BEST ultralight spinning rod / reel.

The thread might be 7 years old, but people still fish!

The lightest spinning gear I have seen is found on the website Finesse-fishing.com, a sister site of Tenkara Bum’s.  He imports very high-end gear from Japan, including a sub-5 oz reel.  I lust after some of these rods and reels.

Pflueger does indeed make some nice lightweight reels, like the President series that was mentioned 7 years ago.  Unfortunately, Covid 19 has made these hard to find in most outdoor stores right now.  They do still exist, though, and for good reason:  they’re great little reels for the price.

I put that it is 7 years old because he was asking about a specific rod from a 7 year old post, a lot of changes happen in 7 years hence the problem he is having finding one that someone had written about in the thread. If he had asked what his options were now for a rod I would understand  that.

I use an old WW Grigg 4-pc graphite spinning rod (no longer available) w/ 6wt line and an old Shimano reel.

The rod is 3.2 oz’s. The reel is 8.2 w/ line and two small lead weights and a snap swivel.

This thread got me inspired, and I decided the reel is too heavy, so after a little google-foo ordered this:

It “should” cut around 2 oz’s off my current reel weight… for $30 that’s worth it. Anymore I just carry a couple spare snap swivels and lead weights, as well as no more than a couple 1/8 oz Rooster Tails.

If you want a nice 6′-6″ rod for highcountry trout (I think that’s about an ideal size), I believe this rod might be one of the most worthwhile out there:

https://www.santiamfishingproducts.com/product-page/6-6-4-8-lb-light-spinning-4pc

A chunky 14″ Cutt I caught on one of this year’s trips:

WOW! for only 30 bucks! What’s the line capacity with 4lb line?  I ended up going kind of nuts with the research and found this site https://www.finesse-fishing.com/jdm-spinning-reels.html which I got obsessed with.

Long story short I ordered a reel from Japan: Shimano Soare CI4+ 500S under 5 ounces without line, and I ordered expensive green line from Japan along with some tippet in order to make it easier to deal with line as my eyes get older.

Then I also ordered this Pfluger which is 5.3oz but also has slightly greater line capacity, because the one from japan is going to take a long time to get here and there are still fish out there for this season to catch.

Both of these have more bearings than the one you identified, which i am now also going to buy because it is only 30 dollar and what the hell I might want one I can bang up.

I use a St. Croix 4 piece ULF travel rod which comes with a nifty case I like for backpacking because I snapped my Daiwa spinmatic when I hit my pack on a rock once. It 2.7 ounces. https://stcroixrods.com/products/triumph%C2%AE-travel-spinning-rods-2020#

Just FWIW I didn’t think that the person who posted the “are you dumb this is an old thread” was being very nice since obviously I can read but I was interested in finding the model reel (which could still exist) that was being discussed. I did find it ultimately. This should be a friendly community.

Pfluger which is 5.3oz

Michele, what Pleuger did you find at 5.3 oz’s? I’m interested in something at that weight.

Regarding this thread, thanks for resurrecting it… it was timely for me!

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/323374

I got the 25X

Ah, $199… I’ll handle the extra 0.9 oz for the $169 savings!

However, I get it… we all have special niches where money is no object. I certainly have mine (like $2,000 binoculars).

So the new Diawa reel arrived. 6.0 oz’s bare (advertised as 6.2 oz’s). Set up the same as my old Shimano with 80 yards of 6lb line, two split shot weights, and a snap swivel it comes in at 6.2 oz’s. That’s exactly a 2 oz saving for just $30. And just as important, it’s a fair bit smaller than the old reel.

Old:

New:

Zebco “Dock Demon”:

Generic 6′ CF telescoping pole from Big 5:

Diawa Minicast Silver comes with lightweight case for safe packing. I have one for sale. Will list it if anyone is interested.

https://www.fishandsave.com/cat/100/All-Rods/products/168966/Daiwa-Minicast-MCG-59S-5%27-Ultra-2-4lb-Travel-Combo-5-Pc

@gearmaker, I think that combo wins the cost:weight game! I’m confident it will cast only ok but I would fish it all day long.

Count another fellow here who lost an entire afternoon to finesse.fishing.comm. Holy shnikes What a pile of choice gear. I’m about to cash out my 401k for one of everything, but especially an ultralight top-shelf baitcaster. Oh my goodness…wish I was part of the JDM for a minute.

@zelph2: Sweet rig!

@oneil: Yeah, I’m not by any means a finesse fisherman. Probably 99% of my fishing is in high alpine lakes in the Sierra Nevada, doing my best to eradicate the invasive trout stocked there many years ago, using nothing more than a variety of Super Dupers. Caught my limit of 12″+ trout using that rig at Woods Lake, a big lake that is a tw0-day hike from the nearest main trail where the fish have apparently never seen a lure. Dinner that night was made from only what was caught and gathered that day (trout, wild onions & miner’s lettuce), so far the only time in my life I have done that.

This seems to be one of the go-to posts for ultralight fishing gear talk sooooo….

I’ve been using a zebco dock demon. At 7.1oz for the combo it’s hard to beat on weight but it malfunctions a lot. I clearly don’t care about using cheap gear but I do hate tinkering w/ fishing equip.

So I just ordered a Piscifun Carbon X 500. ~$50. Claimed weight is 5.1oz. I’ll report back on it after I take it for a spin in a few weeks.

Now I’m on the hunt for an ultralight telescoping rod. I go tenkara in the streams so this will be used exclusively for bubble casting way out into the high sierra lakes.

Any ~3oz telescoping rod suggestions y’all would like to throw out?

@jraiderguy I know your post is years old, but what rod is in that pic you posted here https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/77180/#post-1986052?

THANKS!

NICE FISH!

ok, i’m going to resurrect this thread again :)

any one have any weights on a the Daiwa Presso rod?

i currently have an 6.6ft eagle claw pack it med rod and a Shimano IX Rear Drag Freshwater Spinning Reel. with line i’m around 13oz i believe.

i’d like to be under 10oz for a spinning or spin cast set up. i’m in the midwest fishing murky lakes, mainly off the shore so 4 piece rod is probably best for my pack, i’m ok with a shorter rod. i’m not picky about fish species either :)

I use a Bass Pro Shops telescoping fishing rod 6’6″ med, 4.4oz, from Cabela’s. It’s sturdy, I’ve landed 15lb pike with it. The telescoping feature is handy for tight spots like cliff scrambling and bushwhacking, saves a lot of time and hassle over a pack-down rod.

Like UL tents, UL reels are $$.

A Shimano Ultegra ULT1000FC is 6.3oz, putting you a bit over 10oz. I have the Ultegra ULT2500FC, a great reel. It’s 1.5 oz heavier but the gear ratio is 6:1 vs 5.1:1 for the 1000 so the slight extra weight is worth it.  I run 20lb braid+15lb fluorocarbon leader.  For cheaper, the NASCI will add an oz and is decent.

Daiwa KageLT 1000 is 5.8 oz (ZAION based) with 6:1, but I’ve never used it, brick and mortar only.  Daiwa Tatula LT is cheaper and same weight and retrieve ratio (also ZAION), but people complain about play in the handle.

David,

I’m game for a telescoping rod as long as it can hold up. Sounds like the bass pro rod does. What reel do you have on it? Also do you what model the rod is?

A chunky 18″ highcountry Cutt from this past summer…

I have a 5’ Loomis ultralight rod and a Diawa 500 reel that weigh 7.4 oz. Caught a bunch of fish with spinners and bubble/fly rigs, rainbows, browns and smallies but none as big as some I see above while freshwater fishing.

Josh, here’s the rod.  I’ve been using it for years as a travel rod:  https://www.cabelas.ca/product/124826/bass-pro-shops-power-plus-graphite-telescopic-spinning-rod.   I own two and have put many hours on them without any issue.

I’m using the 2500 Ultegra with it.  After 50 years of fishing, I really like using a quality reel.   I sport fish musky, pike, walleye and bass and IME a 1000 is the smallest I’d ever want to go for big game fish.  I usually use a 4000 for musky but have brought in 25lbers on a 2500.

I have an older Shimano 1000 that’s a bit lighter but only use it for finessing plastics on my light action rod, if I know the bass will be under a few lbs.  If you know the fish won’t be very large, a 1000 would be fine.  The 500 might work but I’d hate to have a bruiser hit and then fight it with a tiny reel.

Edit: I fish in tight quarters, green tunnel Canadian shield.  I find a handle that articulates down very helpful to not get caught up on brush when in my pack side pocket.  It was the deal clincher for me to grab the ultegra.  If you fish open spaces, that won’t matter.

are there any other recommendations for a telescoping pole?

If you want a high quality telescoping pole, I bought a Balzer Magna Magic 25. Its a German brand and can be difficult to find in the US. I bought mine from PSFishing.com but it looks like they are out of business.

I can’t even find the pole right now on the German site: https://balzer.nz/  They have probably changed names over the years. Everything is in metric. I think the 25 was around 2 meters or maybe 2.1. It came out to about 6’6″ which I think is a good length for casting lightweight lures.

*edit: I have found Balzer’s catalog: https://balzerfishing-my.sharepoint.com/personal/daniel_balzerfishing_nz/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fdaniel%5Fbalzerfishing%5Fnz%2FDocuments%2Fwholesale%2Fbalzer%2Dfishing%2Dnz%2Dcatalogue%2D2023%2Epdf&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Fdaniel%5Fbalzerfishing%5Fnz%2FDocuments%2Fwholesale&ga=1

It looks like the IM-12 Mini Spin -210 is pretty equivalent to what I got. They also have a shorter -180 model (it is just under 6 feet).

I finally scored a sweet rod at the flea market! …Shakespeare tsp20 telescopic. Could be unobtanium now – seems like it’s at least a few years old and I can’t find it on the Internet. I’m too clueless to report if it’s any good or not :) but at 56″, 2.4oz, and $3, I’m excited about it as long as it doesn’t break.

I’ve had the piscifun carbon x 500 out enough to know I really like it. (…At least compared to the zebco dock demon I had before.) VERY smooth and hassle free.

That’ll be a lot fun.  Right hand crank?  Rebel!

The Piscfuns spec ~ same as the Shimano Ultegra FC line but costs less than half. The Shimano has better water sealing, it’ll be interesting to see how the Piscifuns hold up long term.  I’m sure they’re giving the major brands some indigestion.

Reading this thread is getting me more motivated to break my spinning rod out of storage. Years ago I used it regularly to fish alpine lakes, mostly with spinning lures, but I would usually bring a bubble and some flies and sometimes those worked better. The trout can be so fickle in high lakes. Sacrilege probably, but I actually enjoy it more than fly fishing, it’s just simple and easy and mindless. Somehow I got out of the habit of bringing it with me.

It’s just something I bought at a local store many years ago. I’m really not an accomplished fisherman so I never paid much attention to it, just bought what the salesman recommended. But based on what I’m reading in this thread, it seems about right for the purpose: a 4-piece Daiwa rod and small Shakespeare reel; a little over 9 oz with line, so not the lightest, but in the right ballpark. The tackle is extra of course. It always worked well and usually caught fish. To protect it, I used to wrap the rod in a small CCF pad that I also used for my dog at night, and as a sit pad.