BigBendFishing.Net

Hi Everyone,

I've been fishing the flats off St. Marks for about a year now and am starting to get the hang of things. Most of my rods and reels are inherited or have been pieced together from spare parts. Most of the rods and reels I have inherited are pretty big and stiff and don't do well for drifting with shrimp or lures, when you need to do quite a bit of casting and reeling.

I need to buy a good sized rod and reel to catch those trout and their buddies and I want to know what you folks think is the ideal combination.

Thanks!

Check out Tom's article in the Article section of this site. I found it most useful last year when I bought my first gear last year.

I found this article:

http://bigbendfishing.net/docs/articles ... tackle.htm

Which is extremely helpful!

Anyone have any brand favorites?

For reels, I have found nothing better than shimanos. IMHO, they are the best in their price range. A stradic 4000 with a 7 foot rod will do and catch most anything on the flats.

I personally use cheaper rods like Shakespere, just because I'm hard on them, and normally break one rod a year. You will never see me with a Gloomis, or Cape Fear rod unless I stole it from somebody, or they became a website sponsor.

The two reels I find myself using the most on the flats are the least expensive in my limited arsenal. Both from the Shimano Sidestab series.

I invest a lot more in reels than rods. Like Tom. IMHO, Shimano has the best reel on the market, for the money. I prefer bait casting reels over spinning reels. I use Shimano Cardiff 100's. I buy whatever 7' medium action rods I can find reasonably. In fact, I just ordered two from Bass Pro Shop for $19.95 each, because Shakespeare stopped making the rods I've been using.

Again, IMHO, most any light or medium action rod will do well on the flats. Spend the money for good reels.

I disagree with Tom and TC, but that's OK, I'm probably wrong.

BPS has some good deals on combos, I think their "Extreme" series rods are pretty good.

I went big money on a rod last fall & it's great, of course, but I won't do that again. It's just not worth the extra money. I'd stay in the $40-50 range on a rod. 7ft with stiff action.
As to a reel, a Shimano is a good call but which one?
A question for anybody who might help, is the Stradic ($120-140) worth the extra $ or is the Spheros really just as about good for ~$40-50 less?

I can't say anything about the spheros because I haven't used them. All I know is I am on my 3rd year with my stradics and have had zero problems with them. I break them down once a year and lube them up, and they are good to go. I just hose them off and give them a shot of corrosion x after every use.

Stradic 2500 and 4000 here. I like the smaller reel if I am flinging (crankbait, spoons) anything.
The 4000 when I use live bait.

Santa brought me a Laguna 3500 for Christmas from Oshman's ($70) at the Tallahassee Mall. I've used it now on 3 fishing trips. I paid a little more for the rod than I wanted, it's a Shimano Claris, Medium action bought at Kevins for about $70. Lined up with 30# powerpro and it had no problems with the shallow water Cobia last weekend.

I've been very pleased with the smoothness of the Laguna. I use my brother-in-law's Stradic 4000 as well and feel they are comparable, Laguna is 1/2 the price. Don't know yet how long the Laguna will last compared to the Stradic; however, I'm very pleased. I believe the key is to keep them clean and maintained.

This Father's Day, I believe that the smaller Laguna 2500 or 3000 would probably be in order along with a medium/heavy action rod. That way, I could switch out the heavier reel on the med/heavy rod and have 2 nice rigs. (Honey, I hope you are reading)

Good Luck

Dale Hollow

I have a pretty good collection of rods and reels, but I just have to tell you my G Loomis is my favorite rod. It has greater sensitivity than any of my other rods. I have Star , All Star, Shakespere, Shimano, Team Diawa, and I feel the G Loomis is a far superior rod. Sure the G Loomis cost 2 and 3 times as much, but the quality and feel is worth it if you want to spend that much. Just my 2 cents...

Me likey Shimano, but have been fishing a Fin Noir for the last year and a half and likey it even more. It came with a seven foot Fin Noir rod, and I have no complaints about it either.

I prefer to use bait casting reels, Shimano Curado ($120). If you like spin tackle, the PENN 5500 series is a good reel and can be purchased for under a $100.00. I tend to agree with Tom & TC about putting your money in the reel and find a less expensive rod with good action and feel.

I like to throw an abu garcia 5500 casting reel spooled with 15 lb big game out there. I have a bass pro shops medium heavy tourney special rod which is plenty enuff' stiff. The reel is anywhere from $50-65 bucks and the rod about $30. You can find the abu garcias about anywhere, wal-mart, oshmans, etc.......... I have been fishing with his setup for many years and the combo has been great to me. It's hard to beat those "ole timey" round reels. Good luck, hope this helps a lil bit.