New salmon pole suggestions

[gpc]

I was just wondering if you guys could point me in the right direction for a new salmon combo. What I am looking for is a new casting combo in the $200 - $300. Maybe a 9' rod and low pro reel, but am open for suggestions. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Bodofish]

Such a personal thing. Many nice casters out there, can't go wrong with Abu's, Shimanos or Quantums..... As for rods, I'm kinda partial to my Lami West Coast Premier. Not even close to the high price spred but I like the flex. But then I fished a Diawa rod for about 20 years and it worked just fine, I think I paid $20 for it new....

[big fish lite line]

if I had 200-300$ to blow on a salmon rod I would buy an 8' 6" lamiglass and put a shimano curado on it.
you've got many many choices that will help you narrow your search such as:

fiberglass or graphite-glass for durability and graphite for sensitivity
stiffness- do you want a rod for humpies and silvers or a rod that you can catch a 30# king
brand- stick with lamiglass, fenwick, g loomis, ugly stick, shimano, or what ever you trust.

for reels I usually look for smooth drag, high speed, comfortable handle, light weight and enough line capacity.

[curado]

build your own rod i built one i use for throwing hardware,jigs,drift gear, freedrift bait. reels all name are top reels i have a curado and it is still a fish killer i also have a c4 6600 abu great reel for spoons and plunking

[ckim85]

I stick with a $35 Okuma Celilo.
works great imo

[G-Man]

I'm assuming that this combo will be used for river fishing. If you are going to be using it for drift fishing then you'll want a good sensitive graphite rod in the 8 to 17 or 10 to 20 lb line rating. Depends on the water you are going to fish and the fish you are chasing. The larger the river the more pressure you'll want to be able to put on the fish. I spool my reels with 15lb for river salmon, I don't think you need much more unless you fish the Columbia. Most of the common rod manufactures will have what your looking for in the $80 to $120 dollar range. Look for a proper number of guides, a 9' casting rod should have at least 9 guides, metal re-enforced reel seat and aluminum oxide guide inserts. Check out the Lamiglass, N 386 MHC, a medium duty 8.5' rod that isn't priced in the stratosphere. For a reel, you'll want one that can hold at least 140 yards of 15lb line and it should be solid and have a good, smooth, drag. You're going to be chucking larger baits and weights with this thing so you don't necessarily need a finesse bait caster. An Abu 5500 or 6500 series is a good reel to base your choices against. Daiwa, Shimano, Quantum and Abu all make good quality reels that will get the job done, just don't go with anything cheap. Expect to spend between $80 and $200 for a reel and don't forget to put some quality line on it. I'm partial to Maxima products but the other top brands catch their share of fish as well.

[gpc]

Hey thanks for all the help guys. I went down to OE last friday and made my purchase. I ended up going with the 8' 6" medium light Shimano Clarus. And a Shimano Cardif 401a. Thanks again for the insight

[A9]

Good combination there GPC. I have two Clarus/Cardiff combo's. Medium action for me as i use em for some downrigging, but the reel is great; smooth and casts nice, the rods have withstood 20+ lb kings and the daily downrigger beating for a few seasons now....

[gpc]

[quote="A9"]Good combination there GPC. I have two Clarus/Cardiff combo's. Medium action for me as i use em for some downrigging, but the reel is great]


Good glad to hear that. I havnt got to use it a whole lot (saving it for the kings/chums/silvers, dont really need it for the pinks.) but this weekend I am going to put it up against a potholes catfish (hopefully fingers crossed) and kings at wanapum the weekend after that. Thanks for the reasurance kafelafish.

Hey by the way what kind of line would you recomend? Not really into braid, but I still want to be able to put a corkie and yarn with a 1" pencil lead out there a ways. I will be trolling with it a little, but mostly casting. Any suggestions?

[G-Man]

15 to 20lb Maxima chameleon line would work just fine for most anything your going to do with the setup. The only reason I'd go 20 instead of 15 is if you plan to use it off a downrigger or picking up bottom fish in the salt. Maxima makes a co-polymer line that the Swede swore by but I haven't put it through it paces myself enough to recommend it.