Your Favorite Rod-n-Reel Rig

They are all my favorite, from my cheapest one to my most exspensive one......

They are all my favorite, from my cheapest one to my most exspensive one......

^^ "Like!"

I'll also add - each rod/reel set up has a purpose, to which is fishing, and fishing is my favorite thing to do... so I guess it's logical to come to the same conclusion as FlyGuy. Below are just the rods/reels I've been using the most.

The rod I get the most questions about: 4'8" Ugly Stick 2-6lb 1/32-1/4oz ultralight <--- makes for a great rod in my backpack when atv'n to hidden gem lakes, I'd otherwise never get to nor be able to fish

My favorite rod is a 7'6" spinning rod that is rated for lures up to 2oz. I purchased it during college for fishing largemouth and smallmouth more than 20 years ago. I fished from Michigan down to Florida with it with a couple different reels catching everything from sunfish to king mackerel. I won two small fishing tournaments with it. One of the prizes was a OK Scupper Pro TW. Along the way I've used many reels to meet changing needs and lines, replaced every guide twice and splinted a broken tip section. It broke in a section I can't repair a few years back and I've been looking for another rod to take it's place in the arsenal. It sits now gathering dust in the garage, but it'll always be shiny and new in my mind's eye.

One thing I have concluded is the adage "they don't make them like they used to" very much applies to rods and reels. I have some oldschool setups that are WAAAY better built that most of the higher end stuff today. Crazy thing is you can find them in garage sales and pawn shops and ebay at a fraction of the cost. Here is an example:

Pfleuger Rocket 1355- Casting direct drive star drag level wind, SS construction and plenty of line capacity. Very versatile- I use this from trolling for kokes, salmon, drifting for steelehead, Sturgeon fishing and jigging for rockfish. Probably one of the all time best reels ever made (in the USA I might add) and can be bought today for under $15. I pair this up on my old 70's Eagle Claw salmon rod, on up to my Uglystick (Tiger) for Sturgeon and saltwater bottom fish.

One more thing I will add- The one thing you DONT do is let your kids use it, or you will be fixing rats nests the rest of your day. Only someone that is skilled with thumbing should appreciate this reel.

One more thing I will add- The one thing you DONT do is let your kids use it, or you will be fixing rats nests the rest of your day. Only someone that is skilled with thumbing should appreciate this reel.

I would like to add friends and family to that too...just saying

my king killer:

Cabela's Tourney Trail® EVA Split Grip, TTESGC705, 7' one piece, IM7 blank, MH
Shimano TR1000LD Charter Special Salt Water Reel Lever Drag
300 yards 50# Tuf-Line XP Green

My "favorite" set-up, for salmon, is an 8'6" or 9' Lamiglas Classic Glass, 10-20; with Tekota 500LC, 30# or 50#braid - the glass rod bend and the smooth drag have made up for a lot of mistakes over the years.

But, I like a shorter rod on a kayak, so have been using a medium Trevala rod and Tekota 500LC for general fishing, and a heavy Trevala rod with a Trinidad reel for heavier bottom fishing.

 

Bottom fish,  Shimano travalla, with a penn fathom 25lwlh (Yep left handed reels for me) with a full spool of 65lb power. 
Casting for silvers, 8.5ft gloomis with a penn reel (the model escapes me at the moment)...
plus, hell any rod in my hand when I'm fishing!

While obviously everyone who says "it depends on the fish and situation" is correct, over the few years, I've found that I rely 90% of the time on my MH trevala with an avet sx loaded with 65lbs pound power pro with a 50lbs flourocarbon leader of 4 to 6ft. It catches everything I fish for. I adjust terminal leader to species targeted. It's too light for big halibut. It's too heavy for cohos but it works on everything. At 6ft it's too short but that's the major drawback. Grabbing one rod plus a spare or the optimal rod or the fun rod (fly or ultralight) makes life a whole lot easier. Keep in mind I target kings, halibut, coho, and deep rockfish in about that order. I also am a meat fisherman.

Being one who is extremely hard on poles, I have learned that the IM7 and IM8 generations of graphite are extremely fragile. I destroyed one one on a Hook set last year. Another example is that a weight will bruise the rod and cause it to break at the most inconvenient time. The IM6 version is extremely forgiving yet still sensitive  enough to feel steelhead. They are in garage sales all the time.

I don't have a go to setup. I keep finding new reasons to buy another rod or reel. LOL. By now I must have about 15 rods and a similar number of reels which I sometimes interchange depending on my wants or needs.

My cheap ars Ugly Stick 5'6" (6-15lb) Medium action.  Perfect for kayaks due to it's short length and super lightweight.  Plenty strong for anything I'd ever hook up with here in the freshwaters of the Pac NW.

If I was going somewhere and did not know what to expect, I would take this stick.  It will do whatever is needed, whenever it is needed.

I used to think shorter was better for a kayak but have since changed my mind. Too often I need to clear the bow or stern, often over a net stuck in the rod holder.  Got to be careful of high sticking a fish on landing but the two biggest issues I have had using my 6ft trevala is clearing the ends of the kayak plus having to shorten leader length to less than I prefer since it's nearly impossible to run a diver/weight/flasher and bait lengths anywhere near the rod length and net a feisty fish.

I used to think shorter was better for a kayak but have since changed my mind. Too often I need to clear the bow or stern, often over a net stuck in the rod holder.  Got to be careful of high sticking a fish on landing but the two biggest issues I have had using my 6ft trevala is clearing the ends of the kayak plus having to shorten leader length to less than I prefer since it's nearly impossible to run a diver/weight/flasher and bait lengths anywhere near the rod length and net a feisty fish.

I like longer rods. For a bottom fish rod I like 7 foot for my light saltwater spinning gear I like a 9 foot rod.

Yea.  Big diff between salt water and fresh water fishing.  I would expect everything would be a bit larger when fishing the salts ( Puget Sound is my hood ).