best spinning setup for $200

[bcustom1]

So my buddy is getting his first spinning setup and the budget is $200. He will be fishing salmon/steelhead in rivers and given this is his first setup it needs to be fairly versatile. The two techniques that he will be using are predominantly drift fishing and float fishing. I own a air im8 9'6" 8 -12 and think that would be pretty good. I also own and like the ssts for the price. What else do you recommend? For reels I'm thinking the new sahara but I've been hearing really good things about daiwa. Post your recommendations here! Thanks in advance!

-BC

[Brat Bonker]

The berkeley is the best bet either a 9'9 or 9'6 but the mitchell 308Xe spinning reel is REALLY nice and they are around $45, can hold a lot of 15lb test and is pretty smooth.

[natetreat]

In my opinion for 200 bucks I'd go with the TFO Signature series 9 foot 8-12 for a killer rod and a Sedona for the reel. They are pretty decent, I've been able to abuse them and they still hold up as long as my Stradic did, which is saying something.

If he wants to go bigger on the reel, then stick with the SST Steelhead spin and put the Sahara on it. I've fished a lot of reels, and the Shimano's are the ones I keep coming back to. You can't go wrong with the SST's. As for the Airs, I don't like how the guides are so heavy and awkward, they run them bulkier on those and the action isn't as nice as the SST's.

[Bodofish]

I'm afraid I'll have to go with Nate's reccomendation. Every Berkley rod I've ever seen has been broken in the upper third of the rod. They always feel nice in the store but snap....

[r.sok]

I like the Okuma sst & shimano stradic or plfueger president

[gfakkema]

...

[TroutSnipr]

Option 1:I have both of the Berkley Air models, an IM7 and IM8 with ZERO issues. i would not hesitate to recommend them. Match that with a Pflueger Arbor long cast reel and you still have money to spare.
Option 2 would be a Lamiglas G1307 which can be had on sale for $150 along with a Pflueger President reel for $50. I also have this combo. Softer tip than the Berkley Air's but still plenty of backbone for fish in the upper 20's.
Option 3 would be rods I have heard good things about but don't own like:
Okuma SST SST-S-862M(I have 2 Okuma's and like them just not from these lines)
Okuma TX-40 TX-S-902M
Cabela's Fish Eagle 50 FE50SS904-2
Temple Fork Outfitters STS 904-2
Shimano Clarus CSS96M2B
Fenwick HMX HMX-S902GM-M

All the option 3 rods are $90-120 bucks which still leaves you money for quite a wide selection of good reels.

[Brat Bonker]

I'm afraid I'll have to go with Nate's reccomendation. Every Berkley rod I've ever seen has been broken in the upper third of the rod. They always feel nice in the store but snap....

We have not snapped any of ours and we have like 6. The guides are a little cheap and will bend occassionally but just bend them back into place and you can get one for like $60 at sportco when on sale. Personally I don't like the SSTs because I hav seen soooo many snap when people are fighting fish or just on snags not to mention all the blanks I see laying around at the river snappd in half. I think okuma make cheap stuff especially there reels, broke 3 in 2 months this fall, you get what you pay for I guess. But the Lamiglas X-11,WOW those are nice rods for the money like $80, I got one at the sportsman show for $68 I love it.

[bcustom1]

Man thanks a bunch for all the input guys. There's tons of good info here. For him it needs to be a spinning reel, he's on the verge of truly falling had over heels for the sport but isn't quite ready to relearn casting. I have plenty of first hand experience with the Berkley and Okuma but I haven't heard much about the TFO. Hows the action, backbone and durability on the 8- 12? Also I really like my Lamiglas, How's the g1307? Is it pretty solid?

[ripsomelip]

I love my Berkley Airs. haven't had any issues with guides as of yet, but for the price. Not saying its the best or anything. Ive used the Tica Cambria and loved them. tried Okuma and found that was a joke. casters...more money but Curados are nice. my 1 1/2 cents worth on this!

[natetreat]

Man thanks a bunch for all the input guys. There's tons of good info here. For him it needs to be a spinning reel, he's on the verge of truly falling had over heels for the sport but isn't quite ready to relearn casting. I have plenty of first hand experience with the Berkley and Okuma but I haven't heard much about the TFO. Hows the action, backbone and durability on the 8- 12? Also I really like my Lamiglas, How's the g1307? Is it pretty solid?

The TFO rods are a Gary Loomis project where he made the blanks from their graphite. They are sweet rods. I have the 4-8 9'6" casting and right now it's my favorite rod. I've worked with the 8-12 and 17 as well, and they're more versatile, and will handle the heavier gear that he should start out with. I've caught steelhead up to 18, even used it on kings when my lami broke, on my 4-8 and it hasn't missed a beat. They are definitely a step up from your Okumas or Airs, and the only rods I have that are better are my north fork composites and loomis rods. They go for 129.00 retail, they really haven't caught on around here yet, but they are very sweet rods for the price.

[ripsomelip]

dang. and I just bought a Tica TC2 yesterday.

[natetreat]

OH, I should mention Cabela's has the Daiwa Regals on sale for 24.99, normally 50 something. Not a bad little reel. I was just in and picked a couple up to give them a test run. For 25 bucks I figure it's worth a shot, 10 bearings infinite anti-reverse, seems smooth to me.

[Brat Bonker]

They go for 129.00 retail, they really haven't caught on around here yet, but they are very sweet rods for the price.

Wow $129 for a loomis product that is a steal. I was checking out their products at the show but did not get to see the price tag, the people there were on a mission to sell me one haha.

[TroutSnipr]

There was been a lot of widespread conjecture on the TFO Loomis stuff. No one really seems to know how much he is really involved in the project, but it seems that the extent of his involvement is they are using a set of blank tapers that he designed some time ago, that they licensed from him. The blanks are made in korea/taiwan etc like most $100 rods, and they are not the quality of the rods that Loomis as a company makes. Some people seem to love them(I think mainly because the Loomis name is on them) and then the guys that buy the $300 'Real' Loomis rods seem to hate them, because the cheap price ruins the exclusive reputation of the Loomis name as you can see in the bass forums

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishin ... h-etc-100/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

The Lamiglas G1307 is an awesome rod. It does practically everything you could want pretty well, a 'jack of all trades' rod. I've taken it out trout fishing and it's sensitive enough to easily detect planter bites. I've gotten some nice chrome steelies on it, and it'll handle anything your likely to catch up to 30lbs. It'll handle a 4-6oz plunk rig, and though shorter than optimal makes a decent float rod as well.

If he really wants to get a good deal take a trip down south to the Lamiglas plant in SW Washington and you can pick up 'seconds' of the high end Lami rods or overstock stuff at half price or less.

[natetreat]

There was been a lot of widespread conjecture on the TFO Loomis stuff. No one really seems to know how much he is really involved in the project, but it seems that the extent of his involvement is they are using a set of blank tapers that he designed some time ago, that they licensed from him. The blanks are made in korea/taiwan etc like most $100 rods, and they are not the quality of the rods that Loomis as a company makes. Some people seem to love them(I think mainly because the Loomis name is on them) and then the guys that buy the $300 'Real' Loomis rods seem to hate them, because the cheap price ruins the exclusive reputation of the Loomis name as you can see in the bass forums

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishin ... h-etc-100/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

The Lamiglas G1307 is an awesome rod. It does practically everything you could want pretty well, a 'jack of all trades' rod. I've taken it out trout fishing and it's sensitive enough to easily detect planter bites. I've gotten some nice chrome steelies on it, and it'll handle anything your likely to catch up to 30lbs. It'll handle a 4-6oz plunk rig, and though shorter than optimal makes a decent float rod as well.

If he really wants to get a good deal take a trip down south to the Lamiglas plant in SW Washington and you can pick up 'seconds' of the high end Lami rods or overstock stuff at half price or less.

He wants a package for 200 you'd be hard pressed to get a rod and reel for that. I bought the TFP rod because it was a sweet rod in the shop, not because it had the Loomis name on it, I didn't even know it was designed by loomis. The blanks are awesome for the price. If you're not looking to dump 300+ on a rod, that's what I would recommend. Having fished them all, I love my TFO, and I'm not afraid to brush bash or hand it off to a client because of what may happen. They are sensitive and sweet rods.

[Bodofish]

I don't really care how much Loomis is involved with the project, it's not really about him. TFO makes some great rods and gear. They started out with award winning fly gear and in my opinion that’s where most of the rod companies should be looking for advice on construction. If you want a nice spinning or casting rod, take a hard look at good fly blank and make it or have someone make it for you. Right now my absolute favorite spinning rod is a Reddington, straight out of the fly world, extremely light weight and with being rated for up to 8# line, I've had no trouble controlling fish close to twice that size. I've got to hand it to Lommis though, he does make a mean fly rod though I’ve never been a real fan of his HW and bait gear, it just doesn't feel right to me. Now as far as TFO is concerned, they've looked to more legends than just Loomis for advice, how could you possibly go wrong with "Lefty" Kreh?

[TroutSnipr]

I wasn't trying to talk him into a real Loomis rod. I was simply explaining that people should not consider that because TFO has a licensing agreement that allows them to call it a Gary Loomis signature edition that it is comparable to the regular Loomis produced rods. I consider it the same as the Lamiglas 'NW specials" that were contracted out and sold at BiMart. Were they good rods for the $60-80 price? Yes, but they were not the same quality as the G-series, XMG etc.

When I quit bass fishing i sold 40+ Loomis rods that I collectively spent over $10000 on, not to mention the $1000's of dollars in Diawa and Shimano reels I had on them. When i went back to salmonid fishing I realized that if i could catch 95% of the fish I caught on a $300-400 rod on a rod costing 1/3 of that, was that extra 5% really worth all the extra expense? Unless you have money to throw away the answer is certainly a resounding NO. Other than 1 custom rod that I have that's worth about $1000, I think the 2 most expensive rods I have were around $175 new (my Lami G1307 and my Quantum Exo-PT) and I bought them both new on EBay for about half that price. I can guarantee that all things being equal the $200 difference in the rods will make a negligible difference in the fish caught over time. That's just my 2 Lincolns.

[Bodofish]

Agreed 1000% Thje fish don't know what kind of rod you use, it's all about the feel to you.

[3footvis]

Cabelas Fish Eagle 2 & a Daiwa Regal or any Shimano above $30. The Fish Eagles are durable rods with decent sensitivity and have been around for a long time.