Two rod/reel combos

[stinkynathan]

I have a "hypothetical situation" for you rod/reel gurus here.

Let's say you were looking for two rod/reel combos to replace some pretty old equipment that was handed down to you from your grandpa. You live in South Dakota, so your fishing is biased towards walleye, perch, and crappie (but mostly walleye). Generally, you troll or drift Lindy rigs or bottom bouncers with one or both poles, tossing jigs and crankbaits with one pole when the troll/drift speed is slow enough. You are not against bait casters and have no preference on the butt end of your rods. Let's also say that you wanted to spend $150-200 for the combos. What would you buy?

I realize that $200 is pretty low for two combos, but I don't know that I can justify much better stuff as a first year teacher that is getting married in September. I figure I can hand my current, old stuff over to the fiancee, get new stuff, then hand this new stuff over to her when it's time to upgrade in a year or two.

 

[willfishforfood]

I like 6 1/2' to 7' for jigging rated 6-12lbs but for drifting and trolling 8 1/2 in the same line wt.
WFFF

 

[Bubba]

As far as rods, Myself......I would try to catch Bass Pro Shops's Bionic Blades on sale(usually on sale for 49.99-59.99)...i've got two of these rods and for the money, I really like them. Then, I would look into finding a mid-grade reels that you like.....you can find most descent spinning reels for around 40-50 bucks. I personally like the Shimano Sedona reels, as they sell for $49.99, but you can sometimes find them on sale for a little cheaper. If you want a baitcaster, its gonna be a little tougher to get a quality reel for the money that would remain.....but you might be able to find a deal on a used Shimano(just my preference)....either a Citica "D" or a Curado "B"(older green reels). I've got both of these, and bought them both used and I love them both. But like I said on the reels, I just mentioned Shimano's as thats what I use mostly.

 

[angry Bob]

Ditto Bubba's comments for that budget.

 

[darb79]

For the dollars you want to spend, stick with a spinning set up. If you go for one of the cheeper baitcaster you will most lilkey struggle with it and never want to try another one again. I would stay a 50-50 setup dollar wise for each. Occasionally the ST Croix Triumps can be found for 50 bucks. These are a great rod (just assembled in mexico). For jigging for the marble-eye I like to use a 7' if I'm going deep, and a 6'6" for swimming the jigs and crankin when they are suspended or fishing the flats at night. A reel that I would point you to would be the Pflueger President in a 35 series. These reels are build well at a great price. After a couple set ups like this, you wont want to hand these over to the wife even when you upgrade.
Congrats, and condolences on the marrage :lol: .

 

[stinkynathan]

As far as rods, Myself......I would try to catch Bass Pro Shops's Bionic Blades on sale(usually on sale for 49.99-59.99)...i've got two of these rods and for the money, I really like them. Then, I would look into finding a mid-grade reels that you like.....you can find most descent spinning reels for around 40-50 bucks. I personally like the Shimano Sedona reels, as they sell for $49.99, but you can sometimes find them on sale for a little cheaper. If you want a baitcaster, its gonna be a little tougher to get a quality reel for the money that would remain.....but you might be able to find a deal on a used Shimano(just my preference)....either a Citica "D" or a Curado "B"(older green reels). I've got both of these, and bought them both used and I love them both. But like I said on the reels, I just mentioned Shimano's as thats what I use mostly.

Does the Cabelas line of rods have anything similar to these that are worth anything? I only ask because I have a Cabelas just up the road, but the nearest BPS is almost 4 hours away. Would save me a bundle on shipping if I could get things locally.

There's also a Sportsman's Warehouse that is going out of business that I'm going to visit on Thursday. Not sure that I'll be able to find anything there, but of course it's worth a look.

Thanks for the ideas everyone.

 

[angry Bob]

I'm sure cabelas has a rod you'll like. You just have to settle on a length, power, and action that you want probably 6'6 to 7'0 medium power, and then compare different rods in your budget. Only you can tell what rod feels good to you. Some will be lighter than others, some will have a fast action tip so they'll feel pretty stiff. The slower tip rods will feel a little whippy. Personally I can't stand slow action rods like an ugly stick for example. Also I'd check Gander Mtn. if you have one in your area. I always see pflueger and shimano combos on their racks, and they have their own line of rods as well.

 

[Bubba]

Yeah, Like Bob said...I'm sure cabela's does. BPS is just the closest to me, I haven't got a Cabela's ANYWHERE near me. But best thing to do is just go, check them out, and decide what rod(s) you like best and go with them.

 

[jkbirocz]

I know nothing about trolling, or walleyes for that matter, but I have some abu 4600 round baitcasters, that might fit the bill. I bought them probly almost 10 years ago and used them for bass at the time. They don't cast light baits all that well, but they hold a lot of line and have great drags. I would imagine they would be good for trolling. I would be willing to let them go for very cheap, as I no longer use them and they are just collecting dust....somewhere. Of course I would have to find them first :? I think I know where they are..... Let me know.

As for rods, you may want to check out some lower end shimanos. I bought my gf a scimitar/sedona combo a few years back and that is a great setup. I have since converted the scimitar into a split grip rod, but it was just fine before. Good luck on your search, I know how hard it is making choices, especially on a budget.

 

[redbug]

I also know nothing about trolling so I think I would spend the money on power ball tickets and nachos.. I would only need one ticket to win then I'd move to Texas and fish Falcon lake for monster bass!!!

I did read hypothetical situation???
and I like nachos

 

[stinkynathan]

I also know nothing about trolling so I think I would spend the money on power ball tickets and nachos.. I would only need one ticket to win then I'd move to Texas and fish Falcon lake for monster bass!!!

I did read hypothetical situation???
and I like nachos

If only it were that easy......

 

[redbug]

I also know nothing about trolling so I think I would spend the money on power ball tickets and nachos.. I would only need one ticket to win then I'd move to Texas and fish Falcon lake for monster bass!!!

I did read hypothetical situation???
and I like nachos

If only it were that easy......

It is I had nachos for lunch !!!!!! no all I need t do is buy the ticket!!!

 

[stinkynathan]

I ended up stopping at Cabela's instead of Sportsman's Warehouse after remembering that SW didn't have any reels left, and it was way across town.

I got a Pflueger spinning combo that was a President 6735 and a Pfleuger 6'6" MF rod. It was $80....a little below my budget. I'm sure I could have gotten better, but I can already tell that it's better than anything I've used up to this point.

That President is a nice (to me) little reel. I could see myself getting a few more of those in different sizes for lgighter poles when I buy them.

Almost pulled the trigger on a baitcaster combo, but decided to wait a while. Will try to pick up one of those in a month before I start hitting the water a lot.

 

[darb79]

I think you will like that combo, it really is a great value for what you get.

 

[Bubba]

Sounds like a pretty descent set up. I know alot of people like those President's. :beer:

 

[angry Bob]

That's a nice set up. I'd save some pennies, and look for some sales for the baitcasting combo though. You really get what you pay for when it comes to baitcasting reels. I've wasted lots of money over the years on reels that I thought were good deals. Get yourself a good reel right off the bat, and save yourself the hassle. Good luck with those walleye.

 

[redbug]

I picked up 2 Pflueger president reels this off season they are very nice you should love yours
I also have a Pflueger bait casting reel that is as nice as any of my high(200) dollar reels but I only paid $ 70 for a used one.
good luck

Wayne