New rod for Christmas

[T_Herrod]

My wife bought me a St.Croix rod for Christmas. I have never owned a quality fishing rod, only Walmart combos. I was thinking of getting a pflueger president reel for it. The rod is a TRS70MLF. It will be used for walleye fishing. Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[dingbat]

Re: New rod for Christmas

I'm not a fan of "expensive" off brand reels for a variety of reasons, first being long term support.

A Shimano Curado or Calcutta would be a better investment. I would look at an Abu Revo as well.

 

[Starcraft5834]

Re: New rod for Christmas

St Croix? nice, that's on most of the top 3 lists made today......I bought my son one,, a 10ft salmon rod,,, he's got a pflueger spinning reel on it, he loves it.... had a blast fighting fish on the Salmon River in NYS

 

[AChotrod]

Re: New rod for Christmas

I'm not a fan of "expensive" off brand reels for a variety of reasons, first being long term support.

A Shimano Curado or Calcutta would be a better investment. I would look at an Abu Revo as well.

Its a spinning rod. Those reels wont work.
I would look at these. Ive used these and sedonas without issue for years.
Shimano? Symetre Spinning Reel : Cabela's

 

[AChotrod]

Re: New rod for Christmas

Oh I also should add I have a few St Croix rods and the only issue I ever had was the guide insert broke within a hour of using it. Im guessing it was already damaged when I bought it and must have overlooked it. Cabelas exchanged the rod no prob and ST Croix has excellent CS. FYI This was a Premier series.
Most of my rods are the Premier Series(made in USA) but I do have one Triumph and its great. They have the same reel seats, blanks and cork as Premiers but are just made in either China or Mexico for a better price point. There should be a sticker on the bottom of the handle letting you know where yours was made. From what Ive read the ones made in China believe it or not are slightly better than the newer ones made in Mexico. I looked at them side by side and couldnt tell any difference besides the sticker and the one made in China had gold pinstripes around all the guides instead of just the base guide. St Croix most popular rods the Mojo series are also made in the same plant as the Triumphs and both have great reviews.

 

[dingbat]

Re: New rod for Christmas

Its a spinning rod. Those reels wont work.
I would look at these. Ive used these and sedonas without issue for years.
Shimano? Symetre Spinning Reel : Cabela's

Yep, you're right... S= Spin C= Cast

In that case it's pretty hard to beat a Penn Slammer reel. A 360 Penn Slammer would suit that rod well

 

[AChotrod]

Re: New rod for Christmas

Ive never used Penn gear. Always thought of it as more of a saltwater set up. Im going to put together another combo soon so Ill look more into them.

 

[T_Herrod]

Re: New rod for Christmas

Thanks for the input everyone.

 

[bass or bass ?]

Re: New rod for Christmas

The Pflueger President is a great reel I have one and consider it superior to my Abu Garcia cardinals.

 

[scipper77]

Re: New rod for Christmas

I have two Pflueger Supreme XT's (Magnesium body). Both are very good. When buying a reel remember that price is not as important as how well it is matched to your rod. My larger Supreme feels lighter on my travel rod (2 piece for the trunk) because it balances better. I would say almost any metal bodied reel from a reputable manufacturer should perform well.

Magnesium is lighter but if the combo isn't balanced it means nothing. Most of the strain on your wrist comes from balance, not weight.

 

[sweet addiction]

Re: New rod for Christmas

I LOVE my Pflueger President!!! It used to be Pflueger's top reel. I don't know what DINGBAT is talking about - "I'm not a fan of "expensive" off brand reels". Pflueger is by no means an "off brand".

 

[scipper77]

Re: New rod for Christmas

I LOVE my Pflueger President!!! It used to be Pflueger's top reel. I don't know what DINGBAT is talking about - "I'm not a fan of "expensive" off brand reels". Pflueger is by no means an "off brand".

Dingbat knows tackle better than anyone I know. Pflueger is now little more than a name slapped on a mass produced reel of a certain quality level. They are good reels but not really the top of the line brand that they were a long, long time ago.

If Dingbat recommends a certain model of PENN, I'm sure that not only is the reel of good quality but it is also a good match for the rod in question.

If I haven't made it clear, Dingbat has earned my respect with both his knowledge and experience, and I am a heavy user of fishing equipment.

 

[sweet addiction]

Re: New rod for Christmas

Dingbat knows tackle better than anyone I know. Pflueger is now little more than a name slapped on a mass produced reel of a certain quality level. They are good reels but not really the top of the line brand that they were a long, long time ago.

If Dingbat recommends a certain model of PENN, I'm sure that not only is the reel of good quality but it is also a good match for the rod in question.

If I haven't made it clear, Dingbat has earned my respect with both his knowledge and experience, and I am a heavy user of fishing equipment.

I am sure you are correct and do not doubt your or dingbat's knowledge but I still stand by my Phlueger president. In my humble opinion I think it will match up great with the OP's rod. I have so many rod/reel combos but the one that gets used the most is my 6'6" ML with a Phlueger President. I use it for early(March) trout as well as Bass all summer. I love that reel.

 

[dingbat]

Re: New rod for Christmas

Pflueger is by no means an "off brand".

Pflueger is a brand name owned by Shakespeare and manufactued by the OEM Manufacturing company in China.

OEM also builds reels or bass pro cabelas, browning (bass pro design), south bend etc. OEM's reel line is Tica.

Support of these reels in the past has been spotty at best. If past history is any indication, long term support will be non-existent. Buy one with the understanding that they are not supported and therefore disposable.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: New rod for Christmas

Penn is the same, only a few are made in the US, they had a bad rep for awhile too.

The Pflueger works well, each manufacturer has good and not so good reels in their line up, I don't buy by brand, each model of a brand is evaluated independently.

PS

Penn, Pflueger, Mitchell, ABU, and Shakespeare are all owned by the same company, "Pure Fishing". Some of the Penn and Plueger reels use the same design.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: New rod for Christmas

I have two Calcutta’s, they’ve held up well. I got rid of the Curado’s and Revo’s . The older Curados tend to be better than the new ones, and hopefully the newer Revos (NaCL) are better than the older ones.

I had a Revo Toro that was repaired under warranty several times, then they sent me a new one to replace it, I sold it on eBay right away. Great feeling reel with a couple of fatal defects, every person I know with a Revo Toro had the same problems and gave up on them.

Just picked up a Diawa Lexa to replace the Revo.

 

[scipper77]

Re: New rod for Christmas

Te reiterate and expand upon my own point from post #10. In todays world I think brand of real means little as there tends to be the same quality ladder for all. Plastic body ---> Metal Body ---> Magnesium Body, with variations in number of bearings and drag systems.

I like the points that were made concerning support from the manufacturer after the sale.

I know from experience that spending more on a reel is not going to get you as far as making sure you have your base requirements met and matching the reel to both the rod and the type of fishing you do. For me, all I really need in a reel is a metal body and a decent drag system. I don't care how many bearings.

I tend to clean and lubricate my reels a few times a season and so far the only thing that wears out on me is the bail mechanism. One of my supremes likes to close the bail while I am casting. This is on a $130 reel that has not seen too much use (By my standard at least). This is why I don't think spending more money really gains you much. That bail is no different than the one on the President or even the Trion from what I can tell. I had one reel that had the bearings stiffen up under a load but that was a plastic bodied reel that if I cared to guess bound up due to the body flexing and throwing the bearings out of alignment.

 

[Starcraft5834]

Re: New rod for Christmas

"I like the points that were made concerning support from the manufacturer after the sale." <--- that is where the rubber meets the road..... I had a recent problem with a bungled order with Shakespeare (Pure Fishing),, an order from their site ... they took responsibility and made it right.........I have a high opinion of that company... as to St Croix owner.... nice rod!!

 

[dingbat]

Re: New rod for Christmas

Penn is the same, only a few are made in the US, they had a bad rep for awhile too.

The Pflueger works well, each manufacturer has good and not so good reels in their line up, I don't buy by brand, each model of a brand is evaluated independently.

PS

Penn, Pflueger, Mitchell, ABU, and Shakespeare are all owned by the same company, "Pure Fishing". Some of the Penn and Plueger reels use the same design.

Just about every manufacturer has a couple of junk, "price point" reels in their lineup. The trick is knowing what's junk and what isn't.

I own 21 Penn conventional reels and 4 spinners. All say Made in the USA on the reel seat. Repair and after market performance parts are widely available for all. Would I buy just any Penn Reel....no

All of my conventional surf reels are Swedish made Abu-Garcia. I have to purchased them overseas since none of them are marketed in the U.S. Repair and after market performance parts are widely available for them as well. Would I buy a U.S. marketed Abu...no

Then there are my toys. I have a couple of Avets, a Van Staal VS150, and a ZeeBaaS.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: New rod for Christmas

I use Avet Raptors, Penns and few others for offshore and larger fish, but for freshwater stuff like Walleyes you don't need to go the high end expensive route, Walleyes aren't known for stressing your gear. There is a time and place for midrange affordable stuff that holds up for several years. I don't do much repair on spinning reels that cost less than $100.00, by the time they need repairs the cost of getting it back into great condition is too close to the price of a new one. But I haven't had a problem getting parts for them either.

Like in most other things in life, you can get to 80% rather easily and affordably, the next 10% costs a great deal more and you do get some good upgrades, by 95% the cost is skyrocketing and the differences may not be that noticeable. You will never get to 100% but past 95% the cost is crazy and the upgrades may not be as good as you might think.

I don’t try to buy the absolute best or most expensive item there is on the market, I try to buy something that will fit my needs and that I can enjoy and afford. In fishing you can spend a fortune and not catch fish (think fly fishing), or you can spend far less and not worry about brand names and looking like you stepped out of an Orvis catalog and have great time. I still plan to retire at some time in the future, so it’s very important that I don’t overspend in areas that don’t make a big difference.