Spin Fishing Setup

[Ben H.]

I took my 6 y.o. son backpacking in the Sierra's and he got hooked on fishing. Towards the end of the trip by buddy took him down to the lake. Half hour later they came back without the top section of my pole. This has given me the excuse to replace my setup with something more aligned to the trout fishing in the high sierra. So… I am in the market for a new spinning setup.

I am looking for a compromise between lightweight and quality for pulling trout out of high sierra lakes. I use 2-4 lb test and looking for a 6' -6'6" pole and a reel to match. I've been reading past threads.

I've settled on the Pflueger President 6920:

http://www.basspro.com/Pflueger-President-6900-Series-Spinning-Reel-Model-6920/product/10213341/

Seems like a quality reel, only 5.9 oz, and it doesn't break the bank ($50). Any other reels I should consider?

For a rod I had pretty much settled on the Diawa Spinmatic-c travel rod which matches my line weight (ultra light power) well and packs down to 4 pieces

http://www.basspro.com/Daiwa-Spinmatic-C-Ultralight-Travel-Pack-Rod-6-6-UL/product/12082905322469/

Then I came across an old thread that mentioned P&S Fishing as selling some nice telescopic poles. I found this pole:

http://www.psfishing.com/edition-im-12-mini-spin-telescopic-fishing-rod.html

which seems like a pretty nice rod. Does anyone have experience with these poles? I thought the judgment came down on the side of sectioned poles. A telescopic pole sure would be nice, but not if it is too stiff for the ultra light line I would want to put on it.

I would appreciate any thoughts or opinions particularly on the state of the current market for a nice backpacking spin setup. Thanks

[Ben Wortman]

A lot shorter than what you indicated, but the Diawa Mini-Spin kit is pretty sweet. Caught tons of fish with it so far.

[Bryant Burton]

Here is one that I got a couple years back and its light weight and compact.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003CUJ4K2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here are a couple pics of some little guys I pulled out of the Winds a couple weeks back.

[Ben H.]

Thanks for the comments. I have noticed the shorter rods definitely don't perform as well at the lakes I get too and the stiffer rods can't handle the light 1/32 – 1/16th oz lures I typically use. I've trying to find info about the rods they sell at P&S Fishing. It looks like they are sold by Balzer a German company that seems to get pretty good reviews. Finding info in English has been tough though. I think I might order one to see how it holds up.

[Jeffrey Wong]

I have just begun a little diversion into fishing. Also thinking about lightweight equipment. I've read some interesting articles about alpine lake fishing with minimal gear. This is one:
http://www.tenkarabum.com/tenkara-fishing-in-alpine-lakes.html

I know Tenkara fishing is a great fit for streams. I have tried it on a lowland lake from a canoe and interestingly, I caught the most fish from the edges of the lake and none from the unreachable center.

I also found the Tenkara setup to be much more user friendly than fly fishing with a reel. Casting is almost 2nd nature.

What did you end up with? Or are you still shopping?

Jeff

[Ben H.]

I ended up getting a Balzer telescoping rod from P&S Fishing. Since nobody seems to know much about them, I thought I would pick one up and report my findings to the community.

I emailed them asking for recommendations and ended up with this one:

http://www.psfishing.com/magna-magic-25-telescopic-fishing-rod.html

It is bigger than I wanted (all of Balzer's rods are pretty long… their trout rod is 9'9"!). Going through Balzer's catalog I think the /210 should mean the pole is 2.1 meters which is more like 6'9" rather than the 7' P&S mentions. I think the Diablo Mini Spin 45 might be a smidge closer to what I was looking for, but they stock the Magna Magic 25. I could have special ordered the Diablo, but the magna magic 25 was pretty darn similar. I ordered the Pflueger president 6920 off of Amazon to match with it. I will give a full review when I get them in.

Yeah, I have been very intrigued with Tenkara, but I have no experience fly fishing and I don't know anyone who does either. I was concerned about the cost of the rod coupled with the learning curve (trying to figure it out by myself). Coupled with my son getting excited about fishing, I need something I can just show him. Maybe when he is older I can send him off to a Tenkara fly fishing camp and he can show me!

[Jeffrey Wong]

That gear looks pretty so new and all. I hope you and yours catch lots of fish with it.

My fishing resume is very shallow. I didn't even like to handle a live fish, with all that flopping around. I have a fly fishing rod/reel with line ready to go, but never fished with it.

Recently, I read something about Tenkara and bang, I had clicked on the "buy" button. The rod I got (Wetfly Backcountry Tenkara 13' Package, $170) was stiff for a Tenkara rod and it came with one line too light to cast. I hadn't done my homework before buying. I read almost everything I could find online about Tenkara, the gear, the techniques and the gear reviews. I read about kids and non-fishermen/women catching fish 5 minutes after getting a Tenkara rod in their hands for the first time! No one had ever reviewed the Wetfly. I caught a few fish with the Wetfly, but I had difficulty casting with it, not the thrill I read about people having with other rods. I was missing the cheese in the cheeseburger.

I had found at least two rods for beginners (me) selling for <$100 and that also had good reviews. Stream-ready versions sold for just >$100. Rods from Badger, Tenkara times and Fountainhead have had good reviews. The Shimotsuke Tenkara 3.3 (from tenkarabum.com, my trusted source for Tenkara knowledge and gear) weighs 2.5 oz. The Tenkara 3.3, 2 lines with line holders, line nipper, & flybox with 12 flies weigh just >5 oz. I can justify carrying that small weight even if I don't get to fish.

I have no financial interest in any of the vendors mentioned.

Tight lines!

[Yuri R]

Ben,
Where in South Cali are you located? I have a few Tenkara rods that i can show you and provide some additional info.

[Ben H.]

Here is what I ended up with:

I am not sure if any of this picture is in focus, but here is the rod extended:

The rod is the Balzer Magna Magic 25. I got it from P&S Fishing:

http://www.psfishing.com/magna-magic-25-telescopic-fishing-rod.html

Extended it is 6'10 1/2". Collapsed it is 22".

The rod has a long handle section behind the reel. That seems to be Balzer's standard design. Most rods they sell are quite a bit longer than this one, so I am thinking the long handle is needed for the length of sections. Section lengths on this pole are around 12", so the end of the pole seems to be a lot of empty space. I am actually considering cutting off 5-6" from the handle. In front of the reel the pole is about as long as the 6'6" rod this is replacing. So it is just about the size I wanted. I don't think I would be happy with some of the shorter rods they sell.

The Rod weighs 4.70 oz. It has a plastic cap that prevents the rod from extending. That weighs 0.16 oz. The cloth sleeve (shown in the first pic) weighs in at 0.28 oz

I like the rod. It might be a tad stiffer than I was hoping for, but I would have to get out on a lake and cast it a few times to really make that judgement.

The reel is a Pflueger President 6920 I picked up for $50 off of Amazon. I am very impressed with this reel. Seems like a finely made piece of machinery. It weighs a bit over spec: 6.04 oz (without line).

The total setup without line came in at 10.90 oz (without line). I am sure heavier than most people use, but it is a nice setup that balances weight, function, and cost.

[Ben H.]

Yuri – Thanks for the offer. I live in the South Bay (Torrance). I probably won't take you up on the offer though. Things are pretty hectic in life right now and I just don't have the time to pick up a new fishing style.

[Yuri R]

Congrats on purchase, its so much fun to fish out there and not on stocked lakes.

[Jeffrey Wong]

I have a Shakespeare telescoping spinning rod/reel on its way. http://www.fishusa.com/Product/Shakespeare-Travel-Mate-RodReel-Travel-Kits available in medium or ultralight action, prespooled with 6# and 4# line, respectively. Will know soon if it qualifies for "tastes great, less filling." No, it's not Daiwa or Shimano, but it's cheap.

[Jenny A]

To the OP: congrats on your Pflueger President reel! I have used one for about a year now, picked it up as a replacement for a discontinued Penn. I do believe the Pflueger is a nicer reel, smoother action and a bit lighter. Nice choice.

I have paired that reel with an ultralight graphite rod from Cabela's (a now-discontinued?) 5 1/2 ft two-piece that handles light lures and 4 lb test beautifully. It's hard to find short rods like that actually break down for hiking/backpacking, and I'm glad I bought several when Cabela's was blowing them out for $15 last year. I am curious as to how your telescoping rod is going to do with light line and lures?

You originally asked for recommendations on spinning rigs, but I will add my 2 cents to the folks talking about Tenkara. I have used nothing but spinning reels and lures for over 50 years and just picked up a Tenkara rod a couple of years ago. I was intrigued by the light weight of the rods and the simplicity of the discipline, no previous fly fishing experience required. It took a few days to become comfortable with the casting technique and learn some new knots, but I have become enamored after finally catching and landing some nice fish. You just can't beat 4 oz for the entire setup! It's not ideal for larger lakes, but for the small mountain creeks, beaver ponds and inlet areas that I like to fish, it is great. They say that kids pick it up really quickly, too, as they are not encumbered with all kinds of previous notions.

Have fun!

[R Y]

Ben — did you ever get around to casting the Balzer rod to see how it did with light lures ?

I'm thinking of a 7+ foot ultralight-rated spin rod to try out fly & bubble fishing. I notice Daiwa has a couple of ultralight pack rods at 7.5' and there is the Eagle Claw trailmaster. I wonder if it might be worth spending time converting one of the Cabela CGR glass fly rods to a spin setup …

[Ben H.]

Sadly, I have not been able to get out with the rod yet. Grumble… grumble…. young kids at home…. grumble… grumble…. hard to get out…. You know, the standard excuses.

I went surf fishing on Catalina Island in December. I decided I didn't want to get salt water on this new set-up, so I bought a cheap stiff collapsible rod off of Amazon for that:

http://www.amazon.com/South-Bend-Proton-Telescopic-78-Inch/dp/B00IAMH1Z2/ref=pd_sbs_sg_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1PSMKVRG7S1BH2ZXWAD9

The Balzer rod is certainly much nicer in terms of construction and appears to have better action, but I have not been able to cast them side by side with tackle for comparison.

[Timothy Huguenin]

You may be interested on the shimano sienna 500. Its only 6 ounces I think and it costs 30 bucks. I just nought one, haven't used it yet, but I've been using a cheaper shimano model and it was pretty good, I got this one for my wife and its lighter and feels better than the one I was using. Maubecsomeone out there has more experience with it but im excited about trying it out.
http://fish.shimano.com/content/sac-fish/en/home/products/fishing-reels/spinning/sienna-front-drag.html

[R Y]

So a while back I decided to get the 240cm (7'10") version of the Balzer Magna Magic 25 and have spent some time fishing with it. Coupled with an ultralight reel and Berkley Nanofil line (have used it with 4, 6 and 8 lb test) it can really wing 1/8 and 1/16 oz lures out there (the lighter the line the better).

This setup seems to work pretty well with fly & bubble technique, too. I haven't caught any huge fish on it yet — mostly small bass, bluegill, crappie and a small carp; none of these were over 12" I'd guess. I did manage to bring in a 15" brown trout on a St. Croix 5'6" ultralight rod this winter, so I suspect the Balzer will do pretty well in the Sierra. I've used the Balzer at some lakes and ponds in Henry Coe State Park and a few reservoirs in Santa Clara county parks.

My St. Croix ultralight rod is half the weight of the Balzer, but becomes comparable when I factor in a rod protector (T12 fluorescent tube protector from Home Despot), while IMO the Balzer doesn't really need a protector. The longer length of the Balzer adds casting distance, and is also helpful with longish leaders for fly / bubble setups.

I notice that longer (non-telescopic) ultralight spinning pack rods tend to have larger guides which don't seem to fit into the T12 tubes. The Daiwa Presso 7' rod for example is another nice longer ultralight rod and again about half the weight of the Balzer, but I have yet to find a rod protector for it that weighs less than 5 ounces — a T17 tube protector, which works but is a little unwieldy.

Thanks for pointing out this rod out to me Ben. Hope you enjoy yours !
-Rob

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