Hey Everyone, I am new to Idaho and River Trout Fishing. I have done small saltwater when I was a young scout but now I have caught the fishing fever again and want to get into it. My wife is getting me a pole and reel combo for my graduation gift (2 weeks from now).
So my question is as follows:
What rod and reel combo should she get for me under $45 - $50? We have heard the unbreakable myths of the Ugly Stik but I don't intend on bashing my pole against trees so that is not what is important to me.
People say I need something with fast action. What are your guys's recommendations? Links would help if you know the place to order it.
Any other advice is welcomed. Thanks in advance!
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ten of my rods are ugly sticks. Sportsman's Warehouse has a five year out the door warranty on their ugly sticks, meaning if you do break it, which I have done you can go right in the store with your receipt and replace it, after that you have to mail it in. My favorite is an ugly stick lite, great action, great feel, seven and half foot.
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ugly stick all the way I have a few other rods I spent more money on and I always go back to the ugly stick it just fishes better for me I now have 4 great rods also shimano makes a great reel for good prices sportsman also carry
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It is
but it will be tough to get a great combo for that price. Do not buy the pre assembled combos most of them are crap. Go to sportsmanship and find the reel with the most bearings that you can afford. The rod is less important to me. The more expensive rods are going to be lighter and more sensitive. Find the one that feels good to you. Most rods will handle the average trout so how it feels to you is important. I usually fish light lines 4-6 lb. If you are lure fishing I might go 8 lb so you lose less gear. In the end you will be happy you took the time to find the best gear you can afford.
Windriver
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i would say stay away form an ugly stick combo just because the reels are crap and i also agree it is going to be hard to find a decent combo for that price ugly stick are ok at best unless you are going to bash the rod then their good i guess i am pretty hard on gear and rarely break poles it is the reels i wear out. You should check out the shimano sellus rods i have a 6'8" worm a jig spinning rod with a shimano sahara 1000 size reel and it is my favorite spinning pole i own and while it is a bass pole it cast 6lbs test with 1/8th spinners on it fine and has landed many 5 to 6 pound rainbows with out a problem plus it cast a mile shimano makes a great product and you dont have to buy a sahara reel to get a good spinning reel the sienna is a great reel for $30 bucks and sellus are only $50 at sportsmans so for around $80 bucks you could have a really nice set up that will last you a long time and work for many other things beside trout also i don't pay to much attention to the number of bearings in a reel most shimano dont have 11 bearing most are 4 to 6 why because that is all they need the whole bearing thing is just a sales tacit in my mind just more things to fail the only down fall to shimano spinning reels is a small bail wire that will bend easy if dropped or banged on to hard if you really cany spend 80 i would check out cabelas they have some good rods like the pro guide series
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I bought 2 of these this spring and have been very very impressed. Extremely good feel and castability. [url "http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/Fishing-Rods/Spinning-Rods%7C/pc/104793480/c/104764680/sc/104836680/Cabelas-Classic-IM6-Spinning-Rods/1342398.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fspinning-rods%2Fcabelas%2F_%2FN-1102841%2B1000002949%2FNe-1000002949%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104836680%3FWTz_l%3DUnknown%253Bcat104793480%253Bcat104764680%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNU&WTz_l=Unknown%3Bcat104793480%3Bcat104764680%3Bcat104836680"]http://www.cabelas.com/...64680%3Bcat104836680[/url]
I got the PSP6662L-2, I think. Fairly in-expensive, but has the feel of a high quality rod. One a down note, one of them did break on me, but Cabelas replaced it over the counter. (More correctly stated, my wife broke it when she lost a big fish and was climbing out of the bushes very excitedly, but that's another story).
Pair that rod with one of these, [url "http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/Fishing-Reels/Spinning-Reels%7C/pc/104793480/c/104760180/sc/104837580/Pflueger-President-Spinning-Reel/1254609.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fspinning-reels%2Fpflueger%2F_%2FN-1102842%2B1000004297%2FNe-1000004297%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104837580%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253Bcat104793480%253Bcat104760180%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNU&WTz_l=SBC%3Bcat104793480%3Bcat104760180%3Bcat104837580,"]http://www.cabelas.com/...0180%3Bcat104837580,[/url] I'd get either the 6925x or the 6930x. You'll have a very nice setup for about $90.
I know $90 is not $50, but if you want to stay with fishing, you won't regret getting the better gear. I agree with what has been said about rods. I rarely break a rod and almost any rod will do you fine (even though some are nicer than others), but don't skimp on the reel. The President I've recommended casts like a dream and has a very smooth drag.
lite action Ugly stick + shimano reel. I still have and use my first of this combo for almost 20 years now. The lower end shimanos are functional and durable but spend just a little more ($30+) and you get more than what you pay for imho.
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Hey thanks everyone for your posts and advice. This will definitely help my wife.
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I recently set myself up with a nice Abu Garcia setup. I paired a 7ft Villain rod with their Cardinal STX30 reel. Great set up! The rod is a tad heavy for most of the fish I usually find, but I snagged a 18" rainbow this morning on it, and it played out beautifully. The reel has up to 14lb drag, 6+1 bearings, with 5.1:1 gear ratio.
The[#ff0000][url "http://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/sportsmans/Abu-Garcia-Villain-Series-Spinning-Rod/productDetail/Spinning-Rods/prod999901360435/cat101034"] Villain[/url][/#ff0000] rod is out of your price requirement, way out.
But the[#ff0000] [url "http://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/sportsmans/Abu-Garcia-Cardinal-STX-Spinning-Reel-/productDetail/Spinning-Reels/prod999901363973/cat101041"]Cardinal STX[/url][/#ff0000] reels are right at fifty bucks, and they are incredible. I'm sure you could pair that with any light / medium rod to make a lethal combination.
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