[wannafish]

I am thinking that I will try something new this year by getting a bait casting rod and reel. I was thinking about getting a Cabela’s Prodigy Casting reel and I am not sure about the pole. There are so many types’ not just brands. Med. fast, med. light, med. heavy. Advantages and disadvantages?
What is the difference when fishing between all the different mediums? I don’t know what to get.
I fish rivers for salmon and if they bite steelhead. I have a med. spinning rod that I like.
I can’t get a 10 foot rod because it wouldn’t fit in my car. What would be the difference in getting a 9 foot pole versus an 8 foot pole?

 

[fishaddict]

My wife got me a 9' Okuma Celilo casting rod for Xmas and it is great for the money,about $45.had the same rod in a spinning version and it was my go to rod for 3 years up until this Fall on the Puy when some ediot stepped on it.I ordered the Cabelas Tournament ZX baitcasting reel for it and it is a great setup,The reel now I think is $65,when I ordered it 2 weeks ago it was on sale for $40.Great bang for the buck

 

[zvic733]

First of all, for 65 bucks, the Prodigy looks like a great reel. Actually a Diawa product. Asked for one for Christmas, but the wife upgraded me.
I like the Berkley Buzz Ramsey 9' medium. Good action at the tip, and plenty of backbone. Should go on sale at Joes, but worst case 75.
Just my 2 cents.
Vic

 

[sr5mike]

One thing you failed to mention is your budget. Like zvic said for under 75.00 I would look at nothing but the Buzz Ramsey Berkley great rod for the money. Now if 200.00 is your budget this thread will get large in a hurry. The debate between Lami, Gloomis,St Croix and fetha styx. Oh lets not forget the custom poles. As far as action goes everyone is different thats why they make a million and one different poles. The most popular all around pole would be a 8-17 lbs pole.

 

[Loctite]

I would get a G-Loomis 1143 with a Curado or an 1142 This set up is very easy to use and you'll love it. you might want to see if any are for sale on this site. I love my 1143 and its my go-to rod 80% of the time Tup:

 

[Booyah!]

I would go with the Cabela's 8'6" or 9' XMLTi Salmon/Steelhead rod, with a Shimano Curado or Citica. The rod is a 2 piece, so it will fit in whatever vehicle you have. Cabela's also makes a less expensive TXS line (also 2 piece) if cost is an issue.

 

[sr5mike]

I would go with the Cabela's 8'6" or 9' XMLTi Salmon/Steelhead rod, with a Shimano Curado or Citica. The rod is a 2 piece, so it will fit in whatever vehicle you have. Cabela's also makes a less expensive TXS line (also 2 piece) if cost is an issue.

For the 180.00 that Cabalas wants for that rod I would get a Lami cert pro or a St Croix avid. Also if you are going to target kings or chums in the river I would look for a ABU 5000/5500 for this duty. The extra line capacity and toughness of the reels is what i like.

 

[wannafish]

Hopefully I will have $200 for both rod and reel. I had a custom rod guy said he would sell me a Med. heavy rod for $125.00. That is when I found out that I didn't know what that meant. My spinning rod is medium Berkeley Buzz Ramsey 8-12 that I like. I had a Fenwick that broke at the reel seat that I didn't like and it was 6-17.
I do want to catch salmon (all types) and steelhead. So now I am also concerned about the low profile reels that don't have the line capacity that my spinning reel does and I was spooled by a small fish and large current all ready this year, well last year.

 

[sr5mike]

Well by getting a prodigy and a Buzz Ramsey. That will leave you enough money to pick up a ABU 5000 Ebay has them for 30.00 or so all the time. That will give you the extra line capacity for big fish. I like to take two reels with me when I fish. It is not fun to get up early drive to the river get all your gear on and 3o mins in you lose to much line to continue. So the extra ABu will serve many purposes.The Sportsman's show coming up will be a good place to look for a rod.

 

[zvic733]

There goes Mike pluggin the Abus again. Must have stock or something. Don't forget to upgrade the drag washers.
Excellent advice though.

 

[sr5mike]

There goes Mike pluggin the Abus again. Must have stock or something. Don't forget to upgrade the drag washers.
Excellent advice though.

Nice zvic i like that. Naw got out of that stock two weeks ago. I am a fan of the old abu's you can get them cheap off of ebay and they are solid as a rock. I always carry a back up reel with me when i go to the river. My 14 y/o has been using a baitcaster for two years now and has a melt down once in a while. Yes get you a set of drag washers and clean and oil the reel and it is good.

 

[hollywood]

Joes has lamiglas 1000 series rods for 129 bucks on sale right now.

 

[Jig'n]

Can't go wrong with the Buzz Ramsey rods. Buy it from Joes, if you break it, they will replace it no questions asked! Also pay attention to sales @ Joes, I've seen them for around $50 quite a few times.

Jig'n

 

[islandbass]

Hopefully I will have $200 for both rod and reel. I had a custom rod guy said he would sell me a Med. heavy rod for $125.00. That is when I found out that I didn't know what that meant. My spinning rod is medium Berkeley Buzz Ramsey 8-12 that I like. I had a Fenwick that broke at the reel seat that I didn't like and it was 6-17.
I do want to catch salmon (all types) and steelhead. So now I am also concerned about the low profile reels that don't have the line capacity that my spinning reel does and I was spooled by a small fish and large current all ready this year, well last year.

You shouldn't worry about getting spooled with the right sized LP reel. As long as you stay away from bass sized reels (eg Curado D 101). Any fish that spools a 200 or 300 sized LP reel to get away deserves a tip of the hat and a salute from you anyway.f you are that worried about getting spooled then you might opt for a 300-400 sized round reel (or abu g 5600 and up)

Given your $200 budget, there are a lot of options. Cardiff As start at about $99 and that would leave you with the other half of your cash on the rod.

FYI, Celilos at Sportco and OE are about $35 everyday. Also, for those that like the Lami Cert Pro 9'6" JC, there is now a version of it with the same graphite handle as the XMG line AND is it still the same $179. I almost bought it. :shock:

 

[Guest]

...FYI, Celilos at Sportco and OE are about $35 everyday.

Yep. The Okuma Celilo. My favorite.

 

[sr5mike]

Hopefully I will have $200 for both rod and reel. I had a custom rod guy said he would sell me a Med. heavy rod for $125.00. That is when I found out that I didn't know what that meant. My spinning rod is medium Berkeley Buzz Ramsey 8-12 that I like. I had a Fenwick that broke at the reel seat that I didn't like and it was 6-17.
I do want to catch salmon (all types) and steelhead. So now I am also concerned about the low profile reels that don't have the line capacity that my spinning reel does and I was spooled by a small fish and large current all ready this year, well last year.

You shouldn't worry about getting spooled with the right sized LP reel. As long as you stay away from bass sized reels (eg Curado D 101). Any fish that spools a 200 or 300 sized LP reel to get away deserves a tip of the hat and a salute from you anyway.f you are that worried about getting spooled then you might opt for a 300-400 sized round reel (or abu g 5600 and up)

Given your $200 budget, there are a lot of options. Cardiff As start at about $99 and that would leave you with the other half of your cash on the rod.

FYI, Celilos at Sportco and OE are about $35 everyday. Also, for those that like the Lami Cert Pro 9'6" JC, there is now a version of it with the same graphite handle as the XMG line AND is it still the same $179. I almost bought it. :shock:

I dont worry about getting spooled as much as having a nice king tear up my drag on a smaller LP reel. RIght now with the rebate from shimano you can get a curado for 140.00. Team that with a 60.00 dollar buzz ramsey and you have a good set-up. I do like that Cert pro with the graphite handle pretty sweet.

 

[wannafish]

I am rethinking after all this information.
I am going to save for the custom rod -but a spinning rod.
I will get Buzz Ramsey or, since it has a better warranty, Shimano Claurs pole, spending a little more on a better reel that will help me cast better (less birds nest). Since I don't know if I will take to bait casting I am not going to spend more than this on it.

 

[wannafish]

Thank you for all your input. I ended up getting a Berkley Buzz Ramsey Air IM7 Medium 8-12. Got it for 55.00 at the Sportsman show plus tax. The reel I choose was a Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 5601C4. It was $79.99 at Sportsman Warehouse and I had a $10 off coupon from the Muskie booth at the Sportsman Warehouse. Then I came home and went to the Abu Gracia website and found that there was a $15.00 rebate on the reel. When I get the $15.00 back that will make the reel total before tax $55.00.
So my new bait casting rig will be $110.00 plus tax. Which is great because I ended up spending more on the spinning rod than I planned. I got the St. Croix Avid 9 foot medium fast 8-12.
Now I have to practice on the bait casting rig.

 

[sr5mike]

You did good. If you take to bait casters you want to look into a LP later. I fished with round ABU's for a long time. Once I made the switch to a LP I dont break out my ABU's to often. Only when I target big kings do I use them.

 

[zvic733]

The coolest part about what you bought is that now you can outfish guys with $400 setups with good quality/low cost gear.
Always makes me feel good.
Great choices.