Rank Rods and Reels that you have used
Freshwater
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14,639 Posts
Check out our Reviews section. We don't have a lot but there are some good ones there.
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14,639 Posts
Wow - you are right. The Shimano reels and rods in the saltwater section are technically freshwater gear, we just use them in saltwater. ?Maybe we should cross post them or something.
Well anyway, maybe some folks will go over and write some reviews for you on other gear. That's a great place to do it - even has the ranking system built in. Posting here is fine too of course, just that section is easy to search and has a long shelf life.
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8,127 Posts
I moved a couple of them to the freshwater section. I would love to see more members take advantage of the Reviews section of our site. If you own a product that you are pleased with or one that you wish you'd never purchased, consider posting it in the Reviews section. The collective information on products that we can store there will be a great resource for all. I'd be happy to add photos of any products anyone is interested in reviewing or finding a review about. Just let me know what you'd like to see in there. Thanks!
I know I'm guilty of not posting reviews.... but here's what I've found successfull for what I use, and I tend to stick to what works, at least for me.
Fresh water:
Mitchell reels forget the name of them, older type with the old wood handle deal (spin)
Penn 4300ss reels
Shimano Sedona 1000, 2000 series
Dam Quick (hard to find classics)
Okuma AV series
FLW Walmart 6 ft one piece graphite rods M6's
Shakespeare rods with the stainless inserts on the guides (any size from ultra mini to 7 ft med light spin)
Shakespeare ultra mini spinning reels
Saltwater:
Alutecnos Albacore 30's and 50/50W's
Penn (black face and red face Senators) various sizes from 2/0 up to 14/0
Mitchell white face conventional 2/0's
Okuma TG's and TS's (15's and 50W's)
Okuma AV-80's
Shimano Sedona (light tackle)
Penn Silver 105's
Penn 4300ss reels
Okuma Stratus 85's
Sea Striker Billfisher rods
Chaos Rods
Penn Mariner stand-up rods
Star Custom stand-up rods
Penn Slammer spinning rods
Fresh water:
Mitchell reels forget the name of them, older type with the old wood handle deal (spin)
Penn 4300ss reels
Shimano Sedona 1000, 2000 series
Dam Quick (hard to find classics)
Okuma AV series
FLW Walmart 6 ft one piece graphite rods M6's
Shakespeare rods with the stainless inserts on the guides (any size from ultra mini to 7 ft med light spin)
Shakespeare ultra mini spinning reels
Saltwater:
Alutecnos Albacore 30's and 50/50W's
Penn (black face and red face Senators) various sizes from 2/0 up to 14/0
Mitchell white face conventional 2/0's
Okuma TG's and TS's (15's and 50W's)
Okuma AV-80's
Shimano Sedona (light tackle)
Penn Silver 105's
Penn 4300ss reels
Okuma Stratus 85's
Sea Striker Billfisher rods
Chaos Rods
Penn Mariner stand-up rods
Star Custom stand-up rods
Penn Slammer spinning rods
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871 Posts
For fresh water I use Ambassador bait casting reels and Bass Pro Shops Pro Series spinning reels both are very simple and durable. They are durable and easy to repair. I use the Pro Series spinning reels in both fresh and saltwater. Most of them that I have are 15+ years old. I also have some older Michell 300 reels but they don't go well with saltwater. As for rods I like older Garcia, Browning, Lew's, Invincible and Bass Pro Shops Bionic Blades. All very good equipment IMHO in the mid-price range.
I really don't know much about new stuff on the market.
Mark
I really don't know much about new stuff on the market.
Mark
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3,173 Posts
Almost all of my rods now are Falcon Rods (American Made), now. I prefer the longer rods for casting distance and control when fighting a fish. I Had planned to do mostly inshore fishing for Redfish and Trout so, I bought a 7"6" Medium action Falcon Coastal series and set it up with a Pinnacle Round Bait caster for line capacity. After, i saw how that I could cast with it I fell in love with the longer rods and have been using them ever since. Even my Ultra Light rigs have 6ft and 6ft 6" rods now. You can't buy round reels from Pinnacle anymore and they're not that great anyway, so I plan to begin replacing those with Shimano reels as soon as I can.
I have a couple of Shakespeare Ugly Sticks with Abu 5600 reels for Catfishing or Bottom fishing at the coast. The Ugly Stik is still pretty much an indestructible rod in my book.
There's lot's of great tackle on the market and your tackle really depends so much on what you plan to fish for. In my opinion, the best rods will always have Fuji components(eyes and reel seats). However, it becomes a matter is it really worth the extra cost for your type of fishing or what you plan to do.
I have a couple of Shakespeare Ugly Sticks with Abu 5600 reels for Catfishing or Bottom fishing at the coast. The Ugly Stik is still pretty much an indestructible rod in my book.
There's lot's of great tackle on the market and your tackle really depends so much on what you plan to fish for. In my opinion, the best rods will always have Fuji components(eyes and reel seats). However, it becomes a matter is it really worth the extra cost for your type of fishing or what you plan to do.
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353 Posts
Good Morning to everyone. Backlash, you hit the nail on the head my man. It depends on what type of fishing you plan on doing and where? It might also depend a great deal on what type of species you plan to catch. In this case, size does matter. Coastal (Surf, Pier, Inshore, Offshore), Freshwater (Bass, Smallies, Striper, Catfish, Walleye, Crappie, Bream), Fly Fishing (Mt.Trout, Striper, Bonefish, Red, Spec, Blues, Bonito, Dolphin, or Bass, Bream, Smallies). If you are just starting out, I'd stick to Freshwater gear and work my way into others in my opinion. You can buy a nice setup for less than $50. Ugly Stick and a Okuma reel, or any number of reels. Like someone said earlier, Ugly Stciks are hard to beat for durability, I have several of them myself. Cheaper reels will wear down much quicker with time and stress of catching fish, that is why they are "cheaper." Once you are hooked, look out for the "Tackle Monkey." He gets around and usually cost you more money than you can imagine. Good Luck. I too, will try to post some pearls of stupidity on the gear that I use and prefer for various types of fishing. Tight Lines, mate.
well i went with the daiwa capricorn baitcaster and one of their higher end spincasters
for the baitcaster went with a 7 foot ugly stick 1 piece and the spincaster i have on a 6'6" northeast outfitters clearwater series IM6
once i get some time on the lake with them i will be sure to post a review of each
I do NOT like the quantam baitcasters though, will get on that review as well
for the baitcaster went with a 7 foot ugly stick 1 piece and the spincaster i have on a 6'6" northeast outfitters clearwater series IM6
once i get some time on the lake with them i will be sure to post a review of each
I do NOT like the quantam baitcasters though, will get on that review as well
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962 Posts
Agree with JT3- Quantum = cheap
I am probably the only one who likes them, but I like the quickfire reels (they have an extra appendage that you can grasp the line and flip the bail at the same time). Only seen them made by shimano and quantum- which I don't use- see above. The Shimano Solstace does the job for me- usually about $50 and will last 2-3 years under (relatively) constant use.
For saltwater, I like the Okuma Stratus series- mainly because they are decent and almost always on sale at Dick's.
I am probably the only one who likes them, but I like the quickfire reels (they have an extra appendage that you can grasp the line and flip the bail at the same time). Only seen them made by shimano and quantum- which I don't use- see above. The Shimano Solstace does the job for me- usually about $50 and will last 2-3 years under (relatively) constant use.
For saltwater, I like the Okuma Stratus series- mainly because they are decent and almost always on sale at Dick's.
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14,639 Posts
Shimano use to make a quick fire too. I have one but haven't seen another in a long time so they may have quit making it. That quick fire is a nice feature when using braid.
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6,642 Posts
OK Gang - lots of recommendations above in this thread, but not much of it is out on the reviews page.
Reviews are a little more complicated than forum posts. If the thing (rod, reel, bait, line, boat, etc...) you want to review isn't already up there, you have to do an "Upload Product" first to add a new product to the list. This is where you provide the name, manufacturer's description (or self-manufactured description - should try to be unbiased here, ie. "Just the Facts, Ma'am"), and pictures if you can find and upload some. Once you upload the "Product", then you can post a review against it which includes a rating value 1-10 and your own words about the product.
(Sorry to NCangler if this is already described somewhere and easy to find - I pretty much fumbled through my first one then became a reviewing machine. He's pretty good about adding links to the "real instructions" when I post stuff like this, so WATCH THIS SPACE!)
Reviews are a little more complicated than forum posts. If the thing (rod, reel, bait, line, boat, etc...) you want to review isn't already up there, you have to do an "Upload Product" first to add a new product to the list. This is where you provide the name, manufacturer's description (or self-manufactured description - should try to be unbiased here, ie. "Just the Facts, Ma'am"), and pictures if you can find and upload some. Once you upload the "Product", then you can post a review against it which includes a rating value 1-10 and your own words about the product.
(Sorry to NCangler if this is already described somewhere and easy to find - I pretty much fumbled through my first one then became a reviewing machine. He's pretty good about adding links to the "real instructions" when I post stuff like this, so WATCH THIS SPACE!)
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8,127 Posts
Thanks for all your hard work in getting our reviews section going Jeff. I originally announced it in the following threads and Topsail Angler was promoting it too:
http://www.ncangler.com/forums/f27/got-products-review-26.html
http://www.ncangler.com/forums/f27/fishing-books-videos-other-products-98.html
http://www.ncangler.com/forums/f83/review-section-site-735.html
If anyone would like to review a product or would like others to review one they are interested in, but you do not want to upload the product information yourself, just email me the product and model number information. I can find the photos and info pretty quickly online and add it to the Reviews section. Then you can add your review or ask a question of other members. I will use some of this Review information for ideas on products to add to our eStore over time as well.
So name the products and we'll add them!
Randy
http://www.ncangler.com/forums/f27/got-products-review-26.html
http://www.ncangler.com/forums/f27/fishing-books-videos-other-products-98.html
http://www.ncangler.com/forums/f83/review-section-site-735.html
If anyone would like to review a product or would like others to review one they are interested in, but you do not want to upload the product information yourself, just email me the product and model number information. I can find the photos and info pretty quickly online and add it to the Reviews section. Then you can add your review or ask a question of other members. I will use some of this Review information for ideas on products to add to our eStore over time as well.
So name the products and we'll add them! Randy
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4,804 Posts
hey, walmart sells a very good rod { the cherrywood by berkley} its only 20.00 and i use it for bass as well as stripers, and redfish,i have many other rods that are pricey but this cherrywood has held up very good,.......chris
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871 Posts
I have been very pleased with the Okuma Sentara combo that I recently purchased. It is an 8' graphite rod with cork grips and a size 60 reel. My other favorite surf rods are Sea Strikers and Andes that I have outfitted with Silstar CT 50, 60 and 70 reels. I love those reels but they are no longer manufactured.
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