Trout Spinning Combo

[JeffP]

I know this is a fly fishing site but I'll try anyway. Does anyone have any suggestions for a nice trout combo. One by-product of this whole stay at home deal, is my kids have suddenly caught an interest in fishing. Iv'e fished with them here and there over the years but they never really caught the bug. I've certainly seen a lot of junk rods and reels over the last few years. Everything breaks, is cheaply made, and looks ugly as heck. They're just aren't that many fishing places anymore. Most of my purchases have been on-line and they suck.

Anyway, I am looking for a couple quality light action spinning combos. Must be durable, not gaudy as hell, and preferably cork handle. I am willing to go up to $100-$120. Thanks for any ideas.

 

[DaveS]

I think pretty highly of St Criox rods of any persuasion. I can’t recommend a reel with the same conviction

 

[Dave_W]

While they aren't especially pretty and may not come with cork, I'm a long time fan of good old Ugly Sticks.

They're inexpensive and durable. If the kids break 'em, they're cheap to replace.

 

[Mike]

I have not looked at light action rods with reels in a combo set for years, but in general the combos of the past never impressed me. I build my own sets by purchasing the rods and reels separately.

For kids and teens I would look for versatility. If I could find a reel that was slightly larger than the typical reels that come with ultra light rods, I would go for it. Also, I would look for reels that come with spare spools. The set would have a somewhat unbalanced appearance, but the reel will cast farther with a larger spool and may produce less line twist....always good for kids. Put 4 lb test mono (trout, panfish) on one spool and 6 lb (bass, catfish, carp, walleye, or trout with heavy minnow rigs w/ lots of split shot)on the other. I would purchase a 5.5 to 6 ft light action rod. A 6.5-7.0 rod is ok for bigger trout streams, but will be tough on smaller, tight ones. Your most difficult task may be finding light action rods instead of ultra light rods.

 

[drakeking412]

The Fenwick Eagle is what I used when I was spinning. Great rod at I think $60 and then paired with some okuma that was on sale. Overall a like $80 combo.

 

[JeffP]

I had an Ugly Stick since I was a kid. Same rod until the other day when one of the boys broke the tip off. I loved it and my Shakespeare Sigma Reel. I also broke my fly rod of 30 plus years 2 weeks ago. I'm stuck with a 3 weight and a 7 weight. I have all the pieces for a new 5 weight but just haven't build it yet.It's been a while since I built a few rods so maybe its time. I also have a 5 weight St. Croix that I built for my father-in-law. He broke the tip off almost immediately. I have that now that he passed away. It may be project time!

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Check Cabellas they have a sale going on. GG

 

[JeffP]

Thanks for responses! You gave me some good ideas!

 

[Canoetripper]

I really haven't done this in over 20 years, but my go to rod and reel combo was a 5 ft. single piece St.Croix rod and a Shimano reel.

Worked great from the stern seat of my canoe. 6 lb. Test Trilene line.

 

[salvelinus]

Check your PM

 

[tomgamber]

I have an old 7 1/2 ft fly rod that became a 6'9" spinning rod thanks to a cr door. I have an old ultra light spinning reel that I used to keep in my backpack, just in case. Works great. I did build my father in law a 4 1/2 ft spinning rod from the top half of a 9ft fly rod. Came out really nicely. He had huge carpenter hands and I made a grip that fit him.

 

[JMP]

A majority of fly fishers began with spinning equipment. I would suggest a Shimano reel paired with a name brand rod, purchased locally if possible. If not, I agree with purchasing from Cabelas. If you need spinners, contact me. I make spinners for family and friends who do not fly fish. I was introduced to fishing when I attended a Trout Unlimited meeting which featured Frank Nale as the speaker. We worked at the same hospital and he taught me how to construct and fish spinners.

 

[HopBack]

Shimano sienna 2000 paired with a st croix avid ultra light is a super trout setup. The rod is more expensive than what I would get a kid though, maybe look into a cabelas brand or shimano spinning rod. If it was for bass I would saw Lews all the way.

 

[RLeep2]

I have an outfit I use for the limited amount of smaller stream trouting I do as well as for an occasional float for smallmouth.

It's a Triumph 5' UL rod. Triumph is (or was anyway..) St. Croix's off-shore manufactured line. Still a very nice rod though without the full St. Croix sticker. I match it up with a pair of Penn light/UL reels. One is the older Spinfisher series which was US made and the other a mid price point Asian Penn import. I forget the model name of that one.

I don't know how it is now, but it used to be that if you wanted a good UL reel for trout, you needed to be sure it had a fairly high retrieve ratio, like 5:1 or above. This was invaluable when casting upstream and retrieving with the current. It may be now though that all the newer reels are that fast or faster. There was a time when they weren't though..

 

[Maurice]

Ahhhh, the turd in the punch bowl.

Carry on.

:-D int: :hammer:

 

[Bamboozle]

I don't know what the deal is with the "fishing" section in Walmart right now with the restrictions, but if it is open, I'd take a walk down that aisle.

There are tons of nice combos for half of your desired price point.

Over 25 years ago once I picked up a $19 cheapo Shimano ultralight reel there and it is still going strong.

 

[bearfisherman]

When I spin fish, I run Shakespeare Micro rods with Okuma Ignite reels. Can get the whole outfit for $50 on FishUSA, and they have withstood a lot of abuse from my kids.

 

[Swattie87]

FWIW, Shimano seems to be the reel brand of choice for the hard core spin guys. These guys can catch a lot of fish and fish them hard. I think I remember reading somewhere that they can go through a reel/year, meaning wear out the internals in a year's worth of fishing...That's a lot of spincasting.

My experience has been Pflueger reels have held up better than Shimano, and I'm pretty brand loyal to Pflueger when it comes to spinning reels as this point. (Unless saltwater, and then it's Penn, obviously.) Pflueger's President line, starts at $50ish and goes up from there, is a very good bang for buck product IMO, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend anything there.

As far as rods...I'm not very brand loyal. These things get beat around like a Brookie fly rod does. Something 5'6-ish, two pieces, cork handle, stiff, and under $50. Should be plenty of options that fit this mold.

 

[Steeltrap]

If you can pick up (eBay) a working condition Garcia Mitchell 408....(not the 308) you will have a fine fast retrieve reel that will likely last the rest of your life. I bought one when I was 16YO and almost 50 years later it still works as good as it did on day 1.

 

[JimKennedy]

Bass Pro Micro Lite rod, 7-1/2-foot. Cork handle. Yellow is a little bright, but a fairly classic look (like the old Eagle Claw rods and, for some reason I'm thinking Fenwick used to sell a yellow blank as part of a build your own fly rod kit). Very soft action, so very forgiving on the hook-set and makes flipping light spinners (and even heavy flies) pretty easy. Perfectly good for throwing up to X5 Flatfish, sewn minnows, etc. Pretty unbeatable at $20.

Mitchell AVOCET RZT or RZ reel. Solid, balance the rod nicely, reliable drag for when you do hook into something decent. They last forever (I have some Mitchell reels that are older than me (55) that I still fish with on occasion. Price range on these two is $30 to $50.

In fly fishing, the money goes into the rod and the reel is largely an afterthought (unless you need a drag). Spin fishing is different because good rods are relatively inexpensive but a low-budget reel with a drag that sticks means the moment you do hook a big'n, you're likely to lose it. Threw all my cheap reels in a garbage can with corn cobs and crab shells about 10 years ago after that happening one too many times.

Depending on sales, you're in at $50 to $60. Put the other $40 toward Panther Martin spinners. To me, they're worth the money because they spin on the fall. Get a lot of hits then.