Northwest Fishing Reports

i know many many many factors play in, what river?, what species?, what lb test? etc, but like i notice i end up buying some cheaper rods and cheaper reels, that eventually im just wasting money buying cheaper stuff that break than just forking over the dough and buying a prime setup that will last me many years, and many fish, mainly i fish silvers, i fish steelhead in tokul creek, for winter, reiter for summer. during summer i fish for kings if they are open, and always for pinks(but you can use anything for pinks really). and im wondering what times would you want a spinning reel over a level wind , or a baitcaster, should i just make the switch to a level wind rod/reel practice, practice,practice and it will help in the long run? or just get a good versatile spinning rod and reel setup? anyway let me know what rods, i hear alot about g loomis, lamiglass , and especially fetha styx. thank you so much guys, -levi

probubly just drift fishing, with occasional float fishing if i have cured eggs.

i just got a fenwick hmx s and i like it a lot. very sensitive and kicks really hard for deep hook sets.

Here is my rule of thumb. If you are confident in your fishing skills, you can catch about 90-95% of the fish possible on a $150 setup that you will catch on a $600 setup with the same action, tackle etc for a given species. When I had my bass boat and fished tournament and was out on the water every second I could get, I got lured into the 'gear snob' mentality and had a locker and then some full of $400 rods and $200 reels. I would then go fishing with some of my other friends and use the gear they had stocked on their boat and catch just as many fish on their Bass Pro Shops $150 setups.

These days I have some nice gear and I tend to like smaller manufacturers like Denali, Damiki, Powell etc. I do own a $280 Lamiglas G1000 which is my primary springer/steelie rod, but I bought it new on an Ebay auction for $91+shipping which was a deal NO ONE should pass up. But my big fall salmon rod is a $90 Berkley Air IM8 9' MH spinning rod with an $80 Pflueger Arbor reel. I would not hesitate to recommend this rod line to anyone as it is just flat out about the biggest bang for your buck rod out there.

As far as spinning gear vs casting gear I would say this, you will catch more fish with gear you are the most comfortable with for a given application. Sure if you are trolling it's a baitcaster all the way because the boat is doing all the work. Same goes for back bouncing when applicable. As far as side drifting from a boat or drifting/plunking from shore I'd say spinning all the way. I would suggest an 8'6"-9'6" medium action rod with a 30 or 35 size spinning reel as an all around setup. The only time I would say baitcasting gear just about always has the edge is in the drag department because of the linear way the line comes off the spool, and it could be the difference on that once in a lifetime fish. But I would rather play the fish until tired than rely on the drag to do my job for me.

i use an 8'6 fenwick hmx as well with a shimano cardiff 200 size. the reel has carbon fiber drag and some other stuff the previous owner put on. i also carry a 7ft shimano spinning rod with a abu garcia reel for really thick areas.

for bigger fish i have an ooollldd set up, given to me by my brothers father in law. its a fenwick fiberglass pole with a nice swedish made level wind abu garcia...which is surprisingly smooth and easy to cast with light weight

i also have a lamiglas guides choice rod with a daiwa viento that rarely gets use. (probably because i broke the rod tip off on a trailer hitch)

Go with your what yur bank account can handle. These days you can get some fairly good gear for fairly cheap. I mean Okuma SST and uglysticks are not that expensive and if you are using them right will handle anything youare doing just fine. Then from there take mental notes of what you like and dislike and when you save enough to step up to a higher end setup you are better able to get exactly what you want.

For float/jig I like a long whippy-er rod than most I think. I run a Lamiglass X10MLC with a Curado 207e. I traded one of my pontoons for a Fetha Stick steedhead rod at the WaLakes Swap Meet. It is a tad bit beefier than my Lami and when I set it up for Float/jig (with another Curado 207e), I didn't like it - BUT I tied on a spoon and it is great for that and it will probably be a great drift rod as well.
Both of these I use for salmon and steelhead in the rivers. The only change I would make is if I am fishing for kings somewhere where I have to horse em in, for that I bought a cheap Celio meatstick becuase it is not something I do often, so would rather not sink the $$ into it.

Bait Casters designed for larger diameter lines and tough drag system. Bait Casters are great for float fishing. For drift fishing, it's easier to have a finger on the line while drifting which gives you direct sensitivity.

Spin Casts have smoother drag systems thus when you use lighter line for lighter presentations. For example when I downsize to a smaller hook or jig, I like using spin casts. When fish start running, set the drag less and the smooth drag has a less chance of popping off the smaller hook.

As for money, I'm sure you read this everywhere, spend more on the reel if your budget is limited. I've been using Okuma Ceilios for a while and it's been a great rod for the money.

These days, more and more bankies are coming in with 2 rigs for different application. It's a little pain to move spot to spot, but at times it's nice to have the option.

From what you said it sounds like we do the same fishing. If your mostly going to drift fish I would just get a good spinning setup. I do like drift fishing with bait casters but I feel more comfortable drifting a spin rod. Float fishing still works well on spinning rods as well as casting spoons/spinners, and whatever river fishing need be done. In some certain places you only want a certain thing but for the most part its what your going to feel comfortable in the end with.
With that though you really dont need to spend big bucks for good gear. Its hard to go wrong with Shimano rod, they have always fished super well for me and are 80 bucks or so, cabelas rods arent bad either, spend less then 80 on mine and love it. I even have a shakespear rod i bought for 2.50 at a garage sale, been river and lake fishing that thing for the last 5 years and even smashed the tip and reformed it and its still going strong.
Reels are a little different, if buying a baitcaster you really dont want to cheap out. Its worth the extra money in the end. abu garcia reels are my favortie. Shimanos arent bad either and quantums too.
50 bucks or so will get you a solid spinning real, pretty hard to go wrong here, okumas, abus, shimanos, quantum all make good reels.

My ideal setup for the river would be a Loomis STR1082c and a Shimano curado wrong handed retrieve, 12 pound maxima and flouro leader.

Whats your budget?
I love shimano rods, and abu reels.
Shimano has a good line of rods that you could chose from. Theres a shimano rod, i cant remember the name of it. but its $56.95, its with my parents in arizona. Its a very good rod, i caught 10 or so kings on it, has alotta back bone and sensitivity very good for the price. Or theres the convergence, my overall fav rod ive used. its $79.99. Also the clarrus, i havent used them but ive heard from my buddies that there good rods there about 100 bucks. For reels, dont go with a cheep baitcaster or your going to be messing with bird nests more then fishing.
Theres nothing wrong with using a spinning rod/reel, this year when im fishing for kings my #1 rod is a baitcaster, but im taking 3 other rods that are all spinning. My favorite spinning reel that ive used is a Shimano Spirex 4000, theres 2 differet ways to change your drag. very smooth, i have 4 of these reels. And there less then $60. but remember you need to be comfortable with a baitcaster if your oging to use one. Good luck

My favorite set up is my newest one ; Shimano convergence+abu garcia ambassadeur c4

so many combos so little time i just get dem all when on clearance haha

so right now im running a redington 8-17 lb 8'6" medium action rod(very nice to me)-spinning with a shimano sahara reel with 12 lb izor on it. i dont fish alot of kings so im not too worried about it, mainly i do coho and steelhead, but every summer i try with kings, idk if the setup i have is okay for kings. but as of right now my budget is about 400-500 bucks for reel and pole just because my birthday is coming up, and i never had a problem with my fishing setup untill being on this site and seeing all the great expensive rods/reels and baitcasters etc, so it makes me think, well should i just buy a really expensive good setup that will last me awhile, or does it not matter too much. cause granted this is only like barley my second year of fishing rivers, i still have ALOT to learn. i find spinning reels to be my favorite but most guys say to use baitcasters, so much info on stuff its overwhelming lol. but ill figure it out.

IF IT WORKS DONT FIX IT ! Save yourself some money, or put 200 to the side just in case your going to need one if your rod you currently have breaks. if your rod and reel are doing you just fine now, dont change it up just because of what other people say. If youve never had a problem with it, then why buy another one? If your comfortable with your rod now, catching fish, then dont change. You might go to a baitcaster and not be very comfortable with it. Keep on fishin, if i was you id use the money to buy some new lures, etc.
I just bought a baitcaster combo about a week ago, im working on getting another one to use in saltwater i dont wanna take it out in the salt but thats the only reason im buying another theres nothing wrong with the one i have so until it doesnt do me justice anymore i will keep on using it.

yeah true,true.plus its like most things, you buy better stuff, as you get better, so with much practice and learning ahead of me, i dont think i need a super spendy setup anyhow, thanks man.

Yup, as you get more oppurtunites then maybe buy something better. As you learn more, and get better, then get better gear. GL

zefsidefishing wrote:so right now im running a redington 8-17 lb 8'6" medium action rod(very nice to me)-spinning with a shimano sahara reel with 12 lb izor on it. i dont fish alot of kings so im not too worried about it, mainly i do coho and steelhead, but every summer i try with kings, idk if the setup i have is okay for kings. but as of right now my budget is about 400-500 bucks for reel and pole just because my birthday is coming up, and i never had a problem with my fishing setup untill being on this site and seeing all the great expensive rods/reels and baitcasters etc, so it makes me think, well should i just buy a really expensive good setup that will last me awhile, or does it not matter too much. cause granted this is only like barley my second year of fishing rivers, i still have ALOT to learn. i find spinning reels to be my favorite but most guys say to use baitcasters, so much info on stuff its overwhelming lol. but ill figure it out.

The setup you have is pretty much right on target for the kind of fishing you do. Again don't get sucked into the 'gear snob' kind of mentality. A $400 rod IS NOT going to be 4x better than a $100 rod if both are from reputable manufacturers. I'd say you *might* get 5-10% better performance every time you double the cost of your gear, but again if you are just getting started and still figuring things out are you going to be able to utilize that extra 10-20% you paid dearly for? Probably not.

very true, the ONLY thing i hate is i recently bought a shimano sahara 3000, it just seems very small, and the drag works weird....bummed i wasted 80 bucks on it. but it should work for a little while.

a 30-35 size spinning reel is usually about right on the money for a quality full graphite 8-9' pole. They hold plenty of line and bigger 40+ size reels have a tendency to make your pole tip heavy which is not good for detecting strikes without using balance weights on the butt of the rod. Some times it just takes landing a couple big fish to break the drag in and then things smooth up. It also depends on if its an oiled felt drag or a carbon washer drag setup. I don't see the drag type listed, but its also a 3+1 bearing reel, which is not a lot for spinning reels, especially at that price, so the retrieve may not be as smooth as you'd like.

there is just so many reels to choose from, and i dont want to keep wasting money, i wanna just buy a good quality , well working reel, spinning reel. which would you suggest? willing to spend up to like 180 max, depending on reel.

In my opinion you have said you have a comfortable set up already so I wouldn't change much just maybe get a good back up rod. As for getting into baitcasting rods and reels, what offdaahook said is a great idea because honestly you dont want to get an expensive baitcasting set up and then not like it and then have no use for it. For example I bought a fenwick hmx rod that was on clearance for $30 and the retail sticker was $100 and the rod feels good to me. Also in my opinion the set up you have is fine for kings if you were to hook one. Also keep in mind that everyone is different and a rod and reel that feels and fishes good for them might not be comfortable to you.