GANGGREEN

OK, thanks. I'm actually thrilled to get first-hand accounts, particularly from guys in my area that are likely fishing the same areas and techniques. Much appreciated.

Thanks for your thoughts smalljaw, I was really hoping for some first hand comments from those who had used it. Much appreciated.

Ha, I just got an order in for a few rods and found that I had mistakenly ordered the 6'9" MH casting rod versus the 6'9" MH spinning rod that I had really wanted. Hmmmmm, what to do, what to do. Rather than monkey around and pay shipping on the return, I'm leaning towards keeping it. I tend to be more of a spinning guy to begin with but in fairness, I had said that I wanted to upgrade my casting gear and try to get more comfortable using it this season. At this length, with a medium heavy power and fast action, what techniques am I mostly looking at would you suppose? I'm guessing jigs, worms, maybe spinnerbaits, stuff like that? For what it's worth, I also got a 6'9" HMG M-F casting rod in this order as well. I tend to fish very clear water that's mostly free from heavy cover (some grass in places but typically not heavy matted stuff) and I thought that this would cover most of my jig/worm/single hook needs. I have to decide whether to keep the ET Smallmouth rod or possibly send it back or trade it to someone for something I can use more. Thoughts?

OK, thanks. I know that they also have a red series, which was the really soft one, and I think they have a black series but I'm not sure of the names of each. Thank you.

What color is that rod? I found two UL series rods with the F&S label, one of them was too soft for my taste but I thought the other one might be worth a shot as it felt good in the hand. Thanks for the suggestion.

Ice fishing.

OK, thanks. I'm looking for a perch rod but would prefer 6'6" and extra fast action. I'm weighing all of my options and considering price.

What's the action of that trout series rod? Is it a fast/x-fast rod or more moderate bend?

Yep, I've used them for crappie, perch, largemouth and smallmouth. It's a good lure and a good system.

If I'm not mistaken, that stringer shows 25 fish. I suspect that I caught 75 or more that day. It was just wild. Myself and another fellow were in my boat. I don't recall whether we called to the rear guard by radio or if Noel and our other buddies simply stumbled onto us and saw the bent rods but it was a banner day, one that I'll likely never forget.

Very nice report Crestliner. I'll definitely look into this line of UL rods. Thank you. I've just done a quick web search and I'm having a hard time finding any dealers with the 7' model. Most have the 10 and 12 foot models, maybe a 9 footer but I haven't yet found the 7' model, even though the manufacturer's website claims that they're available. I also see that they're made of an IM-6 blank. I'm not an expert on rod blank materials but does anyone have an informed opinion about how an IM-6 blank might stack up to any of the more modern blanks as it relates to sensitivy and weight. I respect Crestliner's report and appreciate it but want to make sure I don't make a poor decision if I can't get one of these into my hands for a trial (at least an in-store trial).

Thanks for the ideas guys, it gives me a few more options to consider and I had relatively few. I do have a TFO fly rod and mine has a very moderate action but I'd guess these UL spinning rods probably come with a much different blank, particularly in a 6'6" ULF. Again, thanks, I'll check some of your suggestions out before doing anything.

Nice Dwight. I had a pretty nice day on Erie this spring in what is shallow water by Erie perch standards. I was trying to catch some late spring, early summer smallmouth and got smallies and big perch fishing smallie tactics. Fun.

Yeah, as I recall, Rob J and I were getting doubles all day long and most were nice ones. We took exactly half a limit, though we caught three times that many. Fun.

Nice, thanks for the explanation. I've always found perch to be my favorites and tell people quite honestly that I'd just as soon catch big, really, really big, yellow perch as anything else, bass, walleye, salmon, you name it. I once saw a Youtube video of someone in Scandinavia catching some real honker perch, I guess at the time I didn't realize that there was a genetic distinction between them and what we have here in the states.

Zonkers! Now we'll have to pull out the zander pics to really knock their socks off. Those really are remarkable and if they aren't yellow perch, can I ask where, what, when and how?

Two pound perch are a myth.

Just to give some more specifics, I've tried a dozen different less-expensive rods purchased at Walmart, Gander Mountain or elsewhere, and I'm always disappointed and end up giving them away or selling them cheap down the road. I'm not suggesting that there aren't any bargains out there or that you absolutely must spend big money to get extreme sensitivity but in my experience, the less expensive rods are either buggy whips or simply not very sensitive (keep in mind again that I'm talking about deep water and fish that tend to bite light under the best of conditions, let alone in 38 degree water like I find them in frequently). If I can't find anything else that suits my needs better, I'd probably be inclined to purchase another Tourney Trail rod for $60 or whatever they're going for these days. Thanks for the recommendations that you guys have already given, I'll look into them.

OK, I know it's a bass board but I've caught many hundreds of nice bass on ultralight gear over the years including many, many, many dozens of 4 pound smallmouth. That said, the rod I'm looking for is intended to be used primarily for big yellow perch first, then crappie and/or bass as a once in a while thing. I find that most rod manufacturers either don't make UL rigs or they certainly don't concentrate on them or offer many styles, lengths, actions, etc.. I fish primarily ultra-clear water and often fish 20, 25, 30 feet deep or more so I want something in the 6'6" range and I need a fast or x-fast action because setting the hook with light line in deep water and a moderate action rod or 5'6" rod just doesn't work well. I know that some will suggest a 7' or 7'6" rod but I'm not really comfortable with anything much over 6'6" and would prefer to stay in that range. With deep water and soft bites, it obviously has to be pretty sensitive and being feather light is always a plus for an UL rod/reel. My favorite perch rod that I presently own is a Cabelas Tourney Trail 6' UL with a nice, fast action. It's a very nice rod for the price (though I admit to having broken two of them over the years, once my fault and once the fault of the rod). Other than that, it's very hard to find decent rods that meet my requirements. I know that St. Croix has a panfish series but I'm not sure I've ever seen one in a store, nor have I ever borrowed one to use. I'd probably be willing to go to $100 for this but I'd be happy if I could keep it in the $50-70 range. I know that Okuma has a few series out there but some of theirs have a pretty soft action (though I found one yesterday at a Field and Stream store that might do). For what it's worth, I have a few UL reels laying around here but will probably use a new Pflueger Purist 1325 on the rod, although I'm not entirely opposed to purchasing a new reel either. Any suggestions? I suppose I could also live with a 6'6" L-F action rod if it was rated on the heavy side.

I agree with the others. In my experience, the really great shallow water fishing that occurs during early fall is very short-lived and I usually miss it because I'm busy at this time of year. What follows can last quite a bit longer but it's much harder to find in my waters as the bass begin schooling and going deep. I prefer fishing for smallmouth over largemouth in the fall of the year but I've had days where I absolutely pounded one big smallie after another. The problem is that you may go hours without a bite before finally zooming in, finding them and then catching a bunch of them. Good luck in your quest.

I'm glad to see a few guys have shown up to champion the Fenwick rods. I admit to having only a little experience with the Fenwick and St. Croix rods, but this is a discussion forum and it's not worth much without a wide range of responses. I know that I learn a lot from anecdotal posts about this or that. I've only ever owned one St. Croix rod, it's a 6'6" MLF Premier. I've also previously fished with a 6' UL Premier and a 6'6" ML Avid. I know that the Avids get really, really good reviews on this site and are pretty much universally popular, but my very limited experience with them hasn't been as positive. I fished with the Avid very recently and compared it side to side with my 6' ML Fenwick HMG and I honestly liked the HMG a bit more (although it wasn't completely an apples for apples comparison since the HMG is 6" shorter and to my hands, a bit "faster"). The Fenwick is about $100 less and I liked it more. Maybe it's just me and I'm all wet. The same HMG, at least in my hands, is a far superior and more sensitive rod than my 6'6" Premier at roughly the same price point. The little 6' UL St. Croix that I fished with years ago was a fine little rod but at the price point, I'm not sure it was any better than any number of other options. Admittedly, I know that it's the Avid and not the Premier that's being recommended in this thread. I have a new Elite Tech Smallmouth and 2 new HMGs on the way because I'm so happy with the Fenwicks. I hope that these ones are as nice as the current HMG that I like so much. So, in a nutshell, here's another vote for the Fenwick over the St. Croix at the same price points. Oh, and as an aside, I got this current HMG after a friend had borrowed a previous Fenwick Walleye Series that I owned. He broke it through his own stupidity, sent it back to Fenwick and they replaced it with the current HMG since the Walleye Series was no longer in production. It was actually an upgrade and they replaced it no questions asked so at least in that instance, their customer service was exceptional, though I really have no other experience with customer service at Fenwick or St. Croix.

Yeah, planning to change some things up. First of all, I've got a new boat and I'm upgrading at least 5 rod/reel outfits so I'll have somewhat better gear. When I was younger and really first catching the bug, I had a habit of learning a new technique by stubbornly sticking with that technique win, lose or draw and I'd fish a jig and pig or a crankbait for months at a time, just to learn the system. I'm past that now but I really do feel like I'd like to become more comfortable again with "power fishing" techniques because I mostly use spinning gear and finesse tactics these days. Some days, finesse is best but surely there are those days when I get toasted by other guys who are power fishing.

I realize that I'm in the minority on this board because I tend to fish spinning tackle more frequently than casting, but don't rule out a light spinning rig. I fished Missouri briefly once (Table Rock) and fished a LOT of finesse down deep with light spinning gear. Just sayin'....I'm sure you'll get plenty of advice on this thread but it really does depend a great deal on what types of fishing you do and if there's a style that you've mostly ignored because you didn't have the gear or just felt that it was outside of your comfort zone.

I tried a friend's Avid the other day and I liked it but didn't like it $200 worth. I think that my $100 Fenwick HMG feels similar, if not maybe even a little better in my hands so personally, I doubt that I'll get an Avid series even though I'm looking to upgrade several of my outfits. Just my two cents, I know that they're very popular and guys that own them seem to love them.

My wife likes to fish with me but probably only goes about 1 trip in 5 because of work schedules, family obligations or because she doesn't feel like it. She's decent with a rod, probably as good as many of the guys I fish with, but she rarely if ever out-fishes me. Like most of the other posters, I'm pretty good natured about it when it happens and let her brag to the kids or whoever when she gets home that she got the big one. What pleases me more is the fact that my oldest son appears to be finally gaining at least some small interest in fishing. He's never enjoyed fishing and I typically had to strongly encourage him to get him to go along, even though he's a very good stick when you can actually get him to fish. He's in college now in Erie, PA and has fished twice already this semester with a buddy that likes to fish. I was so pleased that I'm letting him take two rod/reel outfits back with him, my hip waders and I purchased a small tackle bag last night, which I'll fill with goodies for him to use on his upcoming trips. After having both of my sons thumb their noses at fishing for years, I'm tickled even though his interest is probably still pretty limited.