St. Croix rods

[rum runner]

iv got a good hook up on st.croix rods and shimano reels. was wondering what combo i shold look at for a salmon plug rod or pulling herring all that stuff any help would be great.

 

[RunWithSasquatch]

iv got a good hook up on st.croix rods and shimano reels. was wondering what combo i shold look at for a salmon plug rod or pulling herring all that stuff any help would be great.

Plug pulling, and herring pulling are two different creatures.

Also pulling herring in the spring as opposed to the fall is another creature in its own.

I see rods bouncing in front of my eyes for each different technique.

General, brief summary from my fingers says that your plug pulling deserves a fast, heavier action rod. Generally that fish is striking out of aggression, meaning fast hit and turn. You want your hook to have some back bone to it for when that fish turns, your rod sets the hook immediately.

I vote 8'-9', medium heavy, to heavy fast action rod for plugging

Herring pulling is different, as you are mimicking food source, and the fish is often biting out of:

A) True Desire to feed (often not a popular belief once a fish has entered its home waters)
B) Muscle memory, as you created an image of prey that it has seen for the past 3 years
C) Curiosity

Often speaking none of those are very aggressive. A fish taking a herring can often swim with the bait for a long time, taking a soft bite. More times than not, a Slow to Moderate action rod will work better, to allow the fish to literally in hale the bait by opening its gills in a way that causes a draft into its mouth.

The trend is going long for herring rods to help assist with the slow action of the herring bite, allowing the tip to relax with the bait and not keep it from entering a fishes mouth.

My vote 9.5' to 10.5' medium/ medium heavy, slow to moderate rod.

The spring to fall bite is even slower, because the water temps are generally colder from snow melts and early spring rains, creating a lethargic reaction.

Fall fish are usually fairly spunked up from the low, warm summer flows.

 

[rum runner]

thanks for that info didn't know there was that much to it! i will keep that in mind next time im getting a new rod for specific style of fishing!

 

[Irishrover]

I used to fish what folks called a "Boat Rod" heavey action stiff rod 6.5 to 7 feet max. To match that was a standard pen 209 reel. The idea was that a short lenght rod was easy to handle on the boat, it wouldn't bang into things and was easy to store. Now that is nice but it sure wasn't the best approach for catching fish. I went to 9' rods and okuma line counter reels. If I add more rods to the boat this season I may go with 9.5 to 10 feet. I was impressed with the longer rod because it gave a person more controll when fighting a fish. The longer rod also allow you to fish a longer leader and I like longer leaders when fishing for chinook on the Columbia near Astoria. Those old boat rods now remind me of trying to fish with a broome stick. I like the line counter reels instead of the old pull count method. I take lots of folks fishing on my boat and my "Pull" may be 2' some one elses "Pull" may be 18" or 30", so you don't get the exact depth you want. With the line counter it is easy to get the gear where you want it to be. With regard to the initial hook up I agree with RWS.