Hello All,

Most of my gear is beyond repair at this point and I am looking at getting a few rigs together.

I am going to be going with my wife and 2 kids and all will want a rod in hand. Aside from that I am thinking about having a larger setup or 2 for trolling.

I could really use any advice on what you would recommend for a standard setup and any other considerations while having fun shopping

Thank you in advance :)

I just noticed this thread with tons of info. :)

Just a standard 6' or 6'6" spinning rod in medium or medium light. Pair that with however nice of spinning reel you want and boom. Spool it with something like 8lb mono and you're good for about anything that's up there. (to keep it easy and simple)

I tend to not recommend pre-assembled combo's (rod/reel) as usually corners are cut for one or both components. But you can of course spend $40 on a rod and the same on a reel and have a decent setup. You can spend hundreds on both of those and catch the same fish and anywhere in between. All depends on budget and how you think they'll treat the equipment.

If you're thinking bare bones, something like an ugly stik with a basic reel is fine. If you want like the next step up something like a Fenwick Eagle with a Pflueger reel is about the bottom of what I take up there and they do great.

Thank you for that post. This is exactly what I was after

I am trying to decide now between med and med / along with reel size.

Also any extra considerations for trolling?

Thanks

Cyclones is exactly right.

For trolling, consider medium heavy or medium.

Yeah, reel size I like to see them in person as different companies use different numbering systems. But for pflueger and most Abu a 25 or 30 is a good middle ground for reel size for the "main" rods. Maybe up to 35+ for a heavy trolling rod.

If you're unsure, look @ the reel picture if it's got one of the spool or specs and see what line it says it'll hold. If 6 or 8 lbs is in the range you're likely ok. If it says like 2-4lb too small and same with 10+ it's too big. President for example here

I use a 6 1/2 or 7 ft medium light fishing rod with a 2500 size reel for everything but lake trout and big northerns. For the LT and northerns I use a 7 ft medium rod with a 2500 size reel. On the medium light rod I use 6 to 8 pound test monofilament and on the medium rod I use non stretch line with a 5 to 6 foot leader of 10 pound monofilament.

briar: "I use a 6 1/2 or 7 ft medium light fishing rod with a 2500 size reel for everything but lake trout and big northerns. For the LT and northerns I use a 7 ft medium rod with a 2500 size reel. On the medium light rod I use 6 to 8 pound test monofilament and on the medium rod I use non stretch line with a 5 to 6 foot leader of 10 pound monofilament. "

+1

I was in Shields and picked up VP30 quantum fishing reel it is really nice, the list price was 149 on sale for $59. After using it I went back and bought 2 more this is a nice real with a really great drag, look up reviews online, not sure if they have any left but if they do grab some! And they have a 3 yr warranty, hope they hold up

Pat

UpNorth4: "Hello All,

Most of my gear is beyond repair at this point and I am looking at getting a few rigs together.

I am going to be going with my wife and 2 kids and all will want a rod in hand. Aside from that I am thinking about having a larger setup or 2 for trolling.

I could really use any advice on what you would recommend for a standard setup and any other considerations while having fun shopping

Thank you in advance :)"

OH How I love talking gear. Doesn't matter if it's canoes, rods and reels, camera gear, or computer gear. It's all good. Crab a cup-o-joe. ...and my choices aren't gospel. You can certainly do what you want.

I was just going over this with a neighbor, who wants to get a rig for their kid going off to college. So I've already thought about much of this recently.

RODS:
I'd go with a 6-6 to 7ft 2pc rod. I prefer 7ft 2pc, as they break down - easier for storage in the small trunk in my Honda Pilot. Don't have to worry about gear and bags falling and breaking the rod tips.

As for the particulars of the rods. I love 7' 2pc medium light, fast action. I also have a 7' 2pc medium, fast action, and a 6-6 light, fast action.

I would invest more money in the rod, than the reel. Get a rod with good tip sensitivity. Even a good medium fast rod, you can feel every little pebble on the bottom of a lake, and even a tiny tug from a Rock Bass, 100' away.

There are all sorts of good rod companies out there - I go with St. Croix - supports a local business in Wisconsin. The Victory, Avid, and every other rod on up, are made in the US. The Triumph line, and some of the less expensive rods are made in the St. Croix plant in Mexico. They have a great warranty service—especially for their Victory and Avid rods, that have a 15 year warranty. ...break it, send it in, and they'll send you new rod. If the rod you broke is no longer in production, they'll send you the next closest-up option, and you pay the minimal difference. Sometimes it can take a month to get the new rod. ...another reason to have more than one rod. :)

2B Genesis rods are owned by 2 brothers in Minnesota — so local to the US. Not sure where the rods are made. Tom Boley loves their gear and....holy shit... they have a LOT of rods on sale. I'm diving in today. :)

Two Brothers 2B Genesis spinning rods

They have a 7' 2pc Medium-Fast action for $100 (normally $200). Also a 7' 2 pc Ultra light. Oh baby.

For trolling you'll want at least a medium-fast action. Do you need a Medium Heavy? I don't think so. If you get a good rod with a good backbone, you'll be able handle about any fish in the BWCA with a medium-fast. Even a 20lb Laker from the deep cold dark depths of a Canadian shield lake.

A good medium light-fast rod will handle any walleye and smallie you hook up with. It can certainly handle a good 30-35" pike as well.

I prefer the split grip cork handles. Not a fan of the foam — had them LONG ago. The split grip feels lighter, and they seem to balance better with my reels, like...'perfectly better'. And they feel a bit more sensitive. YMMV. But - my favorite split grip rod (St. Croix Avid X) is no longer in production. But the Avid spinning rod is, and that rod is also phenomenal — if you're a bit more passionate about your gear. My favorite 1-piece cork grip rod. The cork feels SO good... Almost plush. LOL

On a side note, I bought my kids a 2pc medium light-fast 6-6 Bass Pro Shops Microlite ($60). This is their first year with this rod - and a few times, the kids would cast, and the top half of the rod would detach, and you'd have to retrieve the whole set-up. I've never had this happen with my St. Croix 2pc rods.

Other rod makers: G.Loomis, Fenwick, Okuma. Lot of people in Milwaukee love Okuma. I wasn't a fan.

REELS:
A good reel for the kids would be the Pflueger President 30X. It's a solid size; not too big, not too small. Kinda just right. ...Red Riding hood would love this reel. It's beautifully smooth — both in reeling line, and the drag. Holds a decent amount of line. I know several fishing guides use President reels for their clients. They're on sale at Cabela's. The 30X isn't much of a sale, but I'd recommend this reel for everyone in the family. Just a well built and smooth.

Plueger President Spinning reel - on sale

I have a President 20X on my Light Rod. I used this reel on a $30 Bass Pro Shops 5'-6" Ultra light rod, fishing for bass on a small lake, and it was an absolute blast. The crappy rod broke within the year, so I upgraded to a 6' 6" St. Croix Premier Light Rod. Love this new set-up.

If you want a nice step-up, and a lighter reel, the new (redesigned/updated) Pflueger Supreme XT ($170) is outstanding. Solid magnesium alloy body (instead of a graphite body in the President) and Ssssssssssmmmmmmmoooooooth. It's butter. The bail is a bit stiffer than the President, which I'm ok with. I don't reel to click the bail shut. When the bait hits the water, I close the bail with my hand. The bail certainly feels more solid on this reel than the President. Though I've had zero issues with the bail on any of my Pflueger reels.

Pflueger Supreme XT

I also have a pair of Pflueger Supreme reels (silver version - it's since been updated), a 35X and 30X — wanted bigger reels for bigger fish, and felt the magnesium frame would be a bit more durable if I hooked a King, big brown or steelhead. I actually prefer the President over the Supreme in overall feel. It's personal thing, I guess. I sold one of my Supremes to a kid who is getting into fishing, and upgraded to the new Supreme XT. Monumental difference here. Also prefer the styling of the new XT over the new Supreme, and the old 'silver Supreme'.

There are all sorts of great reel makers - Abu Garcia, Diawa, Shimano, Penn, Lews. I tried them all (at the $100 and under price point) at a Baitshop and walked out with the Pflueger President.

Specific Set-ups:
I was originally going to recommend the St. Croix Triumph 2pc rod - at the $100 point - but now I'm going with the 2B Genesis 2PC.

For the kids:
2B Genesis - 6-6 MLF 2pc - $110 (this deal is just too good to pass up)
Pflueger President 30X - $66

Honestly - that'd be way more solid for everyone in the family.

If you're a bit more passionate about fishing, I'd grab a pair of rods:
St, Croix Premier (Cabela's special Split Grip version) 6-6 Medium-Fast 2pc - $175 (for trolling).

St. Croix Avid 7-0 medium-fast 2pc - $235 (for trolling and bigger fish) - though this rod might feel like a medium-light compared to other rods.

2B Genesis - 7-0 MLF 2pc - $110 (for everything else) - this deal is just too good to pass up.

Plueger Supreme XT 30X ($170) on both.

If you want a lighter set-up for funsies, the 2B Genesis 7-0 Ultra-Light 2pc ($110) - also too good of deal to pass up - paired with a Pflueger Supreme XT 25X (a bit smaller) - $170.

Set up all the rods Medium-Light rods with 8 pound braid, and the Medium rod with 10 pound braid. I think I have all of my medium and medium light rods set up with 10 pound braid.

I'd set up the UL rod with 6 pound braid.

Tie a 10 pound Flouro leader to all the ML and M rod braid lines with the "Alberto Knot". Get a 100 yard spool, and keep it with you.

I'd tie a 6 pound flouro leader to the Ultra Light line.

Alberto knot is easy, and fantastically strong. Plus the knot is small - goes through my tiny Avid X rod guides with zero issues. ...unless the knot gets choked with that cottonwood fluff floating in the water earlier this June. Ugh! That was unbearable.

Happy gear hunting.

:)

A couple of considerations: We like to troll, and find it works better when the bow person has a longer rod(7 ft?) and the stern person has a shorter rod. Easier to paddle and fish for the stern person.

If they are young kids, tape a styrofoam float on the rod or tie a string to it with a clip to clip it to a thwart, that way if they drop the rod you won't lose it.

I think for your application any $60-$80 dollar rod/reel combo at scheels, fleet farm, or cabelas will satisfy your needs. Since you're buying a few rods I would get a couple different types. Maybe a few mediums and one medium light?

Given you don't really own any fishing rods currently I didn't think you'd get a lot of value spending more money on premium rods/reels. You need lots of time on the water to be able to take advantage of the benefits of nicer setups: identifying a soft bite, pairing the right lure with the right rod, and a smooth, consistent drag. Honestly unless you're fishing for huge northers - most drags on $70 combos will work nearly as well as the drag on a $300 dollar reel. Sure the nicer reel is better, but will you catch more fish because you have it? Probably not.

jwettelrin89: "I think for your application any $60-$80 dollar rod/reel combo at scheels, fleet farm, or cabelas will satisfy your needs. Since you're buying a few rods I would get a couple different types. Maybe a few mediums and one medium light?


Given you don't really own any fishing rods currently I didn't think you'd get a lot of value spending more money on premium rods/reels. You need lots of time on the water to be able to take advantage of the benefits of nicer setups: identifying a soft bite, pairing the right lure with the right rod, and a smooth, consistent drag. Honestly unless you're fishing for huge northers - most drags on $70 combos will work nearly as well as the drag on a $300 dollar reel. Sure the nicer reel is better, but will you catch more fish because you have it? Probably not. "

I caught a 34" Pike with my kiddo's old $20 Zebco combo from Cabelas. Yes. Any rod can hook any fish. Would I want to catch all of my fish on that rig? Definitely not. I'm surprised the reel didn't pop out of the seat. LOL ...The rod broke later that year - so we upgraded to a $40 Pflueger Trion, and a $35 Bass Pro Shops Graphite Series rod. Then the rod on that combo broke. So we now have the $60 Bass Pro Shops Micro Lite rod. So far, we've spent $155 his rig. His Micro Lite separates on casts every now and then. I had this happen with my BPS Graphite Series rod as well.

Can you learn on inexpensive (and in many cases, cheap quality) gear? Absolutely. But it doesn't take much more to improve the quality to get more out of your gear. Why buy 3 or 4 times, when you can just buy once? ...then "add on" (if you wish) as you go...

A lot of people give this same advice for camera buying. Start cheap to learn, then buy a more expensive camera as you get better. I entirely disagree with this notion. If you can afford the better camera, get the better camera to start with, and learn on that, then keep it... for as long as you like. Buy once. Chances are, you're going to LOSE a ton of money on the resale of the old gear - IF you can even resell it. And I won't even get into lens compatibility issues when going from a crop sensor to a full frame sensor.

With the fishing gear, you can learn soft bites, rod/bait pairings, setting your drag, snap jigging, etc... on a solid reel with a good rod. I mean, if you can't afford it, you can't afford it. Get what you can. People catch fish on everything. Xander Budnick caught bass with string and a hook wound around a thick piece of wood. ...which...damn. That was fun to watch. LOL

If you pick up my kiddo's current Trion/Micro Lite ($100 combo) in one hand, and my President/2B Genesis ($250 combo - paid $160) in the other - there's not only a big weight difference, but also a significant balance difference. Guess which one is perfectly balanced?

I'm not saying don't buy a $70-$100 combo for the kids - by all means. Do it. I wouldn't go much less than that, unless they're under the age of 8. ...But if you're buying for yourself, and you really enjoy fishing , and if you have the means, it's 100% worth that extra bit to upgrade to nice gear. It just makes the whole experience that more enjoyable. ...especially if the fish aren't biting. LOLOLOL


2B Genesis Ultra Light-Fast with the Pflueger President 20X. Will be taking this little rig to Hayward this weekend. :)

I really appreciate all of the thoughtful input.

With that a decision was made :)

I think we got the right balance here for years of fishing.

We also do a good amount of non BWCA fishing so these will not go to waste :)

UpNorth4: "I really appreciate all of the thoughtful input.


With that a decision was made :)


"

Congrats! Those'll catch fish! Have fun and enjoy the time on the water. :)

I love those Eagles for the BW not too expensive where you are too paranoid about damage or anything else. They are pretty sensitive and durable for the price point and they have a 5-year warranty. Just picked up a couple of HMX fenwicks for an upcoming BW trip and they are awesome got the chance to test them out on some St Croix smallies and walleye yesterday they were great.

UpNorth4: "I really appreciate all of the thoughtful input.


With that a decision was made :)


"

Beautiful rigs. Enjoy that water, and happy fishing... :)

Great choice!

Protect them on portages and going in and out of house doors and such and you'll have years and years of nice rigs