Newbie: All-round rod/reel?

[Pasternak]

Hi- Newbie here. Interested in both trout and salmon shore fishing. And I have an 8’6” Berkley Air IM7 Steelhead/Salmon graphite rod that I bought years ago and put in the closet unused.

Now wondering if this rod is too long or otherwise inappropriate for trout. Also hoping to find one spinning reel that will work for both trout and salmon. So my questions in summary: Is the rod inappropriate for trout (panfish)? And is there one spinning reel that I might use for both, trout & salmon? Love to gather a few suggestions. Thanks for the help!

 

[troutdude]

Welcome to OFF; glad to have ya. While you can technically use that rod for trout; it's overkill. Most of us use 5' or 6' ultralight rods for trout and/or panfish (crappie/bluegill); if we're angling from the bank. For trolling I use 7.5' light action glass rods.

You won't hardly feel a bite, or a fight, of a trout on a rod specifically built for bigger/badder fish like salmon or steelhead. Which, IMO, takes all of the fun out of the sport. And since you would use a smaller/shorter/lighter rod for trout...you also would not want the same size reel either. As you want to match the reel to the rod. So you would want a smaller reel.

This is also true because you would use lighter/smaller diameter line for trout as well. Versus the heavier gauge line used for salmon and steel. Plus you need a larger reel for those bigger fish; because you need many more yards of line for long spool-stripping runs as the fish fight against you.

In brief get yourself a shorter light, or ultra light, action rod with a smaller reel that holds up to 100-125 yards of 8 lb. monofilament line for bank fishing. Then you'll have some "reel" fun. lol

Or if your planning to troll for trout; get a 7.5 or 8' baitcaster with a baitcasting reel that holds up to 200 yards of monofilament line.

 

[BrandonBeach]

Ugly Stik Elite Spinning Fishing Rod 8ft
Runcl spinning reel
15-20lb Woven line.


Those rods have a sensitive tip, I have on occasion used it for trout, 40$ ish at bi-mart or big 5
For lesser cost spin gear my Runcl reels are great, 30$ ish on amazon.
this combo will cast a 1/4 oz lure like a rocket.
I use 20lb woven line, casts great.

This set up works good for me, for what it’s worth, I’ve fought steelies with lesser gear then this.

BB

 

[Pasternak]

Welcome to OFF; glad to have ya. While you can technically use that rod for trout; it's overkill. Most of us use 5' or 6' ultralight rods for trout and/or panfish (crappie/bluegill); if we're angling from the bank. For trolling I use 7.5' light action glass rods.

You won't hardly feel a bite ....

Well, I figured. I’ll stay tuned in here for additional opinions. But I expect I’ll put that steelhead rod back in the closet and buy a new rod/reel. Thanks for the advice TroutDude. And thanks to management for moving my first post to the right forum.

 

[Pasternak]

Ugly Stik Elite Spinning Fishing Rod 8ft
Runcl spinning reel
15-20lb Woven line.


Those rods have a sensitive tip, I have on occasion used it for trout, 40$ ish at bi-mart or big 5
For lesser cost spin gear my Runcl reels are great, 30$ ish on amazon.
this combo will cast a 1/4 oz lure like a rocket.
I use 20lb woven line, casts great.

This set up works good for me, for what it’s worth, I’ve fought steelies with lesser gear then this.

BB

Hi BB. Thanks for the input. When you write “those rods have a sensitive tip” are you referring to my Berkley or your Uglystick? Ugly must be the way to go. Everyone’s got one it seems. And it’s kind hard find a dealer that has one in stock

 

[BrandonBeach]

I believe Shakespeare makes those “ugly sticks”. The last few inches of the tips are clear, and more sensitive. Big 5 and BiMart near me have them in stock. For a fairly inexpensive rod, they seem quite nice. Versatile.

Watch for sales, I bought two at 30% off last year. I am always looking for low priced trout gear,

 

[troutdude]

I believe Shakespeare makes those “ugly sticks”.

Correct. They evolved out of one of the very first fiberglass rods, to ever hit the market called Wonder Rods. Which began production just after WWII; and could be bent from tip to butt without breaking. Ugly Sticks are the newest version of those rods.

 

[Pasternak]

I believe Shakespeare makes those “ugly sticks”. The last few inches of the tips are clear, and more sensitive. Big 5 and BiMart near me have them in stock. For a fairly inexpensive rod, they seem quite nice. Versatile.

Watch for sales, I bought two at 30% off last year. I am always looking for low priced trout gear,

I’ll get an Ugly. Many thanks.

 

[Pasternak]

Well, I’d buy an Ugly Elite 6’6” Medium if I could find one. Seems they’ll be unavailable until October. I like the great reviews. And I need that good price. So I guess I’ll hang on.

 

[DonF]

Theres a catch to what your looking for. You might stumble into a large trout, 4 or 5 pounds but most will be much smaller. Then I think you mentioned salmon. They come much bigger on the average and you'll probably need a heavier reel, rod and line! Get the rig set up for salmon and you have over kill on trout! Get it set up for trout and it's iffy on salmon! For either fish a 6'6" to 7' rod would work, get a med to medium heavy action rod. Buying a reel, I'm pretty clueless about sizes, especially in spinning reels. Most all my spinning reels are Ultra Light. If I was to go for salmon I'd take one of my catfish rods. The UL rods all have max 4 pound line and are either medium light to UL actions. My cat rods are mostly round casting reel on 7' rods and have 20 pound braid line in them. I did use one in the ocean several years ago using 15 pound mono and got a 24 pound salmon without trouble. I also have two reels that if still made would work pretty well for what you want. Garcia Mitchell 300 spinning reels. They are noticiably larger than any UL reel and really nice thing is when they were new they came with two spools. You could put heavy salmon line in one and light trout line on the other. As for the rod, a medium might be the best compromise for both spices of fish and about 7' should werk well. Then switching from one fish to another, simply change spools. I had a small Pflueger spinning reel with an extra spool but don't remember where I got the extra spool from, probably Pflueger! I have one more spinning reel that might work for you. It's a Daiwa J-25. Pretty big for a trout reel but I'd take on a salmon with it on say a 7' mediun heavy rod of some kind. Over kill for trout in my book but you could catch them with it! Might even get a second spool for this size reel from the manufacturer.

Lot of guy asking about rods for catfish don't ever seem to get getting a set up for the size fish you are targeting. Bullhead is a cat and I've never seen or heard of one over 3 or 4 pounds. Then a Blue is also a catfish and the record blue is over 100 pounds! One size does not fit all. I have recently set up a couple low profile casting reels mainly for bullheads and small mouth bass. Size of the fish range from maybe 8" to several pounds. I could do either with one of my UL spinning rod/reels and 4 pound line! Best to set the rod and reel up for what you think your average size might be. My advice to you is get an UL spinning rig, come a set in most places, for trout and maybe panfish and for salmon get a larger rod and reel for the salmon. Light line 4-6 pound for the UL and maybe 15-20 pound for salmon. Don't be overcome with the you get what you pay for croud. That 24 pound salmon was caught with an ABU 6500 reel and a $25 rod! I also have a very inexpensive round reel by Shakespere that has plastic gears and wouldn't land as many 24 pound fish as the ABU but would do several on that same $25 rod for maybe a quarter of the price or less of the ABU!