Parting ways is such sweet sorrow

I’ve finally decided to part ways with my spinning rod that I’ve had for some 20 years. Although it’s helped me catch thousands of fish over the years, it’s pretty beat up and it’s time to move on.

I fish on a budget which is why I’ve had the rod that long. And, being I fish on a budget, I use one rod for all my fishing applications. I use it for walleyes primarily (jigging & rip jigging, pulling spinners, pitching cranks, trolling cranks), but I also use it for panfish and on the more rare occasions, when I cast for pike or smallies.

With that being said, I’m considering getting a new St. Croix Eyecon series rod in either the 6’8″, medium power, extra fast action….or…. the 6’6″ medium power, fast action.

Any thoughts/comments?

Also, I need to replace my reel which is nearly as old as the rod. I’m kind of a fan of the Shimano Sedona in the 2000 or 2500 size. But would appreciate feedback on this as well.

Thanks!

Maybe limit creek smoothie? Shimano Sedona or something in the 2000 size.

Sorry but it is not possible to have one rod for everything and have it work for all applications the way it should. Go pick up at least two. I don’t want to sway you from St Croix. But maybe consider a less expensive rod so you can have two. Like maybe tackle 13 Defy rod it is $49-69 get one for walleye either medium or medium light either way go extra fast for jigging. Then get an ultra light for panfish. I could not see myself paning with a medium rod. For reels shimano is always a good choice, 2000 for walleye and 1500 for pan fish.

I think the eyecon would be a great choice. As for a reel I’ve switch most all my old Shimano’s out for Pflueger presidents or the president XT’s. The new shimano reels are just not as good as they use to be unless you get one of the top end models. I mostly fish the 30 size but the 25 size may balance out better on the eyecon. I would put both on it and see what one balances better. I do like the larger spool on the 30 size.

As for the old rod, I’d find someone who builds rods and see if he will remove the old eyes and wrap on some new ones. It probably wont cost to much depending on what quality eyes you want him to use. I have a favorite old rod that I cant part with. I’ve had the eyes replaced twice in the last 20 years. There is just something about certain rods that you get use to using. They can be old and cheap but there is just something about fishing with them. I fished in a bass club and some pro /am bass tourneys for many years. By that time I had lots of higher end rods to use – I still found that old rod in my hand my often than any other rod.

John Rasmussen wrote:

Sorry but it is not possible to have one rod for everything and have it work for all applications the way it should. Go pick up at least two. I don’t want to sway you from St Croix. But maybe consider a less expensive rod so you can have two. Like maybe tackle 13 Defy rod it is $49-69 get one for walleye either medium or medium light either way go extra fast for jigging. Then get an ultra light for panfish. I could not see myself paning with a medium rod. For reels shimano is always a good choice, 2000 for <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleye and 1500 for pan fish.

Those tackle 13 defy rods are a GREAT rod for the $. I picked up a 7Ft UL this year. I also picked up a St Croix panfish series. To be honest I can’t say the St Croix is worth double the cost.

To me a 2000 Series reel seems rather large for a panfish rod. Once again I’d check out a few different reels sizes to see what balances better on the Rod.

66MF will have a better top section to suit more applications.

If you want couple sedonas I can mail you my newer ones that crapped out on me. I’ve put some okumas thru the ringer last year now and have held up great. Purposely been dunking it in water this spring when im in the waders to make sure they’re good to go for fall fishing.

One rod is perfectly fine. Sure would make life alot more simple as well having a singular tool to work with. Enjoy your new setup, in your position it will be hard to find a cheaper combo to go half the life span of your last setup.

Agreed I also picked up the same I think mine is 6’8 and I love it for the cost it just makes sense. Also agree the Pluegers are nice reels just a little heavy, I have switched to the high end shimano’s on my Gloomis walleye rods, great reels and feather light, but comes at a cost. Could also consider fenwick rods, I have a few HMG’s and Walleye Elite Techs and they are nice at a lower price than the Criox’s.

If you can find a Fenwick Methods Spinning Travel Rod they have 2 rod tips. One is light action and the other is heavier. could work for you

I am a big fan of the pflueger presidents, I have owned the xts and quite frankly I like the basic model for the money. For a rod all I can say is go with a one piece. Can’t go wrong with St Croix, I love my Fenwick Elite Tech as well, I have bought a few of those.

smackemup wrote:

I am a big fan of the pflueger presidents, I have owned the xts and quite frankly I like the basic model for the money. For a rod all I can say is go with a one piece. Can’t go wrong with St Croix, I love my Fenwick Elite Tech as well, I have bought a few of those.

The only reason I like the XT model slightly better is they weigh slightly less. In the 30 size I think the XT is about 1.20 Oz less. 8.80 Vs 7.60. I own both of them and to me it comes down to what reel balances better. Proper balance and less weight may not be much of a factor in a few hours of fishing but can seem big after a long day of fishing.

I realized I did not answer the OP question, so sorry. As far as if I only had one rod to use for everything I guess it would be a Gloomis top end the GLX I think, either in Medium Light or Medium xtra fast tip 7ft. And pair it with a super light Shimano reel, I don’t recall the model but it feels like it weighs nothing. That combo I could fish all day with.

I get that for sure, the presidents are great any way you cut it. I set up a xt with a eyecon for a buddy the other day and took the first few casts with it, it seemed slightly gritty in the retrieve, not bad at all, just not the silky retrieve I am accustomed to, probably just a one off, he is gonna return it for another new XT, probably gonna be perfecto. If you can drop an oz plus, not a bad option. Not gonna say they are a horse a piece, but you can’t really go wrong imo.

John Rasmussen wrote:

I only had one rod to use for everything I guess it would be a Gloomis top end the GLX I think

No offense, but by ” I fish on a budget,” I don’t think he’s looking for a top-end Loomis.

Weekender wrote:

I fish on a budget

I use a St. Croix Mojo Bass MFS610MLXF (6’10” medium light extra fast) spinning rods for about 90% of my fishing. When I need something heavier like trolling cranks or heavy bottom bouncers I use a cheapo Abu Garcia black max combo. I don’t think I could pick one to do everything but that rod is probably as close as I could get since I mostly jig, dropshot, or lindy rig. I can cast walleye size cranks with it and I’m sure it would work fine for panfish.

No offense, but by ” I fish on a budget,” I don’t think he’s looking for a top-end Loomis.

He said he was looking at a St Croix so I figured not that much of a jump and if you only buying one its not that big of one. But no worries no offence taken, just trying to help someone out. I will still stick with my first answer anyway.

I want to thank everyone for the responses! I’ll certainly look into a couple of the other rod and reel options mentioned.

90% of my fishing is for walleyes and of that, 80% is pitching jigs or cranks, 5% is trolling cranks and 15% is pulling spinner rigs. The other 10% of my fishing time is spent on panfish, and on rare occassion if I’m bored, I’ll cast for pike or bass. Most of the pannies I get come while fishing eyes anyways.

I’m going to keep my old rod & reel for emergencies like breaking an eyelet or a tip (or for extra rod on fly-ins). Plus it’s hard to let go, but it’s time for something new.

Another reel I’ve looked at is the Daiwas. Anybody use those and have good experiences?

Weekender wrote:

Another reel I’ve looked at is the Daiwas. Anybody use those and have good experiences?

I have 6 Daiwa Revros. I didn’t do any in-depth comparison or anything, I just got one and liked it so kept getting them instead of spending any time thinking about it. They are $50 or $60 and I have no complaints myself.

I have a Daiwa Legalis that I really like.

I have mostly shimano and okuma but I wouldn’t be afraid to try more flueger, diawa. Any of the major brands.

Weekender wrote:

I want to thank everyone for the responses! I’ll certainly look into a couple of the other rod and reel options mentioned.

90% of my fishing is for <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleyes and of that, 80% is pitching jigs or cranks, 5% is trolling cranks and 15% is pulling spinner rigs. The other 10% of my fishing time is spent on panfish, and on rare occassion if I’m bored, I’ll cast for <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>pike or bass. Most of the pannies I get come while fishing eyes anyways.

I’m going to keep my old rod & reel for emergencies like breaking an eyelet or a tip (or for extra rod on fly-ins). Plus it’s hard to let go, but it’s time for something new.

Another reel I’ve looked at is the Daiwas. Anybody use those and have good experiences?

I’ve said it many times on this forum that the Daiwa Legalis is in my opinion the best bang for your buck deal in the spinning reel market. at $69.99 (can find them cheaper at times online) you get a reel that looks great, is extremely smooth, feels very well built and solid, and has one of the best drags I’ve used for a reel under $100. I have three of them and my oldest is 3 years old and still feels like it did the day I took it out of the box.

I use the 3000 size for bass and walleye FYI.

Excellent to hear everyone! Thanks again for the feedback. Now I just need to do the looking/shopping…the fun part!

I just hope my wife doesn’t notice.

If I had to buy one rod/reel combo I’d get a limit creek 6’6” medium light fast rod and 2500 Series reel. The daiwa models are great. I like the BG.

You’ll be out the door for under $200 with money to spare for suffix 832 10# braid.

Regardless of the brand, a medium light fast action will give you a ton of versatility.

Matt Moen wrote:

If I had to buy one rod/reel combo I’d get a limit creek 6’6” medium light fast rod and 2500 Series reel. The daiwa models are great.

x2 on this one. For years the best rod I owned was a limit creek smoothie (although this one is 6’9). I was recently in the market for a few new reels and after trying a bunch, I felt the Diawa reels were far superior to anything else, especially the pfluegers president xt’s I had used for years. The Fuego LT’s around $100 will be tough to beat for you. I ended up getting the Diawa Tatula for more money but strictly for looks/color, not necessarily performance.

I just posted in another thread about the Cadence CS5 from Amazon. It’s a very nice reel for around $50. Carbon composite body, carbon fiber drag (the 2000 size holds 36 lbs of drag pull weight) , 3 year warranty with 90 days free return, 8+1 stainless ball bearings, stainless main shaft, aluminum pinion gear, and imported from Japan, not China. Now that I’ve caught fish with it, I am convinced it’s a great reel at an excellent price.