jaximus wrote on Feb 16^th, 2011 at 11:28pm:


Gander Mtn is actually Fenwick blanks with the Gander logo.  FWIW, Triumph rods are St. Croix blanks so in these instances you can get virtually the same product w/o the name brand.  I like the Triumph rods and they run about $60-$70 and Fenwick is not a bad rod either.

for the baitcaster i use the gander mountain classic IM7 6" medium action. the best rod ive ever owned. its a one piece rod. quite inexpensive, however, i think they discontinued that model.

for the spinning rod i use a 5'6" gander mountain competitor series light action. its a two piece rod. i think its a discontinued model as well.

ive owned everything from the cheapest shakespeare rods all the way up to st. croix stuff and i am a huge fan of the gander mountain rods. they are quite inexpensive and are durable, sensitive and everything you want out of a rod. definitely a great value/performance mix. i highly recommend looking into them.

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possibly...

If you do a search on this site you'll find lots of discussions about carrying rods for backcountry canoeing.  Some folks like to use a 1 piece rod and keep it protected with golf club tubes and all manner of clever rigs that allow for good protection and maxiumum ease of access.  Some go with an ugly stick or the like and not worry too much about it since the investment is pretty minimal.  Myself, I prefer to use 2 piece rods which I can load up and have ready but at the same time stored in a rod case.  For spinning I pack a Shimano Compre 6'6" M F and like it just fine.

Also an Ugly Stick user for the reasons mentioned above.

It's not anywhere close to the best available.  It's entry-level gear.  I did break one once and it wasn't any big loss.

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I like the Ugly Stik as well. I think for a reasonably priced rod, they're pretty hard to beat. Not equal to the high-end rods, but will take a beating and if you should manage to break or lose one, it's no big deal.

I take a 7' medium action, and 2- light action 7' rods.
I take 2 reels, each with spare spools with a different weight line.
This allows me to utilize all the rods for any species in the event I damage my rod of choice. The more flexible your gear selection is, the better you can deal with whatever comes your way.

I also take some spare rod tip guides for each size rod along with some rod tip glue/super glue and little emery paper in zip-lock repair kit.
I'd bet broken rod tips are probably at the top of the list of rod mis-haps

Old salt thanks for the info.  Your name sounds familiar, have I seen you on another forum?
Ryan........

this year will be my second year.  The first year  my dad was sick the whole time so we didnt fish at all.  I mainly go for small panfish here.  I get the occasional small mouth but thats about it in my area.

Wecome aboard to QJ!

I use Ugly Stik rods for the three that I take. I like them for their durability and because its almost impossible to break one. I use a 6' heavy action rod with a Diawa baitcaster w/ line counter for my primary trolling rod. I use a 6' medium action spinning rod w/ a Shimano 4000 spinning reel as both a second trolling rod and as a casting rod for waldos, lakers, northerns. Lastly, I use a 5' 6" light action rod w/ a Shimano 2500 reel for bass and waldos. This seems to cover the spectrum for me, and as long as I don't break all 3 rods, I'm good to go for a variety of fishing.

What do you use? The beauty of QJ is that we can learn from each other...

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Are you planning a first trip to BW Ryan? What kinds of fish do you usually fish for when you fish your "home" waters?