Help with rod selection

[jamisonace]

I'm not a bass guy but I'm floating the Umpqua tomorrow with my 11 yr old daughter and her friend. I have a dozen rods that dont work very well for bass and zero that do. I'd like to get a few rods specifically for small mouth bass. What should I be looking for in a spinning rod? I'll use them about 3 times a year so not looking for high end.

Thanks!

 

[wils]

Yeah. I've blamed my rods a time or two, also.
Blame aside, I prefer light action, 4-8 lb rods in the 5 1/2' - 6' class.

 

[fromthelogo]

What @wils recommended would be good for your daughter. I typically fish a 6'-6" medium action rod with 8-10 lb line using soft plastic baits.

 

[jamisonace]

Just picked up a couple ugly sticks, 6'6" 6-15lb.

I'm hooking fish fine with lighter rods but they don't handle the fish well. 75 to 150 fish a day on the Umpqua is common, I just don't like the way they fight the fish.

Last time these girls landed 81 fish. Our goal is 100 today. With the heat today, I'm guessing they'll want to spend more time swimming than fishing so we'll see what happens.

 

[Don Fischer]

I am no authority on much of anything. Don't really target bass that much but do go after them at Clarno now and then What ever it is I'm fishing for I do like lighter rods and line. Use mostly level wind reels for but now and then light spinning rods and crappie jigs. My spinning rods I think are all med-light action. Now you can get one for under $20 or you can spend over $100 and in my mind they both do the same thing! I have a very old Mitchell 300 that was on a very light action rod in case I actually ever tried kokanne fishing for real. Well decided to set it up for trout, seldom ever fish for them but need to be ready. Looking for a rod, didn't want to spend to much on a new one but finally found just the thing. Was in the Bi Mart and found a combo Shakespere Crusader with a small spinning reel on it, $19 for the combo. The Mitchell 300 is now on that rod. 6' Med action rated for 6-12# line. I think it would work fine on small mouth but then again I've got several other spinning rod's that also work fine yet prefer my level wind reeds. Go to the Bi Mart and look through the inexpensive combo's. There's some good deals to be had there even if all you want is the rod! I think small fish deserve a lighter action rod and bigger fish a heavier action rod. I also think many people spend far to much time looking for the perfect rod and reel and not enough time fishing!

 

[jamisonace]

I bought the two ugly sticks at bi mart. less than $40 a rod. I looked at the combos but the reels didn't look too solid and I already have decent reels.

I saw some shakespeares for $16 that would have been fine but they weren't spinning rods and the kids need spinning rods.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Don Fischer]

When I got the Shakespere combo I didn't give the reel a second though. Figured I liked the rod and for $19 for the rod and reel, I could throw the reel away! Afraid I'm to frugal for that though, still got the reel on a kokanne rod! Probably never use it!

 

[jamisonace]

Good thinking.

 

[jamisonace]

So I hated the ugly sticks. Too stiff. Too short. All around a crap rod.

Took them back to Bi-Mart. No problem with return which is why I shop almost exclusively there for fishing stuff.

Picked up the Okuma Reflextion (I think) 6-10 7'. It is perfect and will be great for trout and kokanee too. Broke them in on the Umpqua yesterday and caught over 90 fish between two of us.

 

[Admin]

caught over 90 fish between two of us

 

[Aervax]

So I hated the ugly sticks. Too stiff. Too short. All around a crap rod.

Took them back to Bi-Mart. No problem with return which is why I shop almost exclusively there for fishing stuff.

Picked up the Okuma Reflextion (I think) 6-10 7'. It is perfect and will be great for trout and kokanee too. Broke them in on the Umpqua yesterday and caught over 90 fish between two of us.

I am not a fan of the ugly sticks either. Tried them a couple times. Nothing in my fishing style matched up with their performance. There is a lid for every pot, and my bass fishing lid most definitely ain't an ugly stick. They clearly do have die hard fans. If you're ever in need of more bass rods Okuma, Berkeley and Shimano all have rods that work well for $20-40. I have a real love for G.Loomis and St Croix spinning rods for bass fishing, but they're in a budget class that limits to just a couple in my collection.

 

[jamisonace]

I am not a fan of the ugly sticks either. Tried them a couple times. Nothing in my fishing style matched up with their performance. There is a lid for every pot, and my bass fishing lid most definitely ain't an ugly stick. They clearly do have die hard fans. If you're ever in need of more bass rods Okuma, Berkeley and Shimano all have rods that work well for $20-40. I have a real love for G.Loomis and St Croix spinning rods for bass fishing, but they're in a budget class that limits to just a couple in my collection.

My buddy guides on the Umpqua for bass with G Loomis and they are great. A guy out of N Carolina made me a rod a few years back that is awesome. His brand was Wizard Stick. Then another buddy tossed it in the back of his pick up and broke the tip off. i fixed it but it doesn't fish the same.