Spinning Rod

[Frank Perkins]

I'm looking to bring a lightweight rod and reel on my next hiking trip. According to Cabella's customer service, their Graphic Telescopic Rod is 3.6oz. I'm thinking of pairing it with a Shimano AXUL 5.3oz reel.

Anyone else have any rod/reel combo's they can suggest [non fly fishing]

Thanks

[Pedro Arvy]

I am also in the market for a spinnnig rod. From what I have read on other forums, multi-piece rods are superior to telescopic rods in action and durability. I have heard telescopic rods can break more easily than multi-piece rods.

[larry savage]

Before you spend the money on a graphite tele rod get a cheap fiberglass one to play with, durability is a real problem.
Pack rods are nice but I've gone back to using a standard twopiece that I pack inside a fluorescent lamp protector, you can cut them down to any length and the lamp end caps secure them in place with a 35mm film canister lid snapped in.
Of course packrods are really nice ,eeck— editing added here—-
Well I'm willing to eat my words, for $19.99 buy that sucker and tell me how it works.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Me too. I have an ancient(1969) Berkely 5 pc. fiberglass spin/fly rod. The 6' 6" Cabela's telescoping spinning rod is just right for my UL Penn spin reel. I'm ordering one TODAY.

Plus a telescoping rod can be left "set up" W/ the reel & line ready to go, unlike a take-down rod.

Thanks so much for posting this item. God, I love these backpacking forums.

Eric B.

[Brett .]

Frank, I bought that exact telescoping rod last trip to the US, and carried it back here for fishing in Japan. I also bought a tiny enclosed reel and a basic set of lures and tackle. I dont "know" how to fish, per se (and certainly not how to fly fish). I'm going to just bait a hook and see what I can catch.
I expect in a month or two I will start using it on Spring hikes. The rod comes with a protective sack; I can carry it in the side pocket of my pack.

[Richard Scruggs]

Frank,

I prefer fly rods, but for a little variety at high lakes, I have a lightweight spinning rod that's sold/auctioned on eBay by Cooks of Oregon. Cooks mostly makes nice custom lightweight fly rods, some of which can be broken down to 4 pieces. But they also make a few ultralight spinning rods. The spinning rod that I bought from Cooks is a Forecast RX6 Graphite (SB720-4) that's 6' long, designed for 4#-8# line.

I chose the above rod because it's pretty light at 3.10 oz and breaks down to 4 pieces that easily fit a 20"x2" tube.

The current eBay listing for the above spinning rod is:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Custom-Graphite-Travel-Pack-rod-6-4pc-Lt-spin-fuji_W0QQitemZ140105456021QQihZ004QQcategoryZ36150QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Cook's didn't provide a tube for the spinning rod, but BPL sells good lightweight tubes in 24" and 36" lengths, which can be cut down to fit the rod you have. When cut to 20" length, the 2" wide version has a weight of about 3.58 oz.

For the above rod, I have a Pflueger 4410 Microspin UL Spinning Reel from Cabella's. It weighs 5.89 ounces w/o line, a little lighter than the 6 oz weight described at the Cabella website. Cabella's listing of this reel can be found at the following link:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat20333&id=0037062120893a&navCount=1&podId=0037062&parentId=cat20333&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IH&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20333&hasJS=true

Price of the rod on eBay: Starting bid $109; Buy Now $119
Price of the reel at Cabella's: $24.99
Price of BPL's 24" x 2" rod tube: $12.74 (member price)

If you ever consider giving flyfishing a try on trips into the backcountry, might check Cook's eBay listings for a lightweight fly rod that's reasonably priced. Their 6'6" 2 wt fly rod breaks down to 4 pieces, weighs 2.4 oz, and fits a 21" x 1.5" BPL rod tube. Abel's Trout series fly reel which weighs 3.9 oz w/line (the TRL version) matches the above 2 wt fly rod nicely, as does Ross' Colorado #0 reel (weighing 3.4 oz w/o line). Both of these reels have been discontinued but can be found on eBay or maybe on a dusty shelf in a fly shop.

JRS

[Theodore Vidnovic]

I picked up a telescoping rod/reel combo from WallyWorld for ~$25 last year. The reel was a bit heavy for my taste, but I had a 3 oz. spinning reel laying around from one of my ice fishing rigs. Togehter they made a nice, light, and compact rig.

[G Cowen]

travel rods are considerably better the telescopic ones.

St. Croix Makes Great travel rods…

Premier Spin Travel Rods

MODEL LGTH PWR ACTN PCS LINE WT LURE WT ROD WT
(oz) HNDL PRICE
PS60LF4 6' L Fast 4 4 – 8 1/16 – 5/16 2.8 2 $150.00
PS66MLF3 6' 6" ML Fast 3 4 – 10 1/8 – 1/2 4.3 4 $150.00
PS70MF3 7' M Fast 3 6 – 12 1/4 – 5/8 4.6 5 $150.00

[David Goodyear]

They have telescoping rods from light weight to saltwater. I recently took one on a weeklong trip and had no trouble hauling in pike. I fashioned a rod tip cover that velcros around the reel – so that I can carry the rod with the lure on in an outer pocket of my pack. Stealth packing/fishing. ( I couldn't always wait until we set up camp to fish)

Good luck

Dave

[Robert Burns]

Its all about the weight. Dont carry a fishing rod thats more than an ounce. Use this if your going to use anything for fishing… http://www.rei.com/product/750651

Good luck, Happy trails

[Frank Perkins]

Don't you think an Ocean Kayak is overkill?

[Frank Perkins]

Well, I started this thread trying to find a light and cheap rod and reel for casting. Of course, as most people obsessed with equipment weight and packing and coordinates, I started to think that maybe a fly rod would make more sense. Unless I found a lake or deep stream, it would be hard to fish with a spinning rod and reel.

So I did some more research, which of course, is most of the fun and I think if I go for a fly rod and reel, Ill buy:

Cabela's Stowaway 5 piece travel fly rod. The 7'6" rod is 2.4 ounces according to their customer service rep.

I would also pair it with the Graphic Fly Reel which is 3.5 ounces and only 20 bucks.

The only problem I have is I never been fly fishing so I'll have to practice in the back yard. I have done plenty of casting fishing, so it can't be *that* hard. Any thoughts? I know BPL had a UL fly fishing kit, but it's not in stock anymore.

[Ryan Faulkner]

"Its all about the weight. Dont carry a fishing rod thats more than an ounce. Use this if your going to use anything for fishing… http://www.rei.com/product/750651"

is this a joke?

[Mike Schnorr]

Anyone tried this thing?

Ultralight Collapsible Fishing Pen Rod

[David Goodyear]

If you've decided to buy a $100 fly rod and pair it with a $20 reel, don't forget the backing-fly line- leaders tippets and flies. If you've never fly fished, I would recommend taking a few casting classes – one for ponds and one for river casting – it is not as easy as you think. It can get pretty frustrating especially if the banks are full of brush. If you are decent with a spinning rod, you may want to take a few spinners and go for it.

Just my thoughts, I do both fly and spin.

Good luck,

Dave

[Frank Perkins]

I decided to go with a traditional rod and reel.

The rod and reel come in at 9oz total without line and lure. I think I can save some weight if I cut off the bottom 6 inches of the rod… although I'm not ready to do it after only having it for a few hours.

I also think I can find a lighter reel.

My next trip is for the beginning of Sept. so Ill let you know how it worked out. Now to work on that fish chowder recipe…

[Jason Brinkman]

I have a Streamlines casting handline that I carry when I want to fish. It can be used with flies or lures. It's principle advantage is size – no clumsy real or long rod. And it's fun!

Works especially well with a casting bubble.

[Andrew Richard]

dont discount the travel fly rod made by March Brown. http://www.graywolfflyfishing.com/servlet/the-FLY-FISHING-RODS-cln-MARCH-BROWN-LTD-cln-Hidden-Water-Series/Categories This may be the finest travel rod you can buy. Much better quality IMO than a "store brand" (although i have owned and used cabela's rods, they are ok) When you get a 5 weight fly rod, use 6 weight line and dont skimp on line quality. You'll look to pay around $35-40 on a good floating line that will really take the headache out of the whole ordeal, compared to a wally world shelf brand. Trust me on this one.

[Frank Perkins]

Also great if you want to do some backcountry kiting!

[Darrel Etter]

Fly fishing is way more fun. Spinning rod fishing is dragging a meat hook across the lake in an attempt to antagonize a big fish into chasing it. You just kill the most aggressive fish in the lake and degrade the gene pool. And, those lures are heavy. Fly fishing you must know entomology. You must BE the aquatic insect in order to fool the fish into biting it. You really need to know so much more about the nature of the fish and the bio-life of the lake or stream to know fly fishing. The first think you do when you approach the water is shake the bushes around the water to see what insects are hatching, turn over rocks in the water to see what insects are in the water, and look into the sun to see swarms of mating insects. You become part of their environment. Isn't that a big reason why we go backpacking? Fly fishing and backpacking naturally go together.

I always seem to out-fish spinner fisher-persons in areas where there is any pressure on the fish. Fish learn that a meat hook racing through the water is not food. A properly presented dragon fly nymph will way outperform. If the water is very lightly fished, spinning rods may have an advantage, but then it is just as easy to catch them on a fly so why not have more fun?

I'm not out there to live on fish meat like some folks fantasize. It would be un-wise to carry less food and depend upon fish meat. When you catch a fish on a spinning lure, they swallow it deep and almost assuredly they will die. A fish gently slurps up a fly in the normal way it eats and spits it out if it doesn't taste like food so the fly hook only catches it on its very strong lip cartilage. It is very easy to gently release the fish while still under water (after a quick picture) without injuring it. Please leave those beautiful Golden trout, cutthroats, browns, and rainbows there so I can have a picture of them too. You can eat the brookies, they get stunted if there are too many :)

And, of course, you can fly fish with a casting bubble from a spinning rod (dry fly or nymphing) very effectively. That must be lighter gear than those heavy meat hooks. I always bring a casting bubble with my fly rod too, but I far prefer traditional fly fishing.

[David Goodyear]

Darrel –

It is great that you enjoy fly fishing, but putting down other forms of fishing doesn’t seem too neighborly. There are times when each type of fishing has its advantages. A well rounded fisherman will use the best method for the current conditions.

-Reading a stream and precision casting and retrieval of a spinner over, under and around obstacles is an art.
-Casting and selecting a fly for surface presentation is an art.
-Sub-surface fly-fishing – nymph imitation, bait fish imitation – retrieval techniques is an art.

Is the 80 year old man fishing with a bobber and a worm having less fun than you? – He is outside enjoying himself.

Dave

[Darrel Etter]

When I'm 80 I'm not going to pack a tub of worms and bobbers into the wilderness! That would certainly not be any fun!

This thread starts: "I'm looking to bring a lightweight rod and reel on my next hiking trip", and this forum is on lightweight backpacking…usually in wilderness areas or of areas with limited access. My impression is that fun for us is simplicity, efficiency, being knowledgeable, planning, and since we are usually backpacking in areas that are officially sanctioned as areas of natural beauty and rarity in their resources, I would guess that for most of us fun is also finding the connection to that natural beauty and respecting it. I have found in my experience that fly fishing satisfies all these aspects, and to a much greater degree than spinner fishing, and I wanted to share that with others.

My whole fishing kit is just about 1lb., and that includes an old cheap reel & line, over 300 flies, 20 pieces of non-lead split-shot, and a 1 oz. pair of forceps. I think that's pretty light, but I could easily spend some money, leave some of that behind, and get the weight down.

[peter vacco]

so, peter went out and got a shimano MG50 reel, 20# plioline, and a .. i think its like a trailmaster Mk3 multi piece rod.
reel is 6oz w// line. the rod is 4.8 if i carry the extra tip.
it was all a little bit of money, and so what. i am a terrible fisherman, but hey ! got a nibble (i could See him) in a nice hole on the keele river in the NWT.
my only input is that it seems (to an unskilled troll) that treble hooks get hung up a bunch too often on a bottom of rounded rocks. will try single hooks next time. maybe a bobber.
the 20# line let me just pull like mad until the hooks moved the rocks. didn;t loose any lures.

[Steve .]

Frank, for non-fly fishing I like the Daiwa MiniSpin. At $40 for both the rod and reel I think it is a good value. They come in both closed reel and open reel versions.

I use the open reel version. The rod, reel, and 100 yards of 4lb Vanish line weigh 8 oz. With 4lb line I use 1/8 oz lures or occasionally 1/4 oz lure if the current is strong.

The nice thing about using an ultralight spinning outfit like the Minispin is you can use it for both spinner and fly fishing.

To use with flies there are a couple of methods. You can use the bobber & fly technique or take the hook off something like a Kastmaster lure and rig your fly above the lure get the fly near the stream bottom.

[Dave Heiss]

Going back to Frank's original post, I also bought Cabela's graphite telescoping rod, and paired it to a 5-ball bearing Daiwa reel that weighs about 5 ounces. I bought the pair in 2005 and I've been really happy with both items. Add in a small Plano box for lures, weights, etc, and I'm fishing at 11-12 ounces for the full setup.

However, you'll need something to fry up all those trout, so unless you already carry a nonstick frying pan as part of your cooking gear, you'll need to add that item to your pack too. Catch and release is fun, but surely you plan to keep a few for dinner, right?

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