the margin of the water, under overhanging branches, among submerged branches or around rocks. You may think that the added length will give you better reach, but usually, these area you fish will also have a lot of obstacles behind, beside and over you, making a long rod very difficult to use. It's almost always better to actually hike closer to the spot you intend to fish and drop the bait much closer.
Honestly, I love my Daiwa Spinmatic UL and don't see a need to spend more money on an expensive UL rod...but opinions may vary.
(01-25-2015 03:04 PM)MuskieBait Wrote: [ -> ]For most applications, a long UL rod is not convenient. 10-12 foot range is way too long...and even with 8 foot long ultralight, it would be a handful sometimes.
Most of the time when you do need an ultralight, you are fishing for smaller species that hangs out near the margin of the water, under overhanging branches, among submerged branches or around rocks. You may think that the added length will give you better reach, but usually, these area you fish will also have a lot of obstacles behind, beside and over you, making a long rod very difficult to use. It's almost always better to actually hike closer to the spot you intend to fish and drop the bait much closer.
Honestly, I love my Daiwa Spinmatic UL and don't see a need to spend more money on an expensive UL rod...but opinions may vary.
Yes - I'd have to agree with these comments.
The ultra light rod that I actually use is a budget priced 4'6" one piece composite Berkley "Cherrywood" with a small inexpensive UL Shimano "Sienna" spinning reel. Just great for flipping #0 Mepps.
The custom 9' hand built UL rod I made 30 years ago has seen use less than a few dozen times. Looks great - but a pain in the butt on a creek, or going through the brush. I will admit though - that it is fun if used to catch wow size Carp in "wide open" spaces.
Cheers,
OldTimer