Kerry -

Until somewhat recently, I've taken BOTH.  I'd use the baitcasting setup mostly for trolling and jigging.  I'd use the spinning gear mostly for casting.

However, in an effort to reduce overall weight, I now only take a single rod/reel combo ... a spinning reel setup.

dd

both! options are good!
i bring a baitcaster with super line for trolling and jigging the big stuff. on the trip in to the lake where we plan to make our base camp i only have my baitcaster out. the jigging rod(2 piecer) is taped together and the reel is stashed in my pack. it makes for very easy portaging. the baitcaster is out for trolling for lakers. because the fishing pressure up in the the Q is very minimal, you can get away with bigger baits. i use the baitcaster rigged with a bigger jig to quickly cover water and find active fish. the heavier baits are also nice for locating structure and the bottom depth. this last year i ended up using my baitcaster almost exclusively because the fish were hitting really well on the 3" tube jigs with a 1/4 oz jig. i find that to be too big for my jig rod. plus its nice to have 2 rods for the option of a big bait and a small bait without having to change whats on your line.


i also bring a small spinning rod with light line for finesse fishing for walleyes. generally i use this when we are in shallow water and we have found a school of active fish that seems to have slowed down biting. then i switch to smaller lighter baits that would be too light to cast with a baitcaster.

its mostly a matter of preference. if you fish with primarily baits that are heavy enough to cast with a baitcaster then you can get away with just having the baitcaster. if you fish with a wide variety of sizes and weights you should probably bring both. i would never go into canoe country without 2 rods just because of the chances that one rod might get broken and nothing spoils a trip like not having fishing gear! i personally find having 2 rods rigged with different sizes/shapes/colors to be invaluable when it comes to fishing.

the disclaimer i would put on my advice is that when im in canoe country my primary reason for being there is the fishing. so my opinion is pretty skewed in favor of more stuff.

Kerry,

I haven't ever used a baitcasting reel (other than for fishing muskies) so I never took one into the back country.  This year I invited a newbie from St. Louis who fishes in bass tournaments.  He only brought bait casting reels and they worked very well for him.  He was primarily casting spoons for northerns and some Rapalas.  For casting spoons, the baitcasting reels worked very well for him.  He did, however, have a very good quality reel.

As far as I could tell, his reel worked just as well as our spinning reels.

He had never caught northerns before and he really enjoyed catching northerns.  He even caught a 48 inch northern.  He did not, however, catch a lake trout.  Maybe next year.

Westwood

I'm definitely leaning towards giving a baitcaster a try.  Where I'm headed the fish get pretty big and my favorite baits are cranks which tend to be over 1/4 oz.  So a baitcaster will probably be perfect.  The one problem I'm having is finding a good 2 piece rod.  The only thing I've been able to find is the Shimano Compre at around $100 and the G Loomis Mag Bass at around $425.  Anyone know about anything in between?  I want to pair the rod with a Shimano Chronarch reel.  By the way, thanks for all the feedback so far.

I looked long and hard for a quality 2 piece rod for a baitcaster, but I found no such thing unless you wanted to spend a ton of money. Try looking at the Gander Mountain website and they have a few 2 piece baitcast rods. Some are Gander brand and some are St. Croix. I've had both St. Croix and Gander Mountain rods and my personal preference is to go with the Gander one. The rods are relatively inexpensive but really nice quality. My favorite rod is actually from the clearance section of Gander. The best part of getting a rod from Gander is that you can buy lifetime warranties for them ($6-15 range for the warranty) with full replacement no questions asked. You bring the rod in broken and they give you a new one.

The problem with 2 piece rods is that they tend to have to be really tight fitting or they come apart while casting. The way you cast with a baitcaster puts direct pressure on the joint where as with a spinning rod, you cast with an arc so the joint doesn't have nearly the same amount of stress.

What I ended up doing was dropping my pursuit of a 2 piece rod and getting a rod from Gander with the warranty. It just seems to be that the single piece rods are more sensitive, durable, and generally a better quality overall.

Another thing I would like to mention in your pursuit of a rod would be to make sure that the rod you get has a long handle. I would steer away from the pistol grip rods. The long handle allows you to use the reel as a pivot point and if you grab the very end of the handle you can get some really nice snap on the tip of the rod to get the maximum distance out of your casts. Also, the longer handles tend to be round and cork so they are quiet and much easier to use with a rod holder in a canoe. I also like the long handle because if you ever fish alone in your canoe or are responsible for landing your own fish, it is easy to hold the reel tight and stick the end of the rod inside your elbow/along your forearm to keep control of the rod tip and the fish while only having to use one hand.