favorite brand of rod and reel?

[jaxsun]

im partial to all star and shimmano...my favorite rig is an all star titanium under a calcutta TE 200GT...if you have any doubts about the price of a TE calcutta its worth every penny

 

[Pony]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

I love the 2 or 3 shakespeare ugly sticks that I have. My favorite reel is a penn 420ss that i got from my dad. its nice and smooth, and its all metal so its durable.......as far as new reels go i like the shakespeare quantum on a cherrywood rod.

 

[BassCat73]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

When I flip and pitch for bass, my favorite all-time rod is the BassPro Bionic Blade 7'6". Awesome quality, but dirt cheap in comparison to other quality rods. I'm waiting for the next sale and I'll probably buy a couple more.

 

[BassCat73]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

Oh yeah, I also use All Star for muskie fishing. Helped me catch the one in my avatar, so no complaints here!

 

[Ron G]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

For reels shimano curado not expensive as the calcutta but very dependable mighter of fact i havent had any proplems out of my shimanos,and for rods i like the g loomis but to expensive ive been using the bass pro extemr now for a long while they been good rods tried one of those kistlers or histlers last here they are about the lightest rod i ever picked up thinking abou getting one for a worm rod.

 

[jtexas]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

shimano conqueso & gloomis, way too expensive for weekender like me...my current favorite is my Diawa TDS a bargain at Cabela's grand opening & Team Diawa rod 7' H, free with the reel, but I have Diawa PT100 on a BPS rod that is very nearly as good performer, under $100 for the combo.<br /><br />hey pony85 I have 2 of those cherrywood rods, one casting one spinning...where else can ya get all graphite, cork handle, and a hook keeper, very well made rod under $30.<br /><br />which reminds me of my pet peeve...I got a $100 rod, no hook hanger; my $40 rod, no hook hanger; $80 rod, no hook hanger. But my $20 rods have hook hangers, a couple $10 spinning rods - with hook hangers.<br /><br />What is the deal, why don't the hi-dollar rods have hookhangers?

 

[BassCat73]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

That's my only pet peeve with the basspro bionic blade (no baitkeeper). I drilled a small hole into the plastic trigger handle, which works well.

 

[skeeterboy]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

any shimano japan reel like the scorpion for baitcasting or the biomaster for spinning.<br /><br />Rod would have to be loomis or kistler LTA. All great products!

 

[FLATHEAD]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

My favorite rig right now is a quarrow ML4 6' mated to a Shimano curado. For those unfamiliar with Quarrow rods your missing out. Quality rods for sure. Here is a more info if you are interested. http://site.quarrow.com/products.htm

 

[jaxsun]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

i've been wantin to try one of those kistler heliums but theres no place around here that sells them and i hate to buy a rod without getting to feel it first

 

[KCLOST]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

I've been using this combo for a few years and I really love it...<br /><br />Pinnacle Matrix baitcaster with a Pinnacle titanium 7' med/heavy action rod...<br /><br />The reel was in the $60 range, very, very smooth action and free spinning spool, I was also able to purchase the rod at a discount when I bought each reel.. $100 rod for $30... Pretty nice set-up for under 100 bucks... I have four of these that I just love.

 

[sergioy]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

Im with jtexas on the pt100 combo, except I learned that if I order the combo online I can get the rod and reel for $49.99. Instead of $80+. Actually the young man at the counter looked a little POed when I returned a rod and reel the other day and when he asked why, I told him. That combo is not top notched but serves its purpose very well for me.

 

[dmonwai]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

My favorite rods are the ones I build myself- Mon Wai Rods.<br /><br />My favorite reels are Okuma and Shimano.

 

[jaxsun]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

do you build them from scratch or do you do custom rods using other brand blanks?

 

[dmonwai]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

Originally posted by jaxsun:<br /> do you build them from scratch or do you do custom rods using other brand blanks?

I build custom rods using commercially available components like guides, rod blanks, reel seats. Most of my rods are built with Rainshadow blanks.

 

[JB]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

Rod Brand. I fell in love with Fenwick rods when I lived in the upper midwest. Still have 6 of them. My current favorite rod is a gloomis, but it is the only gloomis I have ever used.<br /><br />Reel brand. ABU Garcia. I have 7 of them, ranging from a Pro Max 1600 through a couple of Morrums to a pair of 7000s.

 

[JAG59]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

Shimano has been my favorite reel since they first hit the market in the northeast about 25 years ago. I've gotten so hooked on the one-handed casting that I don't remember how to use anything else.<br />I finally bought a Shimano rod this year. At first I had a hard time justifying the extra 10 bucks. Call me cheap. Also, most of the other brands had a dark colored foam type handle whereas the Shimano had cork. I figured it would break apart, get dirty, and generally look bad in no time, but I really liked the action of the rod so I bought it. A few weeks later I found a product at BPS called "ROD WRAP". It works great and protects the cork handle nicely. I couldn't be happier with my Shimanos.<br />P.S. I like my Toshiba TV, too.

 

[skeeterboy]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

well i like shimano so much i just bought 2 scorpions and 2 biomasters from japan Best 2 reels for the money period!

 

[huntandhook]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

I mainly drift fish for steelhead, chinook, and coho salmon on the rivers of Vancouver Island. My rod of choice is an 11' Fenwick HMX casting rod. With its length you can pitch your rig across the river with ease and you can mend the line well during the drift. It's sensitive enough to feel small trout nibbling at your bait, but it still has the backbone to haul in a 20lb salmon. I've had the same rod for 6 years now, caught steelhead to 15lbs and salmon over 20lbs and this rod has never let me down.<br /><br />As far as reels go, if you are looking for a durable, dependable reel that will last for years, Abu Garcia are the best. I currently use a C3 6500 baitcaster. I've used the Shimano's before and while they cast nicely, they didn't seem to hold up as well as my Garcia. The Shimano has more plastic parts, which is probably why it is less durable. I also find that the low thumbar on the shimano can be problematic. If your thumb is resting on the thumbar when you turn the handle the gears will not engage properly. If this happens just as you get a strike, you can kiss that fish goodbye.<br /><br />Thats just my opinion,<br />P

 

[KCLOST]

Re: favorite brand of rod and reel?

Phaedo, that thumbar problem is common among many brands of reels with that design... Which is unfortunate because I like the design being a lefty....