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What is your ultralight rod/reel setup?


GreenCanada

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Hello again,

 

So with the communities advice in mind I went out and got myself a 6' medium light action 2-piece premier series St. Croix. Now the time has come to put another equally important question to you all.

 

I want a 5' 2-piece ultralight rod to replace my aged and much loved 20 year old Shakespeare from Canadian Tire. She has caught me countless fish and it is time to move on.

 

So I am looking for a rod and I may as well get an ultralight reel while I'm at it.

 

So what are your suggestions for a 5' ultralight rod and reel setup? (If possible I would like to use this reel as a backup to the 6' rod)

 

Oh yea, and for price point, I'm thinking preferably no more than $150 before taxes for the setup.

 

As always, thanks for the advice!

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5'6 Ultralight (Clarus or a Heartland) combined with a Shimano Saros 1000F (750 body, 1000 series spool) running 4lb mono.

 

Perfect small stream trout setup.

 

You could go with a small Sahara and save yourself some $$$ if you had to.

Edited by BillM
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Shimano Bob Izumi rods are on sale at CT - 39.99 down from 69.99 IIRC. I have an ML and it's great. Not sure what they do reel-wise nowadays but my 10 year old Shimanos won't die so I'd go with them again.

 

Edit - here's the link http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/5/SportsRec/Fishing/Rods/PRDOVR~0781285P/Shimano%252BBob%252BIzumi%252BSignature%252BPro%252BSeries%252BFishing%252BRod.jsp?locale=en

Edited by cuzza
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St.Croix rod - 5'6" UL Premier (currently 15% off at BPS, but not sure about selection) with a Shimano reel - probably a Sedona to keep the price around $150.

 

Lebaron also has a 15% off "sale" for members for the month of June. The Shimano Sedona is around $66 and the Sahara $88.

 

If you want to keep it more local, those Bob Izumi rods at CT that cuzza mentioned might be worth a look. They also have the Pflueger President on sale for $60. Might also make a good combo if you can find the UL version of the reel, but I think I only saw one size where I went.

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Guest ThisPlaceSucks

I built myself a 6' medium light for specks and it is paired with a small pflueger president. A 2-3lb fish is a whole lot of fun on this outfit.

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I built myself a 6' medium light for specks and it is paired with a small pflueger president. A 2-3lb fish is a whole lot of fun on this outfit.

 

 

when have you ever caught a 2-3 lb fish :whistling:

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most people are going to think I am crazy, but since I LOVE UL fishing, I have a high end combo.

 

I use a G. Loomis TSR 791 rod (the new trout series rods - they are amazing) and paired it with a Shimano Sustain 1000 FE.

 

easily my fav. (but most expensive) rod and reel combo.IMG_0008.JPG

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yes, any of the 1000 size shimano reels work well on most UL rods and easily handle small diameter lines like 4 pound mono or braid.

 

I prefer 1000 size reels over the 500 sized models because the slightly larger spool handles line better (coils not as small, they cast better etc)

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I picked up a 6' daiwa procyon rod last year and paired it with a small pflueger president and it makes an excellent, very light combo. I'm running 6 lb suffix mono on it currently and I love it. The whole set up ran me about a buck twenty.

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I have 2 I use a lot, first is a old Loomis IM6 6 foot 1 piece with high frame fuji ultralight guides, it is slow and soft, perfect for casting very light lures and live bait on streams, match it up with a vintage 308 Mitchell and 2 or 4 lb test. Really it would be very close to the tip section of a float rod that Spiel refers to. Don't like fast action when casting small soft live baits for trout as the bait tend to flip off the hook :wallbash: The other is a 5" 3" Fenwick 1 piece HMG, very light but rated for 1/8 to 5/8 ounce lures matched up with an old Cardinal 3 and 6 lb test it is my go to rod for Erie smallies, my usual presentation there are jigs and tubes on 1/8 to 3/8 oz. jigheads and my favs the Blakemore "Road Runner" and Mann's "Little George" with a bit of worm. :thumbsup_anim: The lightness and stiffness makes it very sensitive.

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These setups all sound great. I was looking at a President yesterday at CT, but from my understanding the only size they have on sale is the 6735, the largest of that reel line.

 

Since I have a 6' ML St. Croix, what size President could handle a ultralight setup primarily but could be used as a backup to my ML rod?

 

I may go as long as 5' 6", but this rod would be used most often hiking through thickish brush, so small size is ideal. Does anyone have any commentary as to the quality of Berkley Lightning rods, when comparing them to ones made ~10 years ago? I just seem to remember as a younger person the Lightning rod was a go to ultralight, but now I have heard very mixed reviews on them.

 

Thanks for all the responses thus far! :thumbsup_anim:

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