Fishing Pole/Reel Advice

[Miscue]

Well... looks like I need new gear... have no idea what to get. I'll be fishing for rainbow trout at a lake. Any suggestions?

[Anti-You]

no fly rods of course. I use a short but sturdy rod(like a small shakespeare), never cared much for the great expensive stuff but thats just me, anyway i fish in the NC mountains and don't know as much about trout ponds.

as far as bait ive found rooster tails, panther martins, and other spinners useful for catching rainbow. make sure to have an array of colors.

[dj89]

I love my Ugly Stik, its made buy shakespeare. I have a johnson fishing real, just about time for a new one.

[Target Practice]

Pfft. Real men fish with these:

[mxracer33x]

Depends on your style of fishing. You fish for trout at a lake, using? Livebait, Spinners, Heavy jigs, Trolling with downriggers? I really like a nice 6'6" medium/medium heavy rod. I fish mostly smaller tackle, 1/8 -3/8 oz spinners, rapalas, and live bait. I prefer a nice stiff rod with a sensative tip. Especially if you fish off the bottom. With a good rod you can actually feel the different substraits on the bottom. I use alot of fenwick, G-Loomis and Lamiglas Rods.

Here is a nice reasonable fenwick rod. I just got the 5'6" ultralite model and am very impressed for the cost. Fenwick HMX

HMXS66M-2 6'6" 2 B M 4-12 1/8-3/4 $69.95

As far a reels go, I have always been partial to the shimano reels. They have taken good care of me. My last purchase was a Shimano Stradic in 2000 series, which was last years model. I also prefer a rear drag model if available. Alot easier to adjust while fighting a fish if necessary. Here is a link to this years stradic series Shimano Stradic

I fish with silver thread 2-6lb mono lines. The 6lb line has worked well with trout up to 12 lbs if you play them well.

[Glickman]

no fly rods of course.

hm why? alot of people love fly rods by me and use them for nice size blues and even bass, but it is something you have to like.

I am also a big fan of shimano. If you had asked anyone 3-4 years ago what the best reel maker was, "Penn" was the overwhelming choice, now, its "Penn who?" For a good reason.


If your looking for durability, id have to say to look at ugly stiks (shakespere).
Model SP1150-2UL Length 5' Pieces 2 Lbs Test Line 2-6 $39.99

Dont be fooled by the price. I have this rod, and its a beast of a rod, as is all ugly stiks.
Those who've use ugly stiks know about the clear tip. Its very stiff at the base but very flexable at the clear tip.

For this rod, id recommend something like the shimano slade.

Model SL-1000FB Yards of Capacity 110 Recommended Lbs Test 6 lbs
I personally use this reel for inshore fluke.

There are also differing sizes to both the rod and reel.

If you are uncomfortable using a spinning reel (many do), then feel free to check out a spincaster.


I work at a tackle/bait/gas dock, so if you want to compare prices, just shoot me pm with what you are looking for, we are authorized dealers for: Dawia Pinnacle Seeker Shakespeare
Shimano St. Croix Star Tsunami Sea Striker Crowder Abu Garcia Alutecnos Avet Daiwa Newell Penn Shimano St Croix and probably some others ive forgotten about.

[Miscue]

Depends on your style of fishing. You fish for trout at a lake, using? Livebait, Spinners, Heavy jigs, Trolling with downriggers? I really like a nice 6'6" medium/medium heavy rod. I fish mostly smaller tackle, 1/8 -3/8 oz spinners, rapalas, and live bait. I prefer a nice stiff rod with a sensative tip. Especially if you fish off the bottom. With a good rod you can actually feel the different substraits on the bottom. I use alot of fenwick, G-Loomis and Lamiglas Rods.

Here is a nice reasonable fenwick rod. I just got the 5'6" ultralite model and am very impressed for the cost. Fenwick HMX

HMXS66M-2 6'6" 2 B M 4-12 1/8-3/4 $69.95

As far a reels go, I have always been partial to the shimano reels. They have taken good care of me. My last purchase was a Shimano Stradic in 2000 series, which was last years model. I also prefer a rear drag model if available. Alot easier to adjust while fighting a fish if necessary. Here is a link to this years stradic series Shimano Stradic

I fish with silver thread 2-6lb mono lines. The 6lb line has worked well with trout up to 12 lbs if you play them well.

The last time I went fishing at the lake I'm going... I used this play-doh type bait that floats... kinda rainbow colored... forgot what it's called... but I caught a fish like every hour. I used a slide sinker to get it to get some depth. I'll use the same stuff. No luck with spinners at all... I've been considering live bait too though.

Can you tell that I am a neophyte?

[Alley]

The last time I went fishing at the lake I'm going... I used this play-doh type bait that floats... kinda rainbow colored... forgot what it's called... but I caught a fish like every hour. I used a slide sinker to get it to get some depth. I'll use the same stuff. No luck with spinners at all... I've been considering live bait too though.

Can you tell that I am a neophyte?

You used that marshmellowy stuff you buy in jars at the store?

[Miscue]

You used that marshmellowy stuff you buy in jars at the store?

Yeah... a bit thicker than marshmellow paste.

It's this stuff:

<img src="http://www.troutlet.com/ProdImages/PowerBait/btb1.jpg"><img src="http://www.landbigfish.com/images/store/berk-GChromaG.jpg">

I just got ridiculous results with this last time I used this stuff... so that's what I'll continue to use!

[TheTramp]

If it's not Orvis it's not fishing (jk)

[Jaan]

For fresh water Trout I use this combo, which is pretty much what many others have said:

Rod - Shakespeare Ugly Stick, SPL 1100 6'6" Action M

Reel - Shimano AX2000FA

Bait - White Rooster Tails

Nice and cheap too. I like to let the rooster tail sit on the bottom for a minute and slowly reel it up and bang. Power bait works good but I don't like to use it. Feels like cheating. I fish just to chill out anyway.

[wanna-b-ballin']

powerbait works sometimes. for some reason, when i use powerbait, i never have the right color. the fish always change the color they want to eat. i hate them.

but small dark spinners with a flashy spinning thingy, salmon eggs, castmasters, and spoons all work good. if you have a few of each, you should be set. if they dont bit one, try another. my tacklebox is really full, and thats what i do, and i always catch fish. ::knocks on wood::

cant wait until i go up to northern Idaho again in a few weeks. i love it up there and there is lots of fishing everywhere. oh and those kids that were kidnapped up there in cour d'alane looked slightly familiar, and thats the area i go to up there. kinda freaked me out when i saw the little girls face in the news.

[Bluestrike_2]

I love all of my Ugly Sticks.

The warranty is wonderful. One was snapped by my carelessness (long story, involved riding my bike through a rough trail to get to the pond, had a nasty accident that snapped my tip right in half) yet they still said that they'd replace it.

Another thing - at Gander Mountain they will replace your rod for free. At least they did to my two friends (one a fly rod, the other a spinner).

Also, don't rule out getting a value-priced fly rod in the near future. Even at a few ponds I love it. There are these two ponds out by my house that I absolutely kill the bluegills on (not actually KILL them, just catch a TON) a popper with my fly rod.