Cheap Reel, or Rod

[holdfast]

ALL RIGHTY, Seems I got shot down here, Like a deer in the Head Lights. Ive only seen 1 consumer reports on reliability on fishing reels and Rods. I Spoke to the Reel DR in Edmonton and his words were. Numbers of Ball bearings mean nothing. ie He likes a reel with 3 than 8.

 

SO FOLKS, some of us dont want to spent to much, Lets say under $75 ............The UP AND BUDDING FISHERMAN SHOULD GET?

[Canuck2fan]

I don't know what type of rod or reel you are looking for under 75.00 bucks.... There are all kinds of choices many such combos can be had at BPS, CT, Wallmart, or LeBarons.

 

I have a number of Shakespeare rods and Pflueger reels that were all under 75 bucks a piece and am very happy with them. The Medalist series of reels especially. Trion rods from Pflueger have a very high graphite content and perform very well for me and a few friends.

 

If you specify what species you plan to go after I am sure the folks around here can offer you a number of options.

[Beans]

A Mitchell 300X on a Shakespeare Ugly Stik will be in the $75 range at BPS if it is a spinning outfit you want

[ccmtcanada]

My wife (Bly on the board) bought a 7 foot Pike combo from Canadian Tire for 34 bucks. It managed to pull in LOTS of big walleye this year...including her 15lb personal best. I bought a Mitchell combo ($39) as well from CT....have no complaints.

[taper]

I can second the ugly stik they are a great all around rod for the price.

[mepps]

Ugly stick for sure!

Any reel by Quantum!

[GbayGiant]

I say go for quality over quantity or cheap stuff save your money it will pay off in the end, you can break reels and rods so easy, it's like buying cars you can get lucky and have your car go 400K with no problems, or the same model/make for someone else might only get 10k out of it before they start having problems, you never know even with quality stuff. The difference is companies that believe in their quality will have a better warranty, I always buy rods with lifetime warranty if possible, reels are a different story some people want the lightest reel possible, but from my experience heavy is usually better quality but not always and more ball bearings usually just means more problems but do have a smoother retrieve until they break.

Edited February 3, 2007 by GbayGiant

[fishersquige]

Shimano Sedona could be had for $60-70 pretty nice smooth lightweight reel. The pflueger as well is a pretty decent one too.

Edited February 3, 2007 by Fishersquige

[knotaclue]

I picked up a shimano sojourn 5 foot ultra light up in Barrie for thirty bucks which I mated to a Mitchell avocet gold that I got for thirty five bucks. I think it’s a nice little ultra light rig for 65 $. It helps if you keep you eyes open, my rod was no tax {boxing week sale] and the reel was on sale as well.i’v also used it outside the hut on the ice.

[jjcanoe]

Just bought an ultra light rod and reel for a buddy of mine at Lebarons yesterday. He's going on a trip with me on the trout opener and he also fishes a few times a year for perch. $16.00 for the rod (shimano fx 5') and $18.45 for a Shakespere UL reel total cost $34.45 plus tax

 

jjcanoe

[bigfish1965]

A Mitchell 300X on a Shakespeare Ugly Stik will be in the $75 range at BPS if it is a spinning outfit you want

 

Gets my vote too!

[Hooked]

Numbers of Ball bearings mean nothing.

 

That is soooo true. BB's means nothing. I have a funny feeling stating that, likes theres connotation to it or something? I have seen Berkley Lightning Rod Prolites, Buzz Ramsey or Hank Parker series, for $30, add a Pflueger Trion or Shimano Sonara, yer lookin at $80 maybe or less.

Thats what I would buy....gee...wait a sec, that is what I did buy and happy with that combo!

[carll2]

i love the shimano reel/rod combo you find at canadian tire for about 35$ cant go wrong i have 3 sets now for a couple years and nothing has gone worng with them

[Bob]

Guys with lots of loot can afford high end stuff and stay ahead of the Joneses. Most reasonably priced CTC combos at $69.95 or so will do the same job and not break your heart if a rod tip gets slammed into a car door. I've used lots of different combo outfits and caught high end fish without any problems. Don't let elitist horsepucky bother you when it comes to fishing. I started with a cane pole and a piece of string.

 

Yeah, I'm an old guy.

Edited February 3, 2007 by Bob

[yzer93]

i've got a shimano slade, $40, and a sojourn rod $30, nice little set up.

[OhioFisherman]

Ya the number of ball bearing really means nothing, if you stick a hundred of them in there and they are poor quality all you got is a number to sell it with.

 

Inexpensive outfits with decent quality? Casting, Abu 4600 or 4601 C-3 will handle most freshwater species, not a good choice for salmon or skis, maybe not if your slamming big pike on a regular basis. Not a lot of problems with that reel and reasonably priced.

 

Spinning, Shimano Sahara 2500, same reasons as above.

 

Rods, Berkley Lighting rods, Diawa Heartland, Shimano Convergence, Ugly sticks, serviceable and won`t break the bank.

[Hellfish]

Yeah i have the Sahara 2500FB great reel use it for cats and the eyes cost me 80.00 2 yrs ago so i would think it has gone down in price from then great reel i have it paired with a 30.00 8.5-9ft ugly stick love the combination.

[pikehunter]

Mitchell 300X on a Shakespeare Ugly Stik

 

I have this set up, but the rod is the Ugly "Lite" seams to be OK, I have had it for a couple of seasons. The 300 has a 6:1 retrieve.

 

I can remember about 20 or 30 years ago the ugly stick alone cost 90 - 100 bucks, and that was in 1970's dollars. I wonder how they can make them and sell them so cheap now? China?

[JerseyDog]

Ugly Stick is great.

[mattyk]

Shimano Sahara is a pretty decent real and the price is not bad either.

[kennyman]

I have a couple combos at my disposal. Mine is an Shakespaere/Ugly stick and the other is a Mitchell/Avocet combo. The Avocet is much smoother and the rod has more "feel" to it. The Ugly stick has a ton more backbone, but the reel is chunky feeling by comparison. If I was out casting a Mepps #3 spinner I'd use the Mitchell. For topwater I'd take the Ugly Stick combo all the way.

[NBR]

I'd go to Bass Pro, tell clerk how and what I fished for, what I wanted to spend and ask him to put reels on rods with the combo matching my price. Then I'd buy the one that felt the best in my hand.

 

I agree on the number of bearings. A baitcaster need a brg on each end of the spool, maybe one on the gear and the instant reverse All the others are fluff that possibly make the reel smoother. I haven't figured any reason for bearing in spinning outfits. None of their shafts ever turn at any high speed.

[Blake]

For a nice Combo look at the Shimano Sojourn and a Shimano Slade 2500FB, or the Sienna 2500FB. Nice combo for multi species fishing and in the price range.

[Rich]

I'd get something British.

[Ben_Daniels]

Ive bought allot of cheap spinning combos, some last allot longer than other. Daiwa and Qunatum combos have always seemed to last longer than any others ive bought. Id say just go a bass pro shops rod and a reel that doesnt have too much plastic on it. Rear drag on cheep reels never last long either in my opinion.

 

-Ben