New toy for cohos

[ragibby]

Hey guys I'm looking to get a new rod before coho really start showing up in the sky.

I've done some research and talked to a few people and it's between okuma sst, shimano convergence and lamiglas x11. I'm planning on getting one of those in 10'-10'6" with medium light action and I'll be pairing it with my pflueger president spinning reel and will be using it all year long for salmon and steelhead.

Please feel free to throw in your two cents.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[primetime]

Good call on the phleuger president! I have one and really like it! X11 is a decent rod and I've heard most people like it for the price. Sportco usually sells them for a good price. Look into the Berkeley air. I think it's a better rod with better feel than both the shimano and okuma! Just my own opinion.

[KR58]

I own the sst in 8'6" for throwin gear and the convergence in 10' for drifting and floating bait, both in casting models. I like both rods and bring both to the river with me. I think its like buying a firearm, you just gotta go with what feels good in your hands.

[scraig1962]

I bought the 10'6 m Convergence thinking it would make a nice float rod, but after a few uses I found its real heavy to fish all day, and I didnt like the slow action when trying to make accurate casts. I use it for trolling now. If you want something in the 10' range, I would look into the Berkley Air Im8 rods. I have a 10'9 ml that i use for drifting and float fishing and its my favorite rod. Its light, casts accurately since its fast action and fun to catch fish with.

[BlakeP]

I use a x11 8'6 for coho and I like it quite a bit, good rod for the price. That being said, the Okuma SST is a pretty good float rod. I've had a SST 10'6 for 4 years now, and it's worked good. It can handle Coho pretty well, and can turn larger steelhead with ease. So I'd go with that personally. But the SST and x11 are both good rods for the price in my opinion. Never used any of the Shimano rods so can't say how those are, but I've heard from most people that they like the convergence.

[schu7498]

Berkley air is a great rod for the price. Sensitive and light. Easy to fish with all day. X-11 are good as well, but do not tend to handle stress well. They do break quite a bit compared to other rods in the same price range. But the up side is, lamiglas has a super easy return policy and with them being local you usually get a replacement rod back right away. Most people use the convergence as a trolling rod, i would look into the clarus instead. Nice sensitive rods, average weight, but can handle big fish. SSTs are great they hold up well, but they do tend to have more backbone, and my opinion slightly less sensitivity. I would really look at a clarus or berkely air. Dont forget about fenwick too!

[ragibby]

Wow thanks for all the info and help guys. After reading what you all have to say I can tell you the convergence is out of the picture and berkley air has taken it's place.

I noticed one of you suggested fenwick. I have a 7' fenwick which I use for pinks that I love. What fenwick rods would you reccemend that are under 100$ and that are good float/drift fishing rods??

[spoonman]

Gotta give another nod to the Berkley buzz Ramsey. Sensitive, light and tough.

[losaturn]

The Clarus line has a 10ft M rod, with a fast action. I bought a Convergence a few years back, and hated it. Check out the Cabela's Fish Eagle, which is on sale. I have the 10ft casting version, and it's worked well for both float and drift fishing.

[Goldrigger1]

Good timing as I'm looking for a new rod too. Thanks everyone. I'm going shopping.

[jd39]

the x11 is on sale right now at Outdoor/Sportco for $64 I think, hard to beat at that price. Have a couple of those and a berkley air 8'6" 8-12 in spinning and like them all. If I had to choose one though I'd go with the Berkley.

[beachbum97]

The Clarus line has a 10ft M rod, with a fast action. I bought a Convergence a few years back, and hated it. Check out the Cabela's Fish Eagle, which is on sale. I have the 10ft casting version, and it's worked well for both float and drift fishing.

Cabela's Fish Eagle 2 is working great for me. Bought mine 2 years ago in the 10' spinning version in medium action for beach fishing coho, turned out to be a good float rod too, a little heavy for float fishing but for tossing hardware it does great.

Okuma SST. Great rod for the price I have 2, one 8'6" and one 9'6". The 8'6" is a medium heavy that I use for free drifting eggs on the Samish. Sensitive, and light. I use it to toss hardware in the salt too. The 9'6" is a medium light. I use it to bobber fish with herring in the salt. Really light, and and has a lot of back bone. Caught a seal pup with it while drifting herring. Had tons of fun with this rod for humpies.

Both are good rods, I don't have any experience with the lami x11 but have heard good about them.Same goes with the shimano convergence. My uncle has one and he really likes it.

[Shad_Eating_Grin]

The Clarus line has a 10ft M rod, with a fast action. I bought a Convergence a few years back, and hated it. Check out the Cabela's Fish Eagle, which is on sale. I have the 10ft casting version, and it's worked well for both float and drift fishing.

Thanks for the tips.

What was it about the Convergence that you didn't like?

[losaturn]

The slow action didn't work with the technique that I wanted to fish. I had a bunch of people recommend it to me for drifting eggs, but I found out quickly you couldn't cast far without a lot of weight. I still have the rod, but I use it as a loaner float rod. It's working pretty well in its present application.

[bugmasta]

x11 at sportco for $65 right now, nuff said. buy 2 and keep one as a back up if you break it and is getting replaced for free.

[Chromer]

The Fenwick HMX is an awesome rod for 100 bucks. The features and quality of the rod are quite remarkable for the price point. I have a 9 6 medium, moderate fast rod and it great. Sensitive, casts like a dream, and has plenty of backbone to turn a fish. Highly recommend.

[ragibby]

I ended up buying a 9'6" medium x11. Fished it for the first time today (Saturday) and was very pleased with it. It was very light and had good sensitivity and feel. I float fished, drifted a some corkies and bead for a while and tossed spoon and spinner. Really like how it handled all those tequniques. I am very happy with this rod. Thank you all for your input.