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How many spinning rods should i use?


Anthony Cordero

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Hello everybody,

I'm new to the forum and pretty new to fishing as well.  I realize that this might be the wrong forum to post this, but for some reason, I wasn't able to post in the Equipment forum.
Anyway, my question is, how many and what type of rods should I keep for casual weekend fishing from a solo canoe?  I started out with a 6ft. Medium Ugly Stik GS2, which I didn't really like, and which ended up getting a big sideways curve on it.  Then I had heard everyone rave about the Pflueger President reels, so I found a President 6'6" medium/fast rod and reel combo, which feels pretty heavy for a medium, and doesn't cast all that great.  I most recently bought a 6'6" medium/fast Fenwick Eagle and put a President reel on it and absolutely loved it from the first cast.  Now, the Fenwick makes the Pflueger feel completely inadequate, and I feel like I don't even want to use the Pflueger anymore.  I plan on fishing for just about anything that'll bite, but I've mostly been targeting bass since I feel they're a little bit easier to find for a newbie, but I'd like to have an arsenal of rods that would be adequate for most species.  I don't feel I'm up to the task of learning how to use a baitcaster just yet, so I'd like to keep it to spinning setups.  Any advice on types of rods and tackle to match would be greatly appreciated.  Also, I'd like to keep the rods in the $50-$60 range if possible.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

fenwick and president is a dandy combo. send the reel to me if you don't like it. :) should be nice for bass and northerns.  pair a president or a purist with an untralight or light action eagle for gills and crappies.  great combos. welcome to FM

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It greatly depends on what you are targeting,  and what presentations you want to throw at them... 3 should probably do it though??? Fishing heavy cover changes everything, down to the line, and the reel it's spooled on.

Enjoy the site, welcome aboard!

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2 hours ago, Tom Sawyer said:

It greatly depends on what you are targeting,  and what presentations you want to throw at them... 3 should probably do it though??? Fishing heavy cover changes everything, down to the line, and the reel it's spooled on.

Enjoy the site, welcome aboard!

Well, as of now, I like targeting bass mainly because they're easier to catch, so I was thinking that the Pflueger, which has quite a bit of backbone with the 6940 President reel might be good for fishing cover. I think the Fenwick might be good for plastics and such, and I was thinking maybe an ultra light for pan fish? Those are just the thoughts I have from reading around the web... 

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

the eagle UL in 5'6" or 7" would be fun. I have 2 of the 6'6" lights with the pflueger purists and I love them. Great with a bobber for panfish with jigs down to1/64 oz. Love using ice jigs right now and verticle jigging. I like the sensitivity of the eagles. My favorite over the side of the yak is an old Shakespeare 5' UL Stealth Stick that I bought at least 20 years ago. I wish I could find another. :) That one has a president on it. 

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I have couple Wright&Mcgill rods that balance and feel real nice in hand.  Mine are 6' 6" and 7" Med fast rods, so not sure how thier UL are like.

If you want to stick to 3 combo, maybe have a med actiom with the President spooled with 30lb power pro for heavy cover and wood.

Another med or med lite with a president spooled with 8 lb trilene XL for worming, rigging, snd jigging.

A third Lite to UL rod and smaller reel spooled with 6 to 4lb XL for panfish.  I rarely fish with an ultra light so I can help with a good small capacity reel here.  My panfish is usually a 7ft lite med action cheap rod eith a 2000 series rapala reel spooled with 4lb XL. Doubles as my walleye slip bobber rod.

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gotta agree on the 4 pound XL. Love the stuff. 6920X president is 30 bucks still at Cabelas. 

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18 hours ago, ANYFISH2 said:

I have couple Wright&Mcgill rods that balance and feel real nice in hand.  Mine are 6' 6" and 7" Med fast rods, so not sure how thier UL are like.

If you want to stick to 3 combo, maybe have a med actiom with the President spooled with 30lb power pro for heavy cover and wood.

Another med or med lite with a president spooled with 8 lb trilene XL for worming, rigging, snd jigging.

A third Lite to UL rod and smaller reel spooled with 6 to 4lb XL for panfish.  I rarely fish with an ultra light so I can help with a good small capacity reel here.  My panfish is usually a 7ft lite med action cheap rod eith a 2000 series rapala reel spooled with 4lb XL. Doubles as my walleye slip bobber rod.

I do have a medium with 10lb, a medium light with 8lb, both with President reels,  and I ended up getting a 6ft Okuma Celilo UL with a Sienna 1000. I wish I had know about the Pflueger on sale, but I've heard the Sienna isn't bad for the money and it feels nice enough... Hopefully I'll get  a chance to try it out this weekend. 

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The sienna is a fine reel, it will treat you well.

You should be set, of course as become addicted all over again you will find your favorites.

Mine have turned out to be the Fenwick Elite tech with a President reel.my president is a size to large for my liking, but it is bullet proof, it hasn't wornout. I will keep on catching fish with then.

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The president comes in several sizes so you need an appropriate size for the rod and bait.  

I really like mine.  Great reel for the price.   For bass, I would go with a size 30 and a medium/medium heavy rod.  A couple are all you would want in a canoe.  Maybe a medium-light for finesse rigs, and a medium for everything else.  

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I wore out 2 siennas on bluegills and upgraded to purists. good so far. 

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48 minutes ago, eyeguy 54 said:

I wore out 2 siennas on bluegills and upgraded to purists. good so far. 

Being new to fishing, I don't want to be the guy with the expensive equipment who doesn't know how to find a darn fish.  I do agree that the Pfluegers are awesome from my limited experience, but I also figure that if I end up hating the Sienna, I'm only out 30 bucks.  I'll probably try to keep my combos in the $80 - $100 range until I know what I'm doing a little bit more.  Until then, I'll cut my teeth on cheaper gear until I figure out what works for me.  

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

you can find good deals on the pfluegers. if not the sienna will work fine. have fun when ya get going. :) 

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This guys sound like they got you covered well. I like long ultra lights for panfish and agree with Berkeley 4pound xl. I have two 7 foot ultra lights so I can cast to fish with out spooking them. Keep asking questions and please share how you do 

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I, too, am getting back into fishing after a long layoff and it's been an adventure finding rods and reels.  For cheaper reels, I'd recommend the Pflueger Trion series.  The build quality is still very nice and Pflueger-y, and they run in the $30-40 range.  I compared this to the Purist and President and really couldn't see $20-30 in value difference between the two, especially for a weekend hack like me that just wants to chase some trout and panfish and not get yelled at by my wife for another expensive hobby.  Add that to a decent rod in the $40-50 range and you'd be in your price ballpark.

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watch for combos on sale at places like cabelas and Bass Pro.   Save an extra few bucks.  I got a president/pflueger rod combo this summer for like 69 bucks...  

Just in Cabela's in woodbury today and the 35 series presidents were on sale for 39.95.

Great reel for bass, walleye, pike.   Too big for pannies and trout.

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6925x pres for 39.99 at cabellas. 

dicks has a nice combo for 59.99 president reel and rod but its a 4'8" rod.  I love my 5 footer. 

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5'6" cherrywood by Berkley UL 25 bucks online. 

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I did look at the berkleys and they seemed pretty nice, but I went with the Okuma based on all the rave reviews I read on it. My main dilemma was deciding which size to get. I would have liked a 6 footer, but a 6'6" was the closest I could get locally. Seems like the ultralight rod length debate is endless as well. 

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1 hour ago, eyeguy 54 said:

6925x pres for 39.99 at cabellas. 

dicks has a nice combo for 59.99 president reel and rod but its a 4'8" rod.  I love my 5 footer. 

Darn.  they only had the 35's on the sale display.  I would have bought a 25. 

 

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Pflueger Trion Spinning Combo

$59.99
SKU: 14644865
Rod Length: 6'6"Power: LightRetrieve: InterchangeablePieces: 2
this should be a fun combo. At Dicks online
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Well, I took the ultralite for a test drive today. I hooked on to a walleye that I can only estimate was about 22 to 24 inches because I lost it just as I was trying to get it on in the canoe (no net).  I did get to stare right down its mouth though. My heart was still pumping for about 5 minutes afterwards from trying to reel it in with that little Rod. It was so much fun. Now that I'm on dry land and that was only fish that I came close to catching, excitement has turned into disappointment.

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don't be bummed!  go out and get another walleye. :) The excitement is addicting. I myself like a medium light for eyes but I don't chase them in the kayak. bass on the river or panfish in lakes while in the yak.  might try eyes next spring. 

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I definitely wasn't looking for walleyes. I have a hard enough time finding the "easy" fish, that walleye wasn't even part of my thought process. I hooked this one pretty much by dumb luck while I was just throwing a 1/8 jig around. I got skunked for the rest of the morning. It was a huge rush, though. I'll get there soon enough. 

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